KW V3 Impressions & Questions

TazioNYC · 03-29-2009, 01:53 PM

Hi Everyone,

I've had KW V3s on my 1er since October, but wanted to wait to share my impressions. I took the car -- at the tail end of a mammoth 3,000 miles road trip through the South -- to Bimmerworld in Virginia for installation. James Clay and his team were awesome. My girlfriend and I were exhausted from our trip and the Bimmerworld guys managed to turn around the install really fast and have us back on the road to NYC, but not before getting a quick look at some of the race cars, just back from the petit lemans, and having James take me for a brisk drive in my KWed 135.

I had gotten the coilovers because i really wanted to get rid of the leaning in the corners, especially fast corners, and reduce float. Well, mission accomplished. It's like a new car - -you really feel like you're cornering at the limit of the tires, not of the car. There's very little roll, my confidence is fast turns in greatly increased, and I'm very happy with the way the car feels on the street. Ride quality is the same or better for every day driving - -the car just goes over a bump and that's that. Even my girlfriend noticed the difference in firmness and lack of float (and happily thought it was for the better).

I opted for minimal lowering, but even just the .5-.75 inches that it was lowered have made a nice difference the way the car looks. I always felt like the complete roundness of the feder design, making that and the wheel/tire look like concentric circles, made the wheels look smaller than they actually are. Breaking that up, even by a little bit, has made a big difference in looks.

So here's the downside -- the suspension is quite noisy. Now, I live in New York City, home of some of the worst roads in the country. It was a cold, tough winter which did a lot of damage to the roads in the area. I drive extremely carefully on bad roads, try to avoid all of the bumps I can, rarely drive in New York City itself, and generally try to look after the car the best I can. When I go over sharp bumps, pavement junctions, or big surface changes, the suspensiono chirps like a rally car. That's what I hear with the windows up. With the windows down, it's pretty loud mechanical clunking. I remember someone writing that going over bumps, the KWs make a "doosh" sound (keep the jokes to a minimum, please), which I hear as well. So it's kind of like a mechanical spring sounding clunk combined with the "doosh." Anyway, it seems to get better when it's warmer out. I haven't been on the forum in a while and just read this thread: http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=231729 and am now a little unnerved. I'm trying to figure out if it's just the weather, an issue with the coilover, or what the poster in the thread described. The noises started after about a month or two, which coincided with the beginning of winter. Any thoughts?

Some pics of the car post-KW -- bottom is James taking the car for a test drive at Bimmerworld.

Yearofthe1 · 03-29-2009, 09:57 PM

You sure that's only a .5 to .75 inch drop? Your car looks slammed. It doesn't look like you'd be able to fit even one finger between the tire and wheel well.

TazioNYC · 03-29-2009, 10:11 PM

In the bottom picture the trunk is packed full of about 2 weeks of luggage. The first one is more representative. It might have settled since it was done, but I think that's close to the minimum drop.

stovesax08 · 03-30-2009, 01:19 PM

^^^ You took the car for a test drive with two weeks of luggage in the trunk?? Poor luggage...

Dangerlucas · 03-30-2009, 01:31 PM

TazioNYC, I've got the same suspension and I've heard the same chirp that you are describing (although I think mine happens less often than yours). FYI, there is a thread on e90post talking about this problem: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=243156

TazioNYC · 03-30-2009, 03:33 PM

Dangerlucas -- thanks for that link, that's the exact problem I've got. I'm taking it into an authorized KW dealer this weekend for a look see, though it doesn't sound like there's anything really that can be done. Kind of disappointing, but i really do love the performance.

Dangerlucas · 03-30-2009, 03:49 PM

Yeah, mine isn't that bad at all. It only happens every once and a while and doesn't really bother me. I may end up changing the springs at some point, which sounds like it will fix the problem. If it really starts bugging me before I do that then I'll just get some dry lubricant and put it on the top few coils of the spring and that should be at least a temporary fix.

ktdw · 03-30-2009, 08:44 PM

I think I recall that HPA was looking into selling KWs with different springs, not because of the squeek, but because of spring rate was not optimal. Might be a good idea to wait and see what they come up with.

BTW, does anybody know the status of that?

BerkTechnology · 04-01-2009, 12:11 AM

Check the rear shock mount. I have a tiny squeak on my LR. It's not a "doosh" or clunk, but a rubber squeak.

03-29-2009, 01:53 PM	#1
TazioNYC Lieutenant 37 Rep 466 Posts Drives: BMW 135i Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: New York, NY iTrader: (0)	KW V3 Impressions & Questions Hi Everyone, I've had KW V3s on my 1er since October, but wanted to wait to share my impressions. I took the car -- at the tail end of a mammoth 3,000 miles road trip through the South -- to Bimmerworld in Virginia for installation. James Clay and his team were awesome. My girlfriend and I were exhausted from our trip and the Bimmerworld guys managed to turn around the install really fast and have us back on the road to NYC, but not before getting a quick look at some of the race cars, just back from the petit lemans, and having James take me for a brisk drive in my KWed 135. I had gotten the coilovers because i really wanted to get rid of the leaning in the corners, especially fast corners, and reduce float. Well, mission accomplished. It's like a new car - -you really feel like you're cornering at the limit of the tires, not of the car. There's very little roll, my confidence is fast turns in greatly increased, and I'm very happy with the way the car feels on the street. Ride quality is the same or better for every day driving - -the car just goes over a bump and that's that. Even my girlfriend noticed the difference in firmness and lack of float (and happily thought it was for the better). I opted for minimal lowering, but even just the .5-.75 inches that it was lowered have made a nice difference the way the car looks. I always felt like the complete roundness of the feder design, making that and the wheel/tire look like concentric circles, made the wheels look smaller than they actually are. Breaking that up, even by a little bit, has made a big difference in looks. So here's the downside -- the suspension is quite noisy. Now, I live in New York City, home of some of the worst roads in the country. It was a cold, tough winter which did a lot of damage to the roads in the area. I drive extremely carefully on bad roads, try to avoid all of the bumps I can, rarely drive in New York City itself, and generally try to look after the car the best I can. When I go over sharp bumps, pavement junctions, or big surface changes, the suspensiono chirps like a rally car. That's what I hear with the windows up. With the windows down, it's pretty loud mechanical clunking. I remember someone writing that going over bumps, the KWs make a "doosh" sound (keep the jokes to a minimum, please), which I hear as well. So it's kind of like a mechanical spring sounding clunk combined with the "doosh." Anyway, it seems to get better when it's warmer out. I haven't been on the forum in a while and just read this thread: http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=231729 and am now a little unnerved. I'm trying to figure out if it's just the weather, an issue with the coilover, or what the poster in the thread described. The noises started after about a month or two, which coincided with the beginning of winter. Any thoughts? Some pics of the car post-KW -- bottom is James taking the car for a test drive at Bimmerworld. Attached Images
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03-29-2009, 09:57 PM	#2
Yearofthe1 An ex-addict :-( 33 Rep 691 Posts Drives: VFR1200F Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: N. Va. iTrader: (1)	You sure that's only a .5 to .75 inch drop? Your car looks slammed. It doesn't look like you'd be able to fit even one finger between the tire and wheel well. __________________ 135i Montego Blue, Grey Boston Leather, MT, Sport Package, Premium Package, Navi, Premium Sound, Heated Seats, iPod. [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] We search for certainty and call what we find destiny. Everything is possible, yet only one thing happens. -Michael and Ellen Kaplan
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03-29-2009, 10:11 PM	#3
TazioNYC Lieutenant 37 Rep 466 Posts Drives: BMW 135i Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: New York, NY iTrader: (0)	In the bottom picture the trunk is packed full of about 2 weeks of luggage. The first one is more representative. It might have settled since it was done, but I think that's close to the minimum drop.
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03-30-2009, 01:19 PM	#4
stovesax08 Second Lieutenant 7 Rep 269 Posts Drives: 135i, X5 45e Join Date: Feb 2008 iTrader: (0)	^^^ You took the car for a test drive with two weeks of luggage in the trunk?? Poor luggage... __________________ 135i Coupe-Manual, Montego, Lemon, HG Black, sport, premium, CA, HiFi, Ipod/USB, heated seats
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03-30-2009, 01:31 PM	#5
Dangerlucas Captain 30 Rep 621 Posts Drives: BMW 135i Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Bay Area, CA iTrader: (2) Garage List 2008 135i [5.50]	TazioNYC, I've got the same suspension and I've heard the same chirp that you are describing (although I think mine happens less often than yours). FYI, there is a thread on e90post talking about this problem: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=243156 __________________ Legal Disclaimer: Anything I or anyone else says about my vehicle on this website(1addicts.com or any affiliated or nonaffiliated sites), pertaining to modifications, is only to gain acceptance from my/our peers, and does not actually represent anything actually existing on my car, and thus, cannot be held against me in any issues, i.e. warranty claims, that may arise.
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03-30-2009, 03:33 PM	#6
TazioNYC Lieutenant 37 Rep 466 Posts Drives: BMW 135i Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: New York, NY iTrader: (0)	Dangerlucas -- thanks for that link, that's the exact problem I've got. I'm taking it into an authorized KW dealer this weekend for a look see, though it doesn't sound like there's anything really that can be done. Kind of disappointing, but i really do love the performance.
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03-30-2009, 03:49 PM	#7
Dangerlucas Captain 30 Rep 621 Posts Drives: BMW 135i Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Bay Area, CA iTrader: (2) Garage List 2008 135i [5.50]	Yeah, mine isn't that bad at all. It only happens every once and a while and doesn't really bother me. I may end up changing the springs at some point, which sounds like it will fix the problem. If it really starts bugging me before I do that then I'll just get some dry lubricant and put it on the top few coils of the spring and that should be at least a temporary fix. __________________ Legal Disclaimer: Anything I or anyone else says about my vehicle on this website(1addicts.com or any affiliated or nonaffiliated sites), pertaining to modifications, is only to gain acceptance from my/our peers, and does not actually represent anything actually existing on my car, and thus, cannot be held against me in any issues, i.e. warranty claims, that may arise.
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03-30-2009, 08:44 PM	#8
ktdw BMWCCA #401908 54 Rep 470 Posts Drives: 135i Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Bay Area iTrader: (0)	I think I recall that HPA was looking into selling KWs with different springs, not because of the squeek, but because of spring rate was not optimal. Might be a good idea to wait and see what they come up with. BTW, does anybody know the status of that? __________________ Vishnu PROcede v3, Vishnu Dual Cone Intake, Code3 FMIC, Riss Racing Downpipes, Riss Racing Exhaust, H&R Sport Springs Best 1/4 mile: 12.583 @ 117.609 mph
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04-01-2009, 12:11 AM	#9
BerkTechnology Lieutenant Colonel 223 Rep 1,565 Posts Drives: Fast Join Date: May 2008 Location: Irvine, CA iTrader: (1)	Check the rear shock mount. I have a tiny squeak on my LR. It's not a "doosh" or clunk, but a rubber squeak.
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