Kw suspension looking for feedback

Track rat · 03-13-2017, 03:35 PM

Searching for feedback on KW stuff is hard. Searches don't work with two letters.

Anyway, my car just turned 75k km, and suspension is on my to do list this spring. I don't do a huge amount of track days with my car maybe 3-4 a season. Don't really care for all out performance as I have race cars for that stuff.

Does anyone have KW V1 or V2 coilovers? Was leaning toward V1's but the preset dampening worried me. If you do have V2's can they be adjusted with the n55 strut braces in place or is a fix needed?

WhatsADSM · 03-13-2017, 04:29 PM

Kw (like many coilovers) have the rebound adjuster on the top of the strut. Because of this you can not adjust it with the stock strut bar arm in place. You can either get an aftermarket strut bar or a 1M OEM solution.

MightyMouseTech · 03-13-2017, 04:35 PM

The 1M bar is cheap, and reinforces the strut tower. Win/win.

xflowgolf · 03-13-2017, 04:56 PM

I'm considering the KW Street Comfort line for mine. I do lots of highway and distance commuting and have another car as my track car, so I wanted more focus on ride quality. They're similar to the V2's in that they're rebound adjustable, but they're softer and use linear springs instead.

I'd be interested in feedback from people who have run those as well.

Track rat · 03-13-2017, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

The 1M bar is cheap, and reinforces the strut tower. Win/win.

Yes but, more money spent on the BMW = less money spent on the Chump cars. Priorities.

Eyeman · 03-13-2017, 07:30 PM

I picked up a set of Volk 19" wheels for my car back in 2010. To me 19s are too big on our cars unless you lower the suspension. I got a great deal on KW V1s and have been reasonably satisfied, but I mainly went with coilovers to get my "stance" right. Here's a good article on what works well if not necessarily just looking for the lowering effect of coilovers.
http://www.bimmer-mag.com/issues/101...e#.WMc5pX9LCPU

MightyMouseTech · 03-14-2017, 06:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Track rat

Yes but, more money spent on the BMW = less money spent on the Chump cars. Priorities.

Then why you putting coil overs on the 1er?

Just bugging you, I understand, we are in full swing getting the car ready too.

Track rat · 03-14-2017, 06:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

Then why you putting coil overs on the 1er?

Just bugging you, I understand, we are in full swing getting the car ready too.

Well the one rear shock on the 1. I think a seal is starting to let go. There is a little oil tracking down the shock. Like the smallest amount.

Kw has a sale on right now so that helps. And I figured if I did spring for V2's I would have to spend even more to adjust them.

MightyMouseTech · 03-14-2017, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Track rat

Well the one rear shock on the 1. I think a seal is starting to let go. There is a little oil tracking down the shock. Like the smallest amount.

Kw has a sale on right now so that helps. And I figured if I did spring for V2's I would have to spend even more to adjust them.

Well, I put the V3 on my winter Civic, which is also my lapping/instructing car. Just could not bring myself to get the version that are not adjustable. Was worried they would be set too soft for any kind of track use. Unfortunately, they were about 50% of the price I paid for the car. Gotta pay to play I guess.

I went with the KW because of the stainless bodies to hold up to our Ontario winter salt use.

tyhackman15 · 03-14-2017, 08:07 AM

The V1's are pretty much perfect for a comfy street car, I run them (the ST version, same thing) and the ride is better than stock IMO. Non-runflats of course. I've done a few laps at our local track with them at a moderate pace and they're fine, of course they aren't a track oriented suspension, but for a street car they are hard to beat for the price. I'd buy them again in a heartbeat.

WhatsADSM · 03-14-2017, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xflowgolf

I'm considering the KW Street Comfort line for mine. I do lots of highway and distance commuting and have another car as my track car, so I wanted more focus on ride quality. They're similar to the V2's in that they're rebound adjustable, but they're softer and use linear springs instead.

I'd be interested in feedback from people who have run those as well.

I agree with this. Given the OPs desires I think the street comfort would fit the bill perfectly. They have rebound adjustability, and err on the side of comfort for the roads while still much better performing overall. I've only heard good things about them for this platform.

HomoPirate · 03-15-2017, 09:16 AM

I have KW v2 on my 135i. The damping is really good in KW V2 which is better the stock shocks, my stock shocks have 45k miles on them which still in good working condition when I removed them.

The rebound setting is a tricky part to set up. The recommended setting from kw manual is front 8 clicks from hardest, and rear 6 clicks from hardest which I feel like stock suspension setup.

I tried different settings in long distant travel (Between San Diego and Los Angeles). I found that anything softer than recommend setting are feeling too floaty and less stable in high speed which is sucks...

My current setting is front 6 clicks, rear 4 clicks which I feel great for my daily commute even in some bad roads in LA.

I have the 1M strut tower brace(from ECS tuning) which make the adjustment easier in front shocks. For the rear shocks, I opened a small holes in truck liner that allows the adjust pin go in makes the adjustment as easy as front shocks.

pepper135I · 03-17-2017, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HomoPirate

I have KW v2 on my 135i. The damping is really good in KW V2 which is better the stock shocks, my stock shocks have 45k miles on them which still in good working condition when I removed them.

The rebound setting is a tricky part to set up. The recommended setting from kw manual is front 8 clicks from hardest, and rear 6 clicks from hardest which I feel like stock suspension setup.

I tried different settings in long distant travel (Between San Diego and Los Angeles). I found that anything softer than recommend setting are feeling too floaty and less stable in high speed which is sucks...

My current setting is front 6 clicks, rear 4 clicks which I feel great for my daily commute even in some bad roads in LA.

I have the 1M strut tower brace(from ECS tuning) which make the adjustment easier in front shocks. For the rear shocks, I opened a small holes in truck liner that allows the adjust pin go in makes the adjustment as easy as front shocks.

Out of curioisity what is your dampening set too?

HomoPirate · 03-20-2017, 03:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pepper135I

Out of curioisity what is your dampening set too?

You mean the rebound setting? I currently Front 6, Rear 4 clicks from the hardest rebound setting(Total 18 clicks).

Track rat · 03-20-2017, 09:56 PM

Found a local with a street comfort setup on a 335. Going to meet up tomorrow and see what it's like?

01svtL · 03-30-2017, 02:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Track rat

Found a local with a street comfort setup on a 335. Going to meet up tomorrow and see what it's like?

So what did you decide?

pepper135I · 04-01-2017, 02:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HomoPirate

You mean the rebound setting? I currently Front 6, Rear 4 clicks from the hardest rebound setting(Total 18 clicks).

I have st xtas. They have adjustable dampening . Should be same/similar as v2s.

deesea · 04-02-2017, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Track rat

Found a local with a street comfort setup on a 335. Going to meet up tomorrow and see what it's like?

I have a set of street comforts for sale soon. one damper is blown though.

Rides fairly nice. Reminds me of the stock suspension, but I lost the adjustment knob so I haven't been able to fine-tune it.

WhatsADSM · 04-02-2017, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deesea

I have a set of street comforts for sale soon. one damper is blown though.

Rides fairly nice. Reminds me of the stock suspension, but I lost the adjustment knob so I haven't been able to fine-tune it.

You can buy a new adjustment knob:
https://www.rallysportdirect.com/part/miscellaneous-suspension-parts/kws-68525100-kw-suspension-adjustment-knob

Alternatively it's just a hex bit so any decent (metric) generic set should be able to adjust it.

Track rat · 04-18-2017, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 01svtL

So what did you decide?

Decided to go with a ST XTA setup.

03-13-2017, 03:35 PM	#1
Track rat New Member 9 Rep 28 Posts Drives: 2011 135i Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Whitby, ontario iTrader: (1)	Kw suspension looking for feedback Searching for feedback on KW stuff is hard. Searches don't work with two letters. Anyway, my car just turned 75k km, and suspension is on my to do list this spring. I don't do a huge amount of track days with my car maybe 3-4 a season. Don't really care for all out performance as I have race cars for that stuff. Does anyone have KW V1 or V2 coilovers? Was leaning toward V1's but the preset dampening worried me. If you do have V2's can they be adjusted with the n55 strut braces in place or is a fix needed?
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03-13-2017, 04:29 PM	#2
WhatsADSM Lieutenant 228 Rep 538 Posts Drives: 2011 135i Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Milwaukee iTrader: (2)	Kw (like many coilovers) have the rebound adjuster on the top of the strut. Because of this you can not adjust it with the stock strut bar arm in place. You can either get an aftermarket strut bar or a 1M OEM solution.
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03-13-2017, 04:35 PM	#3
MightyMouseTech Major General 4338 Rep 6,196 Posts Drives: 13 135i 6MT LeMans Blue MSport Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Ottawa, Canada iTrader: (0)	The 1M bar is cheap, and reinforces the strut tower. Win/win.
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03-13-2017, 04:56 PM	#4
xflowgolf New Member 2 Rep 10 Posts Drives: 2010 135i 6MT Join Date: Aug 2016 Location: Grand Rapids, MI iTrader: (0)	I'm considering the KW Street Comfort line for mine. I do lots of highway and distance commuting and have another car as my track car, so I wanted more focus on ride quality. They're similar to the V2's in that they're rebound adjustable, but they're softer and use linear springs instead. I'd be interested in feedback from people who have run those as well.
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03-13-2017, 07:30 PM	#6
Eyeman Colonel 121 Rep 2,037 Posts Drives: 2008 135 blk, blk, step Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Atlanta, GA iTrader: (0) Garage List 1994 Porsche 968 Cab [0.00] 2017 AMG GTS [0.00] 1994 Porsche 968 Coupe [0.00] 1977 Mercedes 450SE ... [0.00] 2008 135 [8.00]	I picked up a set of Volk 19" wheels for my car back in 2010. To me 19s are too big on our cars unless you lower the suspension. I got a great deal on KW V1s and have been reasonably satisfied, but I mainly went with coilovers to get my "stance" right. Here's a good article on what works well if not necessarily just looking for the lowering effect of coilovers. http://www.bimmer-mag.com/issues/101...e#.WMc5pX9LCPU __________________ Injen, RR OCC, MadDad Whisper, donut spare, 19x8.5et43fr 19x9.5et45r Volk LE37's, rear fenders rolled/pulled, PSS4S 225/35fr 255/30r, KW V1's, AR coated catless dps, Cross strutbar, CF grills and license plate holder, iCarbon diffuser, ETS black anodized FMIC, M3 control arms, Quaife, ER chargepipe, ForgeDV's, Topspeed Custom Tune, V3sims, Braille, Andrey_GTA rear hub mod, Ebay Mstyle front bumper and performance style side skirts.
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03-14-2017, 08:07 AM	#10
tyhackman15 Private 21 Rep 55 Posts Drives: 2012 AW 135i Join Date: Nov 2016 Location: Austin, TX iTrader: (0)	The V1's are pretty much perfect for a comfy street car, I run them (the ST version, same thing) and the ride is better than stock IMO. Non-runflats of course. I've done a few laps at our local track with them at a moderate pace and they're fine, of course they aren't a track oriented suspension, but for a street car they are hard to beat for the price. I'd buy them again in a heartbeat.
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03-15-2017, 09:16 AM	#12
HomoPirate First Lieutenant 84 Rep 331 Posts Drives: Always BMW Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: San Diego iTrader: (3)	I have KW v2 on my 135i. The damping is really good in KW V2 which is better the stock shocks, my stock shocks have 45k miles on them which still in good working condition when I removed them. The rebound setting is a tricky part to set up. The recommended setting from kw manual is front 8 clicks from hardest, and rear 6 clicks from hardest which I feel like stock suspension setup. I tried different settings in long distant travel (Between San Diego and Los Angeles). I found that anything softer than recommend setting are feeling too floaty and less stable in high speed which is sucks... My current setting is front 6 clicks, rear 4 clicks which I feel great for my daily commute even in some bad roads in LA. I have the 1M strut tower brace(from ECS tuning) which make the adjustment easier in front shocks. For the rear shocks, I opened a small holes in truck liner that allows the adjust pin go in makes the adjustment as easy as front shocks. __________________ Past: E82 135i Crimson Red \| MPE \| MHD Stage1+ \| Dinan Camber Plate \| LCI Blackline \| Bavsound stage 1 \| KW Coilover V2 \| Past: E93 M3 Vert Alpine White \| Remus Sport Exhaust \| Past: F82 Yas Marina Blue Civic M4\| MPE V2 \| DP \| BM3 \| Apex FL-5 \| MP Part(s) \| Current: F87 M2 Competition Long Beach Blue \| Completely Stock \|
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03-20-2017, 09:56 PM	#15
Track rat New Member 9 Rep 28 Posts Drives: 2011 135i Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Whitby, ontario iTrader: (1)	Found a local with a street comfort setup on a 335. Going to meet up tomorrow and see what it's like?
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