Fortune Auto Coilovers Review
 

Just want to post my experience with my newly purchased Fortune Auto 500 coilovers that I just installed on my Z. I noticed that not many people run them on here so figured I would throw my opinion out there.

First off I have had many experiences with various brands of coilovers from BC Racing, Tein, and, Stance to KW.

I purchased these shocks for $999 plus shipping and figured I would give them a try since I have heard many favorable things about Fortunes
on Zilvia and EvoM. I figured the fact they offer custom valving and can rebuild the coilovers here in thier Richmond facility was a plus since I live in Virginia and they're practically in my back yard lol.


Initial Impressions:
Opened up the box and they were packaged extremely well. Everything was double wrapped in plastic and the instructions were pretty straight forward. The coilovers were thick and beefy and the anodized aluminum pieces looked of high quality.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5229/...8b7e5c30_b.jpg

Installation:
Very straight forward. Only downside is that the adjuster is at the top on the rear shocks, this was a pain because I had to take the shocks off a few times to dial in the correct damping setting that I wanted. I ended up setting the front shocks at 5 clicks from full soft and 7 clicks from full soft in the rear. Other then that it was a bolt on affair. The coilovers on my TL were much more of a PITA to install so that was a relief.

Also, you're going to need two 12x1.25 nuts to finish the install because the OEM suspension has the threading built in already.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5142/...cc3dd789_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3325/...0db6dc11_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5106/...8993e6ff_b.jpg


Driving Impressions:
Like I said before, I've had experience with a lot of suspension systems so I know what a good and bad shock feels like. It was funny because initially I had the rear shocks on almost full stiff because I forgot to set them, went for a drive, and thought I made a huge mistake haha. The rebound was a bit too much and a little uncomfortable for my liking. I backed them down to 7 clicks from full soft and now the ride is perfect, for me at least. It feels poised, compliant and responsive.

Overall, I'm very happy with my purchase! These coilovers have to be the best bang for the buck. I will say that these ride just as good as my old $2100 KW V3's.

If anyone is considering purchasing these, I'm very happy with them and fully recommend them so far. I'll try updating this after I get a little more mileage and experience with them!

Pic of the car!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2429/...0b5df63c_b.jpg

Are you at or close to maxed out on front and rear in the pic above? If so did you have to remove any of the plates to get even lower? If not, how much more room before max?

Did you have these custom valved? I see you didnt order the optional swift springs with the set, correct?

EDIT Also, they do not offer dampening adjustment extenders for the rear?

how would you compare them to bc coils??

+1^

really considering these.

For one, i like that they are true-coil setup, unlike the BR's. Sure you already noted this blatent fact, though.

what other suspension supporting mods are you using? camber arms? toe arms?
these are true type coilovers, correct?

Thanks for the review! Bout time someone gave some good feedback on these. If it wasnt for me getting my Megan Streets for practically nothing i would have purchased these...

Ride looks good btw :)

Looks awesome!! I run these on my own s13 and love them!

:thumbup:

P.S. We are getting 10 sets of these June 3rd!

^pm me your best price, i'll be sure to tell ZCOF about these :thumbup:

Interested in this, also how is the ride at that height?

I'm not maxed out front or back, not sure exactly how much more there is to go but it can definitely lower. Another thing is that I have additional helper springs on the rear that look similar to this(obviously not fortunes) so I lose a little lowering ability unless I remove them. Both fronts and rears have the collars/plates so they can go even lower.

BC coilovers are nice but honestly I really do like the way these ride better. They feel a little more refined then the BC coilovers and it's weird because they don't ride like an entry level coilover, feel pretty similarto my KW's in terms of ride quality!


Haha yeah

As of now, just the coilovers but I eventually plan on getting camber/toe arms and a sway bar.

Haha thanks!

Thanks!

lol

It's surprisingly smooth actually, I initially planned on having a higher ride height for comfort until I get wheels in, but after the install, the ride was smooth enough to just rock as is, so I'm pretty happy with it.

Glad to see someone jumped on these and posted up info. I have been considering them for my future plans as well. My only concern with the true-coilover design is rear wheel/tire clearance. The only other design complaint I have is the lack of an included rear adjustment extension.

The cool thing about Fortune is they'll even do custom valving and spring combos if you want and then give you the shock dyno data to go along with it.

I'm in the market for coils and I've been leaning towards BCs or D2s. I'm only looking to fix my current 4x4 stance. I wouldn't want to slam it. For my driving purposed the Z already handles like a dream as is. So, how did you like the BCs in terms of ride quality? Would these be better in your opinion? My car is 99% DD 1% track (cause I hope to take it to the track once per summer afterwards lol) I don't want to go the springs route.

+1, I'm also looking for the answer to this..

is there no way to adjust for soft/firm setting easily? Like from the rear hatch or something?

I'm looking at the 8k / 10k springs that come on these as standard and seems to me that they would not ride anywhere near as nicely as the KW's like the OP mentioned. Unless I'm missing something?? Because I was about ready to pull the trigger on a set of KW V2's but this guy is saying that these Fortune units ride as nicely as his old set of V3's...? Yeah I'd like to save $700 haha

:thumbup:

Do not even waste your money on D2's. Even though its a different car, I ridden in an Integra with D2's installed and it was possibly the worst suspension I have ever experienced.

The BC's are very nice. They look more OEM and have a very nice ride. I feel like the Fortunes still ride a bit more compliant and the fact that they can be rebuilt in the USA is why I chose them over the BC's initially. The BC's are a good choice and have rear damper adjuster extenders which is really nice on the Z. I personally prefer the Fortunes over the BC's.

^^:thumbup:

Not that I am aware of unfortunately

The Fortunes offer custom spring rates free of charge, I opted for 9k fronts and 7k rears. The tech at Fortune recommend 9k front and 7k rear or 9k front and 6k rear for a daily driven car.

^^ Thanks for the input. A couple more questions:

1) Someone mentioned clearance issues between the wheel and shock+spring in the rear because it is a true-type coilover. This is a long-shot, but any idea whether a 19x10.5 +22 wheel would clear the rear shocks?

2) Is the damping adjuster a hex socket or a round knob? i.e. if I drilled a hole through my rear strut tower, would I be able to reach in with a hex key to adjust them?

3) Do these reeaaaally ride almost as nicely as your old KW's?

just installed these coilovers on a local Z. fit is perfect. no problems whatsoever. he said they ride smooth. looks like a good buy.

Thanks for the vote of confidence. Any problems with the front brake line mounting? I read on some other forums that the front shock bodies do not have a mounting provision for the brake line brackets.

Any issues with wheel/tire clearance in the rears?