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KW V3 arriving for the NSX

I think it does say don't run it at full soft or in the full stiff setting (but I dont have the manual infront of me).

I rarely run cars at full stiff on either compression or rebound, at most I had them 1 off. 2 clicks off full stiff is a pretty stiff setting for compression -what I run on the track.

I wouldn't run either compression or rebound at or near full soft as it will be too under-damped.
 
Gordon at Koni NA HQs once told me the same thing about my Koni 3012s - don't run them on either of the extreme settings. Something that has to do with the increased likely hood that the mechinism for the adjustment will end up jamming.
 
Adjust compression and rebound to your individual tastes, but what Bilstein, Koni, and Penske recommend is to first drive around with full soft compression and rebound.

Increase compression by like 20% on all four until the car starts skipping or hopping over bumps. Back off a few turns (keep in mind fronts may be set up differently than the rears). Compression is now set.

Rebound compression can also be adjusted in 20% increments or so. On a streeet car, I would tend to leave these at a very soft setting since we encounter a lot of bumps and you don't want the possibility of your rebound dampening to hold you up from letting the piston recover (if not, you can hit your bump stops). Also, generally, a softer shock will give you more "traction." Not a bad thing on the street, but should definitely be fine-tuned on a track.



I've never heard that you shouldn't have your compression or rebound set at the extreme ends? All your doing is moving a parabolic needle valve in or out of a hole in order to force more or less oil through a shim stack. Maybe they want to reduce the risk of someone forcing it past how far it was designed to go. These are pretty fragile and I'm willing to be some doofus has twisted their adjustments too far in the past :redface:

Dave
 
I've installed mine two days ago. I'm running at the lowest height possible (not below recommended by KW), after 500 miles it came down by additional 5 mm. It's not ultralow overall but KW knows why.
Mine were preset as described above.
The install was pretty easy on the rear, for the front you need a long bar. They obviously seem to be tuned on the Nürburgring because the suspension travel is enormous or just like stock. The first impression is like they're like Bilstein's, also tuned on the Ring.

First of all I'm very surprised if not to say astonished how comfortable they are. I like it on the soft side anyway. Now I'm at compression -7 front, -6 rear and rebound -6 front and -5 rear (all from full stiff). It's a very good compromise. I've tried full soft and full stiff and the range is wide enough to be usable. But you can't tune it Type R shock valving. Stiffer than -5 for compression results in more or less pronounced car movement over bumps.
It offers a lot of grip and with my settings I'm sometimes astonished that I'm driving speed xy while the car is so calm even on uneven pavement.
 
stuntman said:
I take it those "-numbers" are clicks from full stiff?
Click to expand...

Yes, stiffer than stiff doesn't work anyway. My negative numbers are clicks from FULL STIFF, sorry for negative no.
For my soft driving style I think 7 or 8 clicks front and 6 or 7 clicks rear from full stiff are perfect. I've opened up the rebound to 10 click from stiff for a longer trip to have a more comfortable ride.
It's still amazing how good they damp away road irregularities while offering a very high grip level, they feel faster than the harsh Bilstein setting (Type R like revalving) I've had right before. :)
One thing: they produce some noise in town until the springs are settled which is annoying but I already got used to it as it got quieter.
And the last thing: They're slighty lighter than stock. One unit with the top shock plate (OEM) mounted is 5.2 kg or 11.5 lbs. The shock itself is about 200 gr. heavier than a Bilstein but the springs are definitly lighter. I only saved about 2 lbs per side in the rear.
 
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s4play said:
I looked through this entire thread and did not see what I was looking for:

1) IF I currenlty have Tien Flex - any benefits to go to the KW V3?

2) Price of this coilover setup?



thanks
rick
Click to expand...

Several of the guys that went over to KW V3 were running tein flex--myself included. From my experience the main benefit of the KW system over the tein flex is the KW has better ride comfort for street use. It won't feel like a Cadillac, but at the same time it does absorb the bumps much better than the tein flex. The KW is a sport suspension, so it does feel more firm than oem, but more comfortable than the tein flex. But it really depends on how you set it up. You can setup the KW system to be very firm if you want.

That being said, the Tein flex isn't a bad product. If all your looking to do is lower the car to your preference, a more firm suspension and don't want to spend over $2k in parts, then the tein flex is pretty good.

As far as price, the KW is around $2500-$2600, so approx $1k more than the Tein flex. Personally, I think the KW V3 fills in as a good mid priced suspension system. It's more expensive than the Tein and JIC, but less than other triple adjustable systems like the Motons.
 
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omega2 said:
Several of the guys that went over to KW V3 were running tein flex--myself included. From my experience the main benefit of the KW system over the tein flex is the KW has better ride comfort for street use. It won't feel like a Cadillac, but at the same time it does absorb the bumps much better than the tein flex. The KW is a sport suspension, so it does feel more firm than oem, but more comfortable than the tein flex. But it really depends on how you set it up. You can setup the KW system to be very firm if you want.

That being said, the Tein flex isn't a bad product. If all your looking to do is lower the car to your preference, a more firm suspension and don't want to spend over $2k in parts, then the tein flex is pretty good.

As far as price, the KW is around $2500-$2600, so approx $1k more than the Tein flex. Personally, I think the KW V3 fills in as a good mid priced suspension system. It's more expensive than the Tein and JIC, but less than other triple adjustable systems like the Motons.
Click to expand...

Yea I'm honestly getting tired of the ride quality of my TEIN RE's.......

there's only so much you can do with the damper settings.... too soft is bounce and too stiff will shake your teeth out......

I need something that can handle well and still feel good in the crappy LA streets.. AND a big problem with the TEIN's is they are very noisy...

Does anyone have any clunking when they drive over bumps with these KW V3's? :confused::redface:
 
enkrypt3d said:
Yea I'm honestly getting tired of the ride quality of my TEIN RE's.......

there's only so much you can do with the damper settings.... too soft is bounce and too stiff will shake your teeth out......

I need something that can handle well and still feel good in the crappy LA streets.. AND a big problem with the TEIN's is they are very noisy...

Does anyone have any clunking when they drive over bumps with these KW V3's? :confused::redface:
Click to expand...

Not a PEEP out of mine. There's another local NSXer who got his suspension at the same time as me and I installed and set his up for him and his are silent as well.

J
 
I sell mine by the end of this year. It will have 3k miles on it then and is used on flat streets only. And no, it's not that I sell it because it's bad! I just don't need the adjustablilty by the end of the this year. :)
 
I cant say enough about these coilovers, Billy has done a great job working with KW in developing these for the NSX. FXMD is a distributor of them and you can count on Billy's professional expertise in setting them up.
 
Frank Spano said:
Will be placing my order tommorow. Will these also lower my car? Thanks, Frank
Click to expand...

yes these are fully adjustable in every way... :biggrin: I would be sold if I had the flow to spare haha
 
Factor X Motorsports said:
I cant say enough about these coilovers, Billy has done a great job working with KW in developing these for the NSX. FXMD is a distributor of them and you can count on Billy's professional expertise in setting them up.
Click to expand...

hey mike stop fckin around on prime and give me back my car. u've had it for 1 year, how much longer do you wanna keep it for? u cant fix shit so give it back to me and give me back my money. i'm gonna call the LV police dept pretty soon if i don't get my ride back
 

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