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Due to there being a lack of reviews on the K-tuned k1 street coilovers for the EK/EM1 chassis i decided to write this up to help others who are in the market for coilovers. These were installed on my bone stock EM1. Currently they have been installed in my car for about a month and close to 2,000 miles. Upon unboxing the coilovers themselves they seem of pretty good quality and everything feels pretty sturdy as do the wrenches that come supplied with them. The part where other coilovers may come on top is where the adjuster for the dampening is built in the actual coilovers, these come with individual allen wrench style ***** which are inserted at the top of the shock. Once installed I left the settings for dampening all the way soft. When they were installed, both front and rear Truhart camber kits were installed for performance and eliminate tire wear as were inner and outter tie rods. There rest of the suspension setup is stock including the sway bars and bushings.
When on the street finally, the ride (settings still full soft) felt kind of soft/mushy which the alignment being far off could have added on to it. I turned the front adjustment ***** 10 clicks in the front and 8 in the rear. This gave me a ride practically identical to the factory ride I had before which was what I was looking for. This ride seems to be a bit stiff which can be a bit harsh and mildly annoying if you constantly drive on bad city roads (I live in the Chicago suburbs). Once on the highway the ride feels much better and smoother and can easily be taken on a road trip without getting annoying. Cornering has improved drastically and therefore I can take corners much faster. The summer tires I have also help which are Dunlop Direzza DZ102 205/50R15. A month and almost 2,000 miles later I checked the settings and the left front had moved. I returned it to soft to count the clicks and I counted 7 (originally set to 10). The rears had moved to a stiffer setting but I lost track of where they had moved to. I set the front back to 10 clicks from soft and the rear to 7 clicks from soft. The lock rings were still tight and had not come loose at all. I will be going to the track in 2 weeks and will be messing with the settings there and will try and do an update.
Overall I would recommend these coils for the regular enthusiast looking to maintain a close to factory ride with a moderate drop as I don't know how it will ride when slammed. The goal of mine was to still be comfortable but had a good handling and good looking EM1. These are more expensive than a lot of other coils in the market such as Function & Form Type 1 and Type 2 as well as Skunk2 but I feel that the ride quality might be a bit better on these for the price. (correct me if I'm wrong). Anybody else that has these on their EK's let me know how your guys' experiences have been.
*UPDATE* So i was able to go to the track, Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Ill (North Course) and besides being fun i got to see what the car could do. Before the first session if i can remember I set the front settings to 16 clicks from soft and the rear to 12 from soft. The ride itself was still pretty good, no complaints, but a bit stiffer obviously. Cornering was not bad, a bit of negative camber would have definitely helped as the alignment is set to spec. After the first session i was planning on stiffening up the coils some more but got distracted and left the settings alone for the rest of the day. Overall the car held its ground for what it is. The seats on an EM1 don't have the best side support so having your body getting thrown around does take away confidence. I did drive the car on the street at these settings for a couple of days and occasionally it got annoying over rough roads as it was a bit stiff (not bouncy) so i dropped the settings back to 10 in the front and 8 in the rear for a near perfect ride. Yes the lock nut did get tightened.
Last edited by hcv1122; 07-29-2017 at 09:09 AM.
Reason: Update
With no data other than you think you can corner faster, I would say this review is lame. The fact that any setting moved means they are complete ****.
With no data other than you think you can corner faster, I would say this review is lame. The fact that any setting moved means they are complete ****.
For a street/casual coilover, I wouldn't really say that reviewing just on "feel" alone is lame. If they were $2K+ track coilovers more actual data and measurements would be expected.
That being said, the fact the dampening settings changed is concerning. I'd actually contact Ktuned on that one and see what they had to say on that, those shouldn't be moving on their own.
For a street/casual coilover, I wouldn't really say that reviewing just on "feel" alone is lame. If they were $2K+ track coilovers more actual data and measurements would be expected.
That being said, the fact the dampening settings changed is concerning. I'd actually contact Ktuned on that one and see what they had to say on that, those shouldn't be moving on their own.
Yea ill be looking into it, ill give it a little bit of time and see what they do in the next month since they shouldn't be moving at all.
Thanks and yea hopefully this weekend i do a little update as i kind of forgot after track day lol
Please do so, as personally I am debating whatever to get these ones or the sk2 Pro-C alternative, and cant decide which one would be better, and your review is helping !
Asked it on this thread: https://honda-tech.com/forums/suspen...pro-c-3303843/
Please do so, as personally I am debating whatever to get these ones or the sk2 Pro-C alternative, and cant decide which one would be better, and your review is helping !
Asked it on this thread: https://honda-tech.com/forums/suspen...pro-c-3303843/
Update is up, not my best observation of the suspension as one gets tired during a track day but i liked it. I did see the Skunk2's and saw that they're a bit more expensive. The quality might be better possibly? But i have heard around that the quality of Skunk2 has gone down. The K1's haven't been around as long so thats still up for question. In my case my car has been down for 2 weeks for an engine rebuild lol
I just ordered a set of these coilovers and I'm trying to figure out what some of the stuff in the bag is for. Obviously not the nuts and wrenches, but the black metal pieces with rubber art the end. Thanks in advance.
I just ordered a set of these coilovers and I'm trying to figure out what some of the stuff in the bag is for. Obviously not the nuts and wrenches, but the black metal pieces with rubber art the end. Thanks in advance.
What year car do you have and is it a civic? The washers are for installation on 96-00 civics since the rear lower control arm bushings are thinner than the previous model civics. Those would go between the coilover and the bushing, one on each side of the bushing. The other 2 brackets with the rubber piece I did not use, I think they might be for integras but dont take my word for it.
What year car do you have and is it a civic? The washers are for installation on 96-00 civics since the rear lower control arm bushings are thinner than the previous model civics. Those would go between the coilover and the bushing, one on each side of the bushing. The other 2 brackets with the rubber piece I did not use, I think they might be for integras but dont take my word for it.
it's going on a 93 HB so I won't have to worry about the washers.
They look like brake line brackets.
Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I'll see how they fit when I get to the install. Thanks.
06-25-2017, 08:19 PM
K-Tuned K1 Coils on my Civic EM1
