KW Street Comfort: Disappointed with Drop

[ferocity02]

I installed KW Street Comfort coil overs on the rear only last night (fronts will be this weekend). I had no idea where to set the adjuster so I arbitrability set it with about 1/2" gap between the threaded ring and the top of the mount, or in other words, there is still 1/2" left of available drop.

Fender height before install was 26.5" and after install was 26.5", exactly the same. I then took it for a drive on the bumpiest road I can find and it dropped down to 26.25".

Therefore, it dropped 1/4" from stock with another 1/2" of drop available. This means that this kit has a maximum drop 3/4". KW advertises the kit as a 0.79"-1.57" drop, and I'm seeing no where near that.

Granted, I was only looking for 1/2" - 3/4" drop initially, but I was also looking forward to having the option to go lower in the future.

One possible issue is that the OD of the KW spring coil is slightly larger than stock, so the spring doesn't quite sit into the lower spring isolator as nicely as the stock spring does. I also installed new lower spring isolators. Maybe it will take them some time to settle and form to the KW spring.

After the first few miles should I really expect the suspension to settle anymore?

[Papa Popov]

Your old shocks might've been worn enough to cause the suspension to sag. When I did shocks and springs on my car the ride height ended up being a bit higher than it was before.

[///Makis]

Originally Posted by ferocity02

I installed KW Street Comfort coil overs on the rear only last night (fronts will be this weekend). I had no idea where to set the adjuster so I arbitrability set it with about 1/2" gap between the threaded ring and the top of the mount, or in other words, there is still 1/2" left of available drop.

Fender height before install was 26.5" and after install was 26.5", exactly the same. I then took it for a drive on the bumpiest road I can find and it dropped down to 26.25".

Therefore, it dropped 1/4" from stock with another 1/2" of drop available. This means that this kit has a maximum drop 3/4". KW advertises the kit as a 0.79"-1.57" drop, and I'm seeing no where near that.

Granted, I was only looking for 1/2" - 3/4" drop initially, but I was also looking forward to having the option to go lower in the future.

One possible issue is that the OD of the KW spring coil is slightly larger than stock, so the spring doesn't quite sit into the lower spring isolator as nicely as the stock spring does. I also installed new lower spring isolators. Maybe it will take them some time to settle and form to the KW spring.

After the first few miles should I really expect the suspension to settle anymore?

I think it will take more than a day or two to settle fully. But as the guy above said, your previous shocks may have been very worn and already dropped compared to stock height.

Does the car at least handle better? I mean you can still drop it half an inch if needed but I would wait a few days for it to fully settle and see where it's dropped to

[Devin_rsv4]

Originally Posted by ferocity02

I installed KW Street Comfort coil overs on the rear only last night (fronts will be this weekend). I had no idea where to set the adjuster so I arbitrability set it with about 1/2" gap between the threaded ring and the top of the mount, or in other words, there is still 1/2" left of available drop.

Fender height before install was 26.5" and after install was 26.5", exactly the same. I then took it for a drive on the bumpiest road I can find and it dropped down to 26.25".

Therefore, it dropped 1/4" from stock with another 1/2" of drop available. This means that this kit has a maximum drop 3/4". KW advertises the kit as a 0.79"-1.57" drop, and I'm seeing no where near that.

Granted, I was only looking for 1/2" - 3/4" drop initially, but I was also looking forward to having the option to go lower in the future.

One possible issue is that the OD of the KW spring coil is slightly larger than stock, so the spring doesn't quite sit into the lower spring isolator as nicely as the stock spring does. I also installed new lower spring isolators. Maybe it will take them some time to settle and form to the KW spring.

After the first few miles should I really expect the suspension to settle anymore?

During the install was the eccentric bolt loosened and re-torqued under load? If not this will cause the bushing to bind and fail prematurely. It also will not let the car sit at the proper height which could be the reason for your issue! An alignment will also fix this which you'll need anyway.

While installing the fronts the same precautions should be taken with loosening the control arms and re-torquing under full load.

[ferocity02]

Originally Posted by Papa Popov

Your old shocks might've been worn enough to cause the suspension to sag. When I did shocks and springs on my car the ride height ended up being a bit higher than it was before.

The car only has 55k miles on it, I would think (hope) the stock suspension isn't worn out by then. Also worn shocks really shouldn't affect the height, they just control dampening. The spring is what sets the height, and the components on either end of the spring between the spring and the LCA at the bottom and the frame at the top.

I just hear about other people being able to tuck their wheels into the fender with KW coilovers, and I'm no where near being able to do that. I feel like I did something wrong or the kit is not advertised accurately.

It rides very nice. Decent upgrade over stock, but not a night and day difference. Maybe on a track I would notice more of a difference.

[ferocity02]

Originally Posted by Devin_rsv4

During the install was the eccentric bolt loosened and re-torqued under load? If not this will cause the bushing to bind and fail prematurely. It also will not let the car sit at the proper height which could be the reason for your issue! An alignment will also fix this which you'll need anyway.

While installing the fronts the same precautions should be taken with loosening the control arms and re-torquing under full load.

I did not have to loosen the eccentric bolt. I only removed the outer bolt that holds the LCS to the wheel bearing housing. Everything was torqued back to spec with the suspension loaded.

[gjm120]

Originally Posted by ferocity02

The car only has 55k miles on it, I would think (hope) the stock suspension isn't worn out by then. Also worn shocks really shouldn't affect the height, they just control dampening.

I used to think that. Someone on here long ago did the math showing that the little bit of upward force from shocks can raise the suspension a little. Also, I just changed dampers on another car that had about 90k miles on the old ones. It did raise the car a little.

[Devin_rsv4]

Originally Posted by ferocity02

I did not have to loosen the eccentric bolt. I only removed the outer bolt that holds the LCS to the wheel bearing housing. Everything was torqued back to spec with the suspension loaded.

I had the same issue after installing coilovers last winter whilst I had my 1er stored. I finished the rear and dropped it off the jack stands and the rear was sitting higher than it was before on stock suspension.

It was a little difficult for me to fully torque the essentric bolt whilst under full load, laying on my back with the car on jack stands.

Once I got an alignment it fixed everything and the car was sitting at least a half inch lower immediately afterwards. All they did was adjust the essentric bolt and torque it under proper load.

[WeryPert1]

:subscribed: as I have been trying to decide between these and the V1's.

Don't the different factory suspensions offered have different ride-heights to begin with? I could imagine that KW's published range is maybe calculated vs the base model suspension and your IS is already a bit lower than that?

Can you please report back in few months to let us know how it worked out?

[ferocity02]

Will do!

I'm in the middle of the fronts and there is already a similar issue. With about 1.5" left of available drop, the threaded spring perch ring hits the inside of the tire. So again, the possible drop is being limited. Not sure if this will affect me though as I'm not looking to slam it. But I am installing Dinan camber plates which add 1/4" of height. Seems like a might be able to get the desired drop before the tires hit the ring. I am running 235 wide tires in the front too.