I think they are another BC/Megan/VMaxx/Stance, but they speak about a few things that make me think otherwise. They actually post shock dynos, which is a first.

http://www.fortune-auto.net/fortune5...scoilovers.htm

I got a quote from them the other day, for $1600, you get the following:

-Swift springs
-Custom rates
-Dampers specifically valved to your rates
-Camber plates up front
-Roller bearings to eliminate coil bind

 

fortune auto is highly praised in the evo community and heard all positive things from them... Alot of track cars from japan use them. i wouldnt compare them to megan at all (its insulting)

oh and the swift springs IMO are without a doubt the best out there. Im actually debating on getting this myself, I didnt know they made them for the mini until u posted this

 

I would love to get more info on these. At that price point it would be comparable to KWv2 which I am considering but the added benefit of camber plates and swift springs, it's tempting. Let us/me know any more specifics on this if you get more.

-Z

 

I just sent them another email with a few questions. Ill post their information here when/if they respond.

 

I asked them if they took into account the limitations of each vehicle when designing a set as well as why the chose to make theirs height adjustable at the bottom vs the design that KW/Bilstein/etc use. Here is their response..

 

Sounds promising. I might give them a call to get some specifics about my setup to them and see what they suggest. Any mention to the drop on the coilovers?

 

I am the only person known that has experience since I had their one and only set on my R53.

Fortune is local to me, I have worked with them in development of coilovers for my MKII Toyota MR2. I brought my Mini to them with KW V2's on there and wanted them to valve, spring, and cater the coilovers to the ride quality of KW with Fotunes overall great quality and they did just that.

I sold the coilovers because of an unexpected death in the family and I needed the money (they were just up for sale in the market place: here is my thread over on M/U where they sold http://www.motoringunderground.com/f...ad.php?t=24017).

When I got them back from Terry at Fortune (who is a fantastic guy to deal with), he gave me some recommendations on things to do for improving them if I wanted toward comfort, control etc. I upgraded to Swift 5k/6k springs. If I could do it over, I would have gone 4k/5k for a little more street comfort as I can dial in the damper to stiffen it up for when I hit the mountain roads.

Fortune has soo many aspects of their company and coilovers that put them way above Megan, VMaxx, Stance, hell even KW. Some of the main highlights:

- You pick spring rates
- You pick Valving specs
- You can pick Spring LENGTH (so if you want 6" springs to dump it, you can get them)
- All shocks are dyno'd before they are assembled and shipped for QC
- All of this is free of charge

- Then you can upgrade to swifts (add charge)
- Add roller bearings so there's no spring binding (add charge)
- They are rebuildable IN THE US IN RICHMOND VA, at only $100/corner. No more ship overseas and wait weeks, they have DAYS turn around time.

They have upper camber plates
They have height adjustment independant of spring preload in the front AND rear

Again I still have the first ever MR2 set and they are the best suspension setup I've ever had on my MR2 hands down. In terms of overall handling and quality, they were also the best I've had on my Mini (R53) (I've had KW V2's, Swift springs/Koni Yellows, M7 coilovers, etc.).

For comfort, I mean my roads are terrible, nothing is really comfortable, but I had no intentions of ever selling them... you can read more in my sale ad in the link.

If you have any questions, give Terry a call, hell, tell him Jimmy with the MR2 and the Mini cooper sent you his way and he may even want to work with someone with an R56 for testing... in which case he will valve the coils to the car to get specs for future sets.

I had planned on trying to help promote them far more then I have, but again, some serious things happened in my life that have driven me in the other direction right now, but my hats off to Fortune and the things they are doing in the suspension world.

 

Thanks Jimmy,

I like that type of customer service. Sounds like good people to deal with. When I get done globe trotting for work in a week or two, I might give him a call and talk my options.

Z

 

So far to me, they have been one of the easiest people to work with. A friend of mine (who eventually launched the group buy for the MR2 coils since I don't have a business) he even has them on his Infinity FX35 SUV and they are fantastic.

Their name has just been kind of limited at first to area, then to Subi/Evo world, then to Drift/240 crowd and slowly they've been evolving. But they go from 500 series all the way to external reserviours if you wanted for full race.

Hopefully the new owner of my R53 coils will post up his reviews as well and help spread the word!

I can answer a lot of other questions if there are any as well as I am really familiar with the company, location, and their 500 series coilovers.

 

Wow, great feedback. Thanks!

I was able to get in touch with a friend of mine who is a mechanic near Roanoke, VA. He has owned his own shop for many years now. Here is what he had to say about FA.

More and more, this is looking like the way to go. Unfortunately, the only thing they dont offer right now is an inverted shock for the rear. So adjusting may be somewhat difficult.

 

I have contacted Fortune regarding numbers for actual shock travel. I received a reply letting me know that they would send the information tomorrow.

 

Here is what Fortune told me...
Does anyone know the stock numbers?

 

This thread has some info on the rear travel

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...srurement.html


From Ryephile, very much knows his suspension details

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...on-travel.html

 

I contacted BC Racing regarding the travel on their shocks, here is their response.

 

So I reached out to Ryephile regarding the FA coilovers. While he doesnt have any direct experience with them, he says that they do appear to be a level in quality above the BC/Megan/VMaxx/etc crowd.

I was able to get some clarification from FA regarding shock travel, and the 3.8" F and 3.5" R numbers indicate the "free travel" of the dampers. That is the total stroke from full extension to resting on the bumpstops, but NOT compressing the bumpstops.

Another talking point he brought up was spring length, too short and they can completely compress and bind before the damper is able to compress fully. You would essentially be leaving shock travel on the table for no reason at all. It sounds like a 7" spring is the MINIMUM you would have to order with these coilovers based on the information found here: http://swiftsprings.com/file/metric.pdf


Diving into spring rates next, will report back probably early next week.

 

I just ordered a set of Series 500 Coilovers from Fortune Auto for my R58 JCW coupe. Their customer support has been top-notch and every question I had was answered quickly. Originally in the market for KWv2, BC's, or ST's, I was glad to have seen this post which allowed me to look into Fortune as another alternative. They definitely have a lot of bang for the buck considering you get camber plates, adjustable valving, etc.. Plus they can come with Swift Springs and you can custom order them to your spec (spring rate, spring height, etc..)

I ended up with the following:

Fortune Auto 500 Series Coilovers
Swift Spring Upgrade (6K/5K custom rates)
Roller Bearings
Rear Extenders

Due to it being their busy season with orders and rebuilding, it is looking like a 3 week turnaround on the order, which I don't mind at all. I did a lot of research on the company and on feedback from other drivers who have their suspension. All of the feedback was positive and every review I read praised not only the product, but the customer service as well. They are definitely new to the MINI crowd (only sold 2 MINI kits before mine), they are trying to get more exposure into our realm. I will write up a review once they come in and let you know the turnout.

-Z

 

Awesome!

I too will probably be buying a set. Have a wedding coming up, so I need to plan that budget first before I can go drop the money on toys. Hopefully by this summer though.

 

I forgot to ask, what length of spring did you go with?

 

The swifts will be 7" long.

 

My Series 500 Coilovers arrived today. Includes camber plates and adjustable dampening. I got them with custom Swift Springs, Roller Bearings, and rear adjustment extensions. Looks like they also included some endlinks as well.

I will have these installed within a month, just working on getting a set of h-sport camber links before I install everything. Way was out of them when I ordered my RSB, front links, and Torque Arm. Hopefully he gets them in soon.

Here are some photos I took of them out of the box:

























Will keep you all posted!

-Z

 

That's impressive! Any idea who makes those endlinks? I want some.

Sadly, I will not be buying the FA's anymore. I came across an amazing deal on some TSW spec KWv2's and I had to buy them.

 

Very Nice, reminds me of when I had mine :(

 

That's a nice set of photographs, thank you. That looks like quality kit doesn't it...

Cheers,

Charlie

 

These look very nice. Looking forward to your review after installing them What was the total dollar layout with springs.

 

I don't know much about FA but at first I figured they were entry-level much like ISC and BC. I had BC BR's on my subaru when I traded it in(bought new and installed myself) and the part number for the front coils for the legacy sedan is the same as the 04-07 wrx. As you know the difference between the two model's weight(and over all size) is a few hundred pounds and the suspension geometry is a completely different design. Needless to say it rode mostly like crap, the spring rates for the wrx and the legacy are the same on the BC BR's which is hilarious, so is the valving in the actual cartridge(replace cartridge are the same part #). No setting in the range of 32 clicks could help the improper spring rates.


Needless to say this lack of customization based on vehicle specifics is disheartening to me and would not buy another BC product based on this oversight. They are cookie-cutter coils much like ISC that they try to use a generic spring rate and valving to work on a wide range of application in efforts to reduce R&D costs, which in my opinion is not how suspension is suppose to work at all. All of the parts have to work together in harmony.


What have I learned? You get what you pay for when it comes to suspension. It's nice to hear FA understands how vital spring rates and valving tailored to the car actually is.

Based on years of experience, KW, Bilstein, Koni, Ohlin, all have their ducks in a row when it comes to dampening and have proven to be a solid choice. I'd like to hear more about FA's setup, I've seen their sets on some STi's but haven't rode in them