are the KW V.1 coilovers really worth it? my car is a 2003 MCS w/ ~62k on the odo. my girlfriend owes me new suspension as my belated Christmas gift. i was originally thinking Bilsteins with H&R springs. but the price difference is only $350. will i regret not getting the coils? will i really need camber plates? my car is a daily driver and i don't mind harsh rides but don't want to go get new fillings in my teeth either. i don't race but i do drive "spiritedly" any input is appreciated!

 

If you fancy yourself a compitent driver, and do not plan to go to the track, leave the camber plates off. I rarely missed these...a little added grip is nice for sure.

My driving is half highway, so my comments may not apply???

 

I think the V.1's are good if you dont plan to track it, so are the h&r coilovers. My first suspension mod was bilstein shocks and h&r springs. After having them for a few months i wanted coilovers. dont get me wrong that is a great set-up, but if you have the choice, i say in the long run your better off gettting coils now. Camber plates arent a must, but they do make the car handle very very well depending on what camber you are running. One thing i would suggest is getting rear control arms though. if you dont plan on running negative camber, at least you can align the rear so you save yourself on tire wear. Thats just my 2 cents. Ive had the h&rs, but never tried the Kw.s Although i really want Kw.s

 

Chase, what about the Bilstein/HR setup made you want the coilovers? did you just want the height adjustability? i was planning on the Helix rear control arms being that Helix may be doing the install. anyone have any experience with the Ireland Eng. adjustable camber plates (street/track)? they seem to be the cheapest ones out there. I know Eric does have his own camber plates and he carries H-Sport stuff as well but if the Irelands are only $275 maybe they're worth trying?

 

I understand that a very nice daily driver setup, that also performs exceptionally well, is the TSW springs with either the stock struts & shocks or Koni Sport Yellow struts & shocks.

http://www.txwerks.com/servlet/Detail?no=28

Unless you are tracking you car, I mean seriously tracking, coil overs are a waste. Excessive lowering (over 1.25") deteriorates the ride and the performance on anything other than a billiard table smooth road. The only thing that a coil overs allow you to do is to "corner weight" you car, to fine tune the handling. For the non-track rat, anything that a coil over offers can be had for less using a set of springs and some struts & shocks.

There are plenty of good discussions on this site.

Good luck. Happy modding.

 

FWIW, I just put on Megan coilovers coming from FSDs & H&R Greens & IE Fixed Camber Plates. If you can afford the $1000 for coilovers, it's a worthwhile mod. The addition of camber plates to my FSDs and H&R's was a night and day improvement--even just for daily driving. Made my very worn Ziex 512s feel like new rubber.

The Megans have provided a similar improvement in feel and comfort-I drive 100 miles a day, and have to say the combo with the Nittos is amazing. I couldn't be happier with it.

 

anybody with the KW V.1s? this is helping a lot guys thanks! keep it coming.

 

I have to disagree with Bilbo-Baggins. I just installed a set of Megan coilovers just last month and they are the best ride I've had yet ! I road on the stock set up (springs and run flats) for a year and then it was on to H-sport springs with aftermarket wheels and tires. I then put on M7 springs before switching to the coilovers last month. I have tons of travel in the suspension which I never had before and no longer bottom out on the bump stops, I can (with the Megans) adjust the rebound and compression of the dampers for use on the street or track/canyon twisty's and adjust the ride height separately from the spring pre load. To say that all coilovers are only good for "seriously tracking your car" and that "Excessive lowering (over 1.25") deteriorates the ride and the performance on anything other than a billiard table smooth road" has never experienced a set of Cross,Megan or BC coilovers to name few I'll bet ! I took the car out for a gnarly canyon run this last week end. I was able to set the rebound to a more aggressive setting for the day and the car acted like it was glued to the road and took bumps like never before without ever hitting a bump stop once ! I left the more aggressive settings for the ride home on the freeway and It still road as comfy as it did with the springs. I back off the Damper/rebound for daily driving and it's WAY better then my previous set up hands down. After adding up the cost of Koni yellow adjustables and a set of TSW springs I get a price very close to what I paid for my Coilovers. To each his own !

For me, coilovers are what I should have started with in the first place !