Suspension

[PuppageVW]

After driving my car for awhile with the suspension, I have to say the ride is quite harsh...it seems so harsh I feel that it is "hurting" my car. I don't go over speed bumps quickly, but you all know Calgary's shitty roads. So does going over bumps and stuff really bad for my car if I don't rub the tires? It really seems like it is putting alot of stress on the car. Please give me all of your input. Thanks.

[Kor]

Has anyone else ridden in Paul's car and find it brutally harsh?

Really you had to know that coilovers would be a bit harder. Also, we all put a lot of stress on our cars. It doesn't just come from the mods - I drive my car hard and rough. Sure the car is stressed more than an average driver. It probably won't last as long as if I left it stock and only drove it nice, but I wouldn't love my car if it were any other way!

Best advice: take some people who've ridden in lots of setups for rides, see what they think. If you're uncomfortable still, then you need to sell it right? The most important thing is that you LIKE your car. Because its YOUR car. You can probably sell the coilovers and put a softer spring/shock kit in and get a similar drop...

Edit: When you're low on coils you should try to avoid bumps anyway, slow down for rough roads, be more careful... part of the deal I guess.

[Canadian Turbo]

You should have expected a harsher ride but perhaps not as bad as you thought or maybe you should change the height up a bit or just get used to it or go back to stock.

[R_Ethug]

.. calgary roads are trash some are getting better.. crowchild is buttery smooth up here now.. but going out past 53rd is the same semi decent.. next meet I want to ride in your car paul and peters car to get a feel for coils.. maybe I won't go with them after all if its super harsh.. dunno..

[1.8Trip]

Yeah, Crowchild and 16th on the west side are like butta now!! Dig it...

[Derick]

Honestly Puppage, I've heard alot of bad things about FK coils. Some people I talked to stateside were saying that the internals are not as "refined" as others like Bilstiens, H&R, etc. From experience, I have 2 buddies that have the FK's and hate them. It seems the consensus with FK owners is that the ride is mildly to very harsh. Wait.....you do have FK's right?? I remember talking to you about them and am pretty sure you said FK's. Anyways, just ignore this if you don't

[Moose]

I have a set of FK 40mm Highsports and they ride real nice. I'll trade ya for your coilovers if you don't want them plus some cash? Just a thought...

[R_Ethug]

thats a good deal moose.. pauls has the Konigs that are dampening adjustable so he should be able to adjust them to be softer.. but perhaps they have to be off the car first.. i dunno

[Smartiepants]

If you want to adjust them Paul, I'm pretty sure I have everything needed to do that

[Khyron]

You are adjusting air pressure right? That does make quite a diff. What PSI are you running? Try 32 front, 30 rear.

Khyron

[Volinder D]

Originally posted by C-town Driver
Honestly Puppage, I've heard alot of bad things about FK coils. Some people I talked to stateside were saying that the internals are not as "refined" as others like Bilstiens, H&R, etc. From experience, I have 2 buddies that have the FK's and hate them. It seems the consensus with FK owners is that the ride is mildly to very harsh. Wait.....you do have FK's right?? I remember talking to you about them and am pretty sure you said FK's. Anyways, just ignore this if you don't

I've owned H&R's, and forget it, FK's are much better. As for the internals, they are Koni dampener's and those are top notch, equally as good as bilstein or any other brand for that matter. For every single brand out there there are unhappy people, that I guarantee. Take me for example, I hate H&R's, i think they have a really crappy ride.


Now as for the stiff coilovers question. It's actually quite simple. When you ride the car low, the strut is quite compressed and therefore is pretty stiff. Even with the dampening adjusted to soft they will still ride a little stiff. However, change the ride height even 1/2" to 3/4" higher, put the setting softer and I guarantee you will be much happier with the ride.

Paul FK's are top notch coilovers don't let anyone convince you otherwise, and like I said you paid good money to have dampening adjustability so just simply use it. But honestly you are riding pretty low so you can't expect to ride like a lexus at that height. I would definately recommend putting your car a tad bit higher. Give me a call if you have any concerns.

[PuppageVW]

Thanks alot for everyones comments, I definetly should crank it up a little bit, once I figure out how and see how the ride goes...but I am not concerned about the ride as much as the strain i am putting on the actual car.

[Smartiepants]

Yep, I think there are some specific wrenches that you need to adjust them, but if you can figure that out I can give you a hand doing it.

[R_Ethug]

Paul adjust them so you have a 1 1/2 - 2 finger gap all around.. mike's (mr. burn's) car when he put coils on he said Concept dumped it all around and the tires were inside the wheel wells.. gotta raise it up a bit then drive for a few days and get another alignment.. kinda a pain in the ass but hopefully it will be softer for you.

[Kor]

Originally posted by PuppageVW
Thanks alot for everyones comments, I definetly should crank it up a little bit, once I figure out how and see how the ride goes...but I am not concerned about the ride as much as the strain i am putting on the actual car.

Softer = less strain
Harder= more strain

Either way the car isn't going to suddenly break in half though...