GoodfellaFD3S

iTrader: (213)

It's a real shame that you guys have to go through this. I wonder if Pettit plans to issue refunds for any sets that are smashing into the control arms?

ThaiTea

iTrader: (14)

I ended up returning my TrakPro COMP. Thru all the disappointments with the product but I'm glad I had better experience with Petit's Customer Service. Sent back and refunded and used the money to buy something else and loving the new setup I've got!!!

Give them (Cam Sr) a call I'm sure he will work with you.

I went other route and currently not disappointed at all.

ALPSTA

iTrader: (3)

Hmmm now I'm confused. I was planning to remove the bottom perch before the install to have my ride height a touch lower then Meiogirl's ride height. Now Zoolander is saying it's 25" with 3 threads showing.

I hope someone can clear this up for me

MattGold

iTrader: (108)

WTF are you talking about? ONE guy mentioned it and it's now an epidemic that needs refunds? Come one bud, coming from a 'shop' background you should be able to relate.

The guy that cited it ALSO mentioned his bushings have 107K on them and need replacing.
("Like I mentioned before, I'm pretty sure this is related to my worn bushings. I just wanted to confirm that others have not experienced the same issue.")


NO ONE else reported this and I just checked mine and after having them for the better part of 2000 miles (with PLENTY of time on some terrible Miami roads) I should NO sighs of this. That should tell ya it's a pretty isolated incident with a very logical explanation. TEINs, Tokicos or Motons will probably all have the same result with sub-par associated components.

Way to stock the flames.

-M

GoodfellaFD3S

iTrader: (213)

Hey Matt,

I suggest you settle down a bit, bud. After having to endure dozens of PMs of yours from that steering wheel disaster, I'd expect to be treated with just a LITTLE more respect. Evidently I struck a nerve, no idea why.

We don't know how many others have had that problem at this point. Any mechanic with a brain will be able to tell you that worn bushing will not cause such issues. I'll tell you what I do know---- I've been in this game over a decade now, and I've NEVER seen anything like that. NEVER.

I call em like I see em. You don't like it, come up with a nicer way to say it, because I have about this <-> much tolerance for you at this point.

MattGold

iTrader: (108)

LoL... is that a passive-aggressive-forum threat?

Just cause I said 'WTF' doesn't mean I'm up in arms... maybe I should have said 'huh?'. I'm sorry, next time I will consider everyone's feelings.

As for bringing up an issue 6 months old in which I was clearly being ripped off - I went to you for HELP and TRUSTED you to help and reported it to mods for resolution - now you use that against me? Nice.

There is no 'disrespect' at all in my post - I was pointing out the fact that ONE user posted an issue and NO ONE else had the same issue (including me).


Re-read your post:
'It's a real shame that you guys have to go through this. I wonder if Pettit plans to issue refunds for any sets that are smashing into the control arms?

1) 'You guys...' ? One guy posted about it. That same guy also admitted it probably was his own isolated issue.

2) 'I wonder if Pettit plans to issue refund for sets that are smashing into the control arm' - We haven't even figured out WHY it happened or if it happened to anyone else. No idea if it's design flaw, install error, user error, or other factor. So why on Earth could it be to the point of refunds? It sounds a little chicken-little.


As for you being in the 'game' a decade and yadda-yadda... I'm sure there are dozens of things you haven't seen yet. Even more I haven't seen yet.

As for calling it like you see it? I guess I was doing the same.



-M

GoodfellaFD3S

iTrader: (213)

I was more referring to the big picture...... I wouldn't be happy if I (or a customer) paid for coilovers that ended up being made in Taiwan, lacked some of the functionality of the oem equipment, came with zero instructions/setup parameters, and that would have me checking suspension arms for contact. Would you be?

t-von

iTrader: (8)

No offense Rich so are you just gonna start asking every vendor who their suppliers are for whatever items your going to purchase? None of the vendors (including Pettit) make their own coil-overs or a lot of the stuff they sell. There not gonna tell you who their supplier is. Customers purchase items from vendors in hopes that we are getting a quality product. Where there manufactured shouldn't matter as long as they work as engineered. Right?

I do see your point! The only real problem I see is Pettit's inability to properly put a package together that properly represents his company. To me it seems like Cam is taking some short cuts and just taking the coil-overs straight out of the box and only putting the Pro-Track stickers on them and shipping them back out to his customers for a quick profit. Since he's obviously playing the middle man and re-selling someone else's manufacturered product, he could at least do what's necessary to make HIS presentation/functionality of his re-sold package more installation friendly to his customer base.

Personally I have no issues with the above. I guess it just comes down to personal preference.

t-von

iTrader: (8)

Damn I just re-read my post and if it is true that Cam is offering this product with only a sticker change, then I WONT feel guilty if I decide to buy direct from the manufacturer. Seriously, I don't think a sticker is worth a few hundred dollars mark-up. Besides, I may have a way to get them even cheaper.

wickedrx7

iTrader: (14)

The reason some people are having ride height issues and some are not is probably because people are running different diameter tires. If someone is running a 26" tall tire, they are going to have to adjust their shocks a lot lower than someone with a 25" tall tire (which is the stock diameter) in order to get to the 25" ride height. This is another reason that people like Howard preach about the staying as close to stock diameter as possible.


Goodfella- I honestly would expect more from you, coming on here and bashing a product you have not personally seen or installed from a fellow shop. Just saying I would expect a more professional attitude from a trusted forum member like yourself.

GoodfellaFD3S

iTrader: (213)

I read the entire thread, asked a simple question, then stated some facts based on the info in the thread. How is that bashing? I have pretty high standards of quality, and am looking at this situation as a consumer. When I lay out big $$$ for wheels, coilovers, a turbocharger, I'd like to have the process go smoothly---that's part of what you're paying for, isn't it?

Some are taking this a little personally, I'm not calling your baby ugly, just stating my opinion.

wickedrx7

iTrader: (14)

Stated facts???? Where? ONE person has an issue with rubbing... Hardly proof I am going to believe. Pretty sure this is just bashing.

Exactly the reason I would expect more from you. I just wouldn't think you where the type of person to chime in on something like this without first hand expirence.

Meiogirl

iTrader: (2)

I am running 225/35/18s. My setup has no threads showing at all. I have not had an alignment or balance done yet but IMO I am thinking to bring it up a tad.

The guy I am taking the car for an alignment/balance to is supposed to be a track corner balance guru in the SouthBay, I am curious what he has to say about these coilovers. Thus far, the normal driving seems to be quite nice and I have done nothing to the damping yet.

Also I have found some cool clamps that might work from speedway motors http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Quick-...amps,1848.html Once I get it all in and get the car aligned I will be back with more.

Miata_mx5

There is nothing wrong with having high standards when it comes to a high end shop like Petit. I have yet to see a quality coilover have fitment issues like this. Hell, even cheap Stance or BC Coilovers would not probably have this issue.

For a $2000-$3000 set of coilovers: Lack of Instructions and poor fitment are some of the basics that SHOULD be there. No excuses for it.

With all this talk about functionality, I have yet to see a shock dyno even for these.

GodSquadMandrake

You guys need to take step back and realize what this product really is. When someone in America puts up pictures of race cars on the track, uses words like 'development' and 'xx years of experience' it doesn't mean anything specific about how they were made.

In the most realistic scenario 'An Chia Lih co.', the real manufacturer, aka "Iasati" uses one design dampener for every vehicle and only changes the mounting tabs and springs. The amount of time they spent on development for the FD is most likely equal to how long it took them to measure the size of the mounting points.

The product line is called Tomei and all you need is one look at the catalog. They did some good development on the dampeners, and offer three different levels:
N1
RS2
RS

I'm not trying to insult anyone's intelligence here, so please don't take it like that. I just keep repeatedly hearing that people are expecting OEM level quality but we're not dealing with OEM, or even name brand. This is a generic Taiwanese coilover, cut and dried.

If you look at the attached picture you'll see that the entire assembly is generic. The only piece that is vehicle specific is the mounting tab, and the top hat. So all they did was measure the knuckle, and design a piece that roughly fit that. So in all your high expectations, keep that in mind. This coilover isn't that special, it's a Mr. Potato Head. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with that or that you can't make it work. But it isn't cut from one billet of aluminum in Cam's garage in Florida. There's no reason to be overly critical of the product, it's pretty good for a $1,000 coilover. When you keep the price that Iasati is charging in mind, it kind of puts things into perspective. Think of what the competition is offering at that price level. I can't say anything for Pettit, people said they were willing to pay extra to support American business and that's their choice. But whoever is re-selling the product it doesn't change what it really is.

GodSquadMandrake

For those of you who missed it, I'll recap what Iasati told me in November:

And then they promptly offered them to me for $1,000 + $200 shipping. That is my price range right there. I can't afford Ohlins, DMS or the top tier levels from name brands like Tein I saw for $11,000 at the Tokyo Auto Salon yesterday. I'm sure those are better, but it's all about MONEY!

moehler

iTrader: (12)

it seems to me that the people who bought these coil overs are more willing to justify them than the people who have not bought them, that's just human nature I guess. The fact is that there are many small problems with these that add up to a poor product and one that was not designed for an FD.

- The minimum ride height is 25" (recommended hight for a lowered FD) with zero margin to go lower.

- The ends are too wide for the FD control arm. Compressing them would reduce their rigidity in my opinion and may cause cracking in the long term.

- No coilover should hit the control arm. I don't see how bushings would cause this. This is probably related to the above issue. Generic, or poorly designed, control arm connection points.

- The brake line issue just adds to the fact that these were in no way designed for the FD. Pettit didn't even bother welding a connector on or provided a proper clamp before marking them up for resale.

Now Im sure they ride good (or great) when all these issues are overlooked, but I would expect more from a company like Pettit.

Zoolander

iTrader: (8)

(You're right Moehler.....as you typed your reply, I was typing this to justify my purchase. Funny.)

Here's a link to a supplier or importer with hundreds of these coilovers for other applications: http://www.alibaba.com/trade/search/..._coilover.html The ones for the FD are in the middle of that list.

Okay....so I'm assuming that the LS type is the Stage II since "LS, RS and N1 have height adjustment function and 24 stages damper force." Stage I has no dampening adjustment. That means :

LS1 after S/H = $1130 compared to Pettit Stage II = $1299
RS = $1350 compared to Pettit Stage III = $1350
N1 = $1550 compared to Pettit Comp Series = $1995

The difference is almost negligible unless you're getting the comp series. I got the Stage II so I'm not worried about the $170 difference. So anyone else who wants to get these just have to figure out if it's worth the difference to deal with Pettit vs someone else....someone else that could be overseas.

Now the other accusation is that these are a generic Taiwanese product. If you click on any other application, say even a Civic or Accord, you'll see that 3 stages are also offered for those cars. So..... you could be right, these are completely generic. But it IS still possible that they are testing these for those cars. We don't know exactly. I cannot believe that Pettit would be selling these with just a sticker face-lift (mine didn't even have a Pettit sticker) without any testing of their own though. Isn't he racing with these...and doing really well? Maybe the standard valving and one design dampener just happens to work very nicely for the RX-7. Maybe that's a naive outlook, I don't know. For me, it was these or Koni/GC......I chose these and I still think I made a good decision. (I do need to check to see if my rears are rubbing though.) I guess dyno numbers will help this debate. And don't sleep on Taiwanese products. I just bought an ASUS laptop and its features for the price point beat out ALL of its competitors....and it wasn't even close. Taiwan engineering rules!

Meoigirl: what size clamp are you getting? The largest on your link has a diameter of 2.125"......it doesn't seem big enough. And that's not even taking into account using some rubber underneath so it's not just metal on metal.

Also did anyone else install the rears without using washers to help with the spacing. I'm going to re-do it with washers but I'm just curious to how worried I should be about those tabs bending in.

ptrhahn

iTrader: (9)

I can understand how everyone feels here, and I have no dog in this race at all (see sig), but I'd like to offer a little perspective:

1. The "problems" noted on these are relatively minor. Sorry everyone's expectations are different, but in my 13 years of FD modd-ership experience, a little minor fitment is par for the course with aftermarket parts, especially (but not limited to) inexpensive ones... and the ones described here don't seem to even be universal.

2. There ARE other products at this budget price point, but all have compromises. There are, as discussed earlier in this thread, a lot of nice features on these such as the upper mount/spring isolator design, the AL bodies, the monotube design on the Comps, and the valving overall that seem to be quite nice for the price, and will offer some real plusses once you get over the install. If you're saving weight, the car doesn't clunk from pillow mounts, and rides well (Cam, afterall, DID win a Redline Time Attack with them, and the other anecdotal reviews have been positive), you might forgive a few extra hours in the garage—that other stuff MAY count more in the many subsequent hours you're driving on them.

3. One of the biggest things people talk about when choosing coilovers (at any price), is the importance of a U.S.-based stockist and support presence—and that's what you can consider Pettit. If you want to email Taiwan and save some bucks, more power to you, but I'd consider the value of being a Pettit customer (and having someone in the U.S. to talk to) when you need a rebuild, part replacement, or want set up advice. I wouldn't expect Taiwan to do much for you there, at least not quickly.

I'd looked in to Ohlins a while back, and there's the Swedish Ohlins ($12k), and the Japanese-made (Yamaha) Ohlins design stuff like the HA and DFV. At the time, Ohlins USA wouldn't touch the Japanese stuff, so I wrote those off (they'll service them now FYI). Something to think about... I wouldn't want to be emailing Taiwan if I blew one of these. Just sayin'.

4. All that said, hopefully Pettit will get wind of some of the information in this thread, and makes some simple improvements like better instructions, clamp on brake clips, or a few washers for the rears that the REALLY should have included in the first place. There's REALLY no excuse for lack of good instructions, to me that's the worst part—it's pretty much free for Pettit to type up in Word with some pics, and include a copy in the box. JEEZ.

There are a LONG list of budget coilovers (and when I say "budget" I mean basically anything that isn't JRZ, Moton, Penske, or Ohlins) over the years that everyone gets hot on, and then turn out to be **** (remember JIC FLT-A2's?). For everything else, I've talked to AT LEAST one person who said they were **** (be it valving, build quality, fitment, or something), or had a **** experience with the company. That's why, after 10+ years of window shopping for a replacement for my GC/koni/GAB's, I decided to go all out.

Meiogirl

iTrader: (2)

Yes, those are the ones I ordered. The coupler I bought to sheath the shock part is 2" and its a little oversized but fit when I clamped it down. So if the .125 of this new clamp covers the thickness of the coupler, it should work.

GoodfellaFD3S

iTrader: (213)

Maybe I know a little bit more than what I'm publicly sharing, did that occur to you? Since you seem to know me so well and what type of person I am, perhaps you should withhold judgement before insulting me. You can declare it 'bashing' if you want to, but it's an uninformed opinion so it means squat to me.

FYI, I have always liked Pettit as a shop, and they're one of the few places where every engine I've torn down has been built/ported well with no glaring errors or mistakes. Likewise, Cam's had success on the track with a rotary which I'm all for supporting. I hardly consider them a competitor, hell I've sent customers to them.

On a separate note, Fisa (meiogirl), you're probably running 225/40-18..... a 35 series would be a serious rubber band on a 225

Meiogirl

iTrader: (2)

yah yah its 255/35/18s for some reason they do not seem that wide to me so I think 225. they are pretty thin though. we have a lot of potholes right now, a dangerous season for me!

yzf-r1

iTrader: (1)

After reading this thread and some previous stuff from Howard, I decided to go Tein SS

t-von

iTrader: (8)

I don't think Cam would ever sell a product like this without testing them 1st. I do believe that he got them for his own personal use and loved the so much he decided to turn around and offer them to fellow rotor heads. Apparently he was doing extremely well with these during his track days.


I made up my mind a long time ago. The stage 2's are what I want.

BlinD26

iTrader: (27)

Ok here we go, straight from Cam Sr. to me, and now to you:

Front Coilovers:
Measurement from lower lock coller to first upper locking coller, visible thread - 5"
Measurement from spring bottom to spring top - 8"

Rear Coilovers:
Measurement from lower lock coller to first upper locking coller, visible thread - 2"
Measurement from spring bottom to spring top - 8"

According to Cam, these coilovers need little to no preload on the spring, hence the 8" length.

I still don't have a motor in the car, but with these settings and the car on the ground the stance was real close to the cars I saw with the same setup at Pettit, both customer cars and shop cars.

Let me know if you have any further questions and I'll see if I can help.

Also, every set of JIC coilovers I've installed on an FD/seen on an FD do NOT have provisions for front brake line holders, and their rep is pretty decent.