Ok so i had these fitted around the 16th feb, so i think i can now give a fairly accurate review of the KW variant 3 coilovers based over a variety of road surfaces, stop start traffic and motorway cruising.
Firstly i should mention my additional modifications, which unfortunately not everyone will have if they eventually decide to upgrade in the future. My review is based on having a front strut brace, rear upper strut brace, 15mm rear spacers and slight negative camber on the fronts.
I went with KW V3 for following reasons by not in this order:
Price - Quality (Inox chrome tubes) - Proven Performance - R&D (Nurburgring where they hold fastest car awards 2006-2008) - KW is a smaller specialist company with 120 staff that specialise in coilovers - No issues with NVH including spring bind & tug'n'release - Versatility of separate rebound/low speed compression making them like a Koni FSD coilover -
Lowering tools.
Bound and Rebound adjusters.
Suspension Day.
I headed down to AmD at a very sprightly 7am just to make sure i wouldnt be late, after arriving at 9am (being late), i handed over the keys and was pleasantly suprised that they offered to drop me off into Lakeside. How cool is that?, unfortunate for you guys i agreed, thats why there are virtually no work in process suspension shots...sorry.
Anyway getting back to AmD at around 11am, i noticed my car was on its test drive to settle the suspension down. Instantly the car looks alot better, the stance is just right. I would imagine the drop to be around 25mm, as that was what i requested. The car will be used around town more than anything else so a compromise had to be met. The car was set up for half comfort on the front and half back. (the rebound was a shock, explanation later).
Before.
After.
The First Drive.
I pull away quite slowly, first impressions are good. Steering doesnt feel any heavier, but for some reason, even at slow speeds the brakes feel better. I can really feel every road change, every dip, every hole. Unlike the standard suspension, which will crash and squeak, the KWs just give a quiet thud. I should really comment at this point about the low speed ride quality which is fantastic. Its the first time i have had coilovers, but they are 10 times more composed and more compliant than standard, even on half and half, although i may go slightly firmer to get the best out of them.
Approaching the first roundabout i go in a little too fast, and im rewarded with a bit more understeer than i had before, but as i said i can play around with the firmness etc when i get home. The one main thing i noticed was the bouncy ride, this i put down to the front rebound that may need firming up.
After returning home i had someone check the front rebound for me, and was shocked to find it was set on zero. This would account for the bouncy ride. I changed this to 3 quarters which i think is the best compromise for town driving. Now the car feels great around town, but unfortunately the rear rebound will need setting to the same as the front, to get the best from the car.
....NEXT...ROADHOLDING
Firstly i should mention my additional modifications, which unfortunately not everyone will have if they eventually decide to upgrade in the future. My review is based on having a front strut brace, rear upper strut brace, 15mm rear spacers and slight negative camber on the fronts.
I went with KW V3 for following reasons by not in this order:
Price - Quality (Inox chrome tubes) - Proven Performance - R&D (Nurburgring where they hold fastest car awards 2006-2008) - KW is a smaller specialist company with 120 staff that specialise in coilovers - No issues with NVH including spring bind & tug'n'release - Versatility of separate rebound/low speed compression making them like a Koni FSD coilover -
Lowering tools.
Bound and Rebound adjusters.
Suspension Day.
I headed down to AmD at a very sprightly 7am just to make sure i wouldnt be late, after arriving at 9am (being late), i handed over the keys and was pleasantly suprised that they offered to drop me off into Lakeside. How cool is that?, unfortunate for you guys i agreed, thats why there are virtually no work in process suspension shots...sorry.
Anyway getting back to AmD at around 11am, i noticed my car was on its test drive to settle the suspension down. Instantly the car looks alot better, the stance is just right. I would imagine the drop to be around 25mm, as that was what i requested. The car will be used around town more than anything else so a compromise had to be met. The car was set up for half comfort on the front and half back. (the rebound was a shock, explanation later).
Before.
After.
The First Drive.
I pull away quite slowly, first impressions are good. Steering doesnt feel any heavier, but for some reason, even at slow speeds the brakes feel better. I can really feel every road change, every dip, every hole. Unlike the standard suspension, which will crash and squeak, the KWs just give a quiet thud. I should really comment at this point about the low speed ride quality which is fantastic. Its the first time i have had coilovers, but they are 10 times more composed and more compliant than standard, even on half and half, although i may go slightly firmer to get the best out of them.
Approaching the first roundabout i go in a little too fast, and im rewarded with a bit more understeer than i had before, but as i said i can play around with the firmness etc when i get home. The one main thing i noticed was the bouncy ride, this i put down to the front rebound that may need firming up.
After returning home i had someone check the front rebound for me, and was shocked to find it was set on zero. This would account for the bouncy ride. I changed this to 3 quarters which i think is the best compromise for town driving. Now the car feels great around town, but unfortunately the rear rebound will need setting to the same as the front, to get the best from the car.
....NEXT...ROADHOLDING
