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| 02-16-2009, 07:08 AM | #1 |
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KW variant 2 installed this weekend.....
So in in between taking care of the gf over this Valentines day weekend I also found time to take care of my other love, the 135.
I installed the KW V2 set that I got from John and Drew at Gravity Autosport. I started on it Saturday mid morning. By 3pm I had the fronts done. Hate to admit it took me so long for just the fronts, but I wrestled with it a bit to get the old strut assemblies free from the lower mounts, and took my time to make sure all was done right. By 3pm, I called it quits for the day, cleaned up and took the gf out for a great italian dinner and a movie and some fun. Of note, excited girfriends can sometimes make a mess on your leather seats, advise carrying some leather wipes in your trunk. However, the 135 has now been christened!  Sunday mid morning I started on the rear. First the right rear, this went well, no issues. Left rear, the exhaust was making it impossible to remove the lower trailing arm eccentric bolt. I was already a bit cranky and short of patience. (lack of sleep, and sore from spending so much time on cold concrete floor) In a fit of frustration I slid under the car to unbolt the exhuast, my frustration lead to carelessness, the exhaust fell free and smacked me right in the nose. Upon such time I slid out.....uttered profanities like a sailor for the next 10 minutes, iced my nose, and then back to work. Buttoned up the left side, spent some time tweaking the ride height and also drilled some small 1/2" holes in the trunk liner so that I can freely adjust the rear shocks. The struts and shocks are set to medium. Seven clicks from full firm. Upon taking it for a test drive, I was impressed. It felt very compliant and streetable. Just like stock, no aweful bone jaring feel at all. However, when you go into a corner, it is much more balanced, composed and sooo flat. Very confidence inspiring! Additionally, I have zero vibration, clunks, or noises, the cabin is just as quiet as before. Over the next couple weeks I plan to let the springs settle then fine tune the ride height, take her in for an alignment, and experiment with the different rebound settings to dial in my prefernece. Right now, it is perfect for street, but I do think I can tune it a bit firmer. Overall, very pleased with the setup and eager to spend some seat time with it and tune it further! This is the way the 135 should have come from the factory! Pics to come later. 135 - KWv2 coilovers E36 M3 - Ground Control coilovers E30 M3 - H&R Race and Bilsteins Last edited by Mark M; 02-16-2009 at 08:10 AM.. |
| 02-16-2009, 07:54 AM | #2 |
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With the exception of the 'christening' part...great review! This is a mod I'm really looking forward to undertaking!
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| 02-16-2009, 09:43 AM | #3 |
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Bla!
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I, too installed my KW 2's and tho i ran into some trouble, I must admit, I love them! I'm 4 clicks from full firm in the back and they feel just a bit firmer than my buddy's M3 on stock suspension.
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| 02-18-2009, 02:46 PM | #5 |
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How much is the install or DIY? Have you considered to replace the F/R sway bars at the same time or you are happy with just the KW V2 upgrade? Thanks for your answer in advance.
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7/08 135 Coupe, Crimson Red, 6 SP, Sport, Taupe Lette/Aluminum. Performance Mods: JB4 on Map 5, BMS DP Fix V3, Injen polished intake, AR Catless DP, Maddad resonated mid-pipes, aFe exhaust polished tips, ST Suspension Coil Over and Hotchkis front sway bar. Others: BMS OCC, BT Scanner, Mud Flap. Next Mods: AA Front Strut Brace.
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| 02-18-2009, 04:59 PM | #6 |
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poor car got peed on
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 AW 135i w/ blackette, performance short shift kit, BMW alarm, Performance rotors, APEX ARC-8 wheels, Direzza Star Spec 235/275, Dinan stage 3 suspension, M3 wishbones/tension rods/front sway/rear subframe bushings and thats all folks! |
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| 02-19-2009, 07:19 AM | #8 | |
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Quote:
Did the install myself. Took about 6 or 7 hours in total, but that included time for lunch, to run to a buddies place to grab an impact gun, etc. Could be done in less time, but I was not in a rush and wanted to be sure it was done right. As for sway bars. Not sure I am going to go that route. I had once done sway bars on my e30 and never liked the feel. It made the car too bone jaring and too rigid, ideal for the track, not so ideal for street driving. Removed the big bars on that car this past summer, went back to stock bars, and upped the spring rates. Ride is much improved, handling has also improved. Personally, I lean towards controlling a car with spring rates rather than big bars. I'd rather switch to a higher spring rate to keep the car flat than run larger bars. But that is just me. |
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| 02-19-2009, 07:58 AM | #9 |
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HALA MADRID!
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mark, could you do me a favor and take a picture of the endlink connection to the front coilover shocks?
I've had an issue with my V2 and I believe it's either a design flaw, or something is wrong with my factory setup. See this thread: http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=231238 in particular, if you could be kind enough to take a picture of the where screw comes out of the locking nut, to see how much clearance you have, I would most appreciate it: 
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 F87 M2 Competition, Sunset Orange, Exc, DCT. **SOLD** F80 M3 Mineral Grey/Sakir Orange, Exc, DCT... ED 6/2015 **SOLD**E90 M3, Interlagos Blue / M individual two-tone, ZCP, ZP2, ZCV, DCT, ED. |
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| 02-19-2009, 09:09 AM | #10 |
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SSABRIPO,
Yes, I will take a look this weekend. Thanks for the heads up on this matter. I plan on fine tuning the ride height this weekend now that the car has had a week for the springs to settle. While doing that I will take a couple pics of the sway end links as you mentioned. Thanks. Suspect that if this is widespread, the fix would be to utilize diferent sway end links with longer bolts. Trust me, you don't want the strut housing tab to be thinner. This will only cause metal fatigue and in time the sway bars will cause the end links to rip through the strut mount tab. This happened on my e30 M3 and was scary. Imagine losing your sway bar mid corner at speed? Handling gets really dicey, lucky I did not stuff it into a tree. |
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| 02-21-2009, 05:12 PM | #11 |
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SSABRIPO, Confirmed. My car is the same as your pics. The front end link nuts have zero threads pertruding from the nut. I did the same thing, added some loc-tite and really torqued em on there. Hopefully that will be suffiient. I did take a pic, but will share it later. Thanks!
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| 02-22-2009, 06:41 AM | #13 | |
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HALA MADRID!
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Quote:
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F87 M2 Competition, Sunset Orange, Exc, DCT. **SOLD** F80 M3 Mineral Grey/Sakir Orange, Exc, DCT... ED 6/2015 **SOLD**E90 M3, Interlagos Blue / M individual two-tone, ZCP, ZP2, ZCV, DCT, ED. |
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| 02-24-2009, 09:12 PM | #15 |
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As long as it is torqued down properly with some loctite, it will not come loose. The motion of the end link will not loosen the nut
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