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 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.