Ksport Lowering Springs

[209mc]

Hey all... I was looking at the lowered springs, dampers compilation post and I noticed a member who was running on Ksport Gt Lowering springs.
I saw a set online for 91 bucks... and was wondering if these are good springs.

They are not cheap springs... as I have looked at the manufacturer's website:

http://ksportusa.com/b2c/proddetail.php?prod=LSHD07

Originally priced at $260.00!

Is anyone rocking these springs at the moment?
And what are your thought?

[F22Chris]

Their Coilovers seem to be decent enough.

http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=139318

3rd car down. Go through the stickys

[deevergote]

Don't judge "cheap" by the price. Skunk2 parts sell at a premium, and their suspension parts are total garbage.

I wouldn't trust KSport, honestly. I contacted them once to ask about where their parts were manufactured, and the response I got was "we own our own facility overseas". In other words, Chinese/Taiwanese stuff, just like any of the other cheap brands. Nobody makes their parts in those countries because they want top quality. They go there for cheap labor and materials.

They're better than ebay junk, for sure. I'd probably trust them over crap like D2 or Truhart... but there are genuine quality brands out there that cost the same, or only a little more. You'd be better off with a used set of H&R, Neuspeed, Vogtland, Eibach, or Tein springs, honestly. Be sure you get a set of shocks that are valved to handle whatever you buy (for most things, that limits you to Koni Sport or Tokico Illumina.)



Keep in mind that the suspension compilation thread is NOT an endorsement of any particular brand. It's just raw specs for a number of popular brands. Many of the brands listed there are junk.

[oni_cb7]

Tein, as of 2014, has a China factory in addition to the original Japan factory.

[deevergote]

Tein, as of 2014, has a China factory in addition to the original Japan factory.

I would trust that over stuff like KSport, though. Since Tein is actually a legitimate suspension company that actually engineers and manufactures their own products (there's plenty of documentation to support that claim), I would at least HOPE that a Chinese facility would be run to the same standards as a Japanese facility. KSport, to my knowledge, doesn't actually do any real engineering. Since their only manufacturing facility is overseas, I can only speculate that they simply bought an existing facility, changed the name of the products, and continued with business as usual.

I may be wrong. KSport may be totally legit... but the information that I've been able to find, and the very vague response that I got from Chris at KSport when I contacted him does not give me a whole lot of faith in the company.

There are better options. I truly see no need to go for anything other than one of the truly legit companies. Especially for something that is closely tied to safety.

[oni_cb7]

I wasn't saying anything negative about Tein. Their new China facility is more geared towards stock replacement items and not performance items. All performance Tein suspension is still built in Japan.

I understand the issue with poorly designed suspension products. However, being made in China and Taiwan is not a solid reason to mark a company's product as cheap and unsafe.

As a note: military grade plastics used for supplies for the military are made in the same facility that makes $2 cheapy flashlights. The exact SAME facility.

I recently was able to compare eBay no name coil sleeves to the coil sleeves produced by Megan. I had them in my hands and was physically comparing the two. It surprised me to see how well made the Megan sleeves were compared to generic no name eBay stuff. The sleeve itself has deeper threads comparatively. In addition, the collars were a lot stronger as well. The ends of the actual springs were a lot better in appearance. The quality of the Megan product was leaps above the no-name generic eBay coil. Lastly, the no-name eBay stuff was not marked for front or rear and all of the springs were the same size. Megan marks all of the springs for front or rear and the springs are different sizes as well.

This comparison goes to show that automatically assuming Made in China means low quality isn't necessarily right.

I do agree that there are A LOT of products from China that should never be touched. But, there are some out there that are providing a safe product. After all is said, I still would want to invest more into my suspension. I wouldn't mind forking out the cash for the highest quality stuff.

[F22Chris]

He's gonna do what he wants anyway. I will say the fact that it's 260 on their site doesn't mean shit. I got an OBX catback for $120 when its $500+ on their site.

I had Megan coils. They weren't that bad, but they weren't good either.

[deevergote]

My main reason for disliking Chinese/Taiwanese-made products isn't necessarily because of any dislike of those locations, or the fact that I believe they are any less capable of making quality components... but people use Chinese/Taiwanese suppliers for the sole purpose of getting the absolute cheapest production costs. When it comes to suspension components, my research has shown that almost always results in an inconsistent and often inferior product.

Megan doesn't actually produce anything. They outsource their work to BC, who (like your Chinese flashlight manufacturer) DOES make good quality parts... but they also make absolute junk. There's an article floating around showing the difference in quality that can be seen from BC's in-house production.


Still, yes... there are tiers of quality, it seems. I'd trust Megan or OBX over any true no-name. I'd trust a quality manufacturer that employs proper engineering and manufacturing techniques, high quality raw materials, and consistent quality control over those brands.
Amazingly, the true quality products aren't THAT much more expensive than the next step down. Only the absolute garbage products (Raceland, Emusa, etc...) are significantly cheaper. That bottom tier survives on the "lottery ticket" mentality. People risk their lives with that junk for the same reason they throw away money on lottery tickets... because "maybe I'll get lucky!"

If a company can show me that they use the same level of engineering, manufacturing, materials, and quality control in their Chinese/Taiwanese factory as the other companies (the ones I consider to be "real" suspension companies), then I'd give them credit. I have yet to find one, sadly. BC was the closest, and I recently learned a few things about them that made me doubt their quality as well!

[deevergote]

He's gonna do what he wants anyway. I will say the fact that it's 260 on their site doesn't mean shit. I got an OBX catback for $120 when its $500+ on their site.

I had Megan coils. They weren't that bad, but they weren't good either.

$260 on their site means $160 from a retailer that has them "on sale". Half that price makes me think they might not even be legit KSports.

[209mc]

thanks for the feedback guys. Yeah tein h's are my alternative right now, but thanks to google, I have been looking at ksport lowering springs reviews on different forums, and surprisingly it has been getting pretty good feedback in terms of quality and ride comfort. im still speculating though, cause I want to know if anyone is rocking these on their cb7's.

(was browsing different car forums for reviews on these springs)
such as 350z forums, 7th gen honda, maxima, and lexus, etc.

it seems the ksport springs are a popular talk in different import tuning communities. And i was suprised to see some chevy kobalts being lowered on these ksports. lol

more feedback will be appreciated. Keep them coming guys!

[deevergote]

The worst thing you can do is base your decision on the feedback of others that know as much or less than you do about suspension. I've heard "rides good" from owners of blown shocks and cut springs! Popularity is due far less to quality than it is marketing. When you put ANY "upgraded" suspension components on a decade+ old car with tired stock stuff, it's going to feel great. The cheapest of the cheap junk will feel great, for a short while, until it breaks.

Look to the manufacturers themselves to decide what is and what is not quality. Any manufacturer that isn't up front about how and where their products are designed should be suspect. Any manufacturer that has high quality manufacturing processes will be VERY happy to share that detail with their customers. Most high quality manufacturers also produce products as original equipment for automakers. You won't find KSport or D2 stuff under any factory cars. You will, however, find H&R springs under some high-end Porsches. You'll find some Koni shocks under Mercedes Benz, Alfa Romeo, and Fiat automobiles.


Think of it in terms of food:
Quality = steak (satisfying, consistent, you know what you're getting)
Low quality = McDonald's "meat" (edible, inconsistent, questionable contents)
Garbage = roadkill (it will probably kill you.)

[sonikaccord]

I always say there is cheap stuff from China and there is expensive stuff from China. Some of the facilities over there are really cutting edge...others not so much.

It's all on the shoulders of the company how little they want to pay.

And as far as quality, you should want to ask more about quality control. LEAN, six sigma and all that jazz

[deevergote]

I'm still wary of pretty much any Chinese quality. Their premiere automakers have essentially copied Honda and Toyota models, and they STILL aren't even up to the lax safety standards of countries like Russia!
The Chinese have perfected the art of turd polishing. It may be nice and shiny... but it's still crap.

That's not to say SOME things over there aren't quality. I just haven't necessarily seen anything automotive-related coming from Chinese facilities that hasn't been low quality.
As you said, quality control is a BIG one. As long as it's properly implemented, and not just an extra layer of polish on the turd for marketing purposes.

It's sad how much consumers must now know just to differentiate between the good and bad products. It's HARD to deny the temptation to try absurdly cheap Chinese stuff. I wrestle with that temptation myself pretty regularly! It's worth the risk for some things, such as electronics or unimportant engine bits (header, intake, etc... things that won't go boom...), but not worth the risk for other things... like things that will cause you to crash if they prove to be garbage.

There was a time when the entirety of CB7tuner was in love with XTD clutches. In the span of a few months, dozens of people on here got XTD stuff... and loved it. It was dirt cheap, and "grabbed good". Around the same time, all that stuff broke. It was funny... like watching "the wave" at a ballgame. All the people that stood up and bought XTD sat their asses back down... and purchased less exciting Exedy OEM replacement parts... most of which are probably still functioning flawlessly, nearly a decade later.


Sorry, I know I get preachy with this stuff... but I have a serious problem with low-quality suspension components. I never want to see any CB7tuner get hurt (or worse, hurt someone else) because they trusted the quality of a company that shouldn't be trusted. At the very least, I want to inspire people to dig as deep as they can to make their decision, based on the right criteria (the opinions of other similarly-ignorant enthusiasts, many of which may be 16-17 year old kids with their first car... that's not one of those criteria!)

[sonikaccord]

Yes they have...their counterfeiting outfits are first class. They even copy the certification papers, too!

I buy harbor freight tools...I've only had a few break on me and I didn't lose any knuckles either Cheap stuff has its place...it's just when EVERYBODY is looking for a 'deal' is when it becomes a problem. Somebody endorses or reviews X product...said person has a lot of clout in their respective industry. Other people buy the product with a skewed mentality because of the endorsement. They expect it to be good, therefore it is. Anybody who downplays it is labeled a hater. I could keep going but I'm going to try to stay on topic.

These Ksport "Lowering" Springs...I intentionally put lowering in quotes. Let me back up, I took a look at their manufacturing process tab and damn I'm impressed...at the marketing. If I had a dollar for every time they used 'State of the Art' or 'Sophisticated Machines.'

They have a 25,000 sq. ft facility (read: warehouse) in Gilbert, Az

They have a 320,000 sq. ft manufacturing facility at (location not mentioned)

They claim to have a shock dyno, but no dyno sheets available?
I found this link from almost 8 years ago where a consumer had them dyno'd by a third party: http://www.supraforums.com/forum/sho...k-Dyno-Results

Their quality control process again looks nice...but as reference BILSTEIN has ISO certificates for proof: http://www.bilsteinus.com/downloads/certificates/

I tried googling to see if anyone had done a tour of their facilities and guess what I came up with?

[deevergote]

Exactly. That's what scares me. I sent an email a couple years ago, here's what I said:

"Hi, Are your coilover systems manufactured in the US, or overseas? Is the facility owned and operated by KSport, or is production of your products outsourced?"

The response I got from Chris was:
"As of current our coilovers are manufactured overseas in a facility owned and operated by Ksport. As for production, as with any brand a certain number of components are outsourced to manufacturers specializing in those components such as seals, small diameter valve needles ect. The bulk of components are made and controlled by our facility."

It's not screaming "our parts are crap!", but it still makes me a little uneasy. It's vague. I suppose it was an adequate response to my inquiry, which didn't necessarily demand more... so I can't necessarily say that it's misleading or shady. However, it didn't reassure me sufficiently. It wasn't enough for me to put them on my recommended list. I'd buy KSport over crap like D2, Truhart, Raceland, or Emusa... but I'd buy quality like H&R or even Tein over KSport, that's for damn sure!

You're absolutely right about popularity hinging on the opinion of someone with clout in the scene. If you have a pretty car, everyone assumes everything on that car is good... and they all want it. Like when a rapper or rock star wears a certain brand of clothing. It might be hideous trash made in a sweatshop... but all the kids want it because their idol wears it... then when all the cool kids are wearing it, all the other kids want it too!
These days, to become successful in the automotive aftermarket, especially when it comes to things that can't be disproven on a dyno (not a shock dyno... no impressionable kid knows what that is!) you only need good marketing. Get a few noteworthy cars running your products, and in a matter of months everyone will think you're hot stuff.
These days with Facebook and Instagram generating tons of likes and follows, those people are easy to spot! Send a free set of coilovers (at a cost of $75 plus shipping) to the guy with 9,000 Instagram followers, and you just struck gold. In 6 weeks, you'll have two dozen orders for your $75 crap... selling for $750 a set.