Review Fortune Auto Coilovers (AWD)
11-08-2014, 03:15 AM
#1
Registered Member
Thread Starter
Fortune Auto Coilovers (AWD)
Sorry for the late review. I’ve been so busy lately that I don’t even have time to visit the forums. I got my Fortune Auto coilovers around mid-summer and only installed them about 8 weeks ago. Some of you know that I was one of few who got the AMR engineering coilovers and, just like everyone else who got them, suffered a lot with the rear clunking noise. No matter what I did, I just could not get the noise to go away. AMR was in every way a bad experience that I hope no one ever goes through. I’ll try to be brief in my review.
Packaging:
The packaging was superb in my opinion. The coilovers came in double boxed and bubble wrapped for protection, which really helped protecting the coilovers from the USPS’ bad handling. Sorry I don’t have any pictures as I didn’t think they were necessary.
Machining:
These coilovers are machined really well. I think everyone enjoys looking at these when they first get them. All the edges are sharp and flow incredibly smooth. I got these through TH Motorsports and they are street valved with spring rates of 12k front and 10k rear. I opted for the Swift springs since they seem like the best. Enjoy the eye candy below!
Installation:
I did the install on my own and it took me 8 hours straight as I had some issues pop up along the way. Other than that, there were no fitting problems. You can see in the picture below how they compare with AMR’s. These were overall better in terms of height adjustment and fitment.
Ride Height:
So I initially didn’t tamper with the height of the shocks and got a rather interesting combination F/R ride height. My front was sitting at around 25.6” ground to fender while the rear was at 28”. At this point, my undershroud was scraping so hard you can see everyone looking at the car like it’s broke. I got the undershroud fixed within a week and it was only scraping on bumps. At that height, there was no clunking noise whatsoever from the rear and I could finally drive in peace for the first time in a year. I love the adjustability range on these. The front could go even lower and can go to about stock height, while the rear tops out at about stock height but could go a lot lower than you would ever need.
After about 2 weeks, I decided to adjust the height and got them to around 26.5” all around. The car, as you can see below, looks really nice. At this point, the rear started clunking faintly but persistently. Over the course of 4 weeks, the clunking had reached around the level of BC Racing. Disappointing, I know, but I am too tired and busy to actively try and fix this.
Handling:
After putting more than 800 miles on the coilovers I have to say, I like the way they handle. Not as much oversteering and even my vibration on the road issue disappeared.
Ride Quality:
Obviously, ride quality is no OEM but I admit, these are more comfortable than the AMR’s I had previously. I have the damping set at 18 clicks from full soft. When the rear was at OEM height, these rode like heaven. No noise, very comfortable, and the ride quality felt like OEM. Now, with the lowered rear, I can feel almost every small bump on the road, uneven roads become more noticeable. This is probably because the springs settled. Personally I don’t mind the stiffer ride. The clunking noise, on the other hand, is killing me. I just don’t understand why it wasn’t there when the rears were at OEM height, and suddenly it is present with the lowered rears.
Hal
Packaging:
The packaging was superb in my opinion. The coilovers came in double boxed and bubble wrapped for protection, which really helped protecting the coilovers from the USPS’ bad handling. Sorry I don’t have any pictures as I didn’t think they were necessary.
Machining:
These coilovers are machined really well. I think everyone enjoys looking at these when they first get them. All the edges are sharp and flow incredibly smooth. I got these through TH Motorsports and they are street valved with spring rates of 12k front and 10k rear. I opted for the Swift springs since they seem like the best. Enjoy the eye candy below!
Installation:
I did the install on my own and it took me 8 hours straight as I had some issues pop up along the way. Other than that, there were no fitting problems. You can see in the picture below how they compare with AMR’s. These were overall better in terms of height adjustment and fitment.
Ride Height:
So I initially didn’t tamper with the height of the shocks and got a rather interesting combination F/R ride height. My front was sitting at around 25.6” ground to fender while the rear was at 28”. At this point, my undershroud was scraping so hard you can see everyone looking at the car like it’s broke. I got the undershroud fixed within a week and it was only scraping on bumps. At that height, there was no clunking noise whatsoever from the rear and I could finally drive in peace for the first time in a year. I love the adjustability range on these. The front could go even lower and can go to about stock height, while the rear tops out at about stock height but could go a lot lower than you would ever need.
After about 2 weeks, I decided to adjust the height and got them to around 26.5” all around. The car, as you can see below, looks really nice. At this point, the rear started clunking faintly but persistently. Over the course of 4 weeks, the clunking had reached around the level of BC Racing. Disappointing, I know, but I am too tired and busy to actively try and fix this.
Handling:
After putting more than 800 miles on the coilovers I have to say, I like the way they handle. Not as much oversteering and even my vibration on the road issue disappeared.
Ride Quality:
Obviously, ride quality is no OEM but I admit, these are more comfortable than the AMR’s I had previously. I have the damping set at 18 clicks from full soft. When the rear was at OEM height, these rode like heaven. No noise, very comfortable, and the ride quality felt like OEM. Now, with the lowered rear, I can feel almost every small bump on the road, uneven roads become more noticeable. This is probably because the springs settled. Personally I don’t mind the stiffer ride. The clunking noise, on the other hand, is killing me. I just don’t understand why it wasn’t there when the rears were at OEM height, and suddenly it is present with the lowered rears.
Hal
The following users liked this post:
blnewt (11-08-2014)
11-08-2014, 06:41 PM
#4
Thanks for the write up Sylo! Too bad that noise is there on the rears. I just finished installing mine about an hour ago. Very nice workmanship, my only complaint would be the shortness of the stud for mounting the brake line. I sunk it a little bit more before i installed it. I don't think it would have threaded all the way through the nut if i hadn't done that.
Let us know if you get that clunking sorted out. Ill post some comments about mine once i put some miles on it.
Thanks again for being one of the guinea pigs
Let us know if you get that clunking sorted out. Ill post some comments about mine once i put some miles on it.
Thanks again for being one of the guinea pigs
11-10-2014, 09:58 AM
#7
thank you for the review and sorry to hear about your clunking that youre getting. I was considering switching my BCs to these cause IMO these do look a bit better and might improve ride quality a little bit, but I m not experiencing any issues with my BCs not even the clunking.
keep us posted about the clunking
keep us posted about the clunking
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11-10-2014, 09:57 PM
#8
So, my initial take on these after driving on them for 2 days is WOW. I really wish that I had done this sooner! These have totally blown away my expectations. I really love driving the car now. Before it was getting a little rough. I was cringing every time I saw a pothole or bump in the road.
Just to put the whole thing in perspective I have had the Swift lowering springs paired with oem struts on my car for a little over a year. The ride has always seemed a bit harsh and my daily commute into NYC hasn't done the shocks any favors. The front end had begun to sag a bit, I'd say it was about a half in lower than when I installed, but i don't have any measurements of fender height when I first put them on. So even the wife was starting to complain about the harshness of the ride. During this time I also upgraded to 19" wheels from the 17" oem, which also increased road feel. I contemplated going back to 17's but that wouldn't work because I had installed the akebonos. I began looking at maybe 18's, hoping that might help. I was definitely growing tired of the ride.
So I bit the bullet and finally ordered a set of Fortune 500 coilovers from THMotorsports. Luke suggested that I give Fortune a call directly to see what they recommended for a daily driver set up. Chris, the sales rep at fortune, recommended the 10k front and 8k rear swift spring upgrade, with the street valved shocks. So I placed my order and three weeks later I picked them up from FedEx.
So...of course I had to mod my mod. I kinda already had this idea in my head that 10k and 8k might be too stiff of a spring, but I had already placed an order, so I figured I'd bide my time and just order another set of swift springs with lower spring rates to soften up the ride once they arrived.
Well, when i opened up my package, lo and behold, the rear springs are the SAME size as the fronts...This got me to thinking. If the Rears are 8k, and my fronts now are 8k, why not just throw those 8's on the front and keep the rears the 7.4 they are now. Im matching swift springs with swift spings...8k is already proven to work in the front, and 7.4k works for the rear. The ride height in rear was just fine, it was mostly the height in front and rebound that I was concerned about.
The swap was really straight forward, they fit right in place of the 10k springs and i set the preload, installed and then installed the shocks in the rear, leaving the swift springs in that I had previously installed a year ago.
8 hours later and some bloody knuckles Im finished. ( I also installed 10mm H&R DRS spacers in the front, the 15mm i had i figured might poke once i raised it and it cambered back out)
Initial test drive - I dont have any quantifiable data, but using my butt as a spring dyno, i could feel a difference. First thing i noticed is the bounce was gone, i could easily tell this from the headlight cut off beam just didnt bounce and jiggle like a set of double D's doing the 100 yard dash.
For the second drive I took the wife for a spin, but didnt really tell her what I had done...she is usually a harsh critic of me modding, but she is a sport and goes along with it and even gets me parts for x-mas, birthdays...anyway I digress. We drove to the store. I didnt even have to bring it up, she noticed how smooth and much more comfortable the ride felt, I was sold. If this makes her approval, then its for sure the real deal.
I'm always nervous when getting ready to test a newly installed mod for the first time....its that expectation that what you just did,might not be what you were hoping for and you might have made a decent situation...into a bad one.
Well, I have not been let down. These ride so much better that I had hoped. I've had coils before on other cars, but these are just awesome.
The car feels much more planted now. Gone is the lurching and crashing around bends and over potholes/uneven pavement. The front end "feels" lighter, I know that sounds weird, but it just does, i have no other way to explain it. Its a relaxing ride compared to what i had before, but it still handles and performs as well too. That was something i didn't think would be possible.
I'll post an update or too as i drive some more. I plan on taking a road trip to NC here in a few weeks, i should have some more feedback after that.
Oh, and if you are wondering..."should I buy these?" If your just sitting on the fence...DO IT! i wish i had sooner.
I'm at 27" all around, pics will follow once I give her a bath.
AND a big round of applause to the guys over at Fortune for making such a great product and thanks to THM for making this all happen. I am in no way a mechanic or auto professional, just an enthusiast, so if some of my terms are off or my "feel" might be different than what you interpret, i apologize.
Just to put the whole thing in perspective I have had the Swift lowering springs paired with oem struts on my car for a little over a year. The ride has always seemed a bit harsh and my daily commute into NYC hasn't done the shocks any favors. The front end had begun to sag a bit, I'd say it was about a half in lower than when I installed, but i don't have any measurements of fender height when I first put them on. So even the wife was starting to complain about the harshness of the ride. During this time I also upgraded to 19" wheels from the 17" oem, which also increased road feel. I contemplated going back to 17's but that wouldn't work because I had installed the akebonos. I began looking at maybe 18's, hoping that might help. I was definitely growing tired of the ride.
So I bit the bullet and finally ordered a set of Fortune 500 coilovers from THMotorsports. Luke suggested that I give Fortune a call directly to see what they recommended for a daily driver set up. Chris, the sales rep at fortune, recommended the 10k front and 8k rear swift spring upgrade, with the street valved shocks. So I placed my order and three weeks later I picked them up from FedEx.
So...of course I had to mod my mod. I kinda already had this idea in my head that 10k and 8k might be too stiff of a spring, but I had already placed an order, so I figured I'd bide my time and just order another set of swift springs with lower spring rates to soften up the ride once they arrived.
Well, when i opened up my package, lo and behold, the rear springs are the SAME size as the fronts...This got me to thinking. If the Rears are 8k, and my fronts now are 8k, why not just throw those 8's on the front and keep the rears the 7.4 they are now. Im matching swift springs with swift spings...8k is already proven to work in the front, and 7.4k works for the rear. The ride height in rear was just fine, it was mostly the height in front and rebound that I was concerned about.
The swap was really straight forward, they fit right in place of the 10k springs and i set the preload, installed and then installed the shocks in the rear, leaving the swift springs in that I had previously installed a year ago.
8 hours later and some bloody knuckles Im finished. ( I also installed 10mm H&R DRS spacers in the front, the 15mm i had i figured might poke once i raised it and it cambered back out)
Initial test drive - I dont have any quantifiable data, but using my butt as a spring dyno, i could feel a difference. First thing i noticed is the bounce was gone, i could easily tell this from the headlight cut off beam just didnt bounce and jiggle like a set of double D's doing the 100 yard dash.
For the second drive I took the wife for a spin, but didnt really tell her what I had done...she is usually a harsh critic of me modding, but she is a sport and goes along with it and even gets me parts for x-mas, birthdays...anyway I digress. We drove to the store. I didnt even have to bring it up, she noticed how smooth and much more comfortable the ride felt, I was sold. If this makes her approval, then its for sure the real deal.
I'm always nervous when getting ready to test a newly installed mod for the first time....its that expectation that what you just did,might not be what you were hoping for and you might have made a decent situation...into a bad one.
Well, I have not been let down. These ride so much better that I had hoped. I've had coils before on other cars, but these are just awesome.
The car feels much more planted now. Gone is the lurching and crashing around bends and over potholes/uneven pavement. The front end "feels" lighter, I know that sounds weird, but it just does, i have no other way to explain it. Its a relaxing ride compared to what i had before, but it still handles and performs as well too. That was something i didn't think would be possible.
I'll post an update or too as i drive some more. I plan on taking a road trip to NC here in a few weeks, i should have some more feedback after that.
Oh, and if you are wondering..."should I buy these?" If your just sitting on the fence...DO IT! i wish i had sooner.
I'm at 27" all around, pics will follow once I give her a bath.
AND a big round of applause to the guys over at Fortune for making such a great product and thanks to THM for making this all happen. I am in no way a mechanic or auto professional, just an enthusiast, so if some of my terms are off or my "feel" might be different than what you interpret, i apologize.
11-10-2014, 11:37 PM
#9
Nice review, hopefully Sylos' rear clunk can be solved since that seems to be the only real nick in the armor right now.
So you just used your rear Swift springs from your previous lowering set? So you didn't need the threaded collar? If that's the case then maybe Sylos noise issues have something to do w/ that mount
TBH I've never been a fan of the rear spring mounts w/ the OEM setup coilovers, I know they have to be set up that way to allow enough height adjustment, but there isn't much isolation from the spring. It just seems like it would be more prone to noise transmission, especially over time.
So you just used your rear Swift springs from your previous lowering set? So you didn't need the threaded collar? If that's the case then maybe Sylos noise issues have something to do w/ that mount
TBH I've never been a fan of the rear spring mounts w/ the OEM setup coilovers, I know they have to be set up that way to allow enough height adjustment, but there isn't much isolation from the spring. It just seems like it would be more prone to noise transmission, especially over time.
11-15-2014, 10:15 AM
#10
Premier Member
iTrader: (7)
I can't comment too much on mine yet, just got them installed the other day but the ride is night and day from just the Swifts. I went with 10/8 street valued and swift springs.
As of right now I'm below zero gap and getting a very slight clunk noise at times. I'm also scraping so I'll be raising the height anyway. I'm thinking I'd like to be a finger height above the tires, perhaps with a slight rake but will play with it next week. When I say slight clunk, I mean slight. Could it get worse? Maybe but we'll see.
The coils themselves seem to be very well built and are definitely aesthically pleasing. Once I put winter tires on I'll give the car a bit of a workout but thus far I'm a happy camper.
As of right now I'm below zero gap and getting a very slight clunk noise at times. I'm also scraping so I'll be raising the height anyway. I'm thinking I'd like to be a finger height above the tires, perhaps with a slight rake but will play with it next week. When I say slight clunk, I mean slight. Could it get worse? Maybe but we'll see.
The coils themselves seem to be very well built and are definitely aesthically pleasing. Once I put winter tires on I'll give the car a bit of a workout but thus far I'm a happy camper.
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Motoboat (11-15-2014)
12-06-2014, 08:47 AM
#12
I had a slight clunk from the rear, very slight, only noticeable at slow speeds and i had to really listen for it, but i think its just lateral movement in the shock because of it not being adjusted to the correct height. (there weren't any instructions on shock height, just spring preload)
I ended up lengthening it and it seems to have gone away, ill just keep adjusting if it returns until i get to the correct adjustment.
I ended up lengthening it and it seems to have gone away, ill just keep adjusting if it returns until i get to the correct adjustment.
12-06-2014, 04:54 PM
#14
Registered Member
Thread Starter
A few days ago I talked to Fortune Auto about the noise and they told me to send the shocks back to them for inspection. While removing the right side I noticed that the shock was not aligned with the control arm and the bolt would not install/remove easily, but with the stock shock, the assembly was lined up perfectly and the bolt could easily pass through the shock and the control arm.
I noticed two things, the stock shock has a larger hole at the lower mount as in the first picture (Left to right: Fortune Auto, Stock, AMR) and the stock top hat can slightly swivel to allow alignment while the other ones did not allow that.
I will probably send the shocks back on Monday and ask Fortune Auto to install pillow-ball bearing top hats along with widening the lower bolt hole. Does anyone know if pillow-ball bearing cause more noise?
I noticed two things, the stock shock has a larger hole at the lower mount as in the first picture (Left to right: Fortune Auto, Stock, AMR) and the stock top hat can slightly swivel to allow alignment while the other ones did not allow that.
I will probably send the shocks back on Monday and ask Fortune Auto to install pillow-ball bearing top hats along with widening the lower bolt hole. Does anyone know if pillow-ball bearing cause more noise?
12-06-2014, 07:14 PM
#15
A few days ago I talked to Fortune Auto about the noise and they told me to send the shocks back to them for inspection. While removing the right side I noticed that the shock was not aligned with the control arm and the bolt would not install/remove easily, but with the stock shock, the assembly was lined up perfectly and the bolt could easily pass through the shock and the control arm.
I noticed two things, the stock shock has a larger hole at the lower mount as in the first picture (Left to right: Fortune Auto, Stock, AMR) and the stock top hat can slightly swivel to allow alignment while the other ones did not allow that.
I will probably send the shocks back on Monday and ask Fortune Auto to install pillow-ball bearing top hats along with widening the lower bolt hole. Does anyone know if pillow-ball bearing cause more noise?
I noticed two things, the stock shock has a larger hole at the lower mount as in the first picture (Left to right: Fortune Auto, Stock, AMR) and the stock top hat can slightly swivel to allow alignment while the other ones did not allow that.
I will probably send the shocks back on Monday and ask Fortune Auto to install pillow-ball bearing top hats along with widening the lower bolt hole. Does anyone know if pillow-ball bearing cause more noise?