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KW V2 Coilovers

PostPosted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 3:59 pm
by Mo_GT
My KW V2 coiovers arrived and here are some first impressions:

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They are very pretty :) They look well (hand) made from the welds on the shock bodies, parts used look good and fit together nicely.

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Only part i'm a little worried about is the spring seat - its mostly plastic including the threaded part :
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While i know that all KW spring seats are the same and hold up BMW's, Porches, etc. its still a plastic part(reinforced with a bit of steel) -KW say this is to reduce noise but i wish they used a stainless steel part covered in plastic instead.

Car's booked in to get these installed in two weeks - can't wait!

Re: KW V2 Coilovers

PostPosted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 5:44 pm
by tangcla
Yeah you'll find the perch will get munted in no time, especially if you try to adjust it. :P I have a spare at home cos one of mine is already destroyed.

Re: KW V2 Coilovers

PostPosted: Fri Nov 26, 2010 10:16 am
by Q
I've got the racecomp versions of these installed and they are great apart from one minor thing. The rears are slightly undersprung which has a detrimental effect to the handling. Steering under fast change of direction feels slightly loose or even a little boat like if I'm to be hyper critical and the rear sits down too much post apex under power.
Don't get me wrong they are great but within 15mins of my first drive I was thinking of higher spring rates so i thought it might save you a little hassle/money if it was considered earlier rather than later. Maybe others can chime in with their opinion? I know there's at least one other with similar views backed up by actual lap times......I know lap times mean nothing on the road but I think the added confidence of a more neutral handling car can only be a good thing.

I've just ordered a pair of swift 9kg springs so I can 100% confirm in a week or two (good price too).

Re: KW V2 Coilovers

PostPosted: Fri Nov 26, 2010 10:48 am
by teK--
Q wrote:I've got the racecomp versions of these installed and they are great apart from one minor thing. The rears are slightly undersprung which has a detrimental effect to the handling. Steering under fast change of direction feels slightly loose or even a little boat like if I'm to be hyper critical and the rear sits down too much post apex under power.
Don't get me wrong they are great but within 15mins of my first drive I was thinking of higher spring rates so i thought it might save you a little hassle/money if it was considered earlier rather than later. Maybe others can chime in with their opinion? I know there's at least one other with similar views backed up by actual lap times......I know lap times mean nothing on the road but I think the added confidence of a more neutral handling car can only be a good thing.

I've just ordered a pair of swift 9kg springs so I can 100% confirm in a week or two (good price too).


Dave (Vaccine) upgraded to 9kg Swift springs on rear on his coilovers and he said it was a massive improvement.

Re: KW V2 Coilovers

PostPosted: Fri Nov 26, 2010 12:25 pm
by smythie
worth noting too that vaccine's car in question was a gen 3 H6 Outback

Re: KW V2 Coilovers

PostPosted: Fri Nov 26, 2010 8:49 pm
by Mo_GT
Q wrote:I've got the racecomp versions of these installed and they are great apart from one minor thing. The rears are slightly undersprung which has a detrimental effect to the handling. Steering under fast change of direction feels slightly loose or even a little boat like if I'm to be hyper critical and the rear sits down too much post apex under power.
Don't get me wrong they are great but within 15mins of my first drive I was thinking of higher spring rates so i thought it might save you a little hassle/money if it was considered earlier rather than later. Maybe others can chime in with their opinion? I know there's at least one other with similar views backed up by actual lap times......I know lap times mean nothing on the road but I think the added confidence of a more neutral handling car can only be a good thing.

I've just ordered a pair of swift 9kg springs so I can 100% confirm in a week or two (good price too).


Thanks, i'll go with the std srpings for now and see how i find it. These are my first coilovers ( untill now i've been anti coilovers on a street car), let see how they perform as is and then lets see what need some tweaking.

:)

Re: KW V2 Coilovers

PostPosted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 4:54 pm
by Mo_GT
Had the KW's installed today, went for a very short drive just down the street, the rear ones make a chattering noise, anyone have that issue? I haven't put the rear seats back on yet.

The rears were installed just like in this pic on racecomp's website :
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Ie: without the std rubber things that sit on the std springs.

Re: KW V2 Coilovers

PostPosted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 6:26 pm
by Q
Mo_GT wrote:Had the KW's installed today, went for a very short drive just down the street, the rear ones make a chattering noise, anyone have that issue? I haven't put the rear seats back on yet.
Ie: without the std rubber things that sit on the std springs.


Mine are completely silent.....do you have enough preload on the springs? How high/low is it sitting?

Re: KW V2 Coilovers

PostPosted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 9:51 pm
by Mo_GT
Yup, enough preload - helpers are fully compressed. I've got about 7 threads below the spring perch. So the rears are only about 30mm low, they are higher now than they were with the Tein springs.

I put the seats back on - just in case it was something else rattling but its not...

Fronts are perfect but the rears make quite a bit of noise even on flat roads at less that 15 kph!!! Will have to get the mechanic back to look at it.

Re: KW V2 Coilovers

PostPosted: Thu Dec 02, 2010 4:41 pm
by Mo_GT
Fixed the rattle /chatter.

The mechanic used an air wrench to tighten the top nuts on the rears and didn't fully tighten them as the shock piston would have spun. All i had to do was to tighten the top nuts and that was it.

Now to get the ride height right...

Re: KW V2 Coilovers

PostPosted: Thu Dec 02, 2010 8:19 pm
by Q
Mo_GT wrote:Fixed the rattle /chatter.

The mechanic used an air wrench to tighten the top nuts on the rears and didn't fully tighten them as the shock piston would have spun. All i had to do was to tighten the top nuts and that was it.

Now to get the ride height right...


Great news and an easy fix. Don't forget to get a good wheel alignment once you have the height set.....how low you going?

Re: KW V2 Coilovers

PostPosted: Thu Dec 02, 2010 11:15 pm
by Mo_GT
Q wrote:Great news and an easy fix. Don't forget to get a good wheel alignment once you have the height set.....how low you going?


Actually had a wheel alignment booked this morning but had to cancel that cos of the rattle.

Don't know how low i'll go, at the moment, the rear fenders are just above the tyres ( same height as my tein springs), i've got the front a little lower than the back - abour 12mm from fender to tyre but might end up lifting that a bit cos if the springs settle a bit.

I've left the settings as is ( 6 clicks from full soft) for now, haven't had a chance to drive the car properly yet. Hope the drive to work tmrw is fun :)

Re: KW V2 Coilovers

PostPosted: Fri Dec 03, 2010 7:31 am
by tangcla
Go as low as what I've done :P
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Re: KW V2 Coilovers

PostPosted: Fri Dec 03, 2010 9:57 pm
by Mo_GT
tangcla wrote:Go as low as what I've done :P


With that height, do you get any tyre scrub? And what are your settings on the rebound?

Re: KW V2 Coilovers

PostPosted: Sat Dec 04, 2010 8:01 am
by Q
Mo_GT wrote:
tangcla wrote:Go as low as what I've done :P


With that height, do you get any tyre scrub? And what are your settings on the rebound?

Don't forget the roll centre kit if ur going that low.