If you have a problem with your Stance Coilovers, contact Stance. their customer service has been stellar. I do not know yet how Powertrix will handle this issue

Share your opinions here. I just picked mine up from a buddy because he was unhappy with them on his 8. He upgraded to a custom Bilstein coilover setup from Fat Cat that is just superb. He is very happy with his new setup with the stock rear sway bar on instead of the Hotchkis.

These coilovers were ordered with custom spring rates, they (TH motorsports/Stance) sent springs that were not the required 200MM springs so they sent another set which was 200MM but not the requested spring rates. Actually they weren't even marked so we are not sure what spring rates they are. Finally they sent the correct spring that were the right length and the "right" spring rate.

Well long story short, he hated the setup. We tried switching to the mystery springs, adjusting the dampening, alignment, etc. His car was just worse handling wise than it ever was with the stock setup on Progress springs even though he had the coilovers, Nitto NT05's, Hotchkis bars, etc.

So, since my car is on stands, I wanted go a bit lower, and the Stance were in my garage, I decided to make a deal with my buddy and put them on. I disassembled them to clean them up and repair the dust boots that were destroyed. I used some KYB dust boost I got from Automotive OE Replacement and Performance Parts - In Stock for Your Tune-Up! to replace these.

Keep in mind when you see these pics that these coilovers were only on the car for a year or so and the owner was overseas so the car was only driven by me once a week or so, and only for a couple of miles at a time. They might have 1,000 miles on them at most and it was only driven in good weather. Not a huge issue at this stage but disappointing to say the least.


Both fronts were like this. there was quite a bit of dirt in there too which is odd considering the driving conditions of this car were not harsh at all. Also notice the slight rust on the top of the threads.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/9krpmrx8/6984332662/http://www.flickr.com/photos/9krpmrx8/6984331682/
Update:

I am adding Powertrix to this since they have the same bushing issue and are identical

See Page 3

 

I haven't had an issue with the dust boots or anything on mine. The only things that I would be aware of is the bushing at the lower mount for the rears. They are notorious for cracking. Mine started to show some cracking and I called up Stance and they send me new lower pieces for my rears. The bushings had a slightly different design so I am not sure if this was intended or an inconsistency in their product manufacturing.

One thing I can say is that their customer service has been absolutely amazing, and this even though I too got my set second hand.

No problems so far, and the previous owner had only about 1000 miles as well. Even though he super preloaded the fronts to a point that i needed a freaking pipe wrench to take off the perches, the dampers don't show any issues or significant wear.

I cannot really comment on performance because I haven't had any other set other than OEM. I can say that even on its softest setting it rides a lot rougher than oem (I have 9K front, 7K rear). The "rust" is on mine as well .

 

That sucks about the bushings cracking after so little time. One of the rear adjusters also broke off on mine.

 

Yep, when i got mine from the previous owner he had both rear adjusters broken too. Stance sent me free replacements

NOTE! : MAKE SURE that the adjustment screw (the screw taht the rear adjuster moves up and down) is seated properly when you/if you replace the rear adjuster. After I replaced mine I noticed my car drove like complete garbage.....took apart the rears to find out that both screws were recessed all the way to a point that the adjustment pin couldn't reach the screw. It is best to remove the screws, and install them with the adjustment screw at the same time.

 

Were they hard to replace? How do you remove the little hex part that the adjuster cable clamps too?

 

oh i dont have the cables, i only have the *****. The little hex screw inside the top of the damper i just used a small allen wrench.

 

You don't have cables on the rear?

 

dont judge me lol


I am too lazy to drop the dampers down and install the cable

 

IMO the cables are garbage. Too tight of an area with the frame metal all around requires it bending out of the area around 90 degree angle and after my 2nd attempt to adjust one of the rears using it, it failed.

 

thats what i read which is the only reason i didn't buy them. I just have my rears set to 3 clicks above full soft.

 

I didn't buy them either, they came with the set when I bought them from a vendor on the forum here.

3 clicks above full soft? I ran 2 clicks below full stiff

 

I'll have to see if I can just remove the broken piece and then just get them set where I like them and leave them until I get my Fat Cat setup.

 

Ah, so you also had your rear adjusters break off 9k, what setting were they on? After multiple times taking them on and off adjusting the dampening they finally got caught on the sheet metal forcing them in and went by by, stuck on setting 12 of 14 which was perfect for my car anyhow or rather preference.

 

Yeah it broke off when my buddy removed them. I was able to set them somewhat when I installed them in my car.

 

Well I can say one thing, dealing directly with Stance is great. They have been very responsive, courteous, and are shipping out the parts needed to fix mine for free.

Two thumbs up for customer service. My opinion has improved greatly.

 

Well I am very happy with the coilovers so far. They have made me much faster for autocross (about 1.5 seconds per minute) and I am still figuring you the best setup. It is a bit of work though because after lowering them you have to wait till they settle then tighten everything up again but I presume that is the same for all coilovers.

I did not receive the rear adjusters but have email THMotorsport a couple of time about it. Quite frustrated actually, I am going to buy some sway bars soon but think I will look else where.

 

That's what I was saying earlier, I even think I made a "good guy" thread way back when. Those guys are awesome. When I was trying to track down some random noise gremlins they stayed on the phone with me while i tapped the tophat bolts with an impact wrench ... even i said 'want me call back' and they were saying 'its all good we want to make sure you have us on the phone just incase'

 

Well 9k I really can't comment on durability because I have only had my Stance coilovers installed for a little over a month. But I can say the car handles great and has quick response. On full stiff the car is stiff enough where I don't even have to run the rear sway bars. And on my preferred settings ( Front: full stiff; Rear 4 clicks from full stiff) the ride quality is better than my 2012 BMW 3coupe. I have no clunking sounds, and my rear cables work as designed. Also I'm running the optioned "Swift Springs" and the coil overs have the new Gold colored new rust prevention coating that is now standard.

 

The powertix I have use the same cables. Mine work great. You have to snake the cables in through the top of all the sheet metal. The thumb **** pops out the top of the plastic interior panel. No harsh angle at all.

The only issue I had with them is you need to find the sweet spot on the adjuster that will allow it to spin 360* before you tighten the allen screw. About half way between the top and bottom.

 

Doesn't that stiffness make street driving too harsh? I wanted the swift springs, i wish you ran the original ones so that you could provide a comparison.

 

Well we have tried a couple of different spring rates with mixed results, I have what I think (one pair is marked 10k 200mm and the others are the same size but not marked) are two sets of 10k's if someone wants to them. Right now I swapped on what I think are 8k's (not marked but size wise they are between the indicated 10k's and 6k's) up front, and 6k's on the rear. We will see how they perform. I do like the new plating on the coils, hopefully it works, I could not imagine the rust if I had to deal with rain, snow, salt, etc.

The cables work fine, they are just fragile. As for what turning them does, well it's a mystery without a proper shock dyno. Adjusting the rears when they were on my buddies car didn't seem to do much at all

For the price they are okay but if you drive your car hard regularly, I wouldn't expect them to last very long.

 

What spring rates are you swift springs? What kind of set up is your 3 coupe running... stock?

I could never find a "sweet" spot with the dampining rates. rebound was way to soft and made the car scary floaty or the car just crashed over every little bump. I like a nice stiff set up and was running one in my miata but I could never get things just right with this set up.

Any car that is lowered with a much stiffer spring rate is going to give someone quicker turn in and better response.

As a car is lowerd the need for stiff bars is greatly decressed. It is my plan to remove my rear bar altogather.

I hope with the new coating they also changed the dampining set up a bit.

Maybe I am just being picky but was not happy with the set up at all. I truly hope It treats 9krpmrx8 better then it did me. I think if a guy were to send in a set to be custom valved from factory they would have a great set up.

Also what is up with the fitment in the rear? Anyone else have this issue. I have seen it on both the power trix and this set up.

 

I just want to mention that yesterday at 6:28pm (post 16) I complained about not receiving the rear adjusters. Well I decided to email then and I already have the part in my hand.

I cannot believe how amazing that is for service, complaint to receiving the part in 27 hours and I am sure they have been in my mail box for a few hours. Both thumbs up for service.

 

Hey, well the front springs are 10k and the rears are 7k. From my research the Swift spring is a very good spring and better than the stock stance springs. They offer great performance with a little less coil. And your right about the lowering. I think the drop with the combination of the Swift springs did the trick.
For me though that I don't race my car professionally and the long winters in NY where the 8 gets no use. That whole custom suspension thing is just unnecessary for me. Revalving, separate rebound, damper, etc. its just unnecessary.

 

Swift springs are the best. 2 reasons

1) They are consistent, and accurate.

2) Less coils = less binding, less weight.

The size or rates of the spring do not affect lowering the rx8 one bit with the stance coilover.


Dyno and factual comparison between several springs:
http://www.northamericanmotoring.com...gs-dynoed.html

Stiffer doesn't mean better.