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My KW coilovers just came in and I wanted to see what the best street settings would be. I can always change them later but wanted to start off somewhere close. Thanks
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KW V3 recomended settings
- Thread starter ken sampson
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After much experimenting, I adjusted the jounce (compression) on the KWV3's at 6 clicks from the softest setting all the way around, and left the rebound where they cam from the factory (something near the middle).
The car just loves it, excellent ride and handling
Brian
The car just loves it, excellent ride and handling
Brian
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So out of the box they are all set up the same?
No they don't. If they do, I wouldn't trust them and check them myself.
I have these on my car and set them up for the track.
The instructions say that to start adjusting for both bump and rebound to turn both to full hard -all the way clockwise. Then the adjustments below are what i set mine at - they are turns counter clockwise from full hard in both cases.
Front Bump-1.3 turns open from full hard (total turns is 2.5 turns)
Front rebound- 8 clicks open -counter clockwise from full hard (total turns is 18 clicks). So both settings are about 52 to 55% of full hard. I wanted that because i wanted more grip in front to reduce oversteer.
Rear bump-1 turn open from full hard 60% of full hard
Rear rebound-six clicks open from full hard 66% of full hard.
I set them once and have never changed them over 7-8 days at the track this year. I had a driving instructor who is also an nsx owner drive my car and he said it was very neutral. I have dali street/track sway bars.
Funny, now that i see this i think i am got to try a bit stiffer both front and rear and see what its like but for the street what i have above is perfect for me.
Don,t forget to get an alignment when you are done ! Good luck
Oh, and also do not trust they are preset the same from the factory. It is simple to just adjust both ends fully closed for consistency. Rmember don't force it-you can tell when the valves are fully closed.
The instructions say that to start adjusting for both bump and rebound to turn both to full hard -all the way clockwise. Then the adjustments below are what i set mine at - they are turns counter clockwise from full hard in both cases.
Front Bump-1.3 turns open from full hard (total turns is 2.5 turns)
Front rebound- 8 clicks open -counter clockwise from full hard (total turns is 18 clicks). So both settings are about 52 to 55% of full hard. I wanted that because i wanted more grip in front to reduce oversteer.
Rear bump-1 turn open from full hard 60% of full hard
Rear rebound-six clicks open from full hard 66% of full hard.
I set them once and have never changed them over 7-8 days at the track this year. I had a driving instructor who is also an nsx owner drive my car and he said it was very neutral. I have dali street/track sway bars.
Funny, now that i see this i think i am got to try a bit stiffer both front and rear and see what its like but for the street what i have above is perfect for me.
Don,t forget to get an alignment when you are done ! Good luck
Oh, and also do not trust they are preset the same from the factory. It is simple to just adjust both ends fully closed for consistency. Rmember don't force it-you can tell when the valves are fully closed.
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What would be the better setting for rear wheel straight line traction? stiff or softer? Thanks
Well, softer suspension settings usually mean more grip but the way your question is phrased I think you are talking more about rear stablility and for this it is the rear toe - in- in this case gives more stability. Now, if you are talking straight-line traction like in a drag race, then you do not want to lower the car a lot and you want to make the rear as soft as possible on compression so the car sits back when you come off the line, thus increasing traction. Not sure that is what you are talking about though....
All else being equal, if you set up the front and rear like i have, and then you feel like you want to reduce oversteer, you can either stiffen the fronts- decrease grip- or soften the rears- increase grip there- or both.
Thanks, I think you will like that suspension- I am very happy with it. The sway bars are really important to the overall feel as well.
All else being equal, if you set up the front and rear like i have, and then you feel like you want to reduce oversteer, you can either stiffen the fronts- decrease grip- or soften the rears- increase grip there- or both.
Thanks, I think you will like that suspension- I am very happy with it. The sway bars are really important to the overall feel as well.
Both compression and rebound on the KWV3s are the slow-speed adjustments. The high-speed adjustments are set at the factory and are not user-adjustable.
Also, just for clarification, the speed referred to when talking about the high speed vs low speed valving is not referring to road speed, but rather to suspension movement speed. High speed movements occur from things like railroad tracks crossings, small bumps and dips in the road. Low speed movement example is turning in to a freeway on-ramp.
J
Jan Zuijdijk, founder of JRZ, in his book says the complete opposite.
"Even recently testing this principle on drag cars proved the concept to be right, the car gained better traction with each increase in gas pressure and increased compression damping, contrary what those people had been used to."
Earlier in the book he talks about how during development Porsche was having trouble putting power down from a standing start and they had a cow when he fiddled with their compression settings (increasing rear compression). But it not only worked, but worked much better. I believe the problem they were having was wheel hop. They ended up doing it his way. :wink:
BTW: Compression will only control how fast the weight transfer from the front to the rear. Springs control ultimately how "soft" the rear is. Dampers control transitions, springs control the end result.
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need to be clear what situation you're adjusting suspension for, e.g cornering or off the line "drag race".
it is generally accepted wisdom the aim for max cornering grip is to balance front and rear grip so no big over or understeer. If the front anti-roll bar is stiffened understeer is enhanced, If the rear anti-roll bar is stiffened oversteer is enhanced.
The choice of of spring/damper combination rates on each corner is firstly dominated by the road conditions i.e smooth race track or bumpy back road and secondly by comfort factor. On a smooth track stiffer spring and damper rates will generally win out, unless you want to cut the curbs! On a bumpy road you need lots of wheel travel to follow the bumps so softer compared to track, but as stiff as your comfort factor will allow without the car being thrown around by bumps and pot holes.
spring/damper rates need to be seen in combination, not one or the other. The combination determines how fast the wheel moves up when it hits a bump, and down when it finds a pot hole, and how fast the car rolls when you turn hard into a corner and how quickly it levels out when you exit.
for off the line drag racing wheel hop is a unique problem and is caused by "resonance" between grip/wheel spin and spring/damper rates. in my experience rear wheel hop is generally more likely when suspension is too stiff. But going softer means energy is wasted as the car "squats", energy that could be accelerating the car. so as usual it's a balancing act
it is generally accepted wisdom the aim for max cornering grip is to balance front and rear grip so no big over or understeer. If the front anti-roll bar is stiffened understeer is enhanced, If the rear anti-roll bar is stiffened oversteer is enhanced.
The choice of of spring/damper combination rates on each corner is firstly dominated by the road conditions i.e smooth race track or bumpy back road and secondly by comfort factor. On a smooth track stiffer spring and damper rates will generally win out, unless you want to cut the curbs! On a bumpy road you need lots of wheel travel to follow the bumps so softer compared to track, but as stiff as your comfort factor will allow without the car being thrown around by bumps and pot holes.
spring/damper rates need to be seen in combination, not one or the other. The combination determines how fast the wheel moves up when it hits a bump, and down when it finds a pot hole, and how fast the car rolls when you turn hard into a corner and how quickly it levels out when you exit.
for off the line drag racing wheel hop is a unique problem and is caused by "resonance" between grip/wheel spin and spring/damper rates. in my experience rear wheel hop is generally more likely when suspension is too stiff. But going softer means energy is wasted as the car "squats", energy that could be accelerating the car. so as usual it's a balancing act
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New question what should I set my RM sway bars to for this setup?
I have 4 holes or placements with these sway bars. Currently I am on the second hole from the tip of the bar. Thanks Ken
I have 4 holes or placements with these sway bars. Currently I am on the second hole from the tip of the bar. Thanks Ken
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I'd run them as stiff as possible.... :biggrin: the holes on the most inside spot.
but only the front sway bar ... the rear needs to be less stiff = more rear grip = avoids snap oversteer
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Correct. If you increase stiffness in the rear, it will tend to step out on you in a more snappy manner and NO ONE wants that.
I'd leave it where you have it until you have some miles on the new shocks.
I'd leave it where you have it until you have some miles on the new shocks.
Fixed it for you. More rear grip = less oversteer/more understeer.
thanks for spotting my typo Stuntman , I've updated my post accordlingly... and yes, what kookoo4nsx said, we're trying to avoid snap oversteer (by keeping both rear tyres on the tarmac longer). I personally experienced this in a bad way when I first drove an NSX which previous owner had fitted very stiff bars front & rear. very scary.
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Ok so what I understood from this is front full stiff and leave the rears on my current setting? Or leave it all where it is currently?
Thanks
Thanks
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yea more oversteer in this car is bad!
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I just finished adjusting my front bar. They moved with no problems. I have the RM bars so no invertion needed. Thanks
Any updates on what settings seems to work best?........ for street?
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