Feal Coilovers Review – How Good Are They?
Over the last couple of years, the name Feal has been popping up with more regularity in the world of coilovers.
With the many coilovers brands out there these days, and some definitely better than others, it can be hard to differential who’s good and who isn’t.
In this post I’m going to go over Feal and how good their coilovers are.
About Feal Suspension
Founded in 2007 by a pro Formula Drift driver Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis, Feal Suspension set out to build proper performing coilovers, not just sell generic kits like many other brands.
With their focus being motorsport, they not only build and service suspension, but they are also actively involved in motorsports, with the founder himself continuing to participate in drifting. They also sponsor over 60 other drivers in various forms of motorsport from drifting to circuit racing.
They offer a wide range of coilover kits to suit all kinds of specific requirements from street use to drag and drift specific coilovers, and even kits with longer stroke options.
Let’s have a look at their coilover options.
About Feal Coilovers In Detail
Feal offer a wide range of coilovers starting from the 441 which is their entry-level street and track set up with 1-way, 30-level dampening adjustability all the way up to the 443 which has 3-way dampening adjustment.
Their coilover kits are hand assembled by Feal in California, USA and are built specifically to order. So when you order the kit, Feal will ask you for specific information about the car they are going on and the intended use, and put together a kit for you to best suit your needs.
They have put some real time and engineering into their kits to make them perform better than other brands. For example, they have designed the coilovers to have up to 25% more stroke than other brands, which means not only will ride comfort be better but you will also get more grip, especially on bumpy surfaces.
The damper internals are also designed to have as little friction as possible, with great attention being paid to all tolerances of all parts in the dampers.
All their coilovers use monotube dampers and come with camber adjustable strut mounts on McPherson models. Along with that, one of the lower mounting holes is also slotted to allow further camber fine-tuning.
Another cool feature of their coilovers is that they are modular, meaning they can be upgraded. So if you buy the 441’s and decide you want 2 or 3-way dampening adjustment with external reservoirs, you can send them in to be upgraded, you don’t need to buy a whole new kit.
Because they assemble all their suspension in-house, they also offer rebuild, revalving and repair services as well as shock dyno testing.
Feal 441
Their 441 coilover, which is the entry-level kit, is a 1-way, 30-level dampening adjustable coilover with independent ride height adjustment done by the shock body, giving you maximum travel at all heights (all their coilovers use this system).
The list of features includes:
- Monotube shocks
- Shock body ride height adjustment
- 30 level 1-way dampening adjustment
- Assembled in house in USA and rebuildable/serviceable in USA
- Aluminium camber adjustable strut mounts on applicable models
- Slotted lower mount hole for additional camber adjustment
- Teflon injected spherical bearing top mounts front and rear on McPherson strut applications
- 1 year warranty
- Modular – can be upgraded to 442 and 443 spec
- Designed to have minimal friction with tight tolerances
- Designed to have more stroke than most other coilovers – better comfort and more traction
- Not customizable – Spring rates and dampening set up by Feal for each car model specifically
- Come with a shock dyno sheet
Drift Specific Kit
Feal offer a drift specific 441 kit with specific damper valving, along with custom tailoring the spring rates to the weight of your car, the power of the engine, and the tire size used to increase performance for drifting applications. There is also a Pro Long Stroke Drift Kit option which features even more stroke for added grip and control.
Drag Specific Kit
A Drag Specific kit is also offered which is custom built to your car’s specifications including tyres, HP, drag only or combined use and more.
The Drag Specific kit comes with Swift Springs and custom digressive damper valving.
Max Travel Kit
The Max Travel 441 kit is designed for a more comfortable ride and feature softer spring rates (though still stiffer than OEM) and slightly different valving to match.
They are designed to have 20% more stroke than other coilovers and actually allow for up to 1 inch raise in vehicle height, as well as 0.5 – 1 inch lowering.
Feal 441+
The 441+ coilovers are almost the same as the 441’s, except they have a few distinct added features:
- Swift Spring which can be ordered in any spring rate you want
- The dampers are valved to match the custom spring rates
- The dampers also have slightly better valving that can handle +/- 2kg change in spring rates
The 441+ kit is designed as a Road Race Specific kit, and Feal will ask you for information about your car and your intended use to put together the perfect specs for your requirements.
Feal 441.5
The 441.5 coilovers are designed as a midway point between the 441 and 442’s for drag and drift specific applications.
They feature the same 1-way adjustable dampers in the front as the 411+’s but have 2-way independent rebound and compression adjustable dampers in the rear, which also have external reservoirs.
This allows for fine tuning the rear of the car without having to spend as much on the 442 kit.
The list of features includes:
- Designed to have 25% more stroke than most other coilovers
- Swift Springs
- Custom valving at no extra charge
- 30-level simultaneous rebound & compression adjustability on the fronts
- 16-level compression adjustment and 30-level rebound adjustment on the rears
- External nitrogen reservoirs with swivel fittings
- High flow pistons for extra wide range of dampening adjustment
- Aluminium camber adjustable strut mounts on applicable models
- Slotted lower mount hole for camber adjustment on applicable models
- Teflon injected spherical bearing top mounts front and rear on McPherson strut applications
Feal 442
The 442 kit is a full 2-way dampening adjustable kit which gives you independent compression and rebound adjustment on all four coilovers with external reservoirs. They also come standard with the long stroke specs and all the other features of the 441+.
The full list of features includes:
- Designed to have 25% more stroke than other coilovers
- Swift Springs
- Custom valving at no extra charge
- 30-level independent rebound adjustment
- 16-level independent compression adjustment
- External nitrogen reservoirs with swivel fittings
- Teflon injected spherical bearing top mounts front and rear on McPherson strut models
- Aluminium camber adjustable strut mounts on applicable models
- Slotted lower mount hole for camber fine tuning on McPherson strut models
- High flow pistons – giving a very large range of damping tuning
- Rebuildable
Feal 443
The Feal 443 coilovers are for those serious about motorsport and want full adjustability.
They offer 3-way independent adjustment of rebound, low speed and high speed compression, using Penske compression reservoirs.
Feal, along with many other teams, have been using these coilovers on the track for over 10 years. They are perfect for a range of tarmac motorsports including drifting, road and circuit racing and autocross.
The list of features includes:
- Designed to have up to 25% more stroke than other coilovers
- Swift Springs
- Custom valving at no extra charge
- Penske external reservoirs with 26-level independent low speed and 18-level independent high speed compression adjustability
- 30 –level independent rebound adjustment
- Teflon injected spherical bearing top mounts front and rear on McPherson strut models
- Aluminium camber adjustable strut mounts on applicable models
- Slotted lower mount hole for camber fine tuning on McPherson strut models
- High flow pistons – giving a very large range of damping tuning
So, What’s the Consensus on Feal Coilovers?
In short, very positive. There are countless reviews from happy customers online from Porsche to Skyline owners and more. They are highly regarded as a well performing coilover kit that offer a comfortable ride and great handling for both street and track use.
I did find some early instances of design issues which was now 8 years ago, but the feedback about how Feal (and Odi in particular) handled it was very positive which says great things about the company.
The only other complaint I have ever seen was that it takes a while to get the suspension, sometimes up to 2 months. This is probably due to the fact that they assemble every kit specifically, so it can take some time to put it all together and get it out the door perfectly.
Other than that, I have seen nothing but good things about Feal and their coilover kits, and am happy to recommend them as a quality coilover option.
If you want to get Feal coilovers, here is the best price I have found them:
Are Feal Coilovers Any Good?
Yes, Feal coilovers are very good. They are assembled specifically for each order, custom built for your car and made from very high quality components.
Who Owns Feal Suspension?
Feal is owned by Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis who is a pro Formula Drift driver.
What Are Feal Adjustable Bump Stops?
The Feal adjustable bump stops are a bump stop system that lets you quickly adjust the bump stop height without having to remove the coilover from the car and dismantle it, and without having to stack shims on the shaft. They thread onto the shock shaft and can be adjusted by up to 40mm simply by turning. The built in ruler allows you to adjust the bump stop with up to 1mm of precision.
Cars owned: Mk2 Golf with 1.8T swap, BMW E28 with M30B35 swap, BMW E36 328I Mtech, BMW 750IL, Nissan 300ZX, Honda Civic EF
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