Clunky and Loud

While the KSports’ offer a great price to ride ratio they tend to be a bit loud in the cabin. I could drive over a pebble and the thump inside the cabin was more like hitting a 3 inch deep pot hole. Granted the suspension is stiff making the springs hard to flex and the frame was taking most of the impact which would explain the harsh noises. However; those running Tein Flex which is also very stiff have no complaints of obtrusive cabin noise. The Flex also comes with Tein’s "silencing rubber" between the tightest coils which they claim reduces that cabin noise. None the less, Tein Flex is nearly twice as expensive as the Kontrol Pro’s.

Aggressively Stiff

The Kontrol Pro’s are incredibly stiff which is great for track driving or hitting the back roads, but for the daily commute a softer ride is always a welcome luxury. You can get custom spring rates straight from the factory, however; that seems counter intuitive. By the time you pay for your custom springs on your KSports you had might as well picked up some Buddy Club N+ or Tein CS. If you’re looking to run stiff on the track and back roads then the KSports are the coil overs for you.

Lock Rings Seized Up

Ah, the real reason why I ditched the KSports. Not that long ago I had to pick up a set of new tires. Being new, these tires had a lot more tread which lead to having to raise the car back up a bit to prevent rubbing. When I went to pop the lock ring in the back it wouldn’t come loose. I hit it with a screw driver, a mallet, the "keys," I heated them with a torch, I cooled them with ice. I shot them with PB Blaster, silicon spray and WD–40, nothing worked.

I can’t entirely blame this on the coil over. Living in Oregon the DOT sprays the roads with de-icer during the winter which can have very negative side effects on almost all of your cars moving parts, including lock rings. With a little more preventative maintenance this could have possibly been avoided. However; one side of me feels that the part should have been made with enough quality to not require any kind of maintenance. I have to remember that all aftermarket parts for vehicles are intended for "off-road purposes only" meaning that they are intended for track conditions and fair weather.

Conclusion

I ended up pulling the KSports off and putting my OEM struts with Tein H–Tech springs back on. Granted I am about an inch higher off the ground now I could not be more satisfied. The ride is much softer, no more clunks and thumps and the car drives more like a it did from the factory. The Tein’s offer a nice compromise between performance and comfort, the next step would just be adding some Koni Yellows for additional adjustments.

Speaking of Tein, I have ridden on basics and SS, the basics were in a 2006 TSX and the SS where on a 2007 TSX and 2004 TL, the latter having EDFC. For the basics I was not to impressed, first they seem to have a chronic issues with developing a squeaking issue in the rear on TSX set-ups and second, they have no dampening force adjustment. Granted, Basics are an entry level coil over and at around $750.00 +/- $100.00 they are a fairly good budget choice.

The SS on the other hand I have to admit are much nicer than my K-Sports. Softer and smoother rebound, very nice spring rates and dampening force adjustment via EDFC or the old manual method. This should be expect of a coil over system costing over $1000.00 on average. The ability to use EDFC even though listed as incompatible with TSX SS applications is a definite convienience.

The K-Sports offer a wonderful middle of the line coil over, I’d say falling somewhere between Tein Basics and Tein SS. Another advantage to the K-Sports is you can adjust the shock body for ride height as opposed to adjusting the spring perch seen with most Tein set ups (to see how this works read the K-Sport manual by clicking here). This allows you to keep the full amount of suspension travel and lower your ride height to a near bagged appearance.

Over the course of my two weeks of ownership I have dropped another half inch for a total of about 3 inches of drop (7.62 centimeters) and still have about another inch and a half (3.81 centimeters) to go before the K-sports are tapped out. With this now lower stance I have noticed a bit of fender rub over bouncy corners at a higher rate of speed, to remedy this I have adjust the dampening force to be firmer to compensate for the added body roll of a hard turn into a bump.

Adjusting ride height with the K-Sports is fairly simple and straight forward. Raise the vehicle up and place it on stands, remove the wheels (you can get away with leaving the font wheels on), take a flat head screw driver (K-Sport suggests a brass punch), and a hammer then tap the base collar counter clock wise to loosen it. Adjust the collar up to the amount of drop you would like to add, now grab the collars and spring in your hand and turn clockwise until your base collar is pressed against the shock body. Take your hammer and screwdriver and tap the base collar clockwise to lock it and check to make sure the spring perch collars did now loosen. That’s it. It took me about 45 minutes to adjust all four corners.

Overall; these coil overs are impressive for their price and should be considered by anyone looking for a decent set of coil overs on a budget, because lets face it, we can’t all afford a $1600.00+ set of coil overs but would sure like to have some of the high end coil over adjustments.

First impression out of the box was that the K-Sports seemed to be built of fairly decent quality regardless of some drivers calling them “K-Mart” coil overs. I would say the quality of these coil overs rivals that of Tein Basics, Tanabe S-OC Type II, and DropZones. I have yet to hear a negative review of K-Sports for the TSX. Also, these coil overs sport the ability to seriously drop your car. Right now I have mine adjusted to leave just a half finger width fender gap and I still have well over 3 inches of thread left to go.

The other nice thing is the base of the shock or the mounts will actually thread up to that 3″ of gap leaving the full amount of suspension travel possible. Most coil over kits only adjust the spring perch and eliminate a lot of suspension travel in the process. This extra travel lends to a smoother rebound rate giving the feel of less “bounce”.

With 36 levels of dampening force adjustment, the K-Sports leave a lot of available options that price competitors like Tein Basics just don’t have. Granted, basics are a great coil over set up, but for the price point, lacking the adjustable dampening force puts K-Sport out ahead. I have yet to try the full range of adjustment, I have just kept them at one full turn off of soft in the front and two full turns off of soft in the rear. I have noticed a significant reduction of brake dive and torque steer alike. The car really hugs the corners well and the rear end is not apt to step out on you.

It’s hard to say how these coil overs will hold up over an Oregon winter with di-icer and salt on the roads, but from the looks of them now they should hold up as well as any set of Teins, Tanabes, or Buddy Clubs out there.

So far I’d rank the K-Sport Kontrol Pro’s for the TSX a 8 – 10. Why not the full 10? With the lack of any kind of electronic dampening force adjustments like Tein EDFC, it’s just a pain to make an adjustment, also these coil overs may be a little stiff for some, even on the softest settings.

First the facts on the springs:

TEIN High.Tech springs utilize the latest spring and material technology to optimize comfort, performance, and quality. Designed and tested in North America to be used in conjunction with OEM or similar shocks for excellent ride comfort and slightly increased handling. The line is produced with Vanadium (SAE9254V), which is durable, lightweight, and has properties to retain more spring stroke. High.Tech springs are designed for those seeking a slightly lowered stance while maintaining high ride quality at a reasonable price. Most vehicles will attain a 1.2 inch drop for a more attractive appearance, added performance, and excellent comfort. Includes a one year limited warranty.

• Chrome Vanadium SAE9254V Construction
• Progressive Spring Rate Design
• Includes Silencer Rubber on certain applications
• Gold Powder Coat Finish
• Developed to be used in conjunction with OEM or OEM replacement dampers
• 1-year Manufacturers Defect and Sag Warranty
Covers over 5mm sag, breakage, deformity, and noise.
Does not cover powder coat finish and rusting.

Spring Rate (F/R, kgf/mm): 5.7/3.4, Lowering F/R: -1.1/-0.7 Inches.
*sourced from Tein’s Web Page

The springs do provide the specified drop, 1.1″ in the front and .7″ in the back, or approximately those numbers. In laymans terms your stock CL9 (TSX) has an average of about 3 – 3.75 finger widths of wheel gap, the H-Techs will reduce that gap to 1.75 – 2 finger widths of gap. With the A-Spec lip kit, or Euro-R lip kit this drop may visually appear to be a bit lower. I do get comments from other CL9 owners with H-Tech’s that mine looks lower with the A-Spec kit, which is somewhat true but mainly due to an optical illusion.

I have the H-Tech’s mounted on my OEM dampers and the springs provide a very soft ride comparable to OEM ride quality. Not much bounce if any, they will stiffen up around the corners being a progressive type spring. My 2 year old and my wife never noticed much of a difference with the H-Techs over OEM springs for comfort. However; they are not intended and do not provide the handling results of a more advanced spring/damper combo. There are times if I lay into a corner to hard I can feel the spring get to a point where it no longer compresses and it feels like a bit of snap over steer may occur which can lead to a lack of confidence in the twisties.

Now that about 3 months have passed I can feel my OEM dampers getting a bit strained with the drop. Tein does not endorse the use of any aftermarket spring with OEM dampers, however; a 1″ drop is usually the maximum you can get away with on OEM dampers. I am beginning to notice some knocking in the front and I am not sure if it’s the damper going bad or something else, but the amount of bouncing has increased which is leading me to believe the dampers are on the way out. You’ll have to acknowledge I put the springs on dampers that were already 32,000 miles in to their lifetime which is not suggested.

I would reccomend that if you are in the market to be lower and are looking for the same drop as the H-Tech’s provide then you should also consider a set of aftermarket dampers like Koni Yellow’s to go with the springs. This way you can get adjustable dampening and longer life out of your set up. The koni’s also provide an additional 20mm of drop (~.8 inches) with their adjustable spring perches. You will get a better handling car and still be able to retain close to OEM comfort.

Also consider the Tein CS coilovers. OEM comfort, up to 2.1″ drop, and EDFC compatible, that would be the ultimate set up for seeking a comfortable ride, moderate drop, and an overall good suspension set up.

Overall I’d rate the H-Techs a 8 – 10 which is by no means bad, and would probably be a 10 – 10 if I had ordered aftermarket dampers at the same time.

Drop with H-Techs on my car:

CL9 (accord, TSX, Euro R) on Tein H-Techs

CL9 (Accord, TSX, Euro R) on Tein H-Techs