Hey guys I'm looking into purchasing some coilovers for my Z but I'm really not sure what route I want to take. I know of the popular names like TEIN and JIC but I want to know if anyone on here is using k-sport or kw coilovers? Their kinda pricey ($2500+) but are they worth it? Also how do you guys like the JIC FLTA-2's and the TEIN Comfort Sports. I need a setup mainly for daily driving so I want to hear some good recommendations. Also here is a link to the KW coilovers and the K-sport coilovers so you guys can take a look at them and kind of know what I'm talking about.

http://www.kw-suspension.com/en/30_P...vers/index.php

http://www.ksportusa.com/

 

k-SPORT = Crap

KW = Not Crap

 

why?

 

Alot of e46 fanatics use the KW, go to there forums and ask them they got alot of experiance with them.

 

K-Sport = D2 = Sh*t

K-Sport is the same shock as D2. They are manufactured by a Taiwanese company and sold and branded as K-Sport and D2. They don't fit the car as shipped from the manufacturer. You will nto be able to lower the car below stock height. YES I said stock height. You will have to modify the shock mounts becasue the company won't help you. Once I got them modified and used them for 12 months I blew the valving on 2 of them rendering them useless. The one year warranty expired. They are junk.

JET

 

KWs are real popular with Euro cars. A lot of the Ultimate Street Challenge Cars on Sport Compact Car run on KWs.

My KW are great! I havent riden in another Z with a different coilover setup so I can only compare them to my stocks. From what I can tell you, they definately out perform my stocks on the twisties and the ride is much more comfortable.

Kallusive350z just put these in also and he loves'em. He has had a lot of experience with other setups, so PM him.

 

KW Suspensions make some of the best Coilovers available and they are honestly affordable. You can get the Variant 1 for just over $1K and have an incredible coilover with preset compression & rebound damping while allowing you to adjust ride height. Or you can go all out with the Variant 3 which are fully adjustable. Variant 1 is great for the daily driver which sees the track occasionally and for the driver who doesn’t want to tune their suspension, which with KW is fine as they pre-tune them to great settings. The Variant 3 is the way to go if you want to tune for different tracks and will also work great on the street. Their is the Variant 2 also which is in between the 1 & 3 .

Yes we sell them and have a set of Variant 3's coming in to our shop to be installed on our Z!!

Gary

 

I have KW variant 1. At first I was unsure of going w/ them since 0 people have on their Zs. But after they were broken in, I can say that I love em. High quality as well.

 

the KW's are an amazing coilover for these cars. The dampers are made by one of the top tier firms in Europe, and each customer of ours who has them has absolutely raved to us about them

 

Ive just had my KW variant 3's fitted, ride quality/handling is outstanding. Couldnt want for more from a setup.

 

It's amazing the $hit people talk. I have the K-Sport coilovers and I did not modify them to fit..they fit perfectly out of the box...the adjustments are made fairly easily, I had to adjust the coilvers ALL the way up to get NEAR stock height or my bumper was 1" off the ground (partially due to my bodykit). they feel fine on the road and as a bonus go great with an orange car.

They probably aren't the best for autox but for a customizable daily driving set up they work great!

Here's a pic of my car so you can see the ride height.

Did you know that Rotora's manufacturing is in Taiwan?

 

It definetly is amazing the sh*t peopel talk. I'm glad you didn't have to do the R&D fgor the company that I did. I had to call D2 and give them measurments for lower moutns I neede them to make for me to get their junk to fit. Their stuff is sh*t. I hope your keeping a close eye on those oil seals becasuse one day soon you will find them pissing oil all over your pretty orange shock bodies.

Anbody who has any interest in these shocks can do a search on the Forum for D2 and read all the complaints. It's all documented in the archives.

JET

 

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&l...ew&btnG=Search


Kind of interesting that most reviews of the k-sport are positive. I do know that K-Sport is under new management...but I do not know if that plays any role in the quality of the product.

 

D2 / K-Sport suck. Their applications for all cars have had complaints everywhere. If searching the Z/G forums isn't bad enough for you, try Maxima boards and 240 boards too

 

I have the KW fully adjustable variant 3 on my Z. I was skeptical at first, wondering if i needed the full adjustabilty setup and what not since I do not track my car. BUT, it's an amazing suspension setup!!! I have posted about this already but i'll re-state here:

I have gone through many coilover kits during my stead at Perf. Nissan, from HKS hipermax II (although they had custom spring rates which were stiffer than normal HKS out of the box), Tanabe entry level coilovers, Tein Flex w/EDFC, all of these were not really good enough for me on the street during my comute. the HKS had to go, they had custom spring rates, for the track, so i can't really compare the hipermax IIs here. The tanabes were ok, best for the street out of the ones I went through, but still lacked enough travel. The teins were actually no good, surprisingly. IMO of course. they were too stiff, even in the softest mode. The I had the Nismo S tunes, which were excellent on the street, very predictable, but did not lower the car enough, nor reduce the body roll enough. (I'll never say anything bad on this kit, except for the price, it's a very good setup, minus the adjustability).

The KW now on the other hand uses a progressive rate spring, which is the opposite of what most other companies are using. Usually, for the track, a liniar spring is preferred, but KW went with progressive instead, and the outcome is very nice indeed. The suspension is very predictable actually. Out of the box, with no adjustments, (KW pre-sets all the rebound/compression etc.. to a comfortable daily setup), the setup offers a very nice overall ride for even rough roads, obviously a tad stiffer than OEM. BUT you do not feel it as harsh as all of the other kits i've gone through. I used to feel the most minor of bumps and washboard lines in the road alot in my other setups, and it was jaring and uncomfortable, the KW actually surprised me here, as it really absorbs these types of road conditions.

I live up in the hills in REdlands, and the roads are not great here, MANY small to medium bumps and holes, lines etc... I can drive slow and normal, and the suspension does a wonderful job of soaking up the bumps. I drive faster, more aggressive, and the suspension eliminates alot of body roll, stillsoaks up the bumps for the most part, and you don't get that loose or jarring feeling in the steering wheel.

My judgement: KW = the smoothness of nismo Stune, while AT THE SAME TIME able to eliminate the body roll like a tein flex, while not having a bone jarring feel. Smooth compression/extension over larger bumps, and just as predictable as nismo.

Yes, KW has been in the market in Europe for a long time, and it is actually a track proven company over there, just as endless is in Japan etc...
KW would be on the same quality IMO as such companies as Billstein as well.

Lastly, if this doesn't make you really consider the KW, note:
Novitec Rosso, the top FERRARI tuning company uses KW suspension for it's suspension kits for the 612 Scaglietti (duno if i spelled that right), and their 430!!!
If it's good enough for a ferrari, it's damn good enough for a Z IMO.....

The only thing left to consider is the price: You can find the KW variant3, fully adjustable, for around the $2k range give or take. This is right along with a Tein FLex w/edfc, HKS, etc... you'll be spending more on a more aggresive kit from a company like Endless for example, about $1k more for anything close to what KW offers....
I don't sell anything anymore so i'm not looking to make a sale, but i think these are worth every penny!


sorry, i have never tried the K Sport kit out to compare..... so i guess i only answered half of the question hehe.

 

here's a link to my other review:
https://my350z.com/forum/brakes-and-suspension/222149-new-kw-3-suspension-installed.html

 

the KW setups, as mentioned, have been absolutely awesome for us. If I was going to swap out from my current HKS, I'd absolutely go with the KW V3's