Fortune Auto 500 Series Coilovers review
11-18-2012, 03:11 PM
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Fortune Auto 500 Series Coilovers review
Just as the title says, this is a review of the Fortune Auto 500 Series coilovers for our cars.
I hope this doesn't conflict with the forum rules, as I am not advertisisng, just merely giving my novice feedback for those who have been weary about trying them since there are literally no reviews on the forum.
If you want the basic info on these coilovers here is the link: fortune500seriescoilovers - Fortune Auto North America
Some background info of my suspension path:
When I first got the car, it had stock suspension, which, still handles quite well as all of you know.
Then I decided to run the Bilstein set-up from the R3's. which rode even better.
After a few months I got tired of the wheel gap and decided to run Megan Racing Lowering springs as a substitute till I got coilovers.
So for a good while, I was running this setup. I felt pretty confident with this setup on familiar back roads. But one thing that did bother me (I'm guessing it's because I was running low end springs) was that the rear end was a tad bit "bouncy" which caused me to let off sometimes through a fast corner.
I came across Fortune Auto through a shop named Endurance Motorsports. I was unfamiliar with the Fortune Auto brand, as most of us are familiar with Tein, Megan, Eibach, KW, etc. so I started doing research on the brand and saw great satisfactory reviews on their products, but they weren't for our cars.
So I decided to give them a go and ordered their 500 series coilovers.
Spring rates: 10k in the front, 6k in the rear (my car is daily driven and I thought it be better to go soft in the rear, as I can always upgrade the spring if I felt uncomfortable.
Additional options: roller bearings in the front to prevent the snapping sound that periodically occurs.
They're customer service was great, they had my order in and shipped out the next day. I was quite surprised since their lead time, noted on their site, is around 1-2 weeks.
When I took delivery of my purchase, I was pretty happy with how it was all packaged up. everything was tight and packed to make sure no damages would occur.
I love the finish on the coilovers. I was quite worried of how the green (on the 500 series) would look because I was not a fan of the green's that came with the Tein's. But this as a cool metallick green finish that is attractive. The welds are clean and the overall product has a great quality finish to it.
The best part about these coilovers, is that they provide new grade 8 nuts to replace the factory ones , which put a smile on my face as the factory ones looked stripped after multiple installs on my car.
I also love that they put a dust boot over the shafts to help protect it from the weather, because some coilovers do not come with these and the shafts are just exposed.
The install:
Obviously, if you've done suspension swaps on our cars, you know that the endlinks can be a pain in the butt and seized bolts here and there, but after you get all of the stockers out, it's a flawless procedure to get the coilovers in. No modifications needed what so ever to put these suckers in. I had a head ache during the uninstall, but it all went away after everything went smoothly putting them in.
Driving impressions:
Now, the following is solely based on my impressions and the feedback I got from my butt. I'm not a professional driver, I'm not an AutoX god. But I am very impressed with how these rode.
I have been in multiple 8's with Megan's, Tein Basics, Tein Mono's, etc. And these handled a lot better than some of the models I just mentioned.
Comfortability wise, the softest dampening settings make it pretty close to how my ride rode with the Bilsteins. Not hard, but not too soft.
But I didn't get these for comfort, I got it to function, so I've had it on the hardest dampening settings, and it's still not, unbearable. You're not breaking your back every small fracture you see on the road, but enough to feel comfortable giving a little bit more throttle through the corners. The "bouncy" feeling I felt in the rear with my previous setup is now gone as well.
My car now has little to no body roll and switching lanes on the highway or taking a fast entry corner, I feel like I'm riding on rails.
Overall:
I am happy with my purchase. Great customer service, great product, great feel.
They handle great and I wouldn't hesitate to refer people to purchase Fortune Auto Coilovers as I would with some brands.
I have a video shot of the wheel movement of my previous setup. I haven't had time to slap on the GoPro since the install, so once I have time (I want to take the same path I did with the first video to make it a good comparison), I will put a video comparison up for everyone to see)
Special thanks to Endurance Motorsports for installing them.
I hope this doesn't conflict with the forum rules, as I am not advertisisng, just merely giving my novice feedback for those who have been weary about trying them since there are literally no reviews on the forum.
If you want the basic info on these coilovers here is the link: fortune500seriescoilovers - Fortune Auto North America
Some background info of my suspension path:
When I first got the car, it had stock suspension, which, still handles quite well as all of you know.
Then I decided to run the Bilstein set-up from the R3's. which rode even better.
After a few months I got tired of the wheel gap and decided to run Megan Racing Lowering springs as a substitute till I got coilovers.
So for a good while, I was running this setup. I felt pretty confident with this setup on familiar back roads. But one thing that did bother me (I'm guessing it's because I was running low end springs) was that the rear end was a tad bit "bouncy" which caused me to let off sometimes through a fast corner.
I came across Fortune Auto through a shop named Endurance Motorsports. I was unfamiliar with the Fortune Auto brand, as most of us are familiar with Tein, Megan, Eibach, KW, etc. so I started doing research on the brand and saw great satisfactory reviews on their products, but they weren't for our cars.
So I decided to give them a go and ordered their 500 series coilovers.
Spring rates: 10k in the front, 6k in the rear (my car is daily driven and I thought it be better to go soft in the rear, as I can always upgrade the spring if I felt uncomfortable.
Additional options: roller bearings in the front to prevent the snapping sound that periodically occurs.
They're customer service was great, they had my order in and shipped out the next day. I was quite surprised since their lead time, noted on their site, is around 1-2 weeks.
When I took delivery of my purchase, I was pretty happy with how it was all packaged up. everything was tight and packed to make sure no damages would occur.
I love the finish on the coilovers. I was quite worried of how the green (on the 500 series) would look because I was not a fan of the green's that came with the Tein's. But this as a cool metallick green finish that is attractive. The welds are clean and the overall product has a great quality finish to it.
The best part about these coilovers, is that they provide new grade 8 nuts to replace the factory ones , which put a smile on my face as the factory ones looked stripped after multiple installs on my car.
I also love that they put a dust boot over the shafts to help protect it from the weather, because some coilovers do not come with these and the shafts are just exposed.
The install:
Obviously, if you've done suspension swaps on our cars, you know that the endlinks can be a pain in the butt and seized bolts here and there, but after you get all of the stockers out, it's a flawless procedure to get the coilovers in. No modifications needed what so ever to put these suckers in. I had a head ache during the uninstall, but it all went away after everything went smoothly putting them in.
Driving impressions:
Now, the following is solely based on my impressions and the feedback I got from my butt. I'm not a professional driver, I'm not an AutoX god. But I am very impressed with how these rode.
I have been in multiple 8's with Megan's, Tein Basics, Tein Mono's, etc. And these handled a lot better than some of the models I just mentioned.
Comfortability wise, the softest dampening settings make it pretty close to how my ride rode with the Bilsteins. Not hard, but not too soft.
But I didn't get these for comfort, I got it to function, so I've had it on the hardest dampening settings, and it's still not, unbearable. You're not breaking your back every small fracture you see on the road, but enough to feel comfortable giving a little bit more throttle through the corners. The "bouncy" feeling I felt in the rear with my previous setup is now gone as well.
My car now has little to no body roll and switching lanes on the highway or taking a fast entry corner, I feel like I'm riding on rails.
Overall:
I am happy with my purchase. Great customer service, great product, great feel.
They handle great and I wouldn't hesitate to refer people to purchase Fortune Auto Coilovers as I would with some brands.
I have a video shot of the wheel movement of my previous setup. I haven't had time to slap on the GoPro since the install, so once I have time (I want to take the same path I did with the first video to make it a good comparison), I will put a video comparison up for everyone to see)
Special thanks to Endurance Motorsports for installing them.
11-18-2012, 03:20 PM
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Are you talking about adjustment to the height or the dampening?
The dampening can be done in the trunk. (I apologize, should have taken photos of the top parts, I'll take them and add them in)
The height can be adjusted by the spring perches if you want to go lower, but the correct way to do it is by taking them off and properly adjusting it by the coilover shaft by taking them off rather than affecting the preload on the springs.
The dampening can be done in the trunk. (I apologize, should have taken photos of the top parts, I'll take them and add them in)
The height can be adjusted by the spring perches if you want to go lower, but the correct way to do it is by taking them off and properly adjusting it by the coilover shaft by taking them off rather than affecting the preload on the springs.
11-18-2012, 03:33 PM
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I'd also like to add that currently, I'm riding on the stock wheels with 25mm adapters in the rear, 20mm adapters in the front, and 245/40's all around and NO rubbing issues at all, and I don't have my fenders rolled.
11-19-2012, 02:03 PM
#8
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Not bad, the rear tops appear to be the same piece as the BC coilovers use but the bottoms are different. I personally would not run coilovers that don't bolt to the chassis in the tops on the rears. Only the cheap ones do that, all of the high end coilovers bolt up at the top in the rear.
These would be fine I am sure though if you don't track or drive real hard. They look well made and at least don't look just like a rebrand of another made in Taiwan brand like Stance, Powertrix, Megan, D2, etc. They do offer some insight as to how they are built and a shock dyno graph so they are definitely a step above most of the other sub $2,000.00 coilovers. Plus they offer swift spring upgrades.
These would be fine I am sure though if you don't track or drive real hard. They look well made and at least don't look just like a rebrand of another made in Taiwan brand like Stance, Powertrix, Megan, D2, etc. They do offer some insight as to how they are built and a shock dyno graph so they are definitely a step above most of the other sub $2,000.00 coilovers. Plus they offer swift spring upgrades.
Last edited by 9krpmrx8; 11-19-2012 at 02:08 PM.
11-25-2012, 04:01 PM
#9
Not bad, the rear tops appear to be the same piece as the BC coilovers use but the bottoms are different. I personally would not run coilovers that don't bolt to the chassis in the tops on the rears. Only the cheap ones do that, all of the high end coilovers bolt up at the top in the rear.
These would be fine I am sure though if you don't track or drive real hard. They look well made and at least don't look just like a rebrand of another made in Taiwan brand like Stance, Powertrix, Megan, D2, etc. They do offer some insight as to how they are built and a shock dyno graph so they are definitely a step above most of the other sub $2,000.00 coilovers. Plus they offer swift spring upgrades.
These would be fine I am sure though if you don't track or drive real hard. They look well made and at least don't look just like a rebrand of another made in Taiwan brand like Stance, Powertrix, Megan, D2, etc. They do offer some insight as to how they are built and a shock dyno graph so they are definitely a step above most of the other sub $2,000.00 coilovers. Plus they offer swift spring upgrades.
Fortune also normally provide a shock dyno with each set.
11-25-2012, 06:14 PM
#11
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with the exception of the stickers and the missing remote extenders these look exactly like my powertrix coilovers. Can you provide a snapshot of the top of the fronts?
Perhaps it's just the color.
Perhaps it's just the color.
Last edited by ShellDude; 11-25-2012 at 06:19 PM.
12-31-2012, 06:00 PM
#16
can I get an update on how these are holding up? I'm between thesse or Powertrix right now
01-01-2013, 09:19 PM
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These are holding up great.
No issues what so ever.
Took my car to a few open parking lots and it's definitely improved the handling in my opinion.
No issues what so ever.
Took my car to a few open parking lots and it's definitely improved the handling in my opinion.
10-28-2015, 01:49 PM
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still holding up?
10-29-2015, 05:05 AM
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Fortune coilovers are produced in Virginia, USA. It could be that China copied the fortunes.
At any rate, I've heard nothing but good reviews from RX8 members through PM's, and by guys racing and Time Trialing at NASA events.
Inexpensive doesn't necessarily mean poor performance or durability. Remember the C&D tire test where most of the cheaper tires beat up the Michelin? ;-) Not apples-to-apples, but there are many cases where cost and quality aren't proportional.
At any rate, I've heard nothing but good reviews from RX8 members through PM's, and by guys racing and Time Trialing at NASA events.
Inexpensive doesn't necessarily mean poor performance or durability. Remember the C&D tire test where most of the cheaper tires beat up the Michelin? ;-) Not apples-to-apples, but there are many cases where cost and quality aren't proportional.
10-29-2015, 09:40 AM
#21
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Fortune coilovers are produced in Virginia, USA. It could be that China copied the fortunes.
At any rate, I've heard nothing but good reviews from RX8 members through PM's, and by guys racing and Time Trialing at NASA events.
Inexpensive doesn't necessarily mean poor performance or durability. Remember the C&D tire test where most of the cheaper tires beat up the Michelin? ;-) Not apples-to-apples, but there are many cases where cost and quality aren't proportional.
At any rate, I've heard nothing but good reviews from RX8 members through PM's, and by guys racing and Time Trialing at NASA events.
Inexpensive doesn't necessarily mean poor performance or durability. Remember the C&D tire test where most of the cheaper tires beat up the Michelin? ;-) Not apples-to-apples, but there are many cases where cost and quality aren't proportional.
They are not manufactured in Virginia, USA, they are assembled there. Meaning they get them from China and assemble them in VA. People who get free **** will of course advertise it and have nothing but good things to say. The fact that it is used on a race car doesn't mean jack ****.
And what cheaper tires beat up on Michillens?
Last edited by 9krpmrx8; 10-29-2015 at 09:43 AM.
10-30-2015, 04:57 AM
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If, when used on a track/race car, they result in competitive lap times and display good longevity, I think that counts for something. And not all race cars are sponsored and get the suspension for free. Sometimes there is contingency or partial/full sponsorship, but I know of folks who chose Fortune without those incentives.
Tire Test: Nine Affordable Summer Tires Take On the Michelin PS2 Comparison Tests - Page 2 - Car and Driver
The Michellin was good in many ways, but some of the cheaper tires were better for the dry. Just like coilovers, different versions may excel in different areas.
Tire Test: Nine Affordable Summer Tires Take On the Michelin PS2 Comparison Tests - Page 2 - Car and Driver
The Michellin was good in many ways, but some of the cheaper tires were better for the dry. Just like coilovers, different versions may excel in different areas.
10-30-2015, 09:20 AM
#23
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If, when used on a track/race car, they result in competitive lap times and display good longevity, I think that counts for something. And not all race cars are sponsored and get the suspension for free. Sometimes there is contingency or partial/full sponsorship, but I know of folks who chose Fortune without those incentives.
Tire Test: Nine Affordable Summer Tires Take On the Michelin PS2 Comparison Tests - Page 2 - Car and Driver
The Michellin was good in many ways, but some of the cheaper tires were better for the dry. Just like coilovers, different versions may excel in different areas.
Tire Test: Nine Affordable Summer Tires Take On the Michelin PS2 Comparison Tests - Page 2 - Car and Driver
The Michellin was good in many ways, but some of the cheaper tires were better for the dry. Just like coilovers, different versions may excel in different areas.
People run stuff when they get it free and you will find cheap **** on a lot of race cars, and those who don't get free stuff is typically because they are not very competitive so if they have cheap stuff on their cars it is because they didn't want to buy quality stuff. And if you don't care about being competitive then cheap stuff is fine. That said, a good driver driving a poorly setup car will always run faster times than a shitty driver driving a properly set up car.
There are lots ins and outs but the bottom line is that these coilovers were not engineered and manufactured by Fortune so they are just cookie cutter crap from China and they do not make them like many believe after reading their ads. The fact that some race cars run them means nothing, they were designed to fit the RX-8, nothing more, no R&D on an RX-8, etc. Go with a suspension manufacturer, not a suspension reseller.
Would these coilovers be fine for most street drivers? Probably. Will they last like higher end stuff or the oEM suspension? No.
As for the tires, with the exception of the Ling Long brand tires, those others are more affordable tires, not cheap crap, they are all brand name tires. So it's really a silly comparison to RX-8 coilovers but if you must then in this scenario, Fortune, Megan, D2, Stance, Powertrix, etc are the Ling Longs and the Motons, AST's, Ohlins, Bilsteins, etc. are the other brand name tires.
FYI, I have Stance GR's with Swift Springs and they suck. I have a custom set of Bilsteins being made right now that will go on soon.
Last edited by 9krpmrx8; 10-30-2015 at 09:22 AM.
10-30-2015, 12:53 PM
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The parts are made in China and assembled in Virginia.
I however did not get these for free and put up my honest opinion on them.
They have held up for almost 3 years now with no issues.
Obviously, there are brand names out there that people have money for and then there are people that go for the cheap stuff or medium grade stuff.
I'm not sure if they do R&D for each vehicle obviously, but I do know that they (or someone in China) redesigned the bottom mounts for the Rx8 and they sent them to me free of charge to update the existing part. So as far as them as a company, I am very pleased with how they handle their customers.
To each their own, but if someone comes to me and asks if they should go with Fortune Auto Coilovers, I will be happy to tell them yes.
I however did not get these for free and put up my honest opinion on them.
They have held up for almost 3 years now with no issues.
Obviously, there are brand names out there that people have money for and then there are people that go for the cheap stuff or medium grade stuff.
I'm not sure if they do R&D for each vehicle obviously, but I do know that they (or someone in China) redesigned the bottom mounts for the Rx8 and they sent them to me free of charge to update the existing part. So as far as them as a company, I am very pleased with how they handle their customers.
To each their own, but if someone comes to me and asks if they should go with Fortune Auto Coilovers, I will be happy to tell them yes.
10-30-2015, 01:31 PM
#25
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That's cool, I am just clarifying what they are and what they are not. If people want to buy them then so be it, people are entitled to buy what they want. I just don't want people believing the hype that these are made by fortune for an RX-8.
As for them holding up, well aside from the bushings failure, my stance (same exact as Powertrix and other rebrands) have held up as well but they still suck from a performance stand point. People tend defend what they spend their money on, I am just offering information.
As for them holding up, well aside from the bushings failure, my stance (same exact as Powertrix and other rebrands) have held up as well but they still suck from a performance stand point. People tend defend what they spend their money on, I am just offering information.