Fortune Auto Coilovers
 

I have noticed the coilovers on my Miata I just bought has fortune auto coilovers on it. I do not care too much for them and wanted to switch over to something a little softer. Does anyone have a recommendation? I have been looking at some skunk2 coilovers, but haven't really heard anything about them. I will probably still hold onto the fortune auto coilovers, for when I get serious about building a Miata, but for now just need something a bit softer.

Don't replace crap with crap. Cheap coilovers don't ride well. Being low generally doesn't ride well. If you want comfort you have a few options. Stock replacement shocks and stock springs. Good shocks and a lowering spring from somewhere like Flyin' Miata. Bilsteins with coilover perches and relatively soft springs (maybe 450/300) and set to a moderate ride height. If you want the best of performance and comfort, Xida's.

I didn't install the coilovers on it, I'm just looking to swap them out. Haven't heard much about them, but do not think I will go back to stock suspension. I will have to check out Flyin' Miata and Xida's. Still pretty new to Miatas. Have only really done work on Hondas before this. What do you run on your Miata?

Read the DIY Bilstein coilover thread. Good info in there.

Fortunes aren't that terrible, certainly better than skunk. You've probably got them preloaded too high or you need to lower the dampening adjustment.

I have been looking into Blistein, they seem to be pretty good, I will check it out soon.

gooflophaze - The coilovers aren't bottomed out, but yeah it could be that I just need to adjust the dampening. I haven't really messed with the car since I have gotten it, just done basic maintenance. I will have to check to see how the preload is. Thank you for the input.

The fortunes certainly ain’t cheap.

give Rspeed a call and make sure they are setup properly. They are very helpful

Alright I will have to do that thank you!

Fortune Auto makes pretty good stuff for being the generic china garbage most forum folks have dubbed them.

It'll be cheaper for you take them off, send them to Fortune Auto and have them resprung and revalved to what you actually want.

Send them an email explaining your situation and theyll help you through the whole process, including figuring out what spring rates will meet your current needs. I've dealt with them a few times and have had their products on multiple cars. Really great company to work with.

Alright, awesome thank you for your help.

Meister R CRD for $995 or the Meister R Sportives for $599 (being improved so out of stock). Both of those got good reviews. The Sportives are fairly new and are being improve upon after the sale of the first batch.

Okay cool I will check them out.

Please unless you have some actual input on what coilovers to use don't post. No point in you doing this.

OP, did you read this?

Yes I have read all the posts on this thread. What suspension setup do you have on your miata? And please don't post if you do not have any helpful knowledge or tips.

Droolmonkey, hes laughing at you because you are asking the same damn question that newbs ask every week. Probably top question of all time....

No haters please! Only compliments! Tell me i'm pretty!


I have a custom valved Bilstein setup on one, Xidas on the other.

Because ain't nobody got time for trash.

Okay cool, How do you like the Bilstein setup? I am not trying to waste my money on crap, I honestly only know hondas. So I'm not sure what suspension setup is any good (as if you probably couldn't tell). What do the Xidas run you?

It like it. It really grips the suspensioning road and moistens my movements. The car handles like it's on rails, really grounded to the ground.

It was cheap too. Only about $1600.

The Xidas i'm not sure. Might want to check 949Racing (I mean SuperMiata, don't ground me, Dad!) and see what Emilio is selling them for.

Okay, cool not too bad then for a good quality suspension setup. I will definitely have to check it out. Which one would you prefer Xidas or the custom Bilsteins?

Thank you!

I have no preference between the two. The Xidas are easier and weigh 9-10lbs less total. The Bilsteins have a little more travel and i had to to put them together.

Performance wise i cannot tell a difference. Part of that is because they're on two different cars, and part of that is because it would probably take a pro driver to tell the difference anyways, and we're talking about splitting hairs.

Okay so then for a driver like me it wouldn't matter. Awesome thank you for the help and I was checking out the link doward provided. I think I'm going to go with the Xidas, I am not really good with cutting things up like it shows in the Bilstein thread.

This is $10k worth of miata coilovers just laying on my garage floor. I think you should go with some MeisterR's, if you want to know why I say that. Just think about what brand suspension you don't see on the ground. And where it might be.
Attachment 228324

oK , Ill admit it, I do not understand the above post. I dont see Miester R's or Bilstiens in the pic. So.....One of each, on each corner? sounds stiff.

Not familiar with those coilovers, so I have no idea what they are.

So i dont know maybe if you wanted to sell those xida's or feals i bet people would buy them. especially the xida actives.

I'm going off a limb as to why you don't see the Meister R's is because Shuiend (and others) considers them not worth the money to even buy.

I'll take 'In the garbage' for 400

That's what I keep hearing, but not the first time I've also heard about the shit ride quality. My friend had a custom valved setup on his s2000 and it rode like shit, and got upset on imperfections no matter the setting. Heard about others having issues, not sure the deal, maybe valving? Install? Xidas and Ohlins on other Miatas that I've been in rode much better.

Xidas and Ohlins are twice the price or more. I've never ridden in a miata with either setup but my car with Fortune Auto suspension feels great during DD trips, especially considering some of the things it sees on the way to work or around the city in a North/Midwestern location. Thats being set up with something like 680/400 springs. On track, I have no complaints at all. Other than I wish I had maybe gone a little stiffer all around.

I may not have ridden in any miatas with the fancy coilovers but I've ridden in loads of cars with shit coilovers. Megan, Buddy club, raceland etc. This is significantly better than those and on a more aggressive setup for the vehicle as well.

I bought the FA's knowing I was getting into what I feel is the best of the middle ground coilover territory. If this guy sends his in for a refresh/revalve I feel like he'll be coming out of it a lot better than he might, for the money spent anyhow.

FAs are more than half the price of Xidas lol.

And if you can afford FAs, you can afford something better. Just save longer. Pretty easy.

McDonald's vs steak.

Either way, sure after a few hundred they might get better.

With NB mounts the Xidas retail at ~$2000.

Just about any retailer of FA is willing to let a set go for ~$1000.

So.... in any case nearly double. Unless you know of somewhere thats willing to give special pricing on Xidas. I certainly dont. I doubt OP does either.

And regardless, my point stands.

More importantly, this thread is in reference to helping with the OP's question. Not a dick measuring contest as to how much different people want to spend on their suspension. OP likely doesnt need/want to spend that much, has a decent platform of suspension and can solve his problem getting them revalved and refreshed.

IMO that's his best option and it's intended to be communicated as my opinion.

https://supermiata.com/Xida-GS-Coilover-Miata-MX5.aspx

$1759.00 with new NB mounts. Around $2000? No. $241 less than $2000.00

I was looking at these when I made my comment.

https://supermiata.com/xida-coilover-miata.aspx

But if thats all you could take away from my post for the sake of argument... :cjerk:

No. Correcting your facts. You're free to believe as you will, but don't support your argument with inaccuracies.

Inaccuracies? As I said, I was looking at a different set lol but ok guy. :cjerk:

Great. Glad that we agree you didn't look at everything and posted your response without knowing all the facts.

How do you think that statement makes any relevant sense?

I mean youre arguing pointless shit for the sake of it.

Maybe if your initial post said something along the lines of "this xida set is ~250 less" we could have proceeded in a meaningful direction but youre really just coming off as an asshole with nothing better to do than argue for the sake of arguing. I guess Im probably coming off the same defending myself against baseless arguments...

If you had done what youre chastising me for, you would have realized I was looking at the set with custom rates and wouldnt have commented in the first place. Or at least would have stated something meaningful.

Have a good one bud.

It does. We agree you didn't know fully the price range of all XIDA coilovers. I'm not arguing, rather, stating simple inarguable fact. You seem to be butt hurt that you've been corrected. Judging by your posts, I think that is something you should be you'll get used to.

In any event, you like your FA coilovers. GREAT! I appreciate the fact that FA is mostly a Virginia based company. I rather enjoyed the Speed Academy segment where they featured FA. Who am I to say what you should prefer? I'm done.

Poor attempt at gaslighting there.

You had no ground to argue anything after I clarified which set I was comparing prices on. Pointing out a different set stating I didnt know the different xida options to support your initial dickish post literally shows you didnt look, or at least didnt accept, I was looking at a different option. Which is what youre trying to shame me for? Right? And 1750 vs 2000 doesnt change anything from up there where this thread was still on topic. So...

As much fun as I'm having ripping up your pointless posts, the internet is filled with enough meaningless forum caterwauling.

Shut up.

The point is it is well written as to which coilovers are good, and worth the money. It has been written for years as to which cheaper set ups are worth the savings, and which are worth saving for if you want the best you can afford. It's really simple. Sit on your ass and actually research, and use the time everyone else already spent figuring it all out for you by trial and error, lap times and so on. Literally in 30 mins anyone with half a brain could realize there are just a few set ups that the majority recommend spending your money on depending on street/track/race.

Xidas good. Fortune auto bad. /thread

Tein makes great stuff. While they used to have a reputation for being super stiff, Their current US market parts are designed in the US, so spring rates and valving are appropriate for US tastes. Their cheaper stuff is soft for autocross, but very comfortable and capable for street. They service and rebuild in the US and are capable of just about anything.

Having a set of tein covers I can easily say I will not buy them again. They are fine but for the price I rather save a little longer for good coilovers. That said if someone want them I'll gladly sell them.

Which ones?

I bought a set of Tein Flex Z's when I first got my Miata. Crappy coilovers and even worse customer service. Didn't even really get a chance to test them. Went with a diy Bilstein setup and never looked back.

What did you find lacking about them? What were your customer service difficulties? I have had superb service from them. My biggest complaint is that their budget stuff, the Z series stuff, is sprung soft. It's great for a daily, but falls pretty hard at autocross. I'd assume similarly for the track.
Old Teins can be rebuilt for just about any intention, though. Same for their current catalog aside from the Z series stuff.

Same here. Had the Tein Street Advance bought from 949. Handled well enough for the street but the ride was always rough. I messed around with different spring rates, different sway, etc. Never like the ride with the Tein. Have Flyin' Miata Fox now. Do yourself a favor. Save up, buy a quality coilover and just do it once.

Spent about 4 months dealing with them. First issue was that the fronts rubbed the control arms. They claimed it must be something wrong with my car, wrecked, bad bushings, etc. I finally found out the NB2 control arm issue and fixed it. Then one was blown from the start. Had to send it back to them for testing. They refused to update me for weeks at a time unless I called them. Then they said that it was bad but they didn't have parts to replace it and had no idea when they would get them. Had to argue with them another month before they eventually caved and refunded my money.

It was a joke post. I am not interested in selling any of the setups at this time. I will be doing some testing between them all sometime in the spring hopefully.

I have talked to Fortune Auto several times on the phone. They are located about 20 minutes outside of where I normally drive past to get pipes. I wanted to stop in and possibly get some shocks on a dyno for testing. They were not interested in taking my money.

That sucks. The Z series are sealed dampers manufactured in China. This means replacing dampers rather than rebuilding them. If Tein doesn't have those dampers in stock I guess that means waiting. Their other dampers are rebuildable.
I view the Z series as a well engineered cheap spring and damper combo for the street. If budget allows, I'll always opt for rebuildable dampers.

Ah, no.

I had a set of Tein HAs in a part-out car that were new in ~2009. Those were great. Fairly supple, well sprung, well damped.

I bought a brand new set of Tein Flex in ~2015 for my NB and was horrified. At full soft, the car was dangerously floaty, even on the highway. Secondary motions over minor pavement junctions. Literally undriveable. At full stiff, it was bone jarring. Outrageously harsh. As you turned the shocks down from full stiff, they retained the harsh feeling over large (high shock speed) impacts, and at the same time, gained the floaty feeling back. The "sweet spot" in the middle combined the worst attributes of both. If you wanted to demonstrate to a team of staff engineers how not to valve a set of shocks, I would have them take a 10 minute ride in that car with the shocks set mid-way between soft and stiff.

If you go hunting (as I did) for shock dynos from older Tein Flex/Monoflex vs. their newer Tein Street Flex products, you'll see major differences in the valving that explain all of these symptoms.

I replaced them almost immediately with a set of MSM Bilsteins, which were much better (although oversprung at 600/350). I would emphatically recommend a 450/300 MSM Bilstein setup for a street/sport car on a budget.

I would take Tokicos over anything Tein has made in the last 5 years.

Spendington recommending tokico. this is going in my sig :D

That sounds like an easy enough phone call to get the older valving.

$1739 if you don't opt for helper springs, and were smart and started with an NB. So... even cheaper. GG.

Sounds way easier to not make the phone call in the first place, and just buy coilovers that don't suck to start with.

Probably cheaper, too. Especially because time is money.

OP could just have FA revalve and respring. Looks like it's about $600 for a full overhaul.