DSG Edition FA500's

[go_a_way1]

Hello everyone I want to keep this as quick and straight forward as possible so if you got any specific questions please PM me or @Jason@DSG I am also not going to do the whole back story bit lol.

So I ordered these back in mid-November got them early january. They are packaged nicely and sat in my room for the winter. A little over a week ago I finally got these on my car and WOW they completely changed the car. (to be fair I also did some chassis bracing at the same time but I did leave the alignment within stock range and stock height as I am on winter tires still.) As soon as I drove the car out of the shop I could feel how amazing it now felt. They are much stiffer, but I wouldn't call it stiff, more or less "Firm" would be the best word. I was amazed how quick they react to the road. I started with rebound on 5 and it was nice around time and better then stock on the highway as far as comfort goes (IMO) but I found going over train tracks it was a bit harsh until I stepped the rebound up to 12 clicks from soft, at 12 clicks the springs are incredibly well mannered and controlled. As far as performance goes they greatly improved the cornering ability with my winter rubber to the point I was shocked and didn't think was possible. They really nailed it with these coilovers. The comfort is much better then I expected and the performance so far has been exactly what I was looking for. The nice thing about fortune auto is you can call them and actually talk to real people who know what they are talking about. They can also be revalved and rebuilt in the USA so that was a big plus for me. There is also the option to upgrade to the 510 or even dreadnought series if you wanted to. Then there is @Jason@DSG who is an all around awesome guy who was there to help me whenever I needed it. (anyone in Canada they can do a no duty or import fee shipping option )

TL;DR

Comfort 8/10 (for an average person they are 10/10 for what I was looking for)
Performance 10/10 (so far still on winter rubber)
Quality 9/10
Support & communication 10/10
Value 9/10


Here is what it looks like new:


installed on the front (stock height)


installed on the rear (stock height)


Here is how I adjust them at the rear. I did modify the rear adjuster extenders to achieve this but it only took all of 2 minutes to do both sides.




Update:



Hey guys, just a quick update. Got my summer wheels on about a week ago and it feels superb. I am on 17x8 (only weigh 18 pounds) rims with 225/45R/17 Nitto NT01's. I almost want to say they feel better with the summers then the winters but that is likely due to the lighter wheels or placebo effect haha!!

Living with these coils is easy, I forget I have them for most of the drive on my way to work (mainly 100+ km/h highway) They are stiffer for sure in parking lots and speed bumps but I got used to it real quick and still love the feel the car has

Performance:
With the tires I am running the amount of grip is absolutely ridiculous! I need to take my car to the skid pad to find out how many G's it can pull because I have taken a few empty exit ramps hard enough to slightly upset stomach from the lateral G's hahaha!! Now that being said these are 100 tread wear tires so most of the grip is from them, but the OEM suspension would have been so easily overloaded and these coils seem almost perfect for the tires. A slightly higher spring rate might be a better choice for these tires if it was a track car, but I use mine as a DD .

Now the bad: There is not nearly enough camber adjustment with just the top hats on these I had to buy camber bolts to get -2, with the bolts they maxed out at -3 (I did the alignment myself with the help of a tech cuz I work a dealership so I got to play around with it) I also have a slight noise coming from the back 2. They have done it since day 1 and sounds the same on both side. You only hear it on low speed bumps at like 10km/h and it sounds like a normal noise to me. I think it has to do with having solid tophats.


Overall I am 100% satisfied with them and would recommend them to anyone looking for a mid range coilover.

[x1UP]

Interesting take on these! I was actually looking into getting these after considering that the Ohlins were way too expensive.

I'm interested to see your monthly reviews since that's what counts. Do you use your car as a daily driver, track, or etc?

[Captain Snooze]

Originally Posted by go_a_way1

Here is how I adjust them at the rear. I did modify the rear adjuster extenders to achieve this but it only took all of 2 minutes to do both sides.
Attachment 133768

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...highlight=bent

[go_a_way1]

Originally Posted by x1UP

Interesting take on these! I was actually looking into getting these after considering that the Ohlins were way too expensive.

I'm interested to see your monthly reviews since that's what counts. Do you use your car as a daily driver, track, or etc?

Yeah I will have to report back after I do some more miles and get my summer wheels on so I can really test them out. Car is a DD with a mix of city and Highway. I spend about 30 minutes each way commuting. In the summer I do plan on heading to castrol speedway for a real track test of these as I haven't seen one yet.

Originally Posted by Captain Snooze

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...highlight=bent

Hahaha yeah I was worried about that at first but the adjusters I have flex so I thought it would be alright, then I realized that I dont use my trunk lol!!!

[x1UP]

Great. I'm thinking about possibly getting a used set of Ohlins (15K Milesfor around $2500, but if these are better, then I might just go for these in preparation for supercharger this year.

[Cole]

Originally Posted by x1UP

Great. I'm thinking about possibly getting a used set of Ohlins (15K Milesfor around $2500, but if these are better, then I might just go for these in preparation for supercharger this year.

These are certainly not better than the Ohlins. These are entry level coils with a few upgrades on them.

[go_a_way1]

Originally Posted by Cole

These are certainly not better than the Ohlins. These are entry level coils with a few upgrades on them.

I have never rode on ohlins but I would suspect this to be true haha! I would certainly hope ohlins are better at twice the price hahaha!

[go_a_way1]

Originally Posted by x1UP

Great. I'm thinking about possibly getting a used set of Ohlins (15K Milesfor around $2500, but if these are better, then I might just go for these in preparation for supercharger this year.

Make sure they are the first gen ohlins. The new ones they sell are too soft now

[8R6]

just curious, what would've allowed the quality rating to be a 10/10 instead? (putting the end cost/price aside)

[LOLS2K]

Originally Posted by Cole

These are certainly not better than the Ohlins. These are entry level coils with a few upgrades on them.

With that said, what scale are we using to measure the Fortune's? How do the 8,9,10/10s translate to a set of Ohlins?

[Cole]

Originally Posted by LOLS2K

With that said, what scale are we using to measure the Fortune's? How do the 8,9,10/10s translate to a set of Ohlins?

Different scales bruv. One is set in terms of cheap, entry level coils and the other is set in terms of more expensive, more advanced, better coils.

Plus, I'm sure if Ohlins developed an air cup system, they wouldn't leave the R&D to some schmuck from this here forum.

[go_a_way1]

Originally Posted by 8R6

just curious, what would've allowed the quality rating to be a 10/10 instead? (putting the end cost/price aside)

To get a 10/10 they need to have that WOW factor like a polished shock body or something over the top like that. Quality is based on the feel of them in my hand not the performance of them

[go_a_way1]

Originally Posted by LOLS2K

With that said, what scale are we using to measure the Fortune's? How do the 8,9,10/10s translate to a set of Ohlins?

My scale is on 1-10 for an entry level coilover and for what they are I am absolutely blown away with them at the price point. I would buy these again in a heart beat.

Originally Posted by Cole

Different scales bruv. One is set in terms of cheap, entry level coils and the other is set in terms of more expensive, more advanced, better coils.

Plus, I'm sure if Ohlins developed an air cup system, they wouldn't leave the R&D to some schmuck from this here forum.

Like cole said, different scales but I have never been on ohlins or JRZ ect so I cant compare them. I have rode on many other cheap coilovers in other peoples cars though.


and yeah.... Fortune Auto really dropped that ball on the air cup thing.

[GeorgeJFrick]

I bought these at the same time, but installed them earlier (January). I'm still not posting a review (not until after RA and at least one autox event); but if I had to review now, my experience does not match. If I had to do it over again I'd have spent more to get something better; but then again, I'm not ready to review these yet.

I just don't think they can be rated on quality after 90 days.
Comfort is a 6/10 at best.
Performance is actually good however; and I'd give the same score to DSG/FA for communication and support.
Value can't be stated until quality can be stated.

just my 2 cents; look for my review around the six month mark.

EDIT: To be clear, I have these for different reasons than go_a_way1 and my experience will vary greatly in that regard.