• Protip: Profile posts are public! Use Conversations to message other members privately. Everyone can see the content of a profile post.

Bilstein vs. KWV3

I need coilovers. H&R springs make my car too low for my area, although I love the look. Liking the KWV3s but they are so pricy (worth it I'm sure). Any other options I should consider?
 
i think they are clear coated but am not sure.i have a friend who details high-end cars,and he advised not putting anything on them that you wouldn't put on paint. i would be reluctant to use any wheel cleaner,no matter how gentle it says it is.

update-i got curious,so i asked mackin industries,the importer.they said the painted ones are clearcoated,the bronze ones like mine are anodized,a very strong surface recently discussed in the replacement window handle thread- http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php/186356-Options-for-replacement-door-handles
see old guy's post 19

for either finish, mackin recommends only using car-specific car wash products on the wheels
I got confirmation from Volk to be careful and use mild car wash soap only. Nothing with acid in it. I think my Titanium silver are anodized like the bronze rims.
 
Weird. Something must have been installed incorrectly or broken. How low were you?

I've had V3s on my M3 for over 40,000 miles and they've never made a sound. Same with the V3s on my NSX for over 15K.

My KWV3's were just installed and they squeak horrendously over minor bumps. Is the issue that my bushings are just old and need to be replaced, or do I need to replace the top hats with an iLift system or equivalent? Any recommendations [MENTION=16531]stuntman[/MENTION]?
 
Last edited:
My KWV3's were just installed and they squeak horrendously over minor bumps. Is the issue that my bushings are just old and need to be replaced, or do I need to replace the top hats with an iLift system or equivalent? Any recommendations @stuntman?

Tai, did your installer use new Oem top hat bushings? I just installed the V3 on my car this weekend. But I purchased new top hat bushings from Autozone. The original bushings were hard as a rock and the new ones were softer. I have ZERO noises. The car now rides better than my 5 series BMW which has 50 series tires and I am on 35/30's.
 
Tai, did your installer use new Oem top hat bushings? I just installed the V3 on my car this weekend. But I purchased new top hat bushings from Autozone. The original bushings were hard as a rock and the new ones were softer. I have ZERO noises. The car now rides better than my 5 series BMW which has 50 series tires and I am on 35/30's.

I reused my top hats, allegedly the Kw's are smaller in diameter and don't fit snug with the oem top hats at all. I notice it only squeaks in colder weather (or evenings in CA).
 
I reused my top hats, allegedly the Kw's are smaller in diameter and don't fit snug with the oem top hats at all. I notice it only squeaks in colder weather (or evenings in CA).
One thing I did notice during installation was that even after dropping the weight on the new top hats, when I tried to tighten the top hat locking nuts, the entire coil over assembly would spin. So I took a 8mm socket to hold the top of shock thread and tightened all the locking nuts with a 17mm boxed wrench. Without the 8mm socket holding the shock in place, tightening the top hats to the shock was impossible...
 
This original thread is locked by the mods so I'll ask here. I ordered kw v3s and will be having them installed on my daily driver with occasional spirited mountain driving. The car is stock right now and I don't have plans for any sway bars. No plans to track the car either. I am looking for a quiet comfortable ride. Is this setup that is recommended for the Vegas drive the right one to give my installers or would you recommend something different?

I'm running 17" 18" right now but want to go back to the stock 94-96 wheels soon.

F Compression: 2-clicks/sweeps from full stiff

R Compression: 4-clicks/sweeps from full stiff

F Rebound: 9 clicks from full stiff

R Rebound 7 clicks from full stiff

Thanks!
Asif

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk
 
This original thread is locked by the mods so I'll ask here. I ordered kw v3s and will be having them installed on my daily driver with occasional spirited mountain driving. The car is stock right now and I don't have plans for any sway bars. No plans to track the car either. I am looking for a quiet comfortable ride. Is this setup that is recommended for the Vegas drive the right one to give my installers or would you recommend something different?

I'm running 17" 18" right now but want to go back to the stock 94-96 wheels soon.

F Compression: 2-clicks/sweeps from full stiff

R Compression: 4-clicks/sweeps from full stiff

F Rebound: 9 clicks from full stiff

R Rebound 7 clicks from full stiff

Thanks!
Asif

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

I would say from personal experience that for your stated purposes, I would go towards the softer side of the Compression/Rebound settings.
 
I would say from personal experience that for your stated purposes, I would go towards the softer side of the Compression/Rebound settings.
7/9 is already really soft for rebound. Going much softer won't make much of a difference. The window of operation is about half of the amount of adjustments. That means half of the amount of clicks is pretty much useless.

I'd try the recommended settings or maybe try 4-front 5-rear (FROM FULL STIFF) on front compression and leave those rebound numbers of 9/7 alone.
 
Back
Top