KTS questions

[4thHorse]

Hey guys, I have a few questions so I did some reading and think I found the answer. If you guys can tell me if I heading in the right direction that would be great.

I bought a used 240sx 96 that has KTS coilovers and it was alittle to low and harsh. I raised it up alittle and changed the damping. My problem now seems to be that the rear still seems to harsh. The damping before was 10 in front and 5 in the rear. Now its at 5 in the front and 3 in the rear. when I was raising the rear I think I might have added to much spring load to the spring, so can this be the reason for the stiff rear. Should I have lengthen the coilover assembly instead of at the spring perch? I've read that KTS can be harsh, but the front seems to be pretty forgiving now. So the question is am I on the right track? More info on the car if it helps.

18x8.5 30 offset 215/40/18 fronts need to be replaced thinking of going 235/40 your opinions would be great.
18x9.5 12 offset 235/40/18 rears good shape.

Both fronts and rears are streched, can this also account for the ride. I would like to drive with some comfort at the same time rip things up when I need too.
Any help would be great.

[FaLKoN240]

Change the preload, to soften it up. Raising and lowering the car has nothing to do with it.

Since you're local, I got a buddy that may be willing to help you out.

[RYS13]

I'm pretty sure the KTS springs are not progressive so spring load woudn't affect the harshness of the ride.

[darius_tii]

Yo
I have KTS on my S14 too
and i love them
they arent harsh at all, unless you have a bunch of preload
Just lossen up the pre load and it should be ALLL GOOOD hahah
Thanks
Darius

[4thHorse]

I was thinking to much preload, Falkon who/weres your friend at. Is it a shop, if not do you know a good shop for corner balancing, how about pulling the fenders

[yudalicious]

the rear always affects ride quality more... so maybe that's what you're feeling. I don't know why, but it always seems so.

[Edgar]

losen up the preload like everyone is saying
a s14 we had here had the same problem
hope that works out for you but everyone here is right

[FaLKoN240]

Originally Posted by 4thHorse

I was thinking to much preload, Falkon who/weres your friend at. Is it a shop, if not do you know a good shop for corner balancing, how about pulling the fenders

My friend is just a personal friends, we do all the work on our cars. He doesn't know how to corner balance, but he does have a roller, and he has rolled his fenders, along with a friend of mine. We're going to pull my fenders a little more. PM me your AIM name or something and we can talk.

[4thHorse]

Cool thanks, I'll let you know when I need help I don't have an AIM so I'll get one.

[zads]

Originally Posted by RYS13

I'm pretty sure the KTS springs are not progressive so spring load woudn't affect the harshness of the ride.

when you increase the preload, it raises the effective wheel rate.



on a side note, i have KTS on my s13.
preload is at a bare minimum, because I want as much droop travel as possible. (8/6 is plenty stiff enough..)

basically, undo the spring perches until the spring rattles. tighten the collars until the spring can't move freely anymore, and then give it an extra full turn. a paint pen or mark on the perch and shock body can help you keep track of how much preload/turns you put into it. you always want to have your left and right side preload the same, unless you only really turn in one direction (circle track).


I set my dampening settings at 1/1 (full soft front/rear) for daily driving- unless you're doing hard and fast left/right transitions, you don't really need much dampening, and its much more comfortable to ride in.


At the last private autocross practice I did, I found optimal balance settings at 11/8 front/rear. No rear sway bar. I will probably try stiffer front/softer rear at the next practice, so I can put power down out of the tight corners better, but 11/8 feels really good in the slaloms:

[4thHorse]

Just to follow up.
I got rid of alot of preload, and raised it by the shock body. It is know alot better. Now I'm trying to find a good setting for the shocks. First it was 5front 3rear, then 1f 1r, 1f 2r these were to bouncy. today I tried 5f 6r because some people have liked this setting for daily driving with kts' but its alittle on the stiff side. I'm going to try 3f 4r and see how that does. I drive highway 101 and for those in norcal we all know that it sucks. I have been told that the harshness of the KTS' is not the spring rate, but the way they are valved and because of this they feel alot stiffer then other brands with the same or in some case higer spring rates. Anyone want to comment on this?

[4thHorse]

Do I have to pay $1700+ to get the comfort I'm looking for? Right now I'm thinking of getting Tanabe 7. I'm waiting for a guy at a local shop to get them for his 240, he his he would let me check them out.

[Maximamike]

So you selling? Price?

[yudalicious]

Originally Posted by 4thHorse

Do I have to pay $1700+ to get the comfort I'm looking for? Right now I'm thinking of getting Tanabe 7. I'm waiting for a guy at a local shop to get them for his 240, he his he would let me check them out.

I bet the 18 inch tires w/ almost no sidewall have something to do w/ it.

[yudalicious]

Originally Posted by zads

when you increase the preload, it raises the effective wheel rate.

explain, assuming the KTS springs are truely linear.