D2 Coilover Damper Kit

[gamiller]

You guys are calling me out, huh? I'll respond when I have some time later.

[BigBalledOX]

Originally Posted by gamiller

You guys are calling me out, huh? I'll respond when I have some time later.

If by "calling you out" you mean "wanting to see this information that completely contradicts everything I've ever heard and/or experienced", then yeah, I am.

[bensenvill]

no not calling you out, I on the other hand would not be suprised in the slightest. I dont think the build quality is the problem, I just dont think they are intended as daily driver parts.

[Turbo Zetec 'tour]

Originally Posted by blustreak

Do you have any pictures of your Ksports before they were installed or what they look like now installed? Did you choose a spring rate/stiffness?

Originally Posted by Turbo Zetec 'tour

i completly forgot to take pictures of the assembled units before install. however, before i remove them tonight i will get some pictures of them in the car as well as some pics of them off the car.

I did not choose a spring rate but went with the default rate. im sure i could have chosen rates if i wanted to though.

edit: spring rates that i got were 5.2 front 5 rear

pics with them in the car before i pulled them out and with them out of the car.

[bensenvill]

cool, thats definitely the first time I've seen anyone post up pics of them.

I'd post up some of the D2's but everyone always complains about the nudity.

[blustreak]

Where does the stiffness of these far in the whole scheme of things, DD able?

So basically whoever gets these from you can pretty much install them and only need an alignment before they're ready to ride? Sounds like a good deal to me.

[Turbo Zetec 'tour]

Originally Posted by blustreak

Where does the stiffness of these far in the whole scheme of things, DD able?

So basically whoever gets these from you can pretty much install them and only need an alignment before they're ready to ride? Sounds like a good deal to me.

They are pretty stiff but as long as you dont have a gravel driveway i would be willing to DD them.

you would have to adjust the ride height to get it to your liking. but pretty much install, align, and go.

[gamiller]

C'mon Ox. No need to be rude, here. I can backup everything I say on these boards. I had to speak up because I just hate to see some kit spend $1200 on a product I've heard about which I've heard some negative things. Everybody here is like "these rock" but few people have had them even a year yet. I don't want to talk anybody out of buying these, but I want people to know that there have been some significant problems reported. If these problems are rare, then perhaps they can be ignored.

The thing I see over and over is how harsh the spring rates are for daily driving. Here's an unhappy CONTOUR customer:

Originally Posted by starjammir

I have this kit and it says D2 on the package. There are minor differences between the D2's and the KSports. My KSports seem to ride VERY stiff...almost unbearable to drive with. I am going try them on full soft and see what happens. They may be forsale soon.....

[gamiller]

Rara has spoken over at CEG about how these products aren't safe. The best example being that there is no flange on the strut for the pinch bolt to grip the strut, so it could come unseated from the wheel spindle/knuckle.

Originally Posted by Rara

It was an intentional design choice on the part of Ksport; they apparently didn't feel it was likely enough to be a problem to add the extra piece with a tab on it. As an automotive design engineer for OEM stuff, I am trained to go through all of the potential failure modes, and rate them based on likelyhood of occuring and on severity of a problem if it occurs, and depending on how the ratings turn out determines how much work you put into it. In this case the occurance would be low, but the severity very high, which to me warrants a design change.

and elsewhere, he summarizes:

Originally Posted by Rara

I have two issues with them, and to be fair, the same two issues are common on a lot of coilover kits.

1. The swaybar mount. Koni uses this same method for sway bar attachment on thier high dollar racing struts for the Koni Challenge Mustang kit; I've seen two $130k+ Mustangs nearly get destroyed because of this design. They loosen up very easily, and the mount can swing out into the wheel, which locks the wheel and can spin the car.

2. The strut to knuckle attachment has no retaining tab. In harsh conditions, over hard bumps etc. there is nothing to prevent the strut from getting pulled out of the knuckle other than the friction to the knuckle pinch area. While this is an unlikely occurance, the end result would be catastrophic.

Rara ended up selling his new-in-box for $780.

Perhaps of even greater concern, though, is the following statement attributed to a vendor:

Originally Posted by RFDisturbance

Just adding my $.02, but I contacted a company called Impulse Performance Ltd. and here is a direct copy and paste from them as to what is to be expected from D2 Coilovers:

"Thank you for your email. We no longer supply D2 products also know as k-sport, g force, g4 any many many more. the parent company Fu bu auto parts has been making these brands and have been flooding the market with all these coilovers in volume and we have found that the qaulity is getting worse and worse so have now dropped this product.

The products now have huge reliabilty problems and the factory refuses to change the design or listen to their distributor inputs and they will not warrent their products even though they promise too."

someone reported that the DSM community was initially pleased with the quality.

Originally Posted by spankis

They're a VERY popular option with the 3000gt/Dodge Stealth crowd I've recently become acquainted with. From what I've heard their early applications had issues with leaking, but this has since been resolved. The majority of people with them are satisfied from what I can tell. They're REALLY adjustable too.....I assume most of this info translates across their product line. I think they're a Korean company, if anybody's wondering.

one month later, that same person reported that the DSM community has soured:

Originally Posted by spankis

...as of late there have been many negative reviews of the Ksport product by 3000gt/Stealth owners. I was considering getting a set myself, but issues like leaking starting as soon as 6 months after installation, poor fitment, and a popping sound as a result of the upper mount that Ksport refuses to acknowledge. Also, I know the ones for the Stealth platform don't have mounts for brake lines. Just a heads up, as this is an indication of poor quality from Ksport for a decent platform, not just mass-production models for the civic/integra crowd.

lastly, this CIVIC owner is completely frustrated with his coilover purchase.

[gamiller]

here's what you actually get in the mail when you order:



the CONTOUR owner of these coilovers believes them to be poorly designed:

Originally Posted by spridget

notice the bottom of the rear spring sits on a rubber insulator and fits the lower mount fairly well. The front spring bottom sits directly on the lower mount with no insulator and the diameter is just a bit too big. I'm worried that under extreme stress (high speed hard cornering) the spring could shear the edges of the mount off, causing the spring to collapse down around the strut body.