Originally Posted by jimm

The people I know that messed with these were on the older Eclipses/Talons. I have one myself and looked into when I started modding that car.

The front struts used to require the Koni inserts. A few that I know that tried to do it themselves had the issues listed. The uneven lengths had to do with aligning the inserts into the stock strut body which sometimes had issues with driving the instert into the strut or with getting the OEM strut cut correctly. All would likely be because the person was inexperienced but that is the point I was making concerning just buying a quality product from people who knew what they were doing. The failures with rusting around where the bottom bolt is drilled or it loosening.

When I started modding my eclipse, I contacted RRE about making me a set. They said it had litterally been years since they had even made a set and basically said what I wrote that "it does not make sense to do so now that so many coilovers or adjustable after market OEM stut replacements (KYB) were availble which are dependable and easier to install". If fact, I think they took down the page for ordering those after I called (at least I don't see it anymore) as they really did not sound interested in even doing (although the instruction page is still up).

Here are the instructions listed on thier site: http://www.roadraceengineering.com/3...3gkoniinfo.htm

Let everyone else reading this look at what is required and judge for themselves if they would want to mess with this vs just buying a good set of coilovers...some of which have been tested on track to be faster than stock and carry life time warrenties. For almost every car out there you can buy a quality coilover system.

You two sound like you are in love with this approach...well have to it. Looks like alot of work with potential for me to F up the struts in the process. Maybe your expertise is beyond mine and you can do better than professional european techs with professional tools that work for KW, Ohlins, AST etc and are able to put together a better strut.

In my case with the car in question that I discussed with RRE, KW makes coilovers for the car so I bought those instead. 2 hours to install and I did not have to hack apart the stock struts in the process. I also know they are bullet proof in winter. Cost more but it would have been a several weekend project so if I account for my time the difference is not that much and likely worth it.

I bet most here will agree.

Originally Posted by jimm

Here are the instructions listed on thier site: http://www.roadraceengineering.com/3...3gkoniinfo.htm

Originally Posted by RevMoto

The argument on this topic isn't about modified struts vs coil overs in general but modified struts vs lower end coil overs and how most perform like garbage. From reading most people who have done this were people who went cheap and were on a budget.....( honda guys). Then I read about others who invested in quality parts and haven't had so much of a hiccup. A lot of Miata's do this with success. Building these will take just as long as setting your ride height on your set of coil overs. The only downside to this route is your ride height will be a mystery until you install it and lower your car to the ground. With a higher rate I bet the car wouldn't be as off on both sides as you think. The sleeves would have the same location on both sides. This seems very doable. All said and done with without going cheap on parts is $1400-$1500.

Parts:
Bilstein's revalved for rates
Swift coilover springs
Vorshlag Camber plates
Koni sleeve and perch kit
Few odds and ends

Originally Posted by RevMoto

The argument on this topic isn't about modified struts vs coil overs in general but modified struts vs lower end coil overs and how most perform like garbage. From reading most people who have done this were people who went cheap and were on a budget.....( honda guys). Then I read about others who invested in quality parts and haven't had so much of a hiccup.

Originally Posted by migs647

Hey guys, can we keep the topic on Fortune Auto? thanks.

Originally Posted by Iowa999

Exactly. Just because there are idiots who often do something badly doesn't mean it can't be done right. If I were to make a wild generalization about suspension upgrades, it would be this: there are good replacement springs available for stock-style shocks (e.g., GTWorks) and there are good high-end coilovers available (e.g., Ohlins), but most low-end coilovers are crap (e.g., those pick-your-favorite-color things from Taipei) and are marketed to the Great Unwashed as a way to have ride-height adjustability instead of performance. But, in most cases, you can cobble together a decent coilover from bits and pieces and have 80-90% of the performance of high-end coilovers for about the same cost as low-end coilovers. The only thing holding us back right now in the specific case of the Evo X is the lack of good options for the shocks on which the base a home-made coilover.

Originally Posted by migs647

Hey guys, can we keep the topic on Fortune Auto? thanks.

Originally Posted by RevMoto

I still have to disagree, Fortune Auto's aren't one of those pick your color crap coil over. Most just assume they are all the same and until you actually track a set it is all speculation on your end. As stated before I am not saying they are as good as KW, Ohlin, or AST but more comparable to a Bilstein/Spring combo with the option of camber plates and ride adjustment. Others will disagree and are very well right (cough cough Smike) but from my experience they are comparable. After further inspecting my coil overs when my wheels were off it seems the universal brake line bracket is just as secure as a bracket that would welded onto the chock body itself. I can take pictures for you guys if need be but again I have a IX. Anyone with a X that has had an issue with your line please post up a pic of your layout and I will gladly show you how you installed it wrong. I understand that the universal bracket looked very complicated and without install instructions might have confused people.

Originally Posted by RevMoto

We are just getting off topic because we have already discussed everything needed for this thread.

Originally Posted by migs647

If that's the case, should I close it then? The other stuff is unrelated and needs to be in a different thread.

Originally Posted by RevMoto

The argument on this topic isn't about modified struts vs coil overs in general but modified struts vs lower end coil overs and how most perform like garbage. From reading most people who have done this were people who went cheap and were on a budget.....( honda guys). Then I read about others who invested in quality parts and haven't had so much of a hiccup. A lot of Miata's do this with success. Building these will take just as long as setting your ride height on your set of coil overs. The only downside to this route is your ride height will be a mystery until you install it and lower your car to the ground. With a higher rate I bet the car wouldn't be as off on both sides as you think. The sleeves would have the same location on opposing side. This seems very doable. All said and done with without going cheap on parts is $1400-$1500. Minus the camber plates these seem like they would be equivalent to PSS9's with a $1200 savings.

Parts:
Bilstein's revalved for rates
Swift coilover springs
Vorshlag Camber plates
Koni sleeve and perch kit
Few odds and ends

Originally Posted by Iowa999

I was talking about DSMs and 2Gs in particular. A "3G" is not a DSM. But, as usual, we digress.

Originally Posted by Iowa999

I guess we'll leave it as a disagreement. I've seen the dyno plots for FAs. Their entry-level stuff is classic, Asian, non-digressive valving. And I, personally, place any coilover system that is no better than new springs on decent shocks (besides height and camber adjustment) in my "avoid" category. Plus, I cannot support a company that charges extra for a piece that could mean life or death to the driver and passengers. That, alone, makes them unacceptable to deal with.