86'ed

iTrader: (1)

I recently bought a set of the new 2010 Ksport Kontrol Coilovers from Rides Low (Chris) for my 98 es300. Heres a brief review:

First off I want to thank Chris for the EXCELLENT customer service and great pricing. I was impressed with how quickly he answered my many questions and how fast he got these to my door. I highly recommend going through him if your looking for any ksport product. (No, I was not paid or given a discount to say this)

Ive only had these on for a few weeks now but so far Im very happy with the result. Im sitting about 2 3/4" lower than stock with my subframe about 3" off the ground........ Its gettin dumped in the spring! I went with 8k front/ 6k rear spring rates. 8k for the front seems a little soft and is a little bouncy so Im gonna swap those out for 9k springs and see if that helps. Overall it is a pretty stiff ride though which is exactly what I was looking for. With these rates and the dampers adjusted about midway it can actually be a pretty comfortable ride. The rear doesnt seem to sag at all even with a fair amount of weight in the back. For those of you who are not trying to slam your ride but want to even out that hideous wheel gap this might be a nice option. Installation was pretty straight forward and IMO much easier than swapping out springs on struts. Setting the height evenly takes a little time and patience but isnt too bad. (Check out Smitty's "ES300 Coilover Install Worklog" for step by step instructions if needed.... Excellent writeup!) As far as durability goes we will have to wait and see. Ksport increased the strut body diameter by 8% which is supposed to provide extra strength... hopefully that will make a difference over past versions. Keep that 8% increase in mind for fitment of wheels. Im currently running 18"x7.5" +45 ET rims w/ 225/40zr18 tires with 15mm spacers in the rear and its a pretty tight fit! Well, thats all I got right now. I'll update this in the future.

Here are a couple pics of the Coilovers. Below is a piece of 1/8" thick 3/4"x 36" aluminum angle bar stock bought at Home Depot ($8) (cut into 5 pieces at about 7" long)... works really well with a hammer to lock the collars down without damaging them.

(Check out my "New guy to CL" post for pics of my ride)

charley240

iTrader: (6)

can you do me a huge favor and measure the front springs from top to bottom. from the looks of them, the new ksport design has a shorter shock body. or they lengthened their spring design.
glad you like them, they have been improved greatly and im sure you will enjoy them. they are stiff, but when people catch your car going down the road, they will ask what suspension youre on. many have turned over to ksports.
goodluck
Charley

cyco

Very nice! Can't wait for the pics when they are installed.

86'ed

iTrader: (1)

No problem bro. I''ll get around to that tomorrow when I get home from work... theyre installed on my ride. I think that may explain why I couldnt fit the end link collar on up front and Im not even that low... So I just removed the whole damn thing (Anti roll bar and all ) Bytheway, You have one sick ride... your ES is probably my favorite! Its inspiring!

86'ed

iTrader: (1)

Theyre already installed... Check out my "New guy to CL" post.

charley240

iTrader: (6)

in order to install the front or rear swaybars, for the fronts, you need the whole front end off the ground with both springs uncompressed, same for the rears, you need both rears off the ground when installing the rear swaybars.
the issue is that one side is compressed, with the swaybar loaded on one side, and the other side unloaded and youll have one hard time getting that endlink connected, it can actually be very dangerous.
btw, will you take measurements for both front and rear springs, preferrably uncompressed.
Thanks
Charley

86'ed

iTrader: (1)

Here you go: The front spring measurement is 8", rear 9 3/4". The front shock body measurement is 11 1/4", rear 14 1/2" (< within about a 1/64"). I took the measurements with the springs uncompressed. Also, When I installed the coilovers I did the front and then the back so when I installed the rear sway bar endlinks neither side was compressed. What you said does make sense though. Now that I look at it I probably couldve installed the front sway bar endlinks but at the time I wasnt aware I could push the sway bar down a bit to attach the endlink.... does that make sense? If I do that I wont have a whole lot of room to go lower. I did just buy a Solara Strut Tower Bar so Im sure thatll help stiffen up the front. What do you think, could I get away with just the strut tower bar? Heres a couple pics (front/ rear):

charley240

iTrader: (6)

thats bummer, the new designs are longer springs than the originals. and yeah, believe it or not, the factory supports of the vehicle are already very stiff.
if you are to install the swaybar, make sure you do it like i said, with the whole front end in the air, same for the rears.
strut bar should make a difference, but some disagree. anyways ill be checking out some pics of your ride.
goodluck
and happy modding,
Charley

Rides Low

iTrader: (6)

Looks like you are already enjoying them. Thanks for the great words and glad I got the chance to help you out!

06ausiecar

question,,, little late I know but I just joined here. Do these have the adjustable body or just spring perch? I see a lock I'm persuming where the body can move? Is that right? My GTO coilovers have something like that and have adjustable bodies. Im going to buy some here in june and been looking at these and D2's. Even though the BMW forum keeps telling me they're the same thing, same factory same everything but different colors. I dont care to spend money just want nice stuff and no where can tell me if these (or d2's) have adjustable bodies or just the spring perch. Also how low can these go? I just going right above my tires so I really need no more than 1.5 inches. I have G wheels so it doesnt look like those will allow the ES go too low plus I just want it to ook classy. It's my DD Thanks....

angmedic91

iTrader: (5)

I have the K-Sports too, and the body is adjustable to lower and raise or you do it via the spring perch. K-Sport directions to raise or lower is via the body, it didnt mention raising or lower via the spring perch, but my friends say once you install the coilovers and you want lower is some more, you can via the spring perch. As far as D2 and K-Sport, as your bimmer friends stated, they are the same coilover, just different color and name on it. Seventy to eighty percent of your coilover are made in China from one or two companies, they just change the color and put a different name on it. K-Sports on an ES300 can go very low, but you run into issues with the tire hitting the fender depending on your offset. My car is lower to one finger above the tire all around and at the stiffest setting and no rubbing issues, if I go half an inch lower in the rear, then I start rubbing on bump and dips. Good luck bro and welcome to CL.

Cubano117

could you put up a link or number for the guy that you bought the coilovers from? they sound like a great deal and im more of a DIY kind of person so id really like to put them in myself

86'ed

iTrader: (1)

I bought them from "Rides Low". I'm not even sure if he's still selling them or not... It's been a while. Sorry, I don't have a number or link. Ya, I understand why you wanna do it yourself... It's fun and you make sure it gets done right and with respect! If your interested in buying a set id buy em from someone with good feedback or perhaps even ksport themselves. Good luck with it man!... I was really happy with mine when I had them. They completely changed the way the ES handles and feels!