Ajustable Suspension

[hppwdn]

KSports/D2s can be found on eBay for about 750-850 shipped.

[Collier]

Yeah, but they don't hold up too well apparently. They go leaky pretty quickly from what I've been told.

[Whisper]

Yeh, I would avoid Ksport/D2.

I'm really interested in Tein setup, though. I almost got a set, but ended up going for AST instead, because I wasn't sure what's needed to make the Teins fit. As I understand now, you'd need some shims in the front knuckles (Probe knuckles are wider), and Probe rear pillow ball mount has 3 studs, instead of MX-3's 2, so you'd have to either pull one of the studs, or drill a hole.

Someone should try this. They're really well priced and well built. If it works, that's another good coilover solution, because MX-3 coilover choices are really friggin thin right now.

[onlytrueromeo]

The TEIN Electronically adjustable ones for the probe would be sooooo nasty in the mx3.

I just don't have 2k for them

[Whisper]

Perhaps some time in the future, when I'm tired of ASTs, I'll try the Teins. Thing about Teins, though, is that they're tuned for Probe, and not for MX-3... I don't know how much difference that makes.

[onlytrueromeo]

Since they're adjustable, it shouldn't really make that much of a difference. Only thing you might want to do is get different spring rates, a little softer, since our cars are lighter. (Im guessing here)

[Mooneggs]

Since they're adjustable, it shouldn't really make that much of a difference. Only thing you might want to do is get different spring rates, a little softer, since our cars are lighter. (Im guessing here)

that's what I was thinking... a good shop should still be able to tune your suspension (corner weight, etc) seems like your spring rate thought seems logical...

so I was planning on getting the ksports... does anyone have any actual proof about this leaking problem or is it all just "what you've heard"? I've been following the threads about coilovers and some people say YEAH K-Sports are awesome and the other group are badmouthing them... I'm just wondering how many people who badmouth them have actually owned a set

[onlytrueromeo]

There are people on both sides that like and dislike the ksports equally...from everything I have read, they are NOT good for a daily driver, but are great for a track. Tracks don't have the bumps that roads do, and that seems to have been what has led to struts blowing early. I don't have any personal experience with them. It would be interesting to see someone who had multiple setups (GC's, H&R, stock) That could swap the suspensions out in a short time period and give us feedback. Car to car is different based on sway bars and bushings, so its hard to tell.

[Whisper]

Not seen anything on leaking or blowing, but as Steeb posted:

regarding ksports..... anyone interested in ksports, i urge u to do a search with my board name and keyword "ksport" ive posted links to damper dynos that tripoint engineering did with ksports

IIRC the damping and rebound rates are kind of lame, and twisting the adjuster knob doesn't really make much difference...

[mazda___mx3]

dont get coil overs just pick up a good set of lowering springs

[wytbishop]

Perhaps some time in the future, when I'm tired of ASTs, I'll try the Teins. Thing about Teins, though, is that they're tuned for Probe, and not for MX-3... I don't know how much difference that makes.

What's you opinion of the AST setup so far? Do you use your car for some track time or is it daily driving? I'm curious about them and you're the only guy I know who's been runnign them for any length of time.

[Whisper]

I like them. They have their drawbacks. For one, they're fairly pricy. Especially considering they don't come with camber plates/top mounts and are meant to be installed with stock mounts. Probably the biggest problem, imo. If you go with aftermarket camber plates, you'd need thin ones, because there's barely any extra thread on the rod tip for the camber plate nut to grab, and you'd need extensions for the adjusters. In the end, it's easier to not use camber plates. Also the rears have a very limited drop, so you can't lower the car too much...

However on the plus side I've not really had any problems with them. Build quality seems rather excellent so far, the valving feels right (I'm running custom spring rates), they're much more comfortable than H&R+Tokico HP combo I had before, even though the springs are linear. And they're easy to adjust. I've driven on them daily for over a year and they held up beautifully, despite a lot of our roads being quite rubbish. As far as track performance, once they're corner weighted, they feel very balanced and predictable and seem to do a good job of keeping the wheels on the ground at all times. I'd say they perform as advertised - a good sport coilover that's soft enough for daily driving while aggressive enough for occasional track use.

Vorshlag uses ASTs on their BMWs and such, and I doubt those guys would go for a low quality product.

[joesmx3]

question how would the ast shock hold up to winter conditions, i race mine in solo 2 and winter autocross would i be best off with getting the hotbits instead?

[yence]

I had the AST's on my mx-3 for 5 years, using it as a daily, summer and winter, driving 20.000km a year. When I sold the car, they were still fine.

[joesmx3]

anyone know where to get them in north america?