Powertrix Coilovers: Quality Concerns and an Alternative

sorry your right, company does appear to be Japanese, google tells me they're made in taiwan though

 

Ryan,

How can you be disappointed in our company for making improvements and upgrades? Should we be disappointed if we bought a Z33 (350z) in 2008 and then Nissan releases their improved Z34 (370z) in 2009? Every reputable company that wants to stay in business makes improvements and upgrades.
If anything we improve where other companies either copy or stay stagnant. We try to make upgrades and improvements that will work with our previous versions so our previous customers can upgrade with out having to buy a whole new product.

You have Sport Street Coilovers. The pictures posted previously are of UL and RT coilovers that have a different configuration and different (top spring seat).
If you were missing an a spring seat, there would be no way to install your coilovers properly and the springs would have nothing to hold them in place. Below are pictures of the our Sport Street Coilovers - Standard set up and with our new option of SWIFT Springs:

PLEASE SEE POST #9 of this Thread.
We R&D and Manufacture our coilovers.
We DO NOT COPY and WE DO NOT PRODUCE CLONE SUSPENSION PRODUCTS
This is a misconception and labeling our suspension components with the lower quality companies / ebay is simply absurd. I am proud to say NONE of the other companies mentioned in this thread put any where near the time and effort to R&D and test specifically for the Z32 let alone all Nissan/Infiniti suspension products than the time we dedicate to do so.

The common consensus is as follows but is not necessarily true unless going from rubber/urethane to a solid pillow ball mount.

Rubber = softest
Urethane = stiffer that rubber
Pillow Ball pr Hiem Joint = zero tolerance/solid (Stiffest over both Rubber and Urethane)

Depending on the durameter or (stiffness level) which is created via the mixture/composition of the components used to derive either one would determines which is stiffer/stronger. However stiffer/stronger is not always what is best.

In a racing application, Stiffest would be the best. A component with zero tolerance, Example a Rod End/Ball joint or Hiem Joint would be the most effective at conducting all suspension energy through the coilover assembly - Springs and Damper shaft. This would make to whole system (working components of the coilover assembly) the most efficient in handling the forces generated by the suspension. However this set up comes with a compromise in ride quality. This is a future upgrade for the hard core racer that we are working on releasing in the future.

We choose to use a higher durameter synthetic Buytl rubber bushing for our coilover bottom mounting cups as this equates to a more forgiving ride quality as this style of bushing will absorb suspension energy and shock forces.
This is why we are the only Coilover company on the market to run a Buytl rubber upper mount on our SS coilovers line to create the most street-able and comfortable coilover offered for the Z32. Our (RT) and (UL) Coilovers come with solid pillow ball upper mounts and is intended for high performance applications.

 

Ultimately, you will still have more lowering capability when you remove the top spring seat and still replace the lower mounting cup with new longer style.
The new mounting cups are about 20mm longer from the base of the cup to the top. Removing the top spring seat allows for the entire shock assembly to move up approximately 30mm-35mm. This in turn makes the car lower and with the spring properly positioned, you will mock ArcticDragon's set up and you will have proper suspension travel and still be low. The longer cup just encases the threaded shock body more when screwed in all the way to the bottom. In this configuration you can still droop your current 200mm spring about 25-28mm (though not recommended) depending on the length of the shock. This is where running a shorter 175mm spring may help if needed.

Remove the top spring seat and this will greatly improve the your situation yet maintaining the ride height you want. The main problem is the way that coilovers are currently configured. Right now you have no compression stroke/no suspension travel and the weight of the car is sitting on the bump stops. The weight of the car should be held up by the springs properly configured with no droop or minimal droop.

 

125mph on stock turbos

 

So, to confirm, the new cups are not longer from the base of the cup to the bushing?

If not, they sound great. I may consider having them cut/welded in the style below and the longer thread section would allow for this. I would easily be able to obtain my ride height without even maxing out the adjustment on the lower cup - maybe still with the upper spring perch in place? Not that I'm fussed if it's there either way.

 

Good write up Anti.
I think you will find all these, what I call "Copy Shocks" are all made in the same place, in Asia, NOT Japan. They are either exactly the same or close to other than features, name or colour. Sold under the name D2,G4, Race Logic, Yellow Speed Racing etc. If I order enough I can pick the colour and have them with UAS logo. About 10 years ago I bought some D2 coil overs for my car and tested them at the track and they were very bad. I adjusted the shocks from full hard to full soft and couldn't tell the difference. I pulled them off the car and sent them to Eibach to have them spring rate tested. They turned out way higher than quoted rate. I then had them shock dyno tested at Sydney Shocks. As I suspected the shock adjustment made stuff all difference, worse than that there was 30% difference left to right front and rear was around 20% difference, mismatch rate to the shock, basic linear rate. Nice technical marketing blurb, but crap. They use thicker and softer rubber bushes and cheap female rod ends if the have pillow ball tops.

Normally you pay for what you get and sometimes you just pay.

 

your post would be valid if you actually had experience with Powertrix coilovers and if these coilovers were actually made in China or Taiwan, or where ever those cheap coilovers you named are made. His issues arise from improper set up, not from product quality.
It would be as if I bought your adjustable FUCAs, extremely lowered my car to the point where the control arms actually hit the brackets they attach to, and blaming the product and the company for making a control arm that cannot take the repeated abuse of hitting all the time. Lol.
I also never get why people make a review of a product listing 'issues' before even giving the vendor or the company a chance to rectify or even know of the issue beforehand. isn't it commonplace to contact whomever you bought parts from with regards to any issues you may have before completely blasting them publicly? That's how I usually treat all the parts I receive and install. a company should be allowed to rectify any issue, as customer service is also a major component of a company, is it not?

 

Agree completely with the principles you espouse.

I find it a little rich that a company that flogs "knock off" copies of a range of gear would have the temerity to criticise others in the "knock off" game.

The "Carmate Caper" still rings loud and clear.

 

hahah

 

Hello Ryan,

No Problem. we don't take it personally.
I am however very proud to say here at Powertrix, it is not just Business for us.
Its a Passion, Its a way of Life, a Love for the Z32 and we hope to sincerely share this with the Z community.

The upgrades were not just intended for new customers, we do upgrades with our previous customers in mind so we can also provide the support to them as well long after the original purchase.

I understand you have had your Powertrix Coilovers for around 8 months now and we would like to do what we can for you to continue enjoying their use.
Please contact me via email: cpark@powertrix.com or PM me so we can work on getting you the upgraded front mounting cups and the thrust washers.

 

Yes good point of view articdragon192, although most people don't know what is good. Many times people think their car drives and handles well and some think fast at the track and I drive the car and it is often average or bad. Most cars will actually drive and handle better with stock suspension unless, worn out, compared to the cheap coil overs I mentioned at least, even on the track can be faster. Especially if lowered too much. Generally they are too hard in the spring rate, not enough droop, inconsistent ,some noisy, less reliable and poor control, lock brakes, wheel spin on power too much, not absorb bumps well etc. I didn't actually mention Powertrix, although it does look exactly the same as the other cheap and nasties including the worse than factory bushes. Maybe they use the body only and somehow get quality inserts and valving from another company??? Enlighten us, including independent shock tests and track testing. We could get them shock tested and graphed, which I suspect is a waste of time or money. I have been racing cars since 1984 and ran a performance car shop specialising in zeds since 1997 and I owned my first ZTT in 1995, I have raced my ZTT for about 12 years around 70 times and does some fast times. We have tested many different types of shocks on my car, plus I have driven lots of Zeds and Skylines on the track and thousands on the road, with various types of shocks. You get to know what is actually good. I have never driven on these Powertrix, only going on what I have seen. If it flaps and looks like a duck though....................Bracket on the forum, removed his Powertrix, not sure why, although he had them set crazy low, so?

Next week we are removing another set of "copy coil overs" from a zed which we do regularly do and putting in something better.

Forums are classic for hype. Take the so called Performance Chips people generally waste their money on, that are sent in the mail, that people swear makes more power. However our placebo detector (dyno) testing back to back, like we have done around 30 times and only 1 made more power, most of the rest lost power, and run richer so would use more fuel. I hate seeing people waste their money.

 

my performance chip put my NA over the 200whp range with 210k+ miles on the odometer. Maybe people are getting chips from shitty tuners, lol.
With regards to the appearance of coilovers... how different can coilovers actually be? Plus, you of all people should know that the internals of the damper are what make or break the performance of a coilover system. So what if it may "look the same" as other coilover systems you regards as cheap and China copies? Most coilovers nowadays don't differ all the much. You have a threaded damper, with an adjustable knob, a top mount of some sort, some collars, a spring, and the lower mount. things are bound to look similar even if they are made in different factories and in different countries.
With suspension, as I hope you would know, you know how to best review and critique the product by actually driving on them, and not just seeing pictures online, lol.

 

It would be interesting see the shock dyno test results of a couple of brands of coil over shocks and the factory shocks.

Particularly how consistent the shocks are in a set and what the adjustable range of the damper is.

 

Anti had his set of Powertrix coil overs here showing me the flogged out dust boots, bump stops and front lower bushes. We measured the lower bush and tried to source a decent replacement.

No there is very little difference in the copy shocks other than colour. The difference is inconsistency in each shock which only gets worse over time. There can be a vast difference in shocks, that is why they range from a hundred odd dollars a corner to many hundreds and thousands even. V8 Supercars for example are at least 5k per corner, they have high and low speed bump and rebound. The difference is not so much in features but function. I understand we are not all heading to the track. A good or poor quality shock can make or break a car as far as comfort and handling goes.
For example, drive a car with a set of cheap coil overs, then with Tein Superstreet or Flex or Bilstein and feel the difference.

 

Interestingly, my Tein HA's rode like absolute shit compared to my Powertrix coils haha.

 

Old and flogged out? Or just silly spring rates?

 

Yes HA are old and too hard, that is why I mentioned Superstreet. Procky's car has Superstreet and even with hia bling 20's drives really nice. Yes I know too low to compare.