Product Review - Fortune Auto 500 Series Coilovers

[iamtheyi]

stock sway bars with ES bushings.

[Levi_thagreat]

Then I'm guessing your getting body roll in the front . I have the tanbe front sway bar, with no rear bar. And on 9k\7k spring it rides handles the best out of any setup I've had.

[ghoti]

Originally Posted by fliprayzin240sx

You can set the preload if you want but most of us just leaves the load on it when it comes out of the box...

Originally Posted by iamtheyi

I actually did what they recommended me in terms of preload and preloaded the fronts by 1/4" and the rears by 1/8".

^ I was about to say that. FA recommends to preload Front 1/4" & Rear 1/8"

[iamtheyi]

What size springs do the Gen. 3 500 series use?

[DJ 21o3]

Is the Radial Bearing Mount upgrade required for a S13?

[zooopreme]

Originally Posted by DJ 21o3

Is the Radial Bearing Mount upgrade required for a S13?

Simple answer is no. If it's free or if funds permit, get em.

[InsTanCeZ]

Does anyone have a review of the super low ones yet?

[A DUDE]

Originally Posted by InsTanCeZ

Does anyone have a review of the super low ones yet?

^^^ THIS

plus any reviews for the 510's???

[SupaDoopa]

Originally Posted by InsTanCeZ

Does anyone have a review of the super low ones yet?

Unfortunately it doesn't matter. They're now discontinued. I tried getting a set this week. I talked to Terry and he said he'd custom make you a set of 500's similar to how the Super Down Lows are made, though. He said the ride different between the SDL's and 500's is virtually unnoticeable. I suggest hoping on 'em if they're anything like the 500's. I have 500's on almost every car I have.

I only got PBM's for my S13 because the price was stupid low on a brand new pair and the SDL's are what I wanted and were discontinued at the time. After I got hold of a set of PBM's, Terry hit me up saying they'd custom make a set which kind of sucked because I had JUST picked up the PBM's. Oh well.

[DJ 21o3]

Originally Posted by zooopreme

Simple answer is no. If it's free or if funds permit, get em.

Although I may regret asking, what is the complicated answer? lol Funds permit so I will probably order them regardless.

[yomisiu]

Originally Posted by DJ 21o3

Although I may regret asking, what is the complicated answer? lol Funds permit so I will probably order them regardless.

if you dont want your coils to make noise, then get those. my springs on the 500's make a popping noise on low speed turns. kinda annoying, but they ride great.

recently had to go through one of those old brick roads and i was amazed how well they rode.

[InsTanCeZ]

How do you order custom Fortune Autos if you can't order directly from the manufacturer? Do you just email a vendor or something? Like, if I wanted to order the custom low ones you were talking about with custom spring rates and Swift springs how would I do that? Whenever I look at vendor websites they just seem to have standard 500s with no options to customize.

[xoxide]

^99% sure you can do custom orders straight through Fortune Auto themselves. They just do not sell their off-the-shelf products directly from their headquarters.

[InsTanCeZ]

Oh, okay. Nevermind, lol just saw on their website you can call them to order custom ones.

[fliprayzin240sx]

I ordered my 500s from Enjuku and told them what I wanted. Got the custom 11/9k swift spring upgrade, extended adjusters and roller bearings. I went with Enjuku since they had a 15% sale during cyber monday last year. Ended up saving $300, which basically paid for the upgrades.

But if you can't find a sale, cheapest place I found was Import Image Racing. Contact Billie here and he has the cheapest pricing of anybody I've talked to.

[A DUDE]

Originally Posted by fliprayzin240sx

I ordered my 500s from Enjuku and told them what I wanted. Got the custom 11/9k swift spring upgrade, extended adjusters and roller bearings. I went with Enjuku since they had a 15% sale during cyber monday last year. Ended up saving $300, which basically paid for the upgrades.

But if you can't find a sale, cheapest place I found was Import Image Racing. Contact Billie here and he has the cheapest pricing of anybody I've talked to.

How do you like 11/9k? I was recommended this, but just wanted a second opinion and if you'd prefer different now

[C. Anderson]

Originally Posted by yomisiu

if you dont want your coils to make noise, then get those. my springs on the 500's make a popping noise on low speed turns. kinda annoying, but they ride great.

recently had to go through one of those old brick roads and i was amazed how well they rode.

You should get these. Radial Bearing Mounts - Fortune Auto North America

[SlmdCpe]

Just got my coilovers today...

Terry was a great help! The shipping was incredibly fast and everything was neatly packed and organized.

You guys rock! A++++++++++

[fliprayzin240sx]

Originally Posted by A DUDE

How do you like 11/9k? I was recommended this, but just wanted a second opinion and if you'd prefer different now

All depends on how shitty your roads are. Personally, I'm not a big fan of it but I had no choice due to the heavier front end I have (RB25). I should have gone 9/8k since I DD the car more than anything else right now.

[yzrider450f]

Just putting this out there, I was not a fan of my FA 500's. They were harsh and unpredictable.

I have BC's now which I much prefer.

[Future240]

Originally Posted by yzrider450f

Just putting this out there, I was not a fan of my FA 500's. They were harsh and unpredictable.

I have BC's now which I much prefer.

Mind comparing and contrasting? detail would be great.

[Yellow4g63]

I have the 500's with 8k 6k swift springs with my 20 swap. going to track the car November 1st can't wait. I got mine last year so gen 4's?

[fliprayzin240sx]

Originally Posted by yzrider450f

Just putting this out there, I was not a fan of my FA 500's. They were harsh and unpredictable.

I have BC's now which I much prefer.

Nice review but would be nicer if you told us what spring rates, whether or not they broken in (mileage) and whether or not you preloaded them like you were supposed to.

[da_crew10]

Question, I am planning on buying these new v4's for my s14 with 9/7 k spring rates.

my s14 is pretty low and will remain that way, will these rates be bad for keeping from
bottoming out everywhere?

Would they be stiff at full stiff to not bottom out?

ps- stupid question maybe but is setting them to full stiff not good for the dampers ?

[InsTanCeZ]

Adjusting the rebound won't make any difference when it comes to bottoming out, so even if you had them on full soft it wouldn't make any difference. What you'd want to do is adjust the compression, which is unfortunately only adjustable if you have the two-way adjustable dampers. Maybe you could just ask Fortune Auto for slightly stiffer compression though, but I'm not sure how that works. Or you can just go with stiffer springs maybe, like 12k/10k? I'm not really sure what would be better/more comfortable though.

[da_crew10]

I don't mind sacrificing some comfort, I have bought my coilovers already should be here by Wednesday. I've had FA's on my last 2 s13's and they were the most comfortable coilovers I've ever had.

Here is a pic of how low I was and didn't bottom out in many places with 8/6k spring rates:





Only thing is that my s14 is lower tucking in the back and the front is not but it's low enough to compliment the rear height, Im just worried about breaking by my body kit everywhere and breaking my oil pan and obviously bottoming out everywhere.

I guess my only solution is higher spring rates or driving super careful???

[fliprayzin240sx]

Originally Posted by InsTanCeZ

Adjusting the rebound won't make any difference when it comes to bottoming out, so even if you had them on full soft it wouldn't make any difference. What you'd want to do is adjust would be compression, which is unfortunately only adjustable if you have the two-way adjustable dampers. Maybe you could just ask Fortune Auto for slightly stiffer compression though, but I'm not sure how that works. Or you can just go with stiffer springs maybe, like 12k/10k? I'm not really sure what would be better/more comfortable though.

Actually stiffening the dampeners do make a difference as far as bottoming out. In VB's shitty ass highways, my rears would touch fenders when full soft since I'd smell the rubber when I hit a bump. Stiffened it up to about half way, no rubber smell...

Again, put your roads in consideration when you buy springs. I've been back in CA for the last 2 weeks, don't none of you CALI guys ever bitch about how crappy the roads are here since these are glass compared to I-264 in VB.

[InsTanCeZ]

I've seen people running 16k/12k on some s-chassis, but that's probably only useful if you're like millimeters off the ground lol. But from what I've seen 16k/12k seems to be the most popular with cars like the ones from 326 Power though.

I love your car with the Blitz 03s BTW. Def one of the best hatches I've seen on Zilvia.

[xoxide]

Originally Posted by InsTanCeZ

I've seen people running 16k/12k on some s-chassis, but that's probably only useful if you're like millimeters off the ground lol. But from what I've seen 16k/12k seems to be the most popular with cars like the ones from 326 Power though.

I love your car with the Blitz 03s BTW. Def one of the best hatches I've seen on Zilvia.

Not to mention all of the cars running those rates, for the most part, are over in Japan where the roads are perfect. The only ones running those kind of rates over here are fanboys.

[InsTanCeZ]

Well if your car really is that low I don't see why you would want soft rates no matter how bumpy your road is. I'd rather have a bumpy ride than a cracked oil pan and breaking stuff on my car.