Doggman9

Install Notes:
Install was pretty straight forward. Take out the old, replace with the new. No need for a spring compressor to install these coilovers. Might be helpful but we just unscrewed the nut with a ratchet and stood clear once it got close. Spring only jumped about three feet. Getting the rear springs out of the spring buckets was kind of hard but eventually they came out. We, in retrospect, stupidly left out the metal collar thing that was on the original shocks. We assumed they were only there for the big shock boot but that's not the case. They keep the damper in place. And last but not least, the rear spring perch has to be removed to adjust the height in the rear. It explicitly states this in the manual for separated shock/spring systems. Not that big of a deal however because it only takes 1 bolt to release the spring bucket and get the perch out.

Review:
The ride is excellent. I already had sway bars before the install but it is significantly stiffer and planted with the coilovers. They made a MUCH bigger difference than the sway bars did. Its far from harsh though. I was expecting it to be uncomfortably harsh and would not have been upset if it was but that is just not the case. The dampers soak up the bumps just as well as the stock suspension did, if not better. Body roll is basically non-existent as far as I'm concerned. Ride height is adjustable - the front goes incredibly low... I think you could almost sit the fender on the tire. The rear goes pretty low but not as low as the front. I have the rear perch set halfway between its lowest and highest setting. My drop ended up being 1" all the way around.

Disclaimer:
I am young and have limited sports car driving experience. I have ridden in many sports cars but driven only a handful. The Z is the only sports car I have ever owned and I drove it on the stock suspension for 1 year 6 months before replacing it with the KW's. However, I am a huge racing enthusiast and have participated in Autocross events.

Conclusion:
I love them and I'm extremely happy with the purchase.

The first photo should be before and second photo should be after. If anyone wants more photos just let me know.

Wheels/Tires:
Sportline TE.6
Front: 19x9.5 +22
Rear: 19x10.5 +22
General Gmax AS-03's
Front: 245/35/19
Rear: 275/35/19

terrasmak

iTrader: (8)

For the resources and experience you have, dam good review and write up.

Have you got it aligned yet?

ZROCM

iTrader: (6)

So the ride is more controlled. How ouwld you say the ride is on city streets vs. the OEM/stock suspension?

I'm looknig to lower my 2004.5, but I don't want a harsh ride. Also, it would be great to have it corner even better. But usually lowering the center of gravity of the car naturally does this as long as the springs are not soft.

Doggman9

Not yet. I'm going to let it settle and get the height exactly where I want it before I take it in for an alignment. It still drives straight without any vibrations. Has some decent negative camber going on but I'm not worried about the General tires, they'll be happily replaced with Michelin Pilots once they wear down.

It is noticeably stiffer but not harsh imo. More controlled/planted is a good way to describe it. In layman's terms, the suspension doesn't move around as much. This is especially noticeable on the interstate when you come off a bridge that has a hump. Where the OEM suspension would bounce/move for 1-2 seconds the KW's soak up the bump and settle much quicker.

Cornering feels way better. Body roll is all but gone like I mentioned previously. Also, I no longer get any wheel hop during a burnout. I honestly do not think you would be disappointed with the KW's. I have been very impressed.

ETZ

iTrader: (8)

Great write up..... What made you go with the V1 instead of the V2, was it a price point or is it that you see no need for the adjustability?

ZROCM

iTrader: (6)

Thanks for your comments. Looks like I'll be seriously considering the KW V1s!

Doggman9

Both. I saved $400-$500 going with the V1's and in the end I decided adjustable dampening was just a "cool" thing to me, not a necessity at all. Furthermore, to adjust the rear dampers with the KW V2 set you either have to remove the entire damper or tear apart the trunk area and drill a hole through the sheet metal. I did not want to go down that route and I figured the engineer's at KW are better at setting the dampers than me.

Doggman9

I have now. Results in link.

https://my350z.com/forum/brakes-and-...l#post10506589

818dbz

Wow that 1 inch drop looks great

ocean143

Hey can you adjust these to sit at stock height or does it automatically drop it .8" with install? Reason I ask is because I want to lower my z but only want the front going down max of 10 mm.. I will be dropping the back about 30mm but cant lower the front much more due to the area i live. So are the kw v1 automatically .8 inches lower from stock?

Doggman9

I can't remember off the top of my head exactly what the adjustment range is that KW states in the user manual but IIRC it is between 0.8" and 1.5" of drop.

So yes, if you are going to follow KW's recommendations it would be at the very least a 0.8" drop.. but, the shock bodies in the front are threaded pretty high so I imagine you could go higher if you wanted. You can see what I mean in the pic.

There is less adjustability in the rear.. the perch doesn't have nearly as many threads as the front shock body. I feel certain getting to stock height in the rear would not be possible.

FWIW, I was originally scared of going too low because I daily my Z and didn't want to scrape every where, making it a pain to drive around town. I set everything about halfway according to KW's recommendations and only 3 months later slammed it to the bottom of KW's recommendations (1.5" drop I think). I literally never scrape on anything and only rarely pickup one of the rear wheels.. needless to say it rides and handles leagues better than stock even at max recommended drop

pss350z

iTrader: (6)

I'm gonna flashback to your initial review......

I personally find these a bit too soft, very close to stock feel. Had low end Cuscos before and those felt alot better planted, perhaps sway bars would greatly improve this setup.

Sorry for hijack, just wanted to offer my $.02