When getting warranty service done, shouldn't K-sport pay for the return shipping back to you? I have to pay to ship the shock to them, and to pay to have them ship it back to me? That doesn't seem right. It was their products fault that it failed, why should I have to pay shipping both ways?

And if they updated the rear design due to a flaw, shouldn't I also be able to send back the other rear shock also and have it replaced? Mine aren't on the car right now, but what if I put them back on after the warranty expires, and it immediately goes bad? They were only on for 3 months to begin, and one went bad, so who's to say the other won't blow immediately also?

 

That doesn't seem right at all. Standard procedure in any industry like this is that the customer at most only pays for shipping to the manufacturer. The customer is never supposed to pay for return shipping. Are you sure that's what they said? Did they give a reason?

The update was not due to a flaw. It was just a slight change to the threaded portion at the top of the piston and has nothing to do with the damper's internals.

 

Ah, I was hoping they would improve the flaw in the shock... and just wondering what exactly is the flaw that is making these blow? Has ksport said anything about it? Like have they seen a mistake they made or something? I just thought itd be nice to know what the possibility is of the other ones goin out too.
How will I know if when I was tightening that nut on the damper if I spun the piston inside too many times? Will it fail prematurely or what.

 

Yeah, i'm positive that they said I have to pay shipping both ways. These guys suck. I can't wait to get the shock fixed so I can sell these things and never have to hear the name K-Sport again. They really don't seem to care if the customer is happy, they already got your $1000, and they know that you won't buy again, so why care?

 

Ksport's damper failure rate is still well within the normal range for a suspension setup like this. Even JIC says you should rebuild or replace your dampers every two years. Reading this thread might make you think it's a chronic problem, but if you count the actual number of people who have posted in here and then compare that to the number of coilover kits actually sold, you can see that that's not the case.

As for the possibility of other dampers going out...

As I said earlier in the thread, I had a defective lock nut on one of my rears that eventually worked its way loose (probably my fault, now that I think about it) and came off, allowing the top mount to come apart and the piston to drop below the mount the next time the suspension unloaded. Because of that, the damper was bottomed out pretty hard a few times before I figured out what was going on and put it back together. This was in the middle of winter in Philly, and that damper lasted months on those roads in that weather before it started leaking. Then I drove on it for another couple of months, even through NYC a few times, which of course endangers the other rear damper because of how our rear suspension is set up. I got the blown rear damper replaced in May, and the other rear
damper is still totally fine.

I also had a front damper blow out on me, but again... you should have seen what it went through. I've hit some stuff that literally left me wondering how the front of my car stayed together.

The worst that can happen is premature failure. If you were careful with it but still spun it a couple of times, it's not worth worrying about it.

 

We do not cover shipping either way in our warranty, that is pretty standard with manufacturers warranty. If we do decide to do so it is to help the customer out, but it is not required by our warranty. We have customers all over the world and cannot be responsible for shipping from everywhere. You can return it to the dealer, and we will ship it back to the place you purchased it from, that is not a problem and is included in any warranty.

 

Finally, an unsatisfied customer...

$1000? Where the heck did you buy yours from?

 

I bought them from Sport Compact Only for $950 or so shipped, last December.

What constitutes a need to be helped out? I have been dealing with this nightmare for 2 months now, and K-Sport has been much less than helpful. They could have dealt with this in a friendly manner, but now, they have definitely lost my support. I know that everyone will not have to deal with this, but even if it was ony a few, I would think that K-Sport would like to maintain positive feedback from their customers.

 

You're right. Customer service is one of their biggest selling points. Plus, a very vocal dissatisfied customer can't possibly be worth the cost of shipping one little damper.

For that reason, and for the sake of actually getting a resolution, don't complain to us. Complain to them.

 

Well, saying we suck doesnt help much. All of your emails were getting rejected by your server as spam, so we cant help that, all you had to do was call us 2 months ago, and it would have been dealt with than.

I am sorry you fell it is not friendly, but we answered your questions the best we could. You said you wanted us to fix your shocks that are "not yet broken" and of cource we will not pay shipping for that. If you want email us and we can get the shock taken care of if it is faulty due to our defect.

 

Okay so i'm having some noise issues. I have really loud clicking/popping noises from both of the fronts. I'm not sure if it's the coilovers, my axles, or something else. I raised the front of my car, took the wheels off, and turned the steering wheel all the way right and left with no noise at all. But when i put the wheels on and set the car down, the slightest turn of the wheel gives a pop/click. It will also give me this noise when i first start it in the morning and shift into drive. Accelerating from a stop, coming to a stop, and turning the wheel at low speeds all give the same clicking/popping noise. I lubed the top mount and the top of the spring where it meets the mount, which eliminated some creaking sounds i had previously... but the clicking/popping noise is really loud and its worrying me. Here's some pics of my setup... let me know what you guys think (sorry.. cell phone camera pics)

 

Thanks for the info d00d. The reason I worry is cause I go over some rough stuff too sometimes.
For example.
I made a turn too sharp at a dark (brand new) intersection going about 30 to make the light. I smacked straight into the median, but my car actually went over it despite how low I am. It put a hole in my transmission pan and flattened the bottom of my y pipe. It also scraped my oil pan.
I haven't seen a problem with the front shocks but I can't imagine that was good for them.
Oh well, what can you do.

 

...For starters, not what you just said you did.

 

I just had my Ksports installed today and man what a difference they make over Ground Controls!!!!!!!!!!!! The car feels much more solid when steering. The GC's rode great though I had them on unhealthy OEM's for 4 months and they held up great until two weeks ago when they finally gave out and my car became bouncy. The main thing I hated about the GC's is the noise they made. When turning slow they make a DUNG noise thats loud enough for other people to hear. It can be fixed by RTV the strut bearing to the top of the strut but I decided to buy ksports and save me the trouble. Regular driving is almost the same except Ksports feel more solid and GC's more bouncy. Taking corners is a different story though. Too fast with GC's and the car seems to bounce and skip a tiny bit but I'm sure that can be fixed by having better struts. The Ksports feel solid in taking corners no bounce no body roll its just solid lol!!! I'm very happy I bought these!!!

 

Well, my front 2 KSports are blown after about 2.5 months. I am VERY dissapointed. Nevertheless I called up their customer service and they said they will replace them @ no cost thanks to the 1 year warranty. Now when I say they are blown, I mean they are spewing oil all over the shock body and squeaking bad. So yeah, Ill try to get some pictures up later this week...

BTW, this is all mild driving, I am no f@gg0t street racer.

 

I had the exact same problem you are describing. Here is a low cost fast fix that will eliminate all said noise. Get some Lithium grease from your local auto parts store. Now in order to do this you will need to take off the fron two shock assemblies.

1.) Remove Assemblies from front.

2.) Loosen up the collars enough so the spring can be moved up and down freely.

3.) Place a liberal amount of grease at the top and bottom spring isolators where the spring will contact (the rubber rings.)

4.) Place a liberal amount of grease on the ball mount and move the ball mount around as to work the the grease in. This part kinda takes a while.

5.) Put them back on for a noise free ride!

Thanks to steven88 for this info...

 

BTW, guys, I just ran into someone who said he constantly had to re-tighten his lower mounts because they were coming loose and making noise every couple thousand miles. He said he used a hammer on the collar wrenches and everything. I was puzzled until I figured out that he had been using a hammer on the spring perch collars and NOT the lower mount collars. In other words, he had it backwards. If that is a point of confusion, now hear this:



Hammer the lower mount collars, NOT the spring perch collars.

 

Same here 1.5 months on the road blown already, very disappointed as well. I was also told they were going to fix mine not replace it.

 

Does it look like my shock is leaking? (sorry for crappy cell phone camera pic)

 

Sure does. Is that dark stuff oily?

 

yea i just found that 2 of my struts are leaking.....Ksport also said they will fix them not replace them....only thing is, its my daily and cannot afford to have the car sitting while i send the shock/struts back.

 

that doesnt sound right...how would they "fix them". i tohught the deal was you paid for the broken/blown dampers they sent them to you, you swapped them out, and then returned your blown ones and they refunded your money....

thats why i kept my stock suspension.

 

Advance replacement is an option. You have to ask for it.

 

Guys i cant and wont read this whole thread but a poll should be put up to gauge who ha sno problemns miles on them and who has problems and their miles.

Iam planning on getting ksports next year and i would like some real data.10-20 people out of a 1000 does not make a product bad.

 

Great idea. Unfortunately, the most of the people who aren't having problems won't even think to look at the thread, much less vote...

Given the rough figures that are available, though, your estimate of 10-20 people for every 1000 isn't very far off...

 

why was i not made aware of this before i purchased my ksports????

 

What grade are you in? Do you seriously EXPECT advance replacement by default? If you knew anything about serious aftermarket modifications, you'd know it's nice enough of them to honor the warranty in the first place.

And anyway, how hard is it to say "I need an advance replacement" on the phone when you talk to them about warranty service?

 

first off, it doesn't even matter what grade i'm in and second, yes i believe whether its aftermarket or factory, they should stick by their warranty. Now it doesn't say anywhere that there is "advance replacement" when ordering so i had no idea that they offered it until now.

 

the "advance replacement" is being offered by ksport as a personal favor for their customers. It's not a company policy and they don't really have to do it. So if you don't ask, they just go by with their normal warranty procedure.

 

im pose to be getting some ksport coilovers but im is it really a good investment... i dont want to get them and then later on regret it... can anyone help..... advice please---anybody???

 

Why do you want coilovers? For the drop? For the handling? For the adjustability?

How are the roads where you live? Bumpy? Smooth?

How hard a ride can you tolerate? What is the hardest-riding car you've been in and liked?

What kinds of wheels and tires do you have?

Do you need something you can install and forget for the rest of the time you own the car, or can you check your suspension and clean it periodically?

 

Those are some quality questions people should ask themselves when wanting to do a suspension upgrade to coil overs. the answers to those questions will let you know if coil overs is something you'd want.

 

after reading this thread, I don't think I'm getting ksports

 

what some of the problems people have had? or they just arent for you?

dont forget most of those who arent having a problem with them are not posting. If there was specific thread for D2 I wouldnt have posted in it as I'm not having any problems (knock on wood).

 

In general, how much difference does the thread's title make to you?

What I'm getting at is that the title of this one is pretty neutral as compared with, say, "Who else has had problems with . . ." (or "I love my . . .", just to illustrate an extreme from the other side of the coin).

Without going back to post#1, if I was the topic starter, I'd be expecting a wide variety of responses, not just complaints.


Norm

 

well, I was following the thread from about 15 for a whole lot of pages, but once a few people were having problems, the thread snowballed with many posting other problems they have/had. Plus If memory serves this thread was created for those who needed help installing/ adjusting/problem. It was also started to free such posts from fill up the GD thread.

and about 85% of the thread has been about problems. I'm sure the precent is higher but I'm being modest.

 

man f*ck this. dont speak for the people who LOVE their ksports. I dont post in this thread much but my ksports have been good to me for about a year now. One of my rear dampeners was leaking and i had it replaced within a week and swapped it in myself which took a total of probably 30 minutes.
I'm just tired of people complaining because they want performance products but they dont want to lift a finger to maintain any of it. I'm not saying that there is a direct correlation between performance products and lack of longevity but there's trade-offs with EVERY DECISION you make. so get over it.
besides, you can get ksports for like 600 dollars now in group deals.

 

This thread started well, but definitely turned into a "my Ksports blew" club...

 

Just where do you get the idea that I'm speaking for anybody? Or against anybody, for that matter. All I did was pose a question to provoke some thought about how a thread's title might affect the replies to it. If you think about it a little and what it was in direct response to, it's slightly pro-good K-sport comments. I have no axe to grind, either way.

Regarding the tone of your reply, I'm a little annoyed. However, I can see four possibilities.

1. You meant to reply to somebody else but hit the wrong button and ended up quoting mine.

2. You were too lazy to scroll down a short distance so you could hit the button that lets you reply to the thread rather than to an individual.

3. You didn't read my post for comprehension.

4. You really did mean to call me out.

In cases 1 & 2 you could have deleted the quote part and this thread would be one post shorter. The third may have required that you wait more than ten minutes before composing a hasty reply and hitting the 'submit' button so that any misguided emotion could subside. As for the last, well, let's just say that you can't provoke me into responding in language that requires the use of extended characters in order to slip it past the censoring and leave it at that.


Norm

[edited for grammar]

 

well i want coilovers for the drop and the handling, my car is dropped now but i wanna go lower (tein s techs/illumina struts) where i live now the roads are ok not bumpy like new york , but i do take trips from md to ny so im wondering would it be a good idea to get them considering the 4 hour drive.. as far hardest riding car i would have to say mine right now cause i have my settings on my struts on 4 iin the front and 5 in the back... i have the stock gle wheels soon to have 215/50-17 wrapped on them