Hey guys,

I was at Willow Springs this last friday and talked to one of the instructors for Redline Track Events, and he recommended KW Suspension to me, saying "they are hands down the best". Apparently they're tested more rigorously than a lot of other brands, but aside from that, I don't know what makes them better.

Has anyone heard of/used this brand, and if so, any thoughts?

 

I have the V1's and absolutly love them. There are couple people who have KW's so you can do a search and find a bit of into. Very high quality made coilovers in my opinion. The only issue there is, you might have to use a small spacer with some OEM wheels. There is a long thread on that subject.

I had H&R springs with Bilstein sport shocks, M7 springs with OEM shocks, and H-sport springs with Koni yellows prior to my KW install. The KW coilovers feel just like the Hsport ride. Its not to stiff for the street, and it is perfect for track or canyon driving. The V1's are only ride height adjustable which I think is great. If you do want to mess with the rebound adjustablity with the V2's, you would have to pull the rear shocks everytime. The V1's are confterable for street use and perfect for cornering. I am in the local canyons twice a week and this is by far my favorite setup. I would give you a ride if you want to see how they ride. I am in Glendale.

Let me know.

-Arthur

 

Thanks. I may have to take you up on that. I'm thinking that the track is a place I'm going to be visiting a lot more often, and coil overs is likely going to be my next mod.

 

Sounds good. Let me know.

 

Do you need any kind of camber kit when lowering? I did not need it on my BMW but had to on my Accord.

 

Only if you need to and want to. If you are just going for looks, then you do not need cambe plates. You might want to get adjustable controle arms for the read to get the -camber dialed back out.

 

What are the camber plates for? I just want to lower the car down to about a tight 1 finger gap. This will mainly be for street driving with the occasional spirited runs.

 

I have KW V1's on my R56, and their ride comfort is almost identical to stock. For an R56, that means comfortable! Since they have the same total stroke as stock, just a shorter damper body, they maintain large bump compliance even though the car is sitting lower. They are not, however, a racing coilover. KW does have a "competition" lineup, as opposed to the street-oriented "variant" like I have on my R56.

If you're looking for more track-oriented, try out the KW "Competition" line, or for the full monte score yourself a set of Cross coilovers.

 

ı have kw v3 for my r56..ıts perfect but there is no camber plates ..ı order fıxed camber plates from minimania..

 

To let a bit slip, TSW is testing a set of V3's with specified Swift springs at the moment... The Clubsports are next. KW's service is STELLAR. Dr. Mike should be at Buttonwillow or Streets of Willow here in a couple weeks rinsing them out - with KW's trackside support.

 

I have the competition 2 ways on our Race MINI. These are the same as used on the MINI Challenge series in Germany. The spring rates maybe a tad high for any street use but are great for a dedicated track car.

KW's service center is in California and can rebuild them in short order if needed.

 

While not on a Mini, I have a set of KW V3's on my S2000. Very well put together. My other option at the time was a set of Ground Controls. I've driven quite a few S2000s with various setups: Moton, KW, GC, JRC, and too many others to mention. They all have their little quirks, but you have to deciede if it is worth those extra dollars for a car you are only driving on the street, driving spirited through the hill country, or taking it to the track as often as possible. There are tradeoffs with each configuration.

With the dual spring setup on the V3s, they are much more compliant on the street in comparison to the GCs. I went with the V3s because I just wanted to do it right the first time.

Thumbs up on the KWs! Incredible stuff.

 

I just had a set of KW Variant 2's delivered, along with H-Sport v.2 camber plates & Texas Speedwerks drop-links for installation. I'll post my thoughts after Dr.Steve (Custom Mini Shop) works his magic.

 

I have emailed KW about producing this for the MINI. No response yet, but I think if enough interest in the product comes up....they just might hook us up!! Watch...
http://www.kwsuspensions.de/HLS-Special/index.html

 

I didn't realize that the H-Sport's don't provide enough clearance for the shaft tops of the KW's. Tomorrow, the TSW camber plates get delivered & then we can start the suspension tear-down.

 

That is pretty damn cool.

 

Still no response, so I'm gonna email the office in Germany and see what I get back.....

 

Those HLS are very cool coilovers

I don't have KWs but i've heard very good things about them

 

I want KW V1s, but those HLS look amazing