NEW KW 3 suspension installed!
10-07-2006, 10:49 PM
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NEW KW 3 suspension installed!
It's been posted on here a little, but i wanted to post my experience with my new KW suspension. I just installed my version 3 (variant 3) KW coilovers, and man, i'm very happy. My friends at STILLEN hooked me up on a killer deal, i couldn't pass it up.
Out of the box, KW has the suspension kit setup for dampening/rebound etc.. already, for a nice daily driving setup. I have not played with adjusting as of yet, because the car is out at the OC auto show currently.
It's smooth as can be at high speeds on the FWY, very in control and very comfortable. During slow driving speeds, if you hit a rut or bump in the road directly, then you do feel it a little harsh, but if you go over the same bump a little faster, the suspension really compensates and absorbs it well. I used to get a bit of bump steer in the hills by my house since the roads are rutted and what not (before with my nismo s tunes), and now, even though you would expect the suspension to be stiffer and more harsh over this condition of road, it isn't, it actually absorbs the bumnps better! no bump steer as before, smooth control, and you can feel the weight transition exactly to which corner of the car as you turn, so it make it feel very predictable.
I'm super happy with this setup to say the least. And if you're wanting a good ride quality setup with killer handling to boot, this is the way to go, just out of the box, no need to really mess with the settings even! I'll fill u in more as soon as i do start playing with the settings tho....
The setup is ride height, rebound, and compression adjustable, with external reservoirs on the shock body. The quality of the kit is great. You will have to piece together the front suspension however, the KWs do not come with their own upper front mounts, you have to re-use your stocks. The same for the rears, but that's fairly common on many setups out there. It's time consuming especially on the front, but you can't beat it.
How do these compare with other coilovers? Well, I've tried Tein Flex, HKS hipermax II, Tanabe SOC, and Nismo S tunes...
The nismos were the best for the street IMO, not harsh, and predictable handling.
The HKS was way too stiff for anything to do with daily driving (i think the setup i had was with custom spring rates, stiffer than usual for this setup), and i don't ever recomend this setup. The new HKS setups are geared better for daily driving, better valving etc...
The Tein flex was just plain unimpressive on the street, way stiff, and in softest mode stiff with tons of unpredictable roll.
The Tanabe was good for the street but lower this kit too much (more than 1.25 inches) and your ride quality goes down the tubes by FAR
The KW offers the daily driveability of the nismos, the predictable weight transfer of the nismos, with the handling prowess of the tein flex set stiff. You can drive on any freeway with these and be comfortable, while at the same time having a smooth and flat handling characteristic of a much more aggressivly valved setup.
my final opinion..... the KW 3 are the best of all worlds, highly recomnded for the street, and I'm sure great on the track as well (they are track oriented for the euro racing teams, i just don't track my car to say....)
I'll take more up-close pics soon, when i get back to the show tomorrow to pick up the car, but for now here is a quick one, you can see on the rear the external reservoir for the rear shock body...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...e/IMG_2967.jpg
has N E 1 else had any good experience with various settings on these?
Out of the box, KW has the suspension kit setup for dampening/rebound etc.. already, for a nice daily driving setup. I have not played with adjusting as of yet, because the car is out at the OC auto show currently.
It's smooth as can be at high speeds on the FWY, very in control and very comfortable. During slow driving speeds, if you hit a rut or bump in the road directly, then you do feel it a little harsh, but if you go over the same bump a little faster, the suspension really compensates and absorbs it well. I used to get a bit of bump steer in the hills by my house since the roads are rutted and what not (before with my nismo s tunes), and now, even though you would expect the suspension to be stiffer and more harsh over this condition of road, it isn't, it actually absorbs the bumnps better! no bump steer as before, smooth control, and you can feel the weight transition exactly to which corner of the car as you turn, so it make it feel very predictable.
I'm super happy with this setup to say the least. And if you're wanting a good ride quality setup with killer handling to boot, this is the way to go, just out of the box, no need to really mess with the settings even! I'll fill u in more as soon as i do start playing with the settings tho....
The setup is ride height, rebound, and compression adjustable, with external reservoirs on the shock body. The quality of the kit is great. You will have to piece together the front suspension however, the KWs do not come with their own upper front mounts, you have to re-use your stocks. The same for the rears, but that's fairly common on many setups out there. It's time consuming especially on the front, but you can't beat it.
How do these compare with other coilovers? Well, I've tried Tein Flex, HKS hipermax II, Tanabe SOC, and Nismo S tunes...
The nismos were the best for the street IMO, not harsh, and predictable handling.
The HKS was way too stiff for anything to do with daily driving (i think the setup i had was with custom spring rates, stiffer than usual for this setup), and i don't ever recomend this setup. The new HKS setups are geared better for daily driving, better valving etc...
The Tein flex was just plain unimpressive on the street, way stiff, and in softest mode stiff with tons of unpredictable roll.
The Tanabe was good for the street but lower this kit too much (more than 1.25 inches) and your ride quality goes down the tubes by FAR
The KW offers the daily driveability of the nismos, the predictable weight transfer of the nismos, with the handling prowess of the tein flex set stiff. You can drive on any freeway with these and be comfortable, while at the same time having a smooth and flat handling characteristic of a much more aggressivly valved setup.
my final opinion..... the KW 3 are the best of all worlds, highly recomnded for the street, and I'm sure great on the track as well (they are track oriented for the euro racing teams, i just don't track my car to say....)
I'll take more up-close pics soon, when i get back to the show tomorrow to pick up the car, but for now here is a quick one, you can see on the rear the external reservoir for the rear shock body...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...e/IMG_2967.jpg
has N E 1 else had any good experience with various settings on these?
10-08-2006, 03:59 AM
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Welcome to the (very small) KW family!
In regards to the other settings, I have had a pretty good experience messing around with them. The only downer is that you have to remove the strut tower in the rear the make changes to the rebound.
In regards to the other settings, I have had a pretty good experience messing around with them. The only downer is that you have to remove the strut tower in the rear the make changes to the rebound.
10-08-2006, 06:58 AM
#5
The only arguement I'll make is that KW use progressive springs and that I'd prefer the Truechoice/Unitech setup for that reason not to mention Unitech's R&D involvement.
Your comment's about the flex setup having unpredictable roll strikes me as odd, since that is the very sort of thing that can be a problem for progressively sprung setups, not to mention that since 2003 your the only person that has ever said that (am not lost on the fact that Tein did a running change on the Flex for the Z33 10Kg to 12Kg). Don't know the rest of your setup, just strikes me as odd. Also, why did the Tanabe setup ride quality get worse when the car was lowered. I would think that higher preload settings to gain height would cause that, did the lower settings cause insuffecient bump travel and frequent contact with the bump stops?
Your comment's about the flex setup having unpredictable roll strikes me as odd, since that is the very sort of thing that can be a problem for progressively sprung setups, not to mention that since 2003 your the only person that has ever said that (am not lost on the fact that Tein did a running change on the Flex for the Z33 10Kg to 12Kg). Don't know the rest of your setup, just strikes me as odd. Also, why did the Tanabe setup ride quality get worse when the car was lowered. I would think that higher preload settings to gain height would cause that, did the lower settings cause insuffecient bump travel and frequent contact with the bump stops?
10-10-2006, 02:55 AM
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Originally Posted by Gsedan35
The only arguement I'll make is that KW use progressive springs and that I'd prefer the Truechoice/Unitech setup for that reason not to mention Unitech's R&D involvement.
Your comment's about the flex setup having unpredictable roll strikes me as odd, since that is the very sort of thing that can be a problem for progressively sprung setups, not to mention that since 2003 your the only person that has ever said that (am not lost on the fact that Tein did a running change on the Flex for the Z33 10Kg to 12Kg). Don't know the rest of your setup, just strikes me as odd. Also, why did the Tanabe setup ride quality get worse when the car was lowered. I would think that higher preload settings to gain height would cause that, did the lower settings cause insuffecient bump travel and frequent contact with the bump stops?
Your comment's about the flex setup having unpredictable roll strikes me as odd, since that is the very sort of thing that can be a problem for progressively sprung setups, not to mention that since 2003 your the only person that has ever said that (am not lost on the fact that Tein did a running change on the Flex for the Z33 10Kg to 12Kg). Don't know the rest of your setup, just strikes me as odd. Also, why did the Tanabe setup ride quality get worse when the car was lowered. I would think that higher preload settings to gain height would cause that, did the lower settings cause insuffecient bump travel and frequent contact with the bump stops?
The teins had more roll than expected when set at full soft, but when driving over rutted roads, even on soft, the ride quality was not good.
IMO, the tanabes rode worse when lowered, because of how they were adjusted. The small helper spring was compressed all the way, and i think that it rode worse in that regard because the springs didn't have enough travel. I may be wrong on that note, but i wasn't too much a fan of how they rode when lowered more. And when i mean lowered more, i mean about 1.4 or so inches down, so it wasn't exactly hammered.... They rode better higher, but in that case, you might as well go with the nismo S Tunes IMO...
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10-10-2006, 02:59 AM
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Originally Posted by plastiketa
Welcome to the (very small) KW family!
In regards to the other settings, I have had a pretty good experience messing around with them. The only downer is that you have to remove the strut tower in the rear the make changes to the rebound.
In regards to the other settings, I have had a pretty good experience messing around with them. The only downer is that you have to remove the strut tower in the rear the make changes to the rebound.
i already have holes drilled there for the adjustments for the teins, so it's not a big deal to me, but i'm not really looking to mess with a good thing at least for the time being.
and yes that was my car in modified last year, thanks!!! its a bit different now tho...
10-10-2006, 03:10 AM
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I'll be joining the KW club shortly, setup has been on my car for 5 weeks, but havent picked it up yet. I'll let you know my thoughts on it, when I pick her up.
(got the KW Variant 3 BTW)
Pleased to hear you like yours.
(got the KW Variant 3 BTW)
Pleased to hear you like yours.
10-10-2006, 01:13 PM
#11
Originally Posted by Kallusive350z
you mean that you have to remove the upper plastic pieces correct?
i already have holes drilled there for the adjustments for the teins, so it's not a big deal to me, but i'm not really looking to mess with a good thing at least for the time being.
and yes that was my car in modified last year, thanks!!! its a bit different now tho...
i already have holes drilled there for the adjustments for the teins, so it's not a big deal to me, but i'm not really looking to mess with a good thing at least for the time being.
and yes that was my car in modified last year, thanks!!! its a bit different now tho...
10-10-2006, 05:07 PM
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I can't remember the exact spring rates, but they're progressive rate springs, hence a nicer daily driving quality...
price, depending where you go, you can probably pick them up for $2000 give or take.
2 place i know that carry these:
Stillen (talk to dean in sports cars)
and Carrozeria Design (talk to PNUT)
Power neo, no i didn't get any power gains from this that i really could tell. But eh, it won't hurt....
price, depending where you go, you can probably pick them up for $2000 give or take.
2 place i know that carry these:
Stillen (talk to dean in sports cars)
and Carrozeria Design (talk to PNUT)
Power neo, no i didn't get any power gains from this that i really could tell. But eh, it won't hurt....
11-13-2006, 03:14 PM
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its very controlled even at high speeds. I am running dunlop sport maxx, but could do better with some BFG KDs or some other similar tire. But the Dunlops are actually pretty good once you warm em up a bit.
11-13-2006, 04:31 PM
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I have the KW's and posted a review a little while back. When talking to KW, they threw out a basic 10k/10k rate on a normal stance. I believe this and the 2-way ADJ dampening ride great on the street since the spring rate can only increase from there. After being on th 4th set of suspension, so far KW is my favorite.
The turn-in is awesome compared to the other 3. My ride home from the shop includes a mid/high RPM 3rd gear decreasing radius. On the JIC and Stance, I had a hard time dialing out the mid-turn understeer (right at the very late apexi). With recommended adjustments on the KW, much of that was solved. A few more adjustments in rebound softer made it an awesome turn!
Back in the day in my S14 with full suspension, I could throw the car around like nothing. When I bought the 350z I was a bit timid, ESPECIALLY with the JIC coilovers. With the KW's, my coworkers wish there was the oh-sheet handle in the car to grab onto!
Im on T1R 245/35 and will be rocking RT-615 265/35 in a few days. Give me 4 weeks and I will compare the new stance 3-way
The turn-in is awesome compared to the other 3. My ride home from the shop includes a mid/high RPM 3rd gear decreasing radius. On the JIC and Stance, I had a hard time dialing out the mid-turn understeer (right at the very late apexi). With recommended adjustments on the KW, much of that was solved. A few more adjustments in rebound softer made it an awesome turn!
Back in the day in my S14 with full suspension, I could throw the car around like nothing. When I bought the 350z I was a bit timid, ESPECIALLY with the JIC coilovers. With the KW's, my coworkers wish there was the oh-sheet handle in the car to grab onto!
Im on T1R 245/35 and will be rocking RT-615 265/35 in a few days. Give me 4 weeks and I will compare the new stance 3-way