KSport Coilovers: All About 'Em

[tjgalati]

Insite, U R awesome. Sell me that car!

Im looking into the same thing, and eagly await your results just like everyone else. However, i also ask for a little more info.

Where are you getting these, and which ones exactly? Dont they have different lines?

Ive been lookin, but have not put pen to paper in a proper eval as u have.

Thx.

TJizzle

[insite]

Originally Posted by tjgalati

Where are you getting these, and which ones exactly? Dont they have different lines?

i got them here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140247438327

i contacted the seller ahead of time with regard to custom spring rates. so far they've been great w/ communication following the sale. because of the custom rates and the fact that most shops don't have these on the shelf for our cars, it will probably be 2-3 weeks before i receive them.

[renzop]

With shocks, the devil is in the details. Anyone can make a coilover by taking a shock, adding some mounts and putting a spring around it. Its the shock that matters, especially its rebound control.

I have heard nothing but bad things about JIC. KSport sells the same basic unit for a whole slew of cars. They look cool but no one serious uses them on track or auto-x.

I would much rather get a system that was made by a shock manufacturer of repute like Moton, Bilstien, Koni, Boge, Penske, etc. I think you will find that a $1000 KSport system is worth $1000 and not a penny more.

Serious shock engineers admit that shock development and tuning are one of the last black arts in motorsports. I'd purchase from a master magician, not an ebay deal of the day.

Regards,
Alan

[insite]

Originally Posted by renzop

With shocks, the devil is in the details. Anyone can make a coilover by taking a shock, adding some mounts and putting a spring around it. Its the shock that matters, especially its rebound control.

agreed!

Originally Posted by renzop

I have heard nothing but bad things about JIC. KSport sells the same basic unit for a whole slew of cars. They look cool but no one serious uses them on track or auto-x.

on the contrary, i've heard a lot of GOOD things about JIC from various PCar owners. the only complaints i've heard tend to be about ride harshness; they're a bit more track than street. as to the assertion that 'no one serious' uses them on track? depends on what you mean by serious. if you mean 'competes for money', then of course you are right. if you simply mean 'serious enthusiast', well that's debatable.

Originally Posted by renzop

I would much rather get a system that was made by a shock manufacturer of repute like Moton, Bilstien, Koni, Boge, Penske, etc. I think you will find that a $1000 KSport system is worth $1000 and not a penny more.

do you honestly think we wouldn't all rather have Motons? apples and oranges, sir. they are $5k a set WITHOUT springs, camber plates, etc. ditto for JRZ. koni, boge and penske do not have applications for our cars. that leaves bilstein, JIC and the JIC clones. custom valved bilsteins would be nice, but again, $$$ is a consideration.

Originally Posted by renzop

Serious shock engineers admit that shock development and tuning are one of the last black arts in motorsports. I'd purchase from a master magician, not an ebay deal of the day.

master magicians don't make much for the boxster. they certainly don't make anything that fits within a DE budget. for someone who competes to win, it might make sense to blow $8k on a 4-way Moton setup. for the rest of us, not so much. i believe the JIC design to be a good one. i also believe that the taiwanese will reverse engineer and improve upon this and similar designs. i also believe from having spoken to KSport USA about the direction their company has taken in the last couple of years that they will provide a fine product & great support at a bargain price. it's a gamble, but a calculated gamble.

[RandallNeighbour]

Insite, I just bought the same set from the same people on eBay! What a small world.

I did not request the special spring rates, so what do I do now?

[j.fro]

Have you got a picture of the shocks that you've got? The collars on mine are against the threads on the shock, but there does not seem to be any adjustment.

[insite]

Originally Posted by j.fro

Have you got a picture of the shocks that you've got? The collars on mine are against the threads on the shock, but there does not seem to be any adjustment.

they look kind of like the ones in this pic (i don't have mine yet). loosen the collars circled in red (the rears may only have the top collar) and twist the entire strut. there are directions here: http://www.ksportusa.com/edocs/Coilover%20Instructions.pdf

[insite]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

Insite, I just bought the same set from the same people on eBay! What a small world.

I did not request the special spring rates, so what do I do now?

if you just ordered them, you can probably call TCS and have them change the rates. in my opinion, their standard split of 5.3/9.0 (300/500) is WAY too rear biased. you usually use your car on the street, right? i'd go 5.3/7.0 (300/400). it's not possible to go lower than 7.0 in back without having them re-valve the dampers. if you can't get them to change the rates before they arrive, you can buy a set of 7.0 springs from KSport for under a hundred bucks.