Supersport coilovers

jakethesnake · Post by **jakethesnake** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 9:56 pm

Does anybody here have these or know anything about them ?.
I've seen them for Â£419 which is quite a bit cheaper than other makes which seem to start from around Â£600.
All I know is that they are German and are height adjustable only so no damping adjustment.

The old saying 'You only get what you pay for' springs to mind

Speedlaw · Post by **Speedlaw** » Thu Oct 09, 2003 9:07 am

Hey Chris,

You're hitting the nail on the head there: You get what you pay for, especially with suspension bits!

I haven't had the opportunity to drive a car fitted with Supersport coilovers, so I can't really judge them properly.

What I can say, is that I know -for sure- that none of the show cars you see out there would use them. Also, the guys driving in the DTM use Koni, H&R, and KW. If they're good enough for them, they're certainly good enough for me. At least I know I won't be left thinking there's something better out there. I realize they use race-spec stuff, but still.

I truly believe the best advise I can give you is to hold out, save some more money, and get a set you really want. As with most things, it's "Buy cheap, buy twice".

There's nothing worse than spending that much money (even at 400 quid, it's still a lot) and end up regretting it. Having said that, if there's someone running this gear, I would appreciate their feedback. Perhaps there's more to it than 'just' a low price tag.

Hope that helps...

jakethesnake · Post by **jakethesnake** » Thu Oct 09, 2003 9:53 pm

Hi Alex

How did I know you would be the only person to reply ?

How important is it to have adjustable damping as you pay more for this ?. I really can't see myself playing with this too much.
I'm also not particularly interested in going very low, I'm more interested in being able to adjust the rear in relation to the front height.

You can get non adjustable damping Weitec's for Â£500 and the adjustable ones come in at around Â£600. I believe these are good, right ?.

chris.

Speedlaw · Post by **Speedlaw** » Thu Oct 09, 2003 11:30 pm

I thought of another brand to consider (apart from the big names): it's FK.

I have yet to hear anything bad from 'em, even though it's not a specialist company. (Meaning, they make all sorts of tuning stuff) If anyone has experience with them, I'd apreciate your thoughts on them. Decent kits are the HighSport coilovers that forgo the adjustable damping of their bigger brother, the KonigSport.

If you're just after altering the rear height, in relation to the front, you *could* consider those spring/damper combos that have adjustable rear spring-seat-heights.

Still... I found that once you've been bitten by the Low Bug, there's nothing better than coilovers. Even if you want a moderate drop now, what about in 6 months? Or 12?

Perhaps FK's are an affordable and relatively good alternative. I can't judge the Weitec's, just don't know enough about them unfortunately.

About the hardness -

As Ash advised me a while ago, if the difference between hardness adjustable and non-hardness adjustables coilovers is small, (say - 100â‚¬?) get the hardness adjustables. It allows you to set them to 'hard' when you want to mess around and drive slammed for a while, and if you're done with that you can set them to comfortable again. Keep in mind that 'comfortable' is a relative term. It's still firm.

I just set mine to 'all the way open' for the winter season and it's definitely noticable. More bodyroll, somewhat less grip, but more forgiving.

There's other things to keep in mind too;

I chose the KW's over H&R (and everything else) in part by their stainless steel threading. I drive them all year round, and rust is something I could do without... If the threads start to rust under the adjuster ring, they're likely to seize.

Also, they had oil filled Koni shocks, which I like better than gas-filled items. I could be really wrong here, but I'm convinced oil filled shocks are forgiving (soft) on small bumps such as on bad roads, but are stiffer on long big dips, where there's a lot of weight on the shocks. My gas filled shocks I had before were the exact opposite - rock hard on small seams and bumps, but soft on big dips.

As a 'Final Thought' (remembering Jerry):

Your suspension is the most vital part of the car. Ok, brakes are up there as well. But it's what holds you on the road - it needs to be good. I wouldn't buy anything other than Klaus Wohlfarth's gear ever again. Devotee for life.

jakethesnake · Post by **jakethesnake** » Fri Oct 10, 2003 12:07 am

Alex you are da man !. On the ball again with a top reply as per usual.

Rust on the threads of coilovers is one of my biggest negative points on getting coilovers. While searching the net last night I came across an article where they had done a corrosion test on various coilovers and the KW's had come out top.

I think the FK's are pretty popular here in the UK at present with a lot of Polo's running them.

I'm still not sure on whether I would want adjustable damping, I can see what you are saying about it not costing a huge amount more and it may come in useful in the future but I just don't think I would use it much.
I was under the impression that with non adjustable damping, the lower you set them the harder the damping is ?.

I think you are probably correct on the gas versus oil debate, my eibach/gmax gas damper set up is very firm over all the little imperfections in the road yet it can feel a bit soft in the big dips.

thanks
chris.

KarlM · Post by **KarlM** » Fri Oct 10, 2003 12:07 am

Damping adjustment would be a good thing to go for as it enables you to set there car how you want it. enhancing the cars handling and reducing the ill effects. And if your going really low you need damping to hell reduce scrubbing

dub envy · Post by **dub envy** » Fri Oct 10, 2003 12:13 am

get ones that are damping adjustable.

I have AVO's on my Golf, and yes you are right, ypu dont mess about with the damping very much once it is set... but it took me weeks of driving before I found the right amount of damping for my height!

hope ths helps..

pollock · Post by **pollock** » Fri Oct 10, 2003 12:36 pm

i oredr a set of the super sports 3 months ago now and still havent arrived so mite get my money back now and get some avos i think as u can get them for round the 500 mark and the supersports cost me 350

KarlM · Post by **KarlM** » Fri Oct 10, 2003 12:45 pm

wouldnt go for AVOs as i've got mates with bad experiences. Apparently the kits need servicing every 12 months otherwise they will die.

AVO have changed the design on some of there applications so it might be something to check first.

pollock · Post by **pollock** » Fri Oct 10, 2003 12:58 pm

okcheers well thats 2 to avoid thn may just get fk's at this rate then

dub envy · Post by **dub envy** » Fri Oct 10, 2003 6:50 pm

I had no problems with my avo's for the 3 years they were on my car

jakethesnake · Post by **jakethesnake** » Sun Oct 12, 2003 1:50 pm

How much can you adjust the height by without affecting the camber adjustment 'too' much ?. Or is it a camber reset every time you adjust the height ?.

pollock · Post by **pollock** » Sun Oct 12, 2003 1:56 pm

u can adjust th camber y self its just 2 bolts u loosen then adjut then tighten up agan

Speedlaw · Post by **Speedlaw** » Sun Oct 12, 2003 2:40 pm

I'm just raising it to the point the tyres don't appear to have a positive camber. It's been set by the 'experts' to -0,25 degrees, so there's a bit left before neutral. Both sides are equal now, so I plan to raise both sides equally too, as best I can.

I'm hoping for the best using the guessing game.

jakethesnake · Post by **jakethesnake** » Sun Oct 12, 2003 7:42 pm

@pollock, I know you can adjust the camber by loosening off the two lower strut mounting bolts, but it's not something I'd want to do without proper gauges etc.
You would never get it the same left to right.

@Alex, how low (roughly) are you currently running and how much do you plan to raise it by ?.

If I do get coilovers I want to run it with about a 50mm drop and then drop it approx 20mm further for shows etc. Just wondered how much this would effect the camber.
I don't want to be paying for an alignment check every time, I also don't want to be eating tyres !.