EMC2

Hi All,
As promised, some info and pics of my Fortune Auto (Gen 5) - 500 Series coilover installation.
I wanted to get most of the pics posted and will add some more detail over the next few days, but to summarize, I am thoroughly impressed with the results.
I got exactly the ride height adjustment I was looking for, and with some tweaking of the settings the rebound is excellent.I now feel like I can push the car with confidence, especially in the corners. The car feels more balanced and I tried to get the feel as close as I could to be somewhere in between the Sport & Sport Plus damper settings on my Panamera 4s. Obviously the center of gravity and chassis are very different, but I definitely got the driving feel I was looking for. Sporty, but definitely not uncomfortable for driver or passengers.

I kept old tires on as I have not yet had the alignment done. From what I've read, I am hoping the alignment specs for the Cayenne GTS will be a good fit, and hope to get that done next week.

The coilovers were a first time self install for me (never done anything like it before , and really not too difficult, thanks to a couple of very helpful threads I found on this forum and the Toureg forum (will post those links also).
I will say that removing the rears, to adjust the rebound was not so much fun, but it is the only way to get to the adjustment ****. Hopefully I can save someone else (installing the same coilovers)the hassle by posting my findings and final settings.

EDIT - Adding some more info...
I spent a lot of time looking for info/reviews of coilovers installed on 955/957 Cayennes but there were only a very small number of examples to be found, mostly using KW and BC coilovers. Given that there was no overwhelming feedback pointing to any one option, I was more inclined to try out the Fortune Auto (FA) coilovers, even though I could find zero reviews of them being used on Cayennes. My decision was based on the very positive feedback I read on BMW and Subaru forums and in particular the fact that they are custom built in the USA, and the feedback regarding their support was also very good. This gave me the feeling that if I was having any difficulty getting them dialed in, I could get good local support, and if necessary have them modified right here in the US. This was somewhat put to the test, when the original rear lower mounts shipped were the incorrect length (possibly from a different Cayenne spec). Chris at FA shipped out the correct parts immediately and I had them a day later. An error nonetheless but it was very well handled.
And finally the price was fairly attractive also (around $1800 for everything shipped, on promotion).
I ordered the coilovers from Import Image Racing (Billy was very helpful).

The build quality and finish are very good. I'm not a huge fan of the color scheme but the color is not at all visible once installed.
The fit is also perfect (as it should be) so the installation goes very smoothly once you get the old parts out the car.

This was the parts list ordered:
- Fortune Auto 500 Series Coilovers for 2002-2010 Porsche Cayenne 955/957
- Fortune Auto Swift spring upgrade
- Swift Rear Helper Springs

Note they have rear extenders (remote cables) which allow you to adjust the rear rebound settings from inside the vehicle, but because of the Cayenne rear mount design, these cannot be used.

For the rebound setting I used the following:
Front: +17 Clicks from full soft
Rear: + 15 Clicks from full soft

I'll post additional details and tips over the coming days as I find some spare time. Also happy to answer any questions.

At the same time I replaced the rotors and pads (rotors = Zimmerman vented), (pads = Hawk Performance Ceramic - what an incredible reduction in brake dust ). I also replaced the rear sway bar bushings as it was such an easy job whilst working back there (15mins).

As a reminder, this is a before pic:



The coilovers delivered (approx 5 weeks from date of order as all are custom built.)





















a

Here are some photos of the before and after ride height.
I reduced the height at the front and rear by the same amount in order to keep the rake of the vehicle the same as spec.








I was fortunate enough to come across another Cayenne in a parking lot so took the opportunity to take a few photos for comparison.











Finally a bunch of after pics.

loxxrider

That looks great. Nice work!

I finally got most of my cf stuff in, so I can take some pictures of that nice brushed shifter surround you made. I love it

Glen McCartney

Thanks for posting. Looks great.

EMC2

These are 2 threads that I found very helpful:

http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/c...springs-2.html

http://www.clubtouareg.com/forums/f4...tdi-50095.html

J'sWorld

They look to be of very high quality, thank you for sharing with us.
Im considering replacing my air suspension with coilovers. Are both compression and rebound adjustable? Do you know anything about the rebuildability on the dampners themselves?

EMC2

Thanks. These are single adjustable units (for rebound). Ride height is very adjustable also, but I did not measure the limits. I looked long and hard at the KW units because they are certainly more adjustable, but I figured if the FA's were well matched (dampers/springs) for the vehicle, this could overcome the extra adjustability of the KW's that carry a substantial price premium. I know that FA says the 500 series can be upgraded to 2 way canisters, but I did not look into that option.

You could also order custom spring rates, but I went with the manufacturer recommended set up using the Swift upgrades.

From the website it also seems that they are fully rebuildable and revalveable in the US. Hope this helps.

luvmy356

Nice ride height. Do you still have room for additional lowering?
Like your sportplus wheels, you don't see that many sets in black with the unpainted rim edge.

EMC2

Thanks.
Yes I would say there is easily another inch or more you could lower by. I'll take some measurements when I get the alignment done, but from what I recall there was definitely room for quite a bit more adjustment in either direction.

mclaudio

Thanks for sharing. How is the damping characteristic with these coilovers compared to the stock/OEM setup, which I think is underdamped?

Also, do you feel smaller road bumps more or less than the stock setup? The helper springs probably improve the ride on small bumps.

EMC2

I'll try and answer with a few examples:
You definitely do feel more of the road, but in a good (connected) way.
Overall the feel is stiffer, but still very comfortable at highway cruising speeds.

You do need to go over speed bumps more slowly, because they do feel a bit more abrupt when taken too fast.
Going into a corner the vehicle feels more planted and doesn't lean as much.

Ebg18t

Looks great. Been looking at these for my Touareg.

EMC2

Excellent news loxxrider. I look forward to seeing the pics

EMC2

I had an alignment done last week and the tech struggled to get the front camber to meet the GTS specs. It is definitely an improvement since installing the coilovers, but out of spec nonetheless.

I'm interested to know what others have found when lowering their vehicles, or what you may think of this setup?

The toe settings are pretty good but I'm wondering if the front camber would really be a major concern for inside tire wear. It's still a lot less camber than the rear which is in spec.

Comments welcome - thanks

malem

Great write up! what do you think about the fortune auto coilovers vs. the bc racing coilovers? I read your thread on 6speed and it appeared like you were happy with the outcome of those as well.. From a cost perspective they are very similar and they also both have the optional swift upgraded springs. If you had the choice what would you go with?

EMC2

Thanks.
My post on 6Speed was actually in response to someone else's thread , who had installed the BC Racing coilovers. I have not used BC so unfortunately cannot help with an opinion on those. Sorry.