Mike
'02 Titanium Silver 540iT Sport - Birch Anthracite trim, retrofitted window shades, DJ Auto Euro clear corner lenses, BSW t110 subwoofer, Dice Silverline w/DSP, lowering links. Lots of upgrades waiting in the garage for time to install
'96 Polar Silver Porsche Carrera - MY02 5 spokes, Bilstein PSS9s, Euro TT Sways, KLA Strut bar, Big Red TT Brakes, RS Motor Mounts, RS Shift kit, Recaro A8s, FVD 360mm wheel, HIDs, Big Oval tips
It never had SLS
Mike
'02 Titanium Silver 540iT Sport - Birch Anthracite trim, retrofitted window shades, DJ Auto Euro clear corner lenses, BSW t110 subwoofer, Dice Silverline w/DSP, lowering links. Lots of upgrades waiting in the garage for time to install
'96 Polar Silver Porsche Carrera - MY02 5 spokes, Bilstein PSS9s, Euro TT Sways, KLA Strut bar, Big Red TT Brakes, RS Motor Mounts, RS Shift kit, Recaro A8s, FVD 360mm wheel, HIDs, Big Oval tips
Flycaper Have they sent you the correct rear shocks yet ?? If so Installed ?
Very curious on how they ride,handle..
I was thinking Koni,s and H & R front springs. But thats like $950. Not much more im into Coilovers... ST or maybe the Fortunes or ????
Need Opinions Please
Hey guys, KW called me today. They said I should have the correct set of ST coilovers tomorrow. I will install them with the 19mpars hopefully by the end of the week. From what I have read I will need to roll the fenders as I am running 275 in the back so for now I will go down just slightly. I will post pictures as soon as possible.
2003 M3CicM6 TiAg
2002 540iT Sport Vortech S/C 6MT LSD TiAg
2008 Audi A3 2.0T DSG (the daily beater)
2014 BMW X1 xDrive28i (wifemobile)
Former:
1985 MB Euro graymarket 300SL
1995.5 Audi S6 Avant (utility/winter billetturbobattlewagen)
Update My shocks won't be done until next week. Motor comes out this weekend so I won't be able to report back on them until my car is driving again which might not be until April/May.
At this point, I've found the following options for coilovers for my 540 w/SLS. I'm only looking for full matched sets, so no BC fronts with stock rears or anything like that.
Height adjustable only:
- KW V1 (~$1799) - INOX stainless steel, 1.4-2.5"F/1.2-2.3"R of height adjustability, limited lifetime warranty
- ST (~$979) - galvanized steel, 1.4-2.6"F/1.2-2.4"R of height adjustment, 5 yr limited warranty
- FK Silverline (~$899) - stainless steel, 1.4-2.3" of height adjustability, 2 yr limited warranty
Height adjustable and adjustable dampening:
- KW V2 (~$2199) - INOX stainless steel, 1.4-2.5"F/1.2-2.3"R of height adjustability, limited lifetime warranty
- KW Street Comfort (~$1999) - INOX stainless steel, 0.8-1.8"F/R of height adjustability, limited lifetime warranty
- FK Silverline X (~1099) - stainless steel, 1.4-2.3" of height adjustability, use adjustable Koni shocks, 2 yr limited warranty
Right now I've got ~110k miles on my car. I use it as a DD commuter/kid hauler. I know the subframe bushings are shot. It's rough and wallows and floats a bit at speed. I think the shocks are done in front too, so I figured I might as well do those along with the bushings. I'm not planning on slamming my car, I just want to tighten everything up, decrease roll and get my center of gravity a little closer to the ground. I've still got the 17" Style 32s that came on the car on there with PS2s and have no plans to change any time soon.
My only experience with coilovers is with the PSS-9s on my 993 and I've enjoyed tinkering with them. Their dampening adjustment knob is fairly easy to get to and can be turned without even taking the wheels off the car. I'd like to get something like this in my touring, but I'm not familiar with KW's or FK's adjustment knobs and would hate to get them only to realize they're not easily adjustable.
Right now, the KW Street Comforts seem to be a pretty good alternative. I won't have the slammed to the ground option, but I don't really want it. However, again I'm not sure how easy it is to adjust the dampening on these. If I have to take the shock out of the car, it's pointless. At that point, the STs seem like a good alternative. But the FK Silverline X looks interesting too. I know, you get what you pay for and all that. But they do have Koni shocks, so how bad can they really be? (yes, please answer that!)
Does anyone have any firsthand experience with any of these for our cars? Anyone in the Los Angeles area have any of these on a touring? Please let me know. There's a lunch/beer in it for you if you take me for a ride. Thanks in advance!
Mike
'02 Titanium Silver 540iT Sport - Birch Anthracite trim, retrofitted window shades, DJ Auto Euro clear corner lenses, BSW t110 subwoofer, Dice Silverline w/DSP, lowering links. Lots of upgrades waiting in the garage for time to install
'96 Polar Silver Porsche Carrera - MY02 5 spokes, Bilstein PSS9s, Euro TT Sways, KLA Strut bar, Big Red TT Brakes, RS Motor Mounts, RS Shift kit, Recaro A8s, FVD 360mm wheel, HIDs, Big Oval tips
They are the 500's. Very happy so far but I really need those rear shocks for the full experience. Right now the front feels a whole lot better than the rear. I decided not to go with Swift's as I had been told those are more for racing. Considering it still. I also did not get the roller bearings as I didn't even know about them at first. Oddly enough, my fronts just started making the pinging noise so I have added a set to my rear shock order for next week
Really hard to compare to stock until I have the rear shocks. The fronts are very comfortable over all types of roads.
As far as what gonzilla mentioned, the Fortunes are really easy to adjust and are really nice quality. The front shocks are 32 way adjustable and I am not sure what the rears are yet. Fortune does all their building in house and use a shock dyno. They can re-build or re-valve depending on the need/use therefore you have a lot of flexibility with them. I don't know if the other manufacturers are the same.
Last edited by RVAE34; 01-10-2013 at 04:30 PM.
My Fortune Auto 500 series rear shocks arrived today. They came setup as coilovers but I only need them as shocks. I might want to use the springs for the rear anyway as I am all the way down as is with the 200mm 8k springs. These are 170mm 8k's.
I love that the shock height is now fully adjustable without altering shock output in addition to my spring perch height. And the shocks themselves are 25 way adjustable. I can already tell a huge difference b/t full soft and full firm by rocking the car back and forth. I cannot wait to drive it now. I will be able to really dial in the suspension.
Sorry that the latter photos were taken with the cell. Will update with some better ones later.
I have the KW comforts and they ROCK! Super smooth and can take corners at a good speed with ease and comfort. I can take a pic of the ride height if you want to see what she looks like with them on.
I have the rear set on one notch away from full soft and run the front at 9 clicks which is the middle.
If you have more specific questions, please ask.
Last edited by FerM3; 02-04-2013 at 01:06 AM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
I installed both rear Fortune 500 shocks and can already feel a huge difference just rocking/pushing on the car and/or sitting in the cargo area. Cannot wait to drive it again!!
Anybody tried the Bavauto lowering springs and rear links? Priced at $200 but kinda skeptical.
So I'm a college student, with little to no money. And I ordered NNR front coilovers on sale for $200 and ordered the adjustable sls links. And my car is low. Ride is good, nothing amazing but much better than stock. And I can go a whole hell of a lot lower. Probably more in the front, I've been thinking about slightly modifying the links so the rear can be lower. But I'm still tucking tire.
All in all what I'm trying to say is. If you are financially limited try this out. You won't be disappointed in your $275 purchase
My touring has the Bavauto setup. Its good wont say great though,, This was installed by previous owner. The rear links are rusting and looked pretty cheap,
The Car does fill planted and rides decent.. I have Bilsteins on the front and there shot so hard to really tell. No need for the rear links if you have air bags. There are better quality springs for not much more out there,,, H & R maybe ??
Thanks for the feedback. yeah the right air spring has a whole so I was considering lowering it while I'm in there and since I'm replacing both air springs @$200 each wanted to be cheap on the drop.
I have the FK Silverline X on my touring and the car rides great! While the E39 doesn't feel as nimble as my E34 touring did in the streets, it feels very solid at speed especially on on ramps.
I highly recommend the FKs to anyone with SLS!
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"If everyone thought the same when it came to modding there would be no thinking"
You should wait until I report back on the Fortune's as well. I think I am all in around $1300 as I ordered them as parts.
I'm a little troubled at how sexy those fortune shocks look. You're using them with Billy sports in the front?
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