[Mad K]

Picked up a set of Fortune Auto 500s w/Swift springs(12k F,9k R). Installed them yesterday but having some issues. Can't figure out if its me or the coilovers.

First, the fronts. Was doing everything according to the ECS diy but when i got to the sway bay, it was to short so i had to bolt it to the coilover and then raise the coilover to the top strut mount. Bolted everything and seemed fine, except the dampening knob on the top was being smashed but the strut brace, ended up putting like a 10mm spacer in between and it seems fine for now. Go to lower the front of the car now that the front coils are on, so drop it on the ground and the height is basically the same as the stock suspension... WTF?! From full droop to it being dropped, it was a difference of only an inch... Sat on the car and tried to bounce it up and down but theres really no compression, its stiff as hell.

To the rears. Drop stupid low, fender tucking like an inch of rim. So i went to raise them so i can actually drive me car around. Now my dampener is threaded so i can set custom preload if i want. Never dealt with rear coilovers like this before so i'm not sure if i adjusted it right but i'll explain how i did it. I adjusted the preload down in order to adjusted the spring perch all the way down(think it was close to 2 inches) to add height, never raised the preload back up. Now i go to lower it and it still is pretty much slammed but raise like .5-1 inch. Thinking since i didnt adjust the preload back it could be the reason why my car didnt raise that much, fender pretty much sitting at the top of the rim now.

Anyone have any ideas? Think im the only person with these coils right now. Will be calling Fortune Auto tmrrw to figure this out.

Picture for reference of the maxed out coilovers on my car:

[2010MSPORT335i]

Interesting, I just installed the same coilovers on my BSM e92 and ran into the same problems as you.


My rear will not get high enough. Even at the highest setting its still tucking way too much tire. The front I had to space out the strut braces. But besides that , I am having 0 issues with the front.

The only issue is the rear is way too low, even at the highest setting.

Im running an aggressive tire set up in preparation for the track.

[2010MSPORT335i]

For the front, make sure the preload is set. I had my front origionally set to 10 threads and my bumper was almost on the ground. After I set it to 29 threads and it has a little less than 1 finger gap.

[Mad K]

Originally Posted by idk alex

Interesting, I just installed the same coilovers on my BSM e92 and ran into the same problems as you.


My rear will not get high enough. Even at the highest setting its still tucking way too much tire. The front I had to space out the strut braces. But besides that , I am having 0 issues with the front.

The only issue is the rear is way too low, even at the highest setting.

Im running an aggressive tire set up in preparation for the track.

Apparantly i have the wrong size spring in the rear. Should be 9" when its a 7" right now. FA is shipping out the rear spring today for me.

Originally Posted by idk alex

For the front, make sure the preload is set. I had my front origionally set to 10 threads and my bumper was almost on the ground. After I set it to 29 threads and it has a little less than 1 finger gap.

For the fronts, preload is set correctly and the dampener is bottomed out, less than 10 threads in between the bottom mount and the preload adjusters. I don't think i should have to raise the preload to lower the car, thats not how coilovers work. I've had my share of coilovers so i have a good understanding of how they work/adjust but im clueless to why its not dropping in the front.

From fully droop to lowering it back on to the wheels, the difference is only an inch. It should drop more than that unless the spring in the front is just way to stiff. I try to bounce the car up and down in the front and they wont budge. Maybe the dampener is seized or something?

Also, when you installed the front, did you have to bolt the roll bar to the coils then raise it to the strut mount up top?

[2010MSPORT335i]

Originally Posted by Madk180sx

Apparantly i have the wrong size spring in the rear. Should be 9" when its a 7" right now. FA is shipping out the rear spring today for me.



For the fronts, preload is set correctly and the dampener is bottomed out, less than 10 threads in between the bottom mount and the preload adjusters. I don't think i should have to raise the preload to lower the car, thats not how coilovers work. I've had my share of coilovers so i have a good understanding of how they work/adjust but im clueless to why its not dropping in the front.

From fully droop to lowering it back on to the wheels, the difference is only an inch. It should drop more than that unless the spring in the front is just way to stiff. I try to bounce the car up and down in the front and they wont budge. Maybe the dampener is seized or something?

Also, when you installed the front, did you have to bolt the roll bar to the coils then raise it to the strut mount up top?

Okay great I called them earlier today too and am gonna call back and ask for a larger rear spring as well.

And I get what you are saying with the front. Maybe try re installing it? Maybe its not fully into the knuckle or something silly like that. I didnt have any problems like that.

And I had to unbolt the strunt mounts up top. I was planning on getting some spacers today for them as well.

[2010MSPORT335i]

So I think your problem is that you have way too stiff of springs up front. I origionally was going to go with your set up but FA recommended me going 5K/10k for the fact that the front has no slop/give already. 5k/10k is what KW uses and your spring rate is really high up front.


And they just shipped out a set of 9" rear springs for me as well.

[2010MSPORT335i]

And also think of your ride height as a see saw.

With your rear that low it will counter act your front height. If you raised the rear the front would go lower by default, and vice versa.

[jferro21]

Originally Posted by Madk180sx

Picked up a set of Fortune Auto 500s w/Swift springs(12k F,9k R). Installed them yesterday but having some issues. Can't figure out if its me or the coilovers.

First, the fronts. Was doing everything according to the ECS diy but when i got to the sway bay, it was to short so i had to bolt it to the coilover and then raise the coilover to the top strut mount. Bolted everything and seemed fine, except the dampening knob on the top was being smashed but the strut brace, ended up putting like a 10mm spacer in between and it seems fine for now. Go to lower the front of the car now that the front coils are on, so drop it on the ground and the height is basically the same as the stock suspension... WTF?! From full droop to it being dropped, it was a difference of only an inch... Sat on the car and tried to bounce it up and down but theres really no compression, its stiff as hell.

To the rears. Drop stupid low, fender tucking like an inch of rim. So i went to raise them so i can actually drive me car around. Now my dampener is threaded so i can set custom preload if i want. Never dealt with rear coilovers like this before so i'm not sure if i adjusted it right but i'll explain how i did it. I adjusted the preload down in order to adjusted the spring perch all the way down(think it was close to 2 inches) to add height, never raised the preload back up. Now i go to lower it and it still is pretty much slammed but raise like .5-1 inch. Thinking since i didnt adjust the preload back it could be the reason why my car didnt raise that much, fender pretty much sitting at the top of the rim now.

Anyone have any ideas? Think im the only person with these coils right now. Will be calling Fortune Auto tmrrw to figure this out.

Picture for reference of the maxed out coilovers on my car:

Looks gangsta man... Lol just messin but that's interesting, return them and get KW's you won't be disappointed!!

[Mad K]

Originally Posted by idk alex

So I think your problem is that you have way too stiff of springs up front. I origionally was going to go with your set up but FA recommended me going 5K/10k for the fact that the front has no slop/give already. 5k/10k is what KW uses and your spring rate is really high up front.


And they just shipped out a set of 9" rear springs for me as well.

Hmm, i'll ask him tmrrw if they are. Pretty sure he shipped me out another 9k springs for the rear, just 9 inches this time.

Originally Posted by idk alex

And also think of your ride height as a see saw.

With your rear that low it will counter act your front height. If you raised the rear the front would go lower by default, and vice versa.

Yea i know, my front looks so high now lol

Originally Posted by jferro21

Looks gangsta man... Lol just messin but that's interesting, return them and get KW's you won't be disappointed!!

had good experiences with Fortune Auto and it seems they are willing to fix the problem, so i'll stick with them.

[2010MSPORT335i]

My new springs will be here tomorrow and I will post updates.

I meant your front spring rate being too high, you said you couldnt compress it at all?

[Mad K]

Originally Posted by idk alex

My new springs will be here tomorrow and I will post updates.

I meant your front spring rate being too high, you said you couldnt compress it at all?

Hmm, guess mine should be too since im closer lol. Sweet.

Yea i know what you meant and i asked him about it. Waiting for the reply.

Alex, whenever you get a chance, can u do me a favor and take a couple pictures of your front wheel well so i can compare them to mine and see if anything differs?

[2010MSPORT335i]

Yeah Ill post them when I get off work? Do you just want me to post how my coilover is in there?

Oigionally I was going to run the same rates as you but they suggested the 5k/10k settings.

[Mad K]

Originally Posted by idk alex

Yeah Ill post them when I get off work? Do you just want me to post how my coilover is in there?

Oigionally I was going to run the same rates as you but they suggested the 5k/10k settings.

Yea pretty much.

So i am starting to think the front springs are way to stiff. Its at least double what everyone else is running.

Took these pics of mine for FA:

[2010MSPORT335i]

Yeah those are what mine look like. However I am running 29 threads up front lol. Call FA and see if you can get new ones? Yeah in reality the way our cars are, your in a sense running twice as high of a spring rate.

[Mad K]

Originally Posted by idk alex

Yeah those are what mine look like. However I am running 29 threads up front lol. Call FA and see if you can get new ones? Yeah in reality the way our cars are, your in a sense running twice as high of a spring rate.

Been speaking with the tech through email. Hes sending me 6k front springs too. Awesome how good/fast FA is with their tech support.

[2010MSPORT335i]

For Free? Yeah Ive been working with Chris.

I didnt order Swift springs when i purchased them but Chris upgraded my rear springs to 9" 10k Swift springs so I have swift in the rear and normal in the front.

May just upgrade all around.

[Hybrid For Life]

I think the main problem your having is the front springs are VERY stiff. Normally you run stiffer ni the rear also, mine are 8k/12k and they are as stiff as I would want for DD use. And yes your rear spring is way to short. Sounds like FA did very little testing on these before sending them out?

[2010MSPORT335i]

I only know one person that installed these before the op and I. So we are all the guinea pigs.

I think also that once the op switches the rear spring for the new taller one, he will be much happier.

[Mad K]

Originally Posted by Hybrid For Life

I think the main problem your having is the front springs are VERY stiff. Normally you run stiffer ni the rear also, mine are 8k/12k and they are as stiff as I would want for DD use. And yes your rear spring is way to short. Sounds like FA did very little testing on these before sending them out?

Hopefully the new 6k front springs will fix the problem up front. Running stiffer in the rear is new to me but im sorta new to bmw's too. Had a feeling we were guinea pigs but as long as they suite my needs, i'll be good with them.

Originally Posted by idk alex

For Free? Yeah Ive been working with Chris.

I didnt order Swift springs when i purchased them but Chris upgraded my rear springs to 9" 10k Swift springs so I have swift in the rear and normal in the front.

May just upgrade all around.

Originally Posted by idk alex

I only know one person that installed these before the op and I. So we are all the guinea pigs.

I think also that once the op switches the rear spring for the new taller one, he will be much happier.

Yea for free lol. Literally only got them like 1-2 weeks ago. Its cool he upgraded them for you but i think the dampeners have to be revalved or something like that in order to use Swift springs to their full potential since they act differently. Just keep an eye on the rear and glad i could help you out aswell.

Also, im ask Chris about the spacer issue bc mine are uneven for both sides. How thick as spacer do you think is needed? 5mm?

[2010MSPORT335i]

Yeah, Im gonna shoot Chris an email with an FYI about the Springs etc...

And to space out the strut bar? I havent gotten around to that yet.

And btw ive needed to run spacers on my aftermarket and stock wheels to clear the coilover.

[2010MSPORT335i]

Originally Posted by Madk180sx

Been speaking with the tech through email. Hes sending me 6k front springs too. Awesome how good/fast FA is with their tech support.

Also be careful with this. I know our shocks are custom valved to the spring rate.

Just a heads up/

[Mad K]

Originally Posted by idk alex

Yeah, Im gonna shoot Chris an email with an FYI about the Springs etc...

And to space out the strut bar? I havent gotten around to that yet.

And btw ive needed to run spacers on my aftermarket and stock wheels to clear the coilover.

Spacer to clear the coilover? Really? Dont think mine are touching at all. I'll check it though.

Originally Posted by idk alex

Also be careful with this. I know our shocks are custom valved to the spring rate.

Just a heads up/

Damn, i'll ask Chris about this and see whats up.


UPDATE:

Installed 9 inch 9k rear springs, lifted the car a good bit but now its not low enough. Think a 8 inch 9k rear spring would do the trick. Going to ask Chris if i could trade them or if i have to pay extra for those springs, its not a really big deal.

Then went to put the front springs on. They are 7 inch 6k, installed them and lower the car down, basically only dropped it maybe an inch lower. WTF?! Still can barely bounce the front up and down its so stiff. Only thing i can think of is the sway bar is holding the coilover down and not allowing it to compress fully or maybe i do need to space out the front wheels...

Alex, do you have a pic of the front of your car being slammed or maybe a pic of your car and the wheel well? I want to compare.

Here are some pics of how it looks like now: