Civic Type R FK8 - HKS Hipermax MAX IV SP - Road Test initial impressions

jonnys_honda

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First Impressions - HKS Hipermax MAX IV SP
https://www.hks-power.co.jp/en/product_db/hipermax/db/20245

Firstly, thank you Keisuke Morita and the HKS USA team for the honor of having my car under their hands and being able to test out their set of coilovers!

Damper setting: 15 Front and 15 Rear (medium)
Damping force (Rebound/Damping)N*: Front 1863 / 451, Rear 530 / 196
Height setting: 1” drop
Spring Rate: 12k Front, 10k Rear

Road Conditions: I drove on varying types of pavement over the length of 380 miles from Arizona to Southern California. Smooth, rough, potholes (once in California). Also varying degrees of road surface, long smooth straights, and steep curving incline/declines.

Note: **My initial impressions are based on comparing it to the stock dampers with Eibach Pro-kit springs which are about 15% stiffer than the stock setup. Also with an Eibach rear sway bar and rear control arms.

The ride was much stiffer than I anticipated. With the added camber (-3.5 front, -2.2 rear), the car was very responsive with ANY steering input. The car was completely stable under-load and hard braking! I barely felt the weight shift at all during those times! Taking the off-ramps on the highway were a lot of fun. So with all that said, we can see the trade-off, as expected, reduced comfort. I could have softened up the dampers since there are 30 settings, and I had it set to 15. So I’m sure at the softest setting, it would be close to our “R mode”. However, for my initial test, I wanted to see how drive-able the vehicle was with the “medium setting”. After 30 minutes, I got used to the rougher ride. I would not change the setting away from 15/15.

That brings me to my next point. Adjusting the damper settings are pretty simple via an adjustable knob located on the underside of the damper. Turn clock-wise to increase stiffness.
I am anticipating how this will drive on the track! Let me know if I can address any other questions.

Honda Civic 10th gen Civic Type R FK8 - HKS Hipermax MAX IV SP - Road Test initial impressions upload_2018-6-25_9-38-54

Honda Civic 10th gen Civic Type R FK8 - HKS Hipermax MAX IV SP - Road Test initial impressions upload_2018-6-25_9-39-17

Honda Civic 10th gen Civic Type R FK8 - HKS Hipermax MAX IV SP - Road Test initial impressions 36063564_1650973225001139_3205718849060077568_n
Honda Civic 10th gen Civic Type R FK8 - HKS Hipermax MAX IV SP - Road Test initial impressions 36063235_1650973301667798_3422593403060224000_n
Honda Civic 10th gen Civic Type R FK8 - HKS Hipermax MAX IV SP - Road Test initial impressions 36087795_1650973345001127_3581637562449526784_n
 

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Nice write-up. Did they install the ADS error canceller as well?

I'm keeping an eye out for their Si coilover release. I really appreciate all of the technical data HKS offers on their products.
 
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jonnys_honda

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Nice write-up. Did they install the ADS error canceller as well?

I'm keeping an eye out for their Si coilover release. I really appreciate all of the technical data HKS offers on their products.
Thanks!

The error canceller module was not ready, they gave me an ETA of 2-4 weeks for production units to be ready.
 

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how do the drive modes work with the new setup?
 
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jonnys_honda

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how do the drive modes work with the new setup?
The HKS HIPERMAX is not an electronic dampening system. Drives modes now only work for throttle and steering input. Dampening is manual adjustment.
 


slowride

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I don't know if I could give up the different settings. I actually use comfort on some roads around here on the fly.
 
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jonnys_honda

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I don't know if I could give up the different settings. I actually use comfort on some roads around here on the fly.
Yeah not everyone installs coilovers in general. Maybe 1-2% of owners will do it?

Also each owner has different goals. I literally never used comfort or sport mode.
 

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Yea that's a bummer on the comfort settings. Looks like a really nice product but I enjoy comfort mode too much to lose it :cry:
 
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I know this post is now over a year old, but I just wanted to say thank you for the detailed review and excellent quality pictures. If we end up doing coilovers, these are the ones I'm interested in. At first, we were only interested in springs, in order to maintain the three pre-settings. (comfort, sport, R-mode) However, now we are getting more aggressive with the mods and are looking to do these instead.
 

ctrdeepblue

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@jonnys_honda : Any longer-term thoughts on the HKS Hipermax MAX IV SP coilovers for the Type R?

My Type R is no longer my DD, and I tend to favor stiffer suspension on my high-performance street cars. I'm O.K. losing the ability to change the suspension settings via the FK8 drive mode (but I do like that the Drive Mode still controls engine and steering response).

I'm considering a coilover setup to have more precise control over ride height for various wheel/tire combos (to prevent rubbing).

I'm also looking at a coilover setup from Revel (to save $$$ and due to lower spring rates), but the SP package from HKS is very attractive.
 


02SilverSiHB

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Sent you a PM...I messaged a guy that had your same user name on Instagram, lol...he said he never used hks hipermax coilovers...hoping you can answer a question I have about lowering the front...the info is confusing on the 1st post...broken japanese/english translation lol
 
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jonnys_honda

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@jonnys_honda : Any longer-term thoughts on the HKS Hipermax MAX IV SP coilovers for the Type R?
I'm considering a coilover setup to have more precise control over ride height for various wheel/tire combos (to prevent rubbing).
Sorry for the delayed response ?
I still have the HKS coilovers installed. Long term I’d say they’ve held up great! I’ve put them through a lot.

Sent you a PM...I messaged a guy that had your same user name on Instagram, lol...he said he never used hks hipermax coilovers...hoping you can answer a question I have about lowering the front...the info is confusing on the 1st post...broken japanese/english translation lol
I’ve had my alignment guys raise and lower the car for me over the years. I would say the design looks like the entire strut assembly moves. Try not to mess with the spring preload (changing the length between the perches where the spring rests).
 

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Sorry for the delayed response ?
I still have the HKS coilovers installed. Long term I’d say they’ve held up great! I’ve put them through a lot.


I’ve had my alignment guys raise and lower the car for me over the years. I would say the design looks like the entire strut assembly moves. Try not to mess with the spring preload (changing the length between the perches where the spring rests).
so the front isn't like the other coilovers...the strut doesn't move for the front...only the top (perches)...really don't want to mess with it too much lol
 

ctrdeepblue

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Sorry for the delayed response ?
I still have the HKS coilovers installed. Long term I’d say they’ve held up great! I’ve put them through a lot.


I’ve had my alignment guys raise and lower the car for me over the years. I would say the design looks like the entire strut assembly moves. Try not to mess with the spring preload (changing the length between the perches where the spring rests).
Thanks for the response @jonnys_honda. Your timing is actually perfect. I'm still considering the HKS coilovers at this point. Glad to hear they've held up well....I'd expect nothing less than that from HKS.

How much "street driving time"does your Type R see vs. track time? (Perhaps unbelievably), I don't have immediate plans to track my Type R (not because of the vehicle, but rather my lack of experience with amateur motorsports). I'm trying to decide how "livable" the HKS suspension would be for street use. Having said that, my last ride before the Type R was a 2013 Si, and I had installed a Godspeed Racing coilover suspension that was pretty stiff (I can't recall the spring rates from memory).
 

02SilverSiHB

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Thanks for the response @jonnys_honda. Your timing is actually perfect. I'm still considering the HKS coilovers at this point. Glad to hear they've held up well....I'd expect nothing less than that from HKS.

How much "street driving time"does your Type R see vs. track time? (Perhaps unbelievably), I don't have immediate plans to track my Type R (not because of the vehicle, but rather my lack of experience with amateur motorsports). I'm trying to decide how "livable" the HKS suspension would be for street use. Having said that, my last ride before the Type R was a 2013 Si, and I had installed a Godspeed Racing coilover suspension that was pretty stiff (I can't recall the spring rates from memory).
I've had mine for a few months. It's livable. But I'm dialing mine down from 15 to 5 for front and back. 15 is too much for daily imo...gets on my nerves.

With that said.. the adjustment is at the bottom in the front...pain to get to.

The rear is at the top...it comes with these long cable things to allow to adjust the rear dampner but I couldn't figure it out...so now I have the drop the shock in the back to adjust the dampner in the rear.

My only complaint lol
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