KW V3 arriving for the NSX

[02#154]

It rained yesterday by the time I was ready to drive the car but I just got back from my first drive with the new suspension.

Just driving around town (about 30-50 mph), I'm pretty impressed with the high-speed valving of the kit. It's a little more compliant than the Type-R suspension I drove on another member's car. Those little white bumps that are used to divide lanes feel almost as if I have more sidewall on my tires. With my old Teins set up the way I like it for performance would rattle my teeth on those same dots. Even crossing railroad tracks was pretty comfortable.

On the freeway at about 80 mph the car still feels pretty compliant without feeling wallowy or losing any feedback. Very impressive.

That's really all I was able to evaluate so far on this short drive. I took a few turns quickly, such as on the exit ramp that sweeps right then left and at the moderate speeds I was going at (about 60 on the first and then 50 on the second turn) it felt pretty good. But I think that out of the box I'm going to need to adjust the compression at the front a click firmer and in the rear a click or two firmer. I'll crawl under the car to make those adjustments before my next drive.

One way that KW has to measure the maximum lowering available is by measuring from the bottom of the adjustable perch to the center of the hole in the bottom of the strut/shock. Here is a picture of the car at the lowest setting based on that way of measuring. It's a few mm higher in front than when I had my Teins, and about the same in back.

J

 

[goldNSX]

Thanks for the feedback. I really appreciate it! One question: Are you running 18/19?

 

[02#154]

Thanks for the feedback. I really appreciate it! One question: Are you running 18/19?

Yes, I am

J

 

[02#154]

I made the bump adjustments and took the car out for another drive. All I can say is *AMAZING*. Still an awesome ride but handling is much better for my tastes. I could never dial out the oversteer in my Teins but these KWs are very neutral by comparison. What's more, any bumps or dips that I hit while cornering were just absorbed up without giving me the feeling that the tires were skipping across them.

After a while I adjusted the rebound 3 clicks firmer front and back (too much) and the change was very pronounced. It was almost like riding on my Teins again - very stiff. When I got back home I took it back down 2 clicks so that the overall setting is +1 from out of the box. I think that's where I'll leave them for street driving. We'll see after my next drive. I might also try increasing the bump a little more.

J

 

[stuntman]

I made the bump adjustments and took the car out for another drive. All I can say is *AMAZING*. Still an awesome ride but handling is much better for my tastes. I could never dial out the oversteer in my Teins but these KWs are very neutral by comparison. What's more, any bumps or dips that I hit while cornering were just absorbed up without giving me the feeling that the tires were skipping across them.

After a while I adjusted the rebound 3 clicks firmer front and back (too much) and the change was very pronounced. It was almost like riding on my Teins again - very stiff. When I got back home I took it back down 2 clicks so that the overall setting is +1 from out of the box. I think that's where I'll leave them for street driving. We'll see after my next drive. I might also try increasing the bump a little more.

J

Yup yup... Not surprised, yet glad to hear good feedback

So what's your damper settings at (from full stiff):

F - Compression:
F - Rebound:
R - Compression:
R - Rebound:

 

[02#154]

Yup yup... Not surprised, yet glad to hear good feedback

So what's your damper settings at (from full stiff):

F - Compression:
F - Rebound:
R - Compression:
R - Rebound:

To be honest, I'm not really sure. I started adjusting from "out of the box" settings so all I know is where they are from there, not from full closed. I figured I'd count out the clicks after I've found the settings I like then record them. It now occurs to me that perhaps they're possibly off from L to R. :redface:

Next time I make an adjustment I'll record the settings from full closed and post here.

J

 

[stuntman]

To be honest, I'm not really sure. I started adjusting from "out of the box" settings so all I know is where they are from there, not from full closed. I figured I'd count out the clicks after I've found the settings I like then record them. It now occurs to me that perhaps they're possibly off from L to R. :redface:

Next time I make an adjustment I'll record the settings from full closed and post here.

J

They are not pre-set from the factory. Yes they can be different L-R. I would suggest seeing where they are at and making them even. Count how many clicks their is to full stiff (clockwise) and then back them down to ballpark where you liked them -so they are even. Rebound is VERY easy to do, just open the hood and engine bay.

Personally, I think the ride quality is better when both compression and rebound are a little stiffer than KW's street recommendation.

Check where you are and compare that to KW's baseline, and make sure it's at least the baseline if not a little stiffer.

 

[Malibu Rapper]

They are not pre-set from the factory. Yes they can be different L-R. I would suggest seeing where they are at and making them even. Count how many clicks their is to full stiff (clockwise) and then back them down to ballpark where you liked them -so they are even. Rebound is VERY easy to do, just open the hood and engine bay.

Actually, I have read and been told by KW that V3s are preset from the factory. If you want to be extra careful though you will want to check. Couldn't hurt, but sometimes it's hard to feel and count.

 

[stuntman]

Actually, I have read and been told by KW that V3s are preset from the factory. If you want to be extra careful though you will want to check. Couldn't hurt, but sometimes it's hard to feel and count.

I have heard people say company X (not necessarily KW) are pre-set from the factory. I have yet to see this. KW has baseline damer settings in their installation booklet. Yes the compression is a pain to adjust, but making sure a consistent (R-L) baseline is on the car dosn't take much time or effort before installing and should always be done.

Personally, I go by 1/4 turn "Sweeps" for compression and the rebound clicks are pretty easy to feel.

 

[Olyar15]

WEll, after a bit of trouble, I finally got mine installed. My install is a bit different in that I ended up using a set of pillowball mounts from JRZ, which happened to fit. However, I think it ended up increasing overall length by about a centimetre or so.

Rebound and damper settings are at the recommended settings in the manual. Ride height is near maximum, since I have a rather steep driveway and was always scraping the nose every time I went in or out. My car came with Toda Fightex coilovers, so that is what I have to compare with the KWs.

Ride quality is definitely better. Much better over bumps and ruts, but still pretty firm. Haven't had time to really push the car, given that it is raining here. Also, I can hear a fair amount of noise being transmitted, more than the Fightex, which is probably due to the design of the JRZ pillowball mounts. So far I'm happy with the KWs and find it much more street-friendly than the Fightex on our roads.

One other thing I noted during the install. I think I have aftermarket anti-roll bars, since there are three holes at the ends of the bars. I don't recall the stock NSX coming with adjustable roll bars, so these must be aftermarket. Funny that the previous owner didn't mention this.

 

[stuntman]

WEll, after a bit of trouble, I finally got mine installed. My install is a bit different in that I ended up using a set of pillowball mounts from JRZ, which happened to fit. However, I think it ended up increasing overall length by about a centimetre or so.

Rebound and damper settings are at the recommended settings in the manual. Ride height is near maximum, since I have a rather steep driveway and was always scraping the nose every time I went in or out. My car came with Toda Fightex coilovers, so that is what I have to compare with the KWs.

Ride quality is definitely better. Much better over bumps and ruts, but still pretty firm. Haven't had time to really push the car, given that it is raining here. Also, I can hear a fair amount of noise being transmitted, more than the Fightex, which is probably due to the design of the JRZ pillowball mounts. So far I'm happy with the KWs and find it much more street-friendly than the Fightex on our roads.

One other thing I noted during the install. I think I have aftermarket anti-roll bars, since there are three holes at the ends of the bars. I don't recall the stock NSX coming with adjustable roll bars, so these must be aftermarket. Funny that the previous owner didn't mention this.

Well I should be getting my V3's this week! and will be posting pictures as well.

I don't currently have my coilovers or the install instructions. What do they recommend setting the dampers at (F&R Comrpession and rebound)?

 

[Olyar15]

recommended settings per the manual:

Front: rebound - 9 clicks open; bump - 0.5 turns open
Rear: rebound - 7 clicks open; bump - 1.0 turns open

both adjustments are made by first setting bump and rebound to full firm, then adjusting from there.

Other information: The KWs weigh about 11 lbs each, which is a bit heavier than the Toda Fightex or JRZ RS and probably not much lighter than stock.

Some pics of the coilovers:

 

[WingZ]

WEll, after a bit of trouble, I finally got mine installed. My install is a bit different in that I ended up using a set of pillowball mounts from JRZ, which happened to fit. However, I think it ended up increasing overall length by about a centimetre or so.

Rebound and damper settings are at the recommended settings in the manual. Ride height is near maximum, since I have a rather steep driveway and was always scraping the nose every time I went in or out. My car came with Toda Fightex coilovers, so that is what I have to compare with the KWs.

Ride quality is definitely better. Much better over bumps and ruts, but still pretty firm. Haven't had time to really push the car, given that it is raining here. Also, I can hear a fair amount of noise being transmitted, more than the Fightex, which is probably due to the design of the JRZ pillowball mounts. So far I'm happy with the KWs and find it much more street-friendly than the Fightex on our roads.

One other thing I noted during the install. I think I have aftermarket anti-roll bars, since there are three holes at the ends of the bars. I don't recall the stock NSX coming with adjustable roll bars, so these must be aftermarket. Funny that the previous owner didn't mention this.

I currently have the Fightex could you give a me more of handling comparison? I know the Fightex are pretty stiff but that doesn't bother me I like the KW's but wasn't sure if there would be a big handling difference. Also is there any weight difference between the two?

 

[stuntman]

WEll, after a bit of trouble, I finally got mine installed. My install is a bit different in that I ended up using a set of pillowball mounts from JRZ, which happened to fit. However, I think it ended up increasing overall length by about a centimetre or so.

Rebound and damper settings are at the recommended settings in the manual. Ride height is near maximum, since I have a rather steep driveway and was always scraping the nose every time I went in or out. My car came with Toda Fightex coilovers, so that is what I have to compare with the KWs.

recommended settings per the manual:

Front: rebound - 9 clicks open; bump - 0.5 turns open
Rear: rebound - 7 clicks open; bump - 1.0 turns open

both adjustments are made by first setting bump and rebound to full firm, then adjusting from there.

Other information: The KWs weigh about 11 lbs each, which is a bit heavier than the Toda Fightex or JRZ RS and probably not much lighter than stock.

Because you are using the JRZ top mounts, you need to compensate for any additional length of the JRZ top mounts especially if you set your ride height to near the maximum of KW's recommended range.

 

[enkrypt3d]

What is the purpose of that smaller spring? It seems like it would be making lots of noise (coil slap) when you are going down the road since the spring is so tightly wound...

 

[stuntman]

What is the purpose of that smaller spring? It seems like it would be making lots of noise (coil slap) when you are going down the road since the spring is so tightly wound...

Its called a helper/tender spring. The purpose of it is because the suspension has a lot of droop travel (like stock) where that travel of the suspension when un-compressed is longer than the travel of the un-compressed spring. Without it, the main spring would rattle around when the car is lifted in the air or when hitting a large bump because their will no longer be any tension on the spring against the spring perches. The helper spring is designed to prevent rattling of the main spring against the shock body.

Many race cars run helper/tender springs to keep tension on the main spring to enable more droop travel of the suspension to keep the tires on the ground the whole time. This droop travel also greatly improves ride quality while gaining more grip/performance on the track by keeping the tires on the ground. Many coilovers on the market have VERY little droop travel and no helper/tender spring which greatly compromises the ride quality and in some ways, performance.

Technically, a helper spring has a very light (30lb) rate, and it's purpose is to keep the spring from moving around, but this 30lb rate is very soft when compared to the main spring's 300-1000lb rate. Some consider this transition to steep which is why they use a heavier (50-100lb) "tender" spring to soften the transition/spring rate of the tender to the main spring. Personally, their is not a huge difference between the peformance/characteristics of a soft helper to a stiffer tender spring. But KW (and the Tein SRC) uses a heavier tender spring in their applications.

 

[02#154]

I finally went out to double-check my damper settings and either KW matched mine left to right or I was just lucky but they were equal L to R.

My settings were at -2 clicks bump and -5 clicks rebound front, and -3 clicks bump and -5 clicks rebound rear.

I went 1 click harder at all four corners for a final setting of -1 bump / -4 rebound front, and -2 bump / -4 rebound rear.

I think I like it here or maybe at the 1 softer I had it at just previously. I'll continue to play around with the settings within this window of adjustment and doubt I'll go anywhere else.

Billy, be sure to post here what you end up at on your set. I'd like to know what your track settings are like.

J

 

[Olyar15]

I currently have the Fightex could you give a me more of handling comparison? I know the Fightex are pretty stiff but that doesn't bother me I like the KW's but wasn't sure if there would be a big handling difference. Also is there any weight difference between the two?

Well, unfortunately I can't provide much of a handling comparison, since I never got a chance to track the car, or even really push it hard on the twisties (since there really weren't a lot on my trip from Dallas to Vancouver). Also, I'm pretty sure I have aftermarket sway bars, set to full firm front and full soft rear (at least I think that's how you read them) so that might be different than your setup. Sorry.

As for the weight. The Todas weigh 9 lbs and the KWs weigh a bit over 11 lbs.

 

[omega2]

I just got my car back with the KW V3. Although due to traffic I wasn't able to drive fast through the mountain, I did notice the ride was much smoother over the streets. Even though it feels sporty, it doesn't feel overly stiff. So I give it a thumbs up.

Front rebound 5
Rear rebound 6

 

[stuntman]

I just got my car back with the KW V3. Although due to traffic I wasn't able to drive fast through the mountain, I did notice the ride was much smoother over the streets. Even though it feels sporty, it doesn't feel overly stiff. So I give it a thumbs up.

Front rebound 5
Rear rebound 6

From full stiff?

What about compression?

 

[omega2]

From full stiff?

What about compression?

Honestly, not sure if it was from full stiff or soft. I haven't had time to play around with the settings. I was told by the alignment shop 5 and 6 for rebound. Although I really like how it feels now, I might try one or two clicks softer just to see how it feels.

 

[stuntman]

Honestly, not sure if it was from full stiff or soft. I haven't had time to play around with the settings. I was told by the alignment shop 5 and 6 for rebound. Although I really like how it feels now, I might try one or two clicks softer just to see how it feels.

Take the included allen key that came with your suspension and turn the adjuster clockwise counting the clicks until it stops. Use VERY light effort when making the clicks. Just like any damper, you can break the internals if you twist the adjuster too hard. Just use the side of your finger and rotate it around counting the clicks until it lightly comes to a stop, don't use much force.

It's pretty quick, pop the hood and the rear hatch, count the clicks, set them back (or to whatever setting you want to try) and then you're good.

That was for rebound. To check Compression:

Turn the steering wheel all the way to the right (or when car is jacked up), then count the 1/4 turn "sweeps" from left to right (going to full stiff), then once full stiff, turn the adjuster back to whatever setting it was before or what you want to try. Repeat for the left front and then the rears.

Adjusting compression damping is much more involved and time consuming, which is why setting them at 2-3 "sweeps" or 2-3 quarter turns (2/4 to 3/4) from full stiff is a great street setting, set it and forget it.

 

[omega2]

Finally had time to take my car to a mountain road in my neighborhood. Although I didn't race up or down the mountain, I can honestly say this suspension is pretty good. I had so much fun I turned around and went back up the mountain. :biggrin:

This system is much better than the kit I was using before. I also tested on some local freeways and was pleased. The only issue I had was driving on a short section on the 57 south (diamond bar area I think). My settings might be too stiff for that area of the 57 freeway, but no issues once I got further south or on the other 4 freeways today.

 

[02#154]

Does anyone know the danger of running the dampers at full hard or soft? The manual says that they should never be run at either extreme but I don't understand why.

I have my compression at minus 2 from full hard and that leaves only 1 click harder for when I'm at the track. On these dampers, one click really does make a very noticeable difference but I would be limited to only that one click.

But to be honest, I'm less concerned with the limited amount of adjustment I have as I am in the answer as to why they shouldn't be run at their extremes. I'll probably never have a want to go beyond one click firmer.

J

 

[goldNSX]

Does anyone know the danger of running the dampers at full hard or soft? The manual says that they should never be run at either extreme but I don't understand why.

I think it's a misinterpretation here of what the manual states. The manual states that you should not run with the front full soft and with the rear full hard or vice versa at the same time. Like you would never run like this at the same axle with the left one full soft and the right one full stiff. :wink: