DC4_MADMAN

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nonsense &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I'd like to, but unfortunately free time is something I don't have right now. If I'm not at work I'm running to the hospital to see my son or heading home to eat dinner and go to bed.

Like I said though, I don't doubt that they do ride well, but there's more to the decision than just that. I've said it before, Koni's come with much more than what you get in the box. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Thats cool, sorry about your son, I have 3 kids of my own and would not want to have to visit any of them in the hospital. Offer still stands if you ever find the time.

nonsense

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mmhmm &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

1. k sports are good quality built (I'll give you that, they look nice, hopefully they're as nice on the inside where it counts)

2. there is a waarenty (1-year limited vs Koni's lifetime)

3. the vendor i recieved it frm gave me good customer service. (hopefully the manufacturer can do the same if any issues arrise)

4. you got me there, ksports havent been around a while

5. adjustablilty get an okay form me. (I haven't seen dyno's yet, so I can't say weather or not they are in the same range as Koni, but historically this hasn't been the case)

</TD></TR></TABLE>

CelicaGTV6

Jonny-

I'll bite. I will readily admit I haven’t tested, nor butt dyno’ed, all the shock absorbers in existence. Ultimately, I chose KONI shocks and Ground Control springs over a preassembled strut kit because of the following reasons:

1) Positive feedback from respected members of the racing community.
2) Customizability. My car uses strut inserts so if I want to try Tokico or KYB, I don’t need to sell everything and start over. If I want shorter springs, I won’t have a problem ordering and receiving within a week. If I want to upgrade to double adjustable shocks, I just order the shocks.
3) Knowledgeable stateside customer support from the manufacturer.
4) Low cost: For the performance I am looking for, this combination is the most cost effective.

I chose the springs I wanted and shocks to match. After a track event and 4 months of street driving, I can say that I’m happy with the choice because:

1) Excellent ride quality: Though the ride is quite firm, it’s not harsh. Bumps in the road are handled with silk gloved muscular hands rather than a baseball bat.
2) Predictable handling: I know exactly what the car is going to do at the limit. I can feel the front slowly start to break loose, or feel the back end start to come around. I can feel which tires are starting to get greasy and how the load is transferring from one side of the car to the other. Kissing a berm doesn’t upset the car.
2) No need for continual adjustment. With the digressive valving, there’s no need for me to change the valve setting for street driving versus track driving. I simple set them just stiff enough to prevent the suspension from oscillating over small bumps in the road (i.e. bouncy) and the low speed damping is perfect for my amateur racing skills on the track. How is this possible? I chose the right springs for my needs rather than using the shock absorbers as a way to make up for a poor spring choice. IMO, KONI’s use of digressive valving is intended for dual purpose cars like mine. From here I can fine tune the handling of the car without significantly changing the ride quality.

Those are my reasons based on my needs.

If I had no intention of taking the car to the track, then I could probably get away with a low cost preassembled coilover. I simply would choose softer springs and set the damping to avoid a bouncy ride. The fact that the weak low speed damping and soft springs prevent the car from performing wouldn’t matter since I’m using the car for street driving. However, I could try increasing the damping for those late night “canyon carving” urges, but then I’d find, due to the damping characteristics, the ride would be ****-poor, and the performance would only be mediocre as I’d be asking the shock absorbers to perform like springs.

Alternatively, if the car was a track vehicle, then I might get away with a low cost preassembled kit though I might have issues. I would choose a set of stiff springs (if available from the coilover manufacturer) and set the dampers to a stiff setting to increase the low speed (note: shock speed, not vehicle speed) damping. With the semi-digressive valving found in most preassembled kits, the high speed damping would be absurdly strong now. At this point I’d have pretty decent setup assuming I never hit a bad patch of track or bounce off a berm. A bump in the track may significantly upset the handling causing the car to feel “skittish”.

Some food for thought. I realize your Accord is a whole different beast than my Celica, but just to give you a frame of reference, if we compare wheel rates (the spring rate as seen by the tire on the road), vehicle weight (darn close to mine), and size (also pretty close), you will find that for a similar ride, you would have to run roughly 14.5kg/mm in the front and 13kg/mm in the rear to equal my current spring set choice. According to Ksport’s website, these rear springs are 2 times stiffer than what you have now. How would your Ksport suspension feel with springs twice as stiff in the back?

When you move down to this area, remind me, and I’ll give you a ride some time to show you what I mean by a stiff, but not harsh suspension.

JonnySBeee...

i read wut you said, your points are valid, but im not a better arguer than you are. but all i know is ive ridden on both, and im more happier with the k sports, how about you give ksports a shot if they make them for ur car and then come back and tell me you like more, i can tell you that you will change your mind.

devnull

I bought some D2's for my S2K and am pleasently surprised with everything. Adjusting height is super easy and adjusting the dampner is very easy as well.

As far as ride if I turn the dampner down to say 6-12 vs 24-36 then it is a pretty smooth ride and close to stock. Granted the springs are 2 to 2.5 times the stiffness stock is but everyday driving is nice.

3k miles so far, daily grind 40 miles one way and it still stick like glue while driving spirited. Though I wish I had a way to change dampner setting from inside the cockpit. The rear are a real PIA to get to. Maybe I'll design on for all D2's and ksports....

SMZ GSR

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by badboypolar2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Though I wish I had a way to change dampner setting from inside the cockpit. The rear are a real PIA to get to. </TD></TR></TABLE>
Ditto on my WRX. Have to remove back seats to adjust them Ksport said they were going to release their electronic unit which I've been waiting for but never heard anything...

JonnySBeee...

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SMZ GSR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Ditto on my WRX. Have to remove back seats to adjust them Ksport said they were going to release their electronic unit which I've been waiting for but never heard anything...</TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by badboypolar2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I bought some D2's for my S2K and am pleasently surprised with everything. Adjusting height is super easy and adjusting the dampner is very easy as well.

As far as ride if I turn the dampner down to say 6-12 vs 24-36 then it is a pretty smooth ride and close to stock. Granted the springs are 2 to 2.5 times the stiffness stock is but everyday driving is nice.

well Andy informed me that they are testing a EDFC for the ksports, they mgiht come out with one so look out for it

3k miles so far, daily grind 40 miles one way and it still stick like glue while driving spirited. Though I wish I had a way to change dampner setting from inside the cockpit. The rear are a real PIA to get to. Maybe I'll design on for all D2's and ksports....</TD></TR></TABLE>

SMZ GSR

Not just testing, but the last I heard from Ksport is they already made it, BUT they're trying to find a way to make it cost less

J-Parts

Now two years later how satisfied is everyone still with their K-sport? Any defects?

JDMEK9R

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by J-Parts &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Now two years later how satisfied is everyone still with their K-sport? Any defects?</TD></TR></TABLE> +1

TheTealHatch

Had d2 racing. There good but not so good for daily driving. If you like extremely stiff then its for you. The dampering kinda sucks cause once you put it to full soft it rides like crap. I recently changed to koni with some racing design coilovers (some cheap brand) but they are pretty good. 450f 350f I like the ride on them cause there not too soft. Ive driven on ots spring rate for ground control and I personally dont like them because they are too soft for my taste.

The Lobster

I have had my D2s for about 2 1/2 years. STill work like a charm. My car is slammed the front is adjusted a lil stiffer so i dont rub as much.

I must say i am glad i picked D2s they are easy to adjust/install. I love how they handle and i love how teh ride is semi close to stock.

If you do a search on Ksports you will get tons of threads about them blowing...you MAY find a handful if that on the D2s.

TheTealHatch

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by The Lobster &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have had my D2s for about 2 1/2 years. STill work like a charm. My car is slammed the front is adjusted a lil stiffer so i dont rub as much.

I must say i am glad i picked D2s they are easy to adjust/install. I love how they handle and i love how teh ride is semi close to stock.

If you do a search on Ksports you will get tons of threads about them blowing...you MAY find a handful if that on the D2s.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah that is true but then Ive seen a thread about D2's leaking

The Lobster

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TheTealHatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Yeah that is true but then Ive seen a thread about D2's leaking</TD></TR></TABLE>

ya but lots of thread with Ksports blown..vs your 1 thread about a leak.

but then agian if my D2s blow im getting PIC performance

TheTealHatch

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by The Lobster &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

ya but lots of thread with Ksports blown..vs your 1 thread about a leak.

but then agian if my D2s blow im getting PIC performance</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah thats why I went with the D2's. Ive read lots of good stuff about PIC. I want to try those out when I get tired of my koni's but I dont think that is going to happen for awhile