GB: ksport coil overs

[yunvmyegt]

spring was too tight, it was the strut it went away after i took the load off it

[JPmotorsports]

spring was too tight, it was the strut it went away after i took the load off it

Sorry, I don't follow you---if the swaybar arm came up so high that it hit the frame you could try a shorter endlink to gain more uptravel---but it's way to low to be driven in a performance application, or even on the street safely for that matter. The strut is going to have 4-5" of travel left---your going to drag the body on the ground/tire in the wheel well/car won't steer etc if your static ride height is bottoming out the swaybar against the frame when you go into compression.

[yunvmyegt]

it wasnt the sway bar, it was the shock from the spring being to tight, so when i hit bumps and it actually compressed, it would make noise when it came back out....

[Wilyb]

Before the rest of these K sports are shipped out to the end users please someone ensure there is a quality control inspection done when they get to the stateside disty...

Who got the other set and what is their feedback?

[JPmotorsports]

Before the rest of these K sports are shipped out to the end users please someone ensure there is a quality control inspection done when they get to the stateside disty...

Who got the other set and what is their feedback?

Actually now after talking with yunvmygt and Ksport, he may have the right set and he's trying to go much lower than the racecars---we're not entirely sure yet---we're waiting for pics of the unit's he received/his car. Geronimo has the same kit and didn't have any issues/loved them and we're still waiting to here from Cody. I've got 10-15 sets out and around without issue---but this group buy has been far from smooth so who knows...did you think you we're getting struts for the Escort/BG GTX or a Mazda Mx3---there seems to be some confusion...

[Wilyb]

did you think you we're getting struts for the Escort/BG GTX or a Mazda Mx3---there seems to be some confusion...

Escort/BG GTX hound dog...

[JPmotorsports]

Escort/BG GTX hound dog...

Cool-thanx.

[KAinjection]

Hey James-the CMZ161-KP is for the GTR spindle---same dimensions/length as the 160-KP, only the clevis is a bit wider---I believe some of the guys have spaced washers in there to make them work---with the 160's you don't need to do that---I agree the KPSORT customer service has been frustrating, but hopefully they will do better in the future with new folks in there.

Yeah I got mine about 2 years ago now, Ksport personally test fitted them on my car and cut me a deal on the price at $750 for the set for bringing it down to test fit, but they never added "Ford Escort" to the catalog. lol not that it matters anyway. They had ordered me the GTR version instead of the GTX, and I ran washers for a long time till they got me the correct GTX clevis.

[CODY004WD]

I love mine still. I wasn't after a slammed stance, just more grip. The car handles really well so far, no timed runs yet, but it's fast through the corners. I gained about 15mph on the 270* on-ramp from one highway to another on my way to work. And with the weight shifted forwards by dropping the front more than the rear, I have accelerating traction as well. My wheel gap is 1" front and rear (escort with flat-top rear) so the nose is lower than the tail, I'll measure the pinch welds tomorrow hopefully, to compare with Jims race car measurements, but I suspect I'm .25" - .5" higher.

[JPmotorsports]

Thanks for the feedback---We've got the white car a bit lower than yours because it never see's the highway anymore---allthough it is a pain to load on/off the trailer---it scrapes on the ramps if we don't get it right. The car actually took 1st in class second overall in the Idaho Tarmac Rally a few years back---when it was N/A still with the first version KSPORTS...we had to raise ride height up for the tarmac rally---and while I didn't get to drive it, Andy Sutherland said it had massive amounts of grip and said had he of spent a day in the car before the event he could have overalled it. The rally was a crashfest with more than half the field having issues as the results show-
Pos Car Cls Driver Co-Driver Vehicle mm:ss
1 12 M1 Bruce Davis Jimmy Brandt 2003 Dodge Neon SRT-4 30:20
2 111 M2 Andrew Sutherland J McConnell Ford Escort 30:50
3 454 M1 James Bolin Sunny Caughmann 1991 Mitsubishi Eclipse 30:53
4 323 P1 David Kern AJ Hakala 1988 Mazda 323 GTX 31:01
5 989 P2 Erik Lyden Kathryn Hansen 1995 Subaru Impreza 31:52
6 85 P2 Chris Walsh Jeff Price 1998 Subaru Impreza 34:58
7 457 P2 Ryan Barker Brian Stoliker 1995 Subaru Impreza 35:06
8 466 M2 Brian Gottlieb Josh Rustigan 1988 Toyota FX-16 GTS 36:25
DNF 692 M1 Ron Crawford Lloyd Crawford 2003 Nissan Sentra Spec V DNF
DNF 240 M2 Chris Blakely Bud Blakely 1992 VW GTI DNF
DNF 260 P2 Ian Pinter Kyle Rice Subaru 2.5 RS DNF

Here's a shot of the white car at Buttinwillow in the rain a few years back---

The rear is actually higher than the front (doesn't look like it)---a little bit of rake helps like you said. The front pinched seam is 4 3/4" off the ground in this shot, and will go about an 1" lower before we start to have issues with steering/bottoming etc. We actually don't want the car any lower for handling/racing reasons, the performance/grip goes off pretty fast because of the geometry...The rx7 balljoint or a spherical balljoint with the ability to space the spindle up helps correct it---in the back my tubular crossmembers help as well.

We had to cut/modify the rear arch's to get the car this low---a bit of work, but nothing your average escort/BG enthusiast can't do at his house. I wanted everyone in the group buy to see this shot---and then take a tape measure out to their car (we're on 205/50's/15)---from the ground to the bottom of the front fender in the center of the wheel is about 23" or so in this shot. You guys will all get to this height or a bit lower safely---and still have probably 3-4" of up travel left in the strut---I'd imagine if someone were able to compress the car (off a jump/huge bump etc...) the wheel would knock the inner fender well/slam the exhaust/crossmember on the ground...I can't imagine driving the car this low on the street---but I'm sure some people enjoy the challenge.

Josh I'm posting this here so everyone can join the discussion rather than you an I alone in PM's. We've been using the KSPORT Bg Gtx stuff for years---we are very familiar with it/have done a ton of testing/developing roadrace/autocross type setups. Haven't had any issues with quality/leaks/cracks/bent camberplates on any of the kits we've sold---and we have beaten them to death (for up to 25hours straight)---which is why we confidently offer them for sale on our site and in this group buy---and at a discount. The customer service at KSPORT has exceeded my expectations up until this group buy---this order has been a train wreck---we're 2 months late getting the parts, they we're supposed to be here back around the end of May...

Now I know the prices have gone up---my cost has gone up considerably since we've started this---I know Josh (yunvmyegt) installed his kit and was struggling to get the car as low as he likes---We're not 100% sure that his front stuts are correct (I believe they are now after talking with him) until we see photo's---Ksport called him directly and he read the part numbers off the springs and they matched, he said the box had the correct part number and the measurements he told me seemed like they were all around the white car when he raised it back up---maybe a bit higher than the white car like what Cody posted---so I'm pretty confident he has the right kit. If he doesn't then KSPORT said they will take care of it---if they don't I will.

Now the MX3 stuff...I didn't order MX3 kits (obviously), no one asked me to order MX3 kits---someone mentioned it in the thread, but someone mentioned D2's, Koni's and a ton of other struts...the group buy was for the BG GTX stuff and we added BF kits and sold none of those. The first two kits arrived a few weeks ago, and the other four are on a boat passing Kaleo (Hawaii) about now. It's a little late to switch to MX3 kits...

I've never installed/seen an MX3 strut---other than what I've read over the last few days didn't know if they fit or not. It appears they are shorter than the BG GTX kit's for the escorts---which would allow the car to go lower without having the issues Josh was dealing with. I doubt KSPORT will cancel any of the orders or swap them for MX3 kits, but I will certainly ask if anyone wants me too. My guess is that they wouldn't sell the Mx3 kits for the BG GTX Group buy price and they probably don't have anything here in the USA so we'd end up waiting...again...if they allow us to re-order.

The kits you all ordered are designed for the BG GTX chassis---work very well on the escorts in both street and race applications---the quality/adjustability/increased performance and overall looks are an amazing value. They are safe and as the photo's show go very low safely without bottoming out the strut like a stock unit with coilover sleeves do. I think probably go too low to be driven safely on the street---but that's just my opinion. I suppose if someone wanted to go lower they could take and change to a shorter spring without sacrificing performance---or if they already have coilover springs/sleeves that are the same diameter and shorter, swap those in. But I can't imagine trying to drive on the road/getting in and out of driveways etc...

[yunvmyegt]

i keep telling you if i go lower the struts dont move, where you set them is what you get when you lower the car back down. which is what made me go back to the height i was as prevously with lowering springs. maybe 1000 bucks aint alot to some people, but i cant just throw it away and start over its totally senseless.... half these people couldnt even pay till the last minute, so its not like anyone else has money to just throw around... if they wont exchange them, they sure need to give a hell of a discount for the right struts and springs.... cause these are pretty useless to me.... plain and simple, i dont give 2 ****s how much time you put into a set up i didnt want...

[JPmotorsports]

i keep telling you if i go lower the struts dont move, where you set them is what you get when you lower the car back down. which is what made me go back to the height i was as prevously with lowering springs. maybe 1000 bucks aint alot to some people, but i cant just throw it away and start over its totally senseless.... half these people couldnt even pay till the last minute, so its not like anyone else has money to just throw around... if they wont exchange them, they sure need to give a hell of a discount for the right struts and springs.... cause these are pretty useless to me.... plain and simple, i dont give 2 ****s how much time you put into a set up i didnt want...

I don't think anyone has a $900 dollars to throw away on anything these days---I know your frustrated---cool down a bit and take some photo's of the car---that will help you with Ksport---if you got the wrong part they'll fix it---if you didn't then ship them back to me and I'll refund your money...plain and simple...

[KaleoXtreme]

Oh man, where do I even start, lol. I guess for me, I am fully aware that we ordered the BG/gtx kits. However, I was under the impression that these escort BG/gtx coilovers would have the ability to go "really low". Like, lower than geometrically functional. My EGT is primarily a garage queen show car, with the occasional weekend cruise night or auto cross planned when I get it back on the road. So going lower than normal is a priority for me and one of the reasons why I wanted Ksports. The car would not be driven while slammed. I would only drop it down while at a show or photo shoot, etc.

Jim, I think you mentioned somewhere that you could "ask" Ksport about swapping to mx3 kits. Or maybe not the full kit, but just the (shorter) strut body if that's possible. I'm not bothered by the waiting. I knew it would take awhile, especially after factoring in the earthquakes/tsunami/nuke plant failure. I appologize if I'm causing another bump in this group buy. I know the chances are slim that they would go for it, but I would greatly appreciate the gesture. If they won't swap, I still want to keep my set. I just wanted to ask, just in case.

Thank you again Jim for your efforts.

[JPmotorsports]

Thanks for that---this whole group buy has been super stressful/tons of issues---I think in the future I'll stick to stuff I build/can have a bit more control over. I know you guys didn't think we ordered Mx3 stuff---it's posted in the thread more than a couple of times that we ordered the 160's/BG GTX stuff, and Josh knows that as well---he's super frustrated with the wait and now the fact that he can't get the car as low as he wanted. I hear you on wanting to get it low---we used to make 1" cromoly tubing pcs and pull the coilovers off/bolt them in and the car would barely roll/much less turn for the SEMA shows and what not.

Of course I do want everyone to be happy/satisfied---I think most people know that the BG stuff is just fun/side work for me---and wouldn't even put a dent in my monthly costs---especially this group buy...and this group is no longer "fun". Ksport despite having manufacturing issues/delivery issues continues to honor the price given even though they've been selling most of their line for quite a bit more as of late (I sold a set for about $1200+ not long ago---different part # but same basic kit). People take that for granted, because it's the "right thing to do", but let me tell you it's not the norm any more---lot's of companies bump the price and companies going under/discontinuing lines etc...take orders/money and never intend on fufilling/delivering product---they just close the doors---I had issues with carbon fiber parts/molds last year...Ksport got the 2 kits here a few weeks back and I'm confident yours and the rest of the group's will show on the next container.

I'd like to know the extended length of the front spring on Josh's kit---I'd imagine a shorter spring up there would accomplish what he/you would like to do---be able to slam the car for shows---I think just about everyone on the group buy at one time said they'd like to "race" (autocross/track etc...) their cars so the way they come setup/rates should still be suitable for a daily/autocross car. Or maybe the guys that want it super lower buy a second set of springs and they can switch out for events---we can change a spring in the pits on a test day in about 5 minutes with a jack and a cordless impact, it's simple stuff...This may be an alternative if they wont swap your kit out for the Mx3 stuff. I'll ask as soon as we confirm that Josh's BG GTX kit is in fact a BG GTX kit. He said he'd take photo's Monday so we'll figure it out.

[KaleoXtreme]

Yeah, I was thinking I'd probably have to try my Eibach springs from my Ground Controls or something. Or even just take the springs off at the show, lol.