97CWITR

All figured out with adjustment **** and alignment, thanks for the input!!

B serious

iTrader: (1)

How low are you riding? Did you buy them used? Original spring rates? Same model as your last mugen suspension?

97CWITR

They aren't height adjustable, its fixed. Only 3/4" lower than stock?
Bought them used, yes.

Springs look like they're original to the shocks. I believe there was only 1 model and set of specs for the lowdowns.

Todd00

How many miles total on them? Any sign of them leaking?

You may need to take them off and physically check them and see if adjusting the dial does anything to either compression or rebound.

Unfortunately, I don't think the Lowdowns are rebuildable, but you may want to call King and confirm.

As a side note, I wish they were still available new. I love the slight upgrade from stock they give you.

B serious

iTrader: (1)

Was the car aligned properly after installation, and do you have rubber bushings?

wannabe_itr

This suspension is very old and most likely in need of a rebuild.

97CWITR

I can't confirm how many miles are on them since I bought them used. Don't see any signs of leaking.
Just doesn't seem like they are responding to me turning the screw to a lesser rebound if that makes sense.

How could I check to see if the screw is doing anything by removing them?

Car wasn't aligned after installation. Rubber bushings have been checked on the whole car and look in good shape.

Overall they ride well, just when I go over bridges, hit potholes or hit something aggressive its quite noticeable that its super stiff and doesn't give much. Crashes over hard conditions.

B serious

iTrader: (1)

Align it. If your toe is off, the ride will be crashy.

97CWITR

I'll give it a shot.

wannabe_itr

Please report back with your findings.

tony_2018

I believe the mugen show's were just struts/shocks, and weren't sold with springs.

Todd00

They are technically "high performance" shocks. They won't have the lifespan than your OE units will. If I had to guess, I'd expect signs of that shock beginning to wear out at about 40-50K miles or so. All shocks die over time.


A simple "push" test on the shock shaft should show differences between setting 1 and setting 5. That won't tell you the shocks health, but it should result in one setting being "different" than the other either via rebound or compression.





Bad shocks ride well on smooth surfaces, then you hit a pothole or bump...


Incorrect. The lowdowns were an entire assembly: shock, spring and tophat. You're thinking of the N-Zero and N1 kits which were only sold as dampers and perches. You had to buy the spring for those and reuse your OE tophats.

97CWITR

It seems that way.

Called kingmotorsports and mugen 5-way suspension are not rebuildable. Seems like my shocks may be blown from the symptoms I described. They could be upwards of 10 years old.

Going to keep my eye out for a good deal on kw variant 2.

tony_2018

Damn...you bought them used?

97CWITR

Yes, they were used. Bought my other set used as well (they haven't made them for 5 or 6 years) and they rode great.

Todd00

If you decide to get something else, PM me if you want to sell the lowdowns. I've been wanting to find a set that's beyond their service life but not rusty. I have some new H&R standard rate springs I'd also trade you that would fit on a set of coilovers should you decide to go that route.

V2's are a nice setup though. I have V3's on my MX5 and I couldn't be happier with them. Too bad Mugen stops making parts for cars once a newer model of said car is released.

B serious

iTrader: (1)

The only thing I don't like about KW V2's is that they only adjust rebound damping. Unless I'm mistaken and there is some bump adjustment per click?

I know that rebound makes the biggest difference. But for a set spring rate, I think a logical curve to adjust bump and rebound together is advantageous.

white_crx_guy

Try turning the adjustment **** past the 5th click in either direction and then adjust the dampening like if you started over again. Had the same problem when I had my low downs.

97CWITR

I'll let you know!

Have tried this. I've turned them well past the 5th click to "re set" them and tried over with no change. Going to try it again.

ZygSpeed

Same here, got mine used from a reputable source ... then gave them away.

Felt somewhat similarly about a set of PIC that I'd had (also given away, though I have another set for backup if Motons need service), though I must be spoiled in that my Moton 3-ways are just fine.

97CWITR

Moton 3-ways are in a completely different dimension then off the shelf stuff.

Too bad I can't ride in someone else's car that has them to compare to truly see if mine are messed up.

97CWITR

Seems to have helped. Super hard to tell from minor changes.

white_crx_guy

When I had them on my itr they rode like stock until you put them on stiff..

97CWITR

Had another guy take my car out and said they are super stiff and crashy. Something wrong. Definitely not like stock at all.

Let me know if anyone has a Koni/GC or KW setup for sale.

Todd00

Yeah, shocks are probably done for then. As I mentioned, I wouldn't expect anymore than 50K miles out of that setup, and that may be pushing it. I had a friend with an ITR that had 60K on his stock shocks, helped him replace the original shocks with a set of brand new OE ITR shocks and the ride quality difference was amazing. He didn't realize how far gone his stock shocks were, even at 60K.


If you look around, you can get a Koni yellow/GC setup (with rates of your choice) for around $1000. Best setup for the money IMO.