DSG Special Edition / Fortune Auto 500 Coilover Six Month Review

[GeorgeJFrick]

@go_a_way1 @Jason@DSG @2superblus @cjd @sifl

Introduction
This is my humble opinion. Here is my experience summary:

This is my third season of autox; I've been on track 4 times and done 20+ autox days including some wintercross. My review is from the stand point of wanting to learn about suspensions; really get under the car and watch the camber change as I turn the bolts in the LCAs. Raise and lower the car; etc. It sounds dumb but I learned a lot from installing and running these. It really helped me to more deeply understand the terms; explanations and relationships of the components. Beyond that I wanted some help in autox in regards to body roll and ride height. Anyways...

Order/Shipping
Ordering these was easy and they arrived quickly. I've had some problem with vendors; as they can be not quite honest about what is in stock and what isn't. These arrived well packed and secured. I appreciated the good communication, shipping, and website that actually worked.

Installation
Installation was easy, but there were two problems to mention:
1) It was hard getting the front end links to stay locked; I'm told this was my fault though and Justin at Lake Country Alignment got them tightened up for me. Just mentioning it to be honest. I've done these before with no problem so... whatever ;-)
2) My rear extenders are missing the little tiny tightening screws, so they don't work at all.

Setup
I've had two alignments done since installing these. The first was to test these and get an initial autocross session in. They cooperated and we were able to get -2.6" out of the front with no bolts! Ride height adjustment went fine.

On the second alignment; I also got corner balanced. We were able to easily adjust everything when combined with the Whiteline LCAs. Even after months of dirt and grime. I'm currently at -2.6" and -2.0" (front/rear) for camber. With a nudge of toe in at the back and no toe at the front (I have to daily this setup).

The ride height isn't lowered much, right around 1". There are a ton of speed bumps around Miller Park and my house; so too low would be a disaster. (not to mention roll center).

Regarding settings; I have these 5 clicks from soft and if I'm honest, they don't seem adjustable from there. It's like 5 clicks from soft is full stiff and the rest is doing nothing. I should spend more time with this; but I'm honestly not good enough from a driver's stand point to comment too much here. While I don't want to hold it against these coil overs; everyone else seems to go on and on about the adjustments in their reviews. Autox double header this coming weekend - I'll probably spend more time adjusting these. But I wanted to finally write this review.

For the sake of completeness; I'm on 17x8 RPF1 with 235 ZII * specs.

Daily Ride
These were rough at first. I worked with the settings quite a bit and ended up deciding that I did the pre-load wrong. With a third attempt at correct pre-load; everything seems ok unless they're too stiff or I have too much air in the tires. It seems to rely on the tires for a bit of the "spring" now. I realize how "noob" that sounds. But that's the best I can explain it. They're considerably better at high speeds than low speeds; and I can't wait to get them onto the track (June 27th).

Autocross
These have been fantastic in autocross. The big thing here is; and this is partially skill/learning, I can keep my tires much cooler in the front. Response is better, body roll is lower and it doesn't feel like the car dives down on the front end so much. This has been my main focus from a skill perspective though (don't dive, manage tires, be aware of car rotation/weight transfer). So how much of it comes from the coil-overs is negotiable, but it's not zero. Last season I was constantly dumping PSI from the front tires, then having to refill after an off-session. With these and some practice I'm really able to get the PSI up from cold and only let out air as predicted.

Body roll is obviously improved, and weight transfer isn't so orbital. Not sure if that is a good way to say the weight transfer feels more linear instead of feeling like it's on a pendulum.

Last weekend I got my first Trophy in autox (4th in STX).

Touring
These have been pretty good in touring. I just did a 2 1/2 hour ride around the Holy Hill area in Wisconsin and response was better than the previous two years (on stock suspension). I did not adjust the stiffness, leaving it at five clicks from full soft.

Adjustments, rust and daily life
There appears to be some rusting. Also, if I set them beyond a few clicks from soft; they're unreasonable while not working to prevent body roll. It's almost clunky. This could be me on the clicks, but it's not me on the rust. Although I'm guessing any coil over will rust in the mid west?

Summary
I like these coil-overs; regardless of my experience level. It's disappointing to watch them rust while also feeling forced to keep them at full soft. My review should be taken from the point of view of my experience level. There is no recommendation; use this review as part of your research. If I had the same budget again; these would still be a consideration due to top hat, spherical bearing, and Swift springs.

Here is a review with pictures: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103262

[2superblus]

The fact that you are on the soft side is not a bad things as that is where i ran my Feal 441's. You may want to eventually lower the car further to improve the center of gravity.

Other than that it is time to work on your driving.

[Jason@DSG]

Originally Posted by GeorgeJFrick

@go_a_way1 @Jason@DSG @2superblus @cjd @sifl

Introduction
This is my humble opinion. Here is my experience summary:

This is my third season of autox; I've been on track 4 times and done 20+ autox days including some wintercross. My review is from the stand point of wanting to learn about suspensions; really get under the car and watch the camber change as I turn the bolts in the LCAs. Raise and lower the car; etc. It sounds dumb but I learned a lot from installing and running these. It really helped me to more deeply understand the terms; explanations and relationships of the components. Beyond that I wanted some help in autox in regards to body roll and ride height. Anyways...

Order/Shipping
Ordering these was easy and they arrived quickly. I've had some problem with vendors; as they can be not quite honest about what is in stock and what isn't. These arrived well packed and secured. I appreciated the good communication, shipping, and website that actually worked.

Installation
Installation was easy, but there were two problems to mention:
1) It was hard getting the front end links to stay locked; I'm told this was my fault though and Justin at Lake Country Alignment got them tightened up for me. Just mentioning it to be honest. I've done these before with no problem so... whatever ;-)
2) My rear extenders are missing the little tiny tightening screws, so they don't work at all.

Setup
I've had two alignments done since installing these. The first was to test these and get an initial autocross session in. They cooperated and we were able to get -2.6" out of the front with no bolts! Ride height adjustment went fine.

On the second alignment; I also got corner balanced. We were able to easily adjust everything when combined with the Whiteline LCAs. Even after months of dirt and grime. I'm currently at -2.6" and -2.0" (front/rear) for camber. With a nudge of toe in at the back and no toe at the front (I have to daily this setup).

The ride height isn't lowered much, right around 1". There are a ton of speed bumps around Miller Park and my house; so too low would be a disaster. (not to mention roll center).

Regarding settings; I have these 5 clicks from soft and if I'm honest, they don't seem adjustable from there. It's like 5 clicks from soft is full stiff and the rest is doing nothing. I should spend more time with this; but I'm honestly not good enough from a driver's stand point to comment too much here. While I don't want to hold it against these coil overs; everyone else seems to go on and on about the adjustments in their reviews. Autox double header this coming weekend - I'll probably spend more time adjusting these. But I wanted to finally write this review.

For the sake of completeness; I'm on 17x8 RPF1 with 235 ZII * specs.

Daily Ride
These were rough at first. I worked with the settings quite a bit and ended up deciding that I did the pre-load wrong. With a third attempt at correct pre-load; everything seems ok unless they're too stiff or I have too much air in the tires. It seems to rely on the tires for a bit of the "spring" now. I realize how "noob" that sounds. But that's the best I can explain it. They're considerably better at high speeds than low speeds; and I can't wait to get them onto the track (June 27th).

Autocross
These have been fantastic in autocross. The big thing here is; and this is partially skill/learning, I can keep my tires much cooler in the front. Response is better, body roll is lower and it doesn't feel like the car dives down on the front end so much. This has been my main focus from a skill perspective though (don't dive, manage tires, be aware of car rotation/weight transfer). So how much of it comes from the coil-overs is negotiable, but it's not zero. Last season I was constantly dumping PSI from the front tires, then having to refill after an off-session. With these and some practice I'm really able to get the PSI up from cold and only let out air as predicted.

Body roll is obviously improved, and weight transfer isn't so orbital. Not sure if that is a good way to say the weight transfer feels more linear instead of feeling like it's on a pendulum.

Last weekend I got my first Trophy in autox (4th in STX).

Touring
These have been pretty good in touring. I just did a 2 1/2 hour ride around the Holy Hill area in Wisconsin and response was better than the previous two years (on stock suspension). I did not adjust the stiffness, leaving it at five clicks from full soft.

Adjustments, rust and daily life
There appears to be some rusting. Also, if I set them beyond a few clicks from soft; they're unreasonable while not working to prevent body roll. It's almost clunky. This could be me on the clicks, but it's not me on the rust. Although I'm guessing any coil over will rust in the mid west?

Summary
I like these coil-overs; regardless of my experience level. It's disappointing to watch them rust while also feeling forced to keep them at full soft. My review should be taken from the point of view of my experience level. There is no recommendation; use this review as part of your research. If I had the same budget again; these would still be a consideration due to top hat, spherical bearing, and Swift springs.

Here is a review with pictures: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103262

Thanks for the thorough review! We rarely get long-term ones like this especially with so much detail. I contacted FA concerning the rusting

[Jason@DSG]

@GeorgeJFrick -- Contact FA, they will warranty these for you if you'd like in regards to the rusting. Sending a PM for instructions

[EAGLE5]

Reminds me of this thread:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2463410 @Clipdat