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.

First the story so you can all laugh at my expense, then the proper way so you all can learn after you are done laughing. Like anyone who just put on a new set of adjustable coilovers I wanted to go lower. The shop left me with a .5 finger gap from fender to the top of the tire and I ended up wanting about an eighth inch tuck. So I worked up some courage and thought how hard can it be, lifted up the car and got to work. Once I lowered each side by the same rings I stepped back, looked at it, and thought oh no, this is visibly not level! So for the course of a week every night I’d end up in my garage trying to get my car leveled out, all to no avail. I ended taking the car to a local shop to have them level it off once and for all.

The mechanic had a good laugh when I told him the story of why I was there only a week after he installed the coil overs and he went about leveling them off. About 20 minutes later he came out and said that I really wasn’t that far off and should feel pretty good about it but come out here and let me show you how to do it the right way.

To adjust your ride height properly you must first measure each corner as the baseline, then decide how much lower you want to go, we’ll go with a half an inch (1.27cm) for this example, be sure you are on a flat surface. Now raise the car with a jack and stands and remove the wheels. Adjust each side a half an inch (1.27cm) and measure the amount of threads you have adjusted on each corner to assure that you allowed for half an inch (1.27cm). Now put the wheels back on, tighten the lugs but don’t torque them and lower the car. Measure all four corners again to make sure they are even and you indeed did get a half an inch drop over your baseline. It is completely acceptable to be an 1/8 inch (.3175cm) lower on side depending on which side of the engine by the engine sits. If you have a corner or side that is off by over a quarter of an inch like I did, try again making small adjustments.

Here’s a more ordered checklist:

1. Measure all four corners on a flat surface from floor to the bottom of the fender in the center to get a baseline.
2. Raise the car up with a jack and stands then remove the wheels.
3. Decide on the amount you with lower or raise the vehicle (half an inch in this example), then adjust your coil overs by that amount being sure to measure the thread you adjusted.
4. Put the wheels back on and tighten the lugs (do not torque), take the car off of jackstands.
5. Measure all four corners to be sure they are even with one another, if one corner is off by more than an eighth of an inch raise the car and adjust again. Some of us appreciate at more raked appearance so just be sure the front wheels from fender to ground are even and the back wheels fender to ground are even.
6. Once you are even, torque your lugs down to manufacturer specs.

Be sure to follow your coil over manufacturer instructions when raising or lowering your car, I and JDMLove.org take no responsibility for damage done to your vehicle. Please observe Local Law Enforcement rules, laws, and regulations regarding vehicle ride height.

A friend of mine and fellow tuner made a good analogy when working with coil overs, he said, “measure adjust, measure, adjust, measure.” If you follow that simple analogy your ride will be even at all times.

Allow your coil overs some time to settle out after an adjustment, you can expect a little extra drop over the course of a week due to settling. Get an alignment after this week and your set to go. Congratulations you didn’t look like and idiot like I did!