I have posted in several threads about my Fortune Auto Coilovers, but I wanted to make a formal review of the product in a new thread so no one had to peck through an old thread to get some feedback. I waited to do this review after I had the suspension on for about a month and a half and put over 1000 miles on them. This is still early for suspension, but in general I hope to give a first impression and an idea of day-to-day use, feel, function, and form.


Company: Fortune-Auto North America
Location: Powhatan, VA

Product: Series 500 Coilovers

Product Features: (General Features off their website)

• Dyno tested
• Mono-Tube damper with high pressure nitrogen
• 24-step rebound adjustable dampers
• Spherical Bearings
• IP synthetic 5w or 10w shock oil (prevents cavitation and promotes superior heat dissipation)
• T6 6061 Forged & Anodized aluminum mounts and camber plates
• Bright Dip Anodized
• Height adjustment independent of pre-load
• 5 year Manufacturer's Warranty (1 year on piston)
• Swift springs upgrade available
• Rebuild-able in the USA
• Revalve-able in the USA
• Modularity - Upgradeable to 2-Way Canister

The set I installed on my R58 JCW had the following features:

• Upgraded Swift Springs with Custom Spring Rates
• Front Camber Plates
• Rear Extenders for Rebound Adjustment
• Roller Bearings (now Radial Bearings)
• Sealed Ball Front Swaybar Endlinks

Here are what they looked like straight out of the box:





Detailed photos of the my kit can be found here:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...55-post20.html


The same time I was to install these coilovers, I also installed:

H-Sport Lower Control Arms
H-Sport Comp Rear Swaybar
NM Engineering Stru Bar

I had also purchased a set of WMW front swaybar links, not knowing I was getting a set from Fortune. I didn't need/use the WMW sway links.


Installation

This was pretty straight-forward. We drilled a hole in the rear for the dampening adjusters to come out. That was probably the trickiest part of the entire install, but it was not as bad as I thought. The rear sway seemed more a PITA to be honest.

From the factory, these were set pretty low. We had to raise them up quite a bit. Once we dropped the car from the lift, we realized the fronts were rubbing on the springs. We could have raised them up quite a bit and probably cleared, but to be on the safe side, we went ahead and installed some 13mm wheel spacers on all four wheels. We also needed to install longer lugs due to that.

Camber adjust is like any other camber plate. No need to shave the towers as a ball-head allen key fits perfectly to make any adjustments. The supplied sway links fit great.

All other parts (control arms, swaybar, etc.. installed without issue to the coilovers)

Overall a pretty straight-forward install.


Adjustment

The camber adjusts easily enough. Camber plates up front via the ball-head allen key. Rears via the h-sport control arms. No issues with any camber adjustments on the car.

Pre-load adjustments are as easy as it can be. Per FA, their website, and the manual, it states to preload 1/4" of the stock spring length. So for my 7" springs, I preloaded them 1/4" and the compressed length is now 6-3/4". I preloaded all the springs prior to installing them on the car.

Ride height is probably one of the best features of these springs. These are non-inverted(?) coilovers. On traditional coilovers, to adjust your ride height, you would need to release your spring pre-load, adjust your ride height, and reload your springs. On the FA coilovers, all you need to do is release the lower locking ring, and spin the entire shock assembly up or down. Your spring pre-load stays in tact and you don't need to remove your wheels.

Dampening is easy enough. The ***** adjust with tactile and audible "clicks". I am still experimenting with my dampening, but overall, super easy to do. The rears with the extenders are tougher to spin, but that is to be expected with the long extension.

**I had my suspension system tweaked and dialed in by Findlay Customs here in Las Vegas. The guy who worked on my system is a driving instructor at the Speedway here and also instructs the MINI Driving Challenge. He dialed in my ride height and dampening for an equal balance of street/track. After I drove it around for a week or so, I decided to soften the front 2 clicks, but overall it is how he set it up.**


Ride Quality

This is the biggest concern most people have with coilovers. My concern was too rough of a ride for a daily driver, but not so soft that I would be all over the place during track days or spirited driving. Well, it is safe to say I found the right balance for me and my driving habits.

The ride is definitely stiffer than stock (mostly my choosing), but mainly because it is much more planted. I opted for 6K/5K spring rates, which is on the softer side of spring rates, mainly because the car is so damn light, I don't need much stiffer than that. Plus this was to be a daily driver first and foremost and a track car on occasion.

With the addition of the rear sway at the same time as the springs, it's hard to say which affects what, but I will say that it rides on rails, and there is little to no hesitation with grip. (Just a note, I am still on stock runflats and I am running on the middle setting for the rear swaybar). I am sure once I upgrade out of the run-flats I will have a better idea of how the car takes simple bumps in the road, but even now I can tell the car wants to grip more, especially when I take turns at higher rates of speed and hit an expansion joint, it just stays put.

Unfortunately I can't say that I have had 10 different manufacturers coilovers on my car and where these rank among them, but I will say that compared to other R56's with Megans, BCs, KWv2, NM Springs w/ Konis, and ST's that I have ridden and drove in, I would say these are most closely comparable to the KWv2, with all the added bonuses of camber plates, roller bearings, etc..


Form

Well pictures speak louder than words, so here are some shots of how I have them setup now and how they sit. They can go MUCH lower if I wanted to, but I thought this was the perfect stance to be at.
























Sorry I don't have any from under the car.


Summary

Overall I couldn't be happier with these coilovers. Fortune Auto has been great. They answer the phone every time I called and emailed me back promptly. Prior to my installation, I believe they had only ever sold one set for an R56 and 2 sets for R53s. I was the guinea pig for fitment on the R58. Because of that they worked out a deal for me to try them on. They fit fine, like most all R56 > R58 suspension. The fact that if I have any issues with the product over the years, I know FA will take care of me. They are definitely not strong in the MINI market, but realistically they should be. Anyone serious about picking up coilovers for their MINI should seriously check them out. Call and talk to them about what options they have and what the recommend for your driving habits and abilities.


-Z

 

Thanks Z-

Glad you like the set up. Always cool to have a nice review when fellow NAM'ers are shopping around for coilovers.

PS- ride looks great!

 

I have recently loved the price for these and might go with them since all I need is control arms. And for $1600, not a bad price! Thanks for the review!

 

Everytime I see this car I get a slight tingle up my leg and my pants seem to get tighter.

 

Thanks for the great write-up. Fortune Auto 500 series coilovers are on my shortlist

 

I was curious about the radial bearings. What do they do and are they necessary? I am looking for coilovers for my r56s.

thanks

 

Info here: Radial Bearing Mounts

 

Thanks for the link. I didn't know spring noise and spring bindings were an issue. But am I correct to assume if those two issues dont bother me then I don't need the bearing mounts?

 

Correct. If you don't mind the noise, etc. then you don't need them

 

I've got a different setup in mine, and there is no preload in my rear springs. I've ordered parts to add helper springs and radial thrust bearings to my setup. I get some noise on mine on compression, and get a 'thunk' sound when I top out over bumps.

Nice writeup. Its also good to see some similar parts (love my NM strut brace and M7 heat shield), and the wheels look perfect with the spacers (I have 15mm). What alignment are you running?

Great looking car.

Have fun,
Mike

 

So I finally got my Fortune Auto coilovers and what I noticed on the the little booklet that comes with the product is that the they are only for off highway use? Even the warranty mentions that if they are used on public roads then Fortune wont fix their product if something goes wrong. Is that some sort of legal lip service or are they hardcore about not honouring the warranty if I drive with these coilovers on the road?

Thanks