KW Variant Experiences

[NINJASPY]

So, I am building a s14 for time attack/grip purposes. And konis with ground controls and top hats/camber plates run around 1300 total for the set. s2000 owners on s2ki are always raving about kw variant 2 coilovers. I've only seen 1 other post about kw variants on zilvia, and it was just mainly about how they dont lower the car enough(if you want slammed look). kw's are roughtly about 1600-1700. BUT believe the kw variants are dual adjustable bound/rebound? ~300 more from koni to kw's why or whynot?? I've heard of people using front koni's on the rear of the car so the rears are externally adjustatble.

[smelly240]

i think most of the DA guys use KW...

[D1GP]

i am in the same predicament.
the v3 are adjustable in both rebound and compression.

the pros that i have come up with on the v3's are pre-built, stainless body (good if you live in snowy area), fastest porsche on the ring used the v3 (probably custom valved and kick ass driver though), and slightly lower drop then the koni/gc combo.

[smelly240]

from what i have heard - they're the monkey sex sweet fruit juicy taste that leaves you lickin it....

they're too good for my car :P they dont go super low apparently -

[Tearlessj]

whoa hold it. They make top hats for 240's?

[umsports]

We ran a set on a friends Audi TT that he tracks often and they've been awesome. The v3's for the 240's run about $1550 if you do decide to go that route just let me know. So as far as the few sets that we've done so far I can only say positive words.

[Forge_55b]

well the main issue that i can see is that even tho its adjustable, are you going to be able to tune the suspension correctly, otherwise the ground control koni setup would probably make you faster assuming that's what you are looking for

[wonkuuzenki]

AWESOME coil-overs.
some of the best feeling coilovers out there. they don't go super low though.
you can't just bolt them on without adjusting them and expect a good feel to them though. these things need to be messed with to suit your driving and are very sensitive to small adjustments.

[shift_drift]

are they available with custom spring rates from kw, or will I have to source my own if I want to switch?

[vw_nissan]

So as far as the few sets that we've done so far I can only say positive words.


What do you mean by that? Did you guys actually tune them (ie. re-valve and custom spring rates) for your customers based on what they need? If so, I am very interested in them.

BTW, any shock dyno-plots you guys can provide for the shocks?

[NINJASPY]

any simpler way to make koni's externaly adjustable?

[veilside180sx]

Yeah...buy 8611's=)

[Harbe]

i talked to a guy that said they go pretty damn low and the guy was running tein upper plates

[NINJASPY]

any actual experiences?

[kouki_s14]

Who cares how low they can go, they perform well. I'd get the KWs because it should be easier to adjust and you dont need to make housings for it

[D1GP]

you might want to ask this guy...

http://www.zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=157453&highlight=pics

[NINJASPY]

I searched and I am still interested in the same setups.... Koni OR Kw variant 2/3, opinions on either?

[D1GP]

i got a set of kw v3 on my s13 since the last time i posted in this thread. i do like them. they ride pretty decent and perform great for how soft the spring rates are. the separate rebound and compression adjustment is sweet.... if you know what you're doing.

they are a pain to adjust you will need to jack the car up to do so for the controls on the bottom.

the lack of independent height control sucks but you will deal with that on the koni's as well.

if you will be using tein camber plates, the fronts will work, the rears, not so much. i had to get the rears O.D. machined down to match the springs I.D.

my biggest gripe with them is the design of the body which makes it difficult to get a good amount of camber. i am running a 17x9 +20 wheel and the most i can get up front with tein camber plates is -1.8. talk about weak sauce. the kw also has a slotted body but just the way it is designed, the damn thing will hit the wheel before i can get anymore camber. what cobb had to do on their time attack sti was to grind off some of the perch in order to get more clearance.

[jr_ss]

The KW Variant models do not come with camber plates. Variant models were designed to be used with the factory upper mounts. I priced a set of plates from KW for the Variants and you'd be better off purchasing the ClubSports version then paying for the KW plates to run on the Variants. Tein, Cusco, or any other camber plate that will fit a 61mm ID spring dia. and factory piston shaft will work up front. For the rears you'll need to do some machining or special order Cusco plates that work with 61mm ID springs and the factory piston shaft dia. Most of the plates available on the market use either a larger/smaller spring ID and/or a larger piston shaft.

I believe the KW Variant 3's allow for a max of 2.6"F and 1.8"R drop respectively.

They do not go low enough for the drift fan boi's but will drop the car a significant amount while still retaining practical use. These coilovers weren't designed for sliding around a track, they were designed for handling. If you want the slide factor, stick with your low price Stance/Megan/Tanabe spec coils.