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Serious Coilover Comparison Questions

untangle

untangle

Ready to race!
Thanks, RSmark5. Research or not, I still make my share of mistakes.

Good to see your confirmatory observations of The B&G's. Your conclusions are more valuable than mine, as yours were first-hand..

Cheers,

Bob
 
M

madbikes

Ready to race!
RSMark5 said:
K-sports are some what common for euro, and not that prone to failure. If you want, search through golfmkv for threads of failure. There are a lot more points of data over there than here because not many people run K-sports on the Mk6 yet. The real problem k-sports were V1's belive the problem was with the pillowball mount. The version 2's had problems with the endlink or tab something like that. V3's and greater have only gotten better from my understanding. They are just a lot of coilover for the money. The only thing at the price point, with similar features would be a B&G RS2 and those are monotube, with progressive springs and adjustable length bodies as well. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

That is interesting. I did some research after I had my first set saying K-Sport is prone to have premature oil seal failure, which is probably why mine failed twice in a roll, and I'm told the oil seal design change happened twice.
 
Catharsis

Catharsis

Passed Driver's Ed
Thank YOU! Excellent Information! New to the Forum

bubuski said:
I'll take a bite at this.

Marketing
Marketing from their actual professional racing kits get people onboard to view them as a “premioum” brand even though most of their street geared kits might not actually have much in common.

Reputation
I personally think because the major brand names have good reputations that they have built over the years, people get wow'd by the brand name and not look more deeply into the features offered by each kit today.
I can't justify the price difference btw ST and KW V1, but their reputation are thesame becasue they are both made by KW. The KW V3 to me is the only true KW prestige kit.

Warranty
Warranty support is pretty identical as almost all the companies require the kits to be removed from the car and shipped back for inspection before a warranty replacement is sent which could take months.
The lifetime warranty is also not worth it as wear and tear is not covered, and after 5 yrs most owners will probably have sold the car or close to being sold. Shocks will probably need a rebuild after 5 years and it won’t be covered under warranty, so I do not personally get why the KW V1 costs much more than the ST.
I usually prefer warranty that allows me to deal with my seller or installer rather than directly with the brand.

Corrosion protection
Most of the brands above advertise their kits as stainless steel when they are not 100% stainless.
Comparing $700 ST suspension to $1100 KW V1, the galvanized steel vs stainless Steel fronts does not justify the extra $400.
The height only adjustable brand name coilovers are a huge disappointment for what they offer and are not even on my radar these days.

Koni is chrome plated
KW V1 & V2 are INOX Stainless Steel fronts, rears are powder coated.
KW V3 is full INOX Stainless Steel
ST is galvanized steel, rears are powder coated.
H&R (Premium and Ultra-low) is Stainless Steel fronts only, rears are powdercoated.
FK is Stainless Steel fronts only, rears are powdercoated.(at least I think so for most of the coils they have. Not sure about the Silverline X)
B&G is powder coated
K-sport is Teflon coated
V-maxx ??
Bilstein ??

Higher grade metals on perch & shocks
There are two categories here, cheep and quality. Raceland and cheaper eBay coilovers seem to be sub-par as owners have complained.. V-maxx used to be cheap but they have stepped up their act and in my books are classified alongside the other “premium” brands here.

Features
This is how I personally shop. Best bang of features for my money.
All in adjustability, top mounts, end-links etc.
Click to expand...

:23:

Catharsis
 
kyclops

kyclops

Ready to race!
After creeping the fk thread, I might just grab a set of streetlines for now, and upgrade to bags after a bit. I like what I saw in pictures and reviews. Before about an hour ago I had my heart set on ultralows, hopefully theres not a huge reason for the 600 dollar difference in price
 
I

iamgap

Ready to race!
BUMP for a good read, as I was looking for ideas of what coils I might eventually go with. Got some bonus money coming, and I'm trying to decide if I want moar low or better rims. I am currently on WRD Sport Springs and 16" OEM.



Also, for those in the Camp Lejeune area, I'll bring these Wednesday Night.




gap
 
I

iamgap

Ready to race!
untangle said:
Yep, I find 25" just about ideal myself.

Bob
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If 25" is the ideal height, I don't think Coilovers would be worth the expense. I pulled my Golf into the garage to measure (sloped driveway), and found I would only gain about 1/2" on the fronts. $1k+ is a lot to spend for 1/2". Of course I would gain about 1" in the back. I currently sit at 25.5625 on the front and 26.125 on the rears with the WRD (Vogtland) Sport Springs.


gap
 
untangle

untangle

Ready to race!
iamgap said:
If 25" is the ideal height, I don't think Coilovers would be worth the expense. I pulled my Golf into the garage to measure (sloped driveway), and found I would only gain about 1/2" on the fronts. $1k+ is a lot to spend for 1/2". Of course I would gain about 1" in the back. I currently sit at 25.5625 on the front and 26.125 on the rears with the WRD (Vogtland) Sport Springs.
Click to expand...

Fair enough. But, for reference, 1/2" of add'l drop is significant wrt handling characteristics, and 1"+ is kinda huge.

I paid $800 delivered for my ST coils.

Having said that, the 25" number is just my opinion on ideal RH. Each owner/driver must decide what's best for them based on some combo of performance, looks, and cost.

Bob
 
L

lalalaprise

Ready to race!
Just ordered ST Coil-Overs....wish me luck :)
 
I

iamgap

Ready to race!
untangle said:
Fair enough. But, for reference, 1/2" of add'l drop is significant wrt handling characteristics, and 1"+ is kinda huge.

I paid $800 delivered for my ST coils.

Having said that, the 25" number is just my opinion on ideal RH. Each owner/driver must decide what's best for them based on some combo of performance, looks, and cost.

Bob
Click to expand...

Thanks for the word, Bob. I will definately keep coils under consideration. I'll do the 18" first, add some Fogs, and then do the do coils when the OEM shocks and struts wear out. As I understand it, the OEM S&S will only last about 20k with with the extra strain of Sport Springs.


gap


BTW... When are they gonna STICKY this thread. Mark has put some good data in here.
 
S

Schn3ll1

Passed Driver's Ed
I would just like to add that I have had my ST's on for about 3 days now and I am definitely happy with the purchase. Very stock like ride with the drop I wanted (maybe too much.... some scrapage) and even with aggressive spacers on the rear no rubbing. I am at about 1 finger gap all around with the wheels almost dead flush with the fender, I would definitely purchase these again.
 
Y

Y34RZ3R0iscoming

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