I am looking to upgrade to coilovers and thought the KW v2 or V3 would be great (looking for a good autocross setup that isn't bad on the street). I have heard that the KWs require running spacers due to the lower spring perches. Is this true?

I do have to say when I get the coilovers I will also be adding camber plates and both upper and lower control arms in the rear. I already have an H-Sport comp bar in the rear. As for wheels, I am currently running Kosei K1 15".

 

If your gonna do mild auto-x go for the V2's. If you have the need for the extra adjustment go with the V3's. I was gonna go with the V3's before I found the insane deal on my PSS9's. Just for the record...I love KW's and V3's are going on the BMW since KW's do provide the lowest drop statistically.

 

No, that is not true with your Kosei wheels. However, if you are autocrossing or road racing there are reasons you should run a spacer.
I have a Leda package developed especially for autocrossing. Unlike the KWs, with Ledas you can adjust the rebound/compression ratio on the bottom of the dampers. The KWs are only rebound adjustable and for the rears you have to remove the damper to adjust it!
See the DMH website for information about Ledas.

 

I'm too lazy to look up what the differance is between the V2 and V3...sorry. But I just wanted to say that if your looking for a good setup for the street and autocross (maybe track days), then I'd pay extra for the version that is adjustable. That way you can soften them for the street (makes the wife happy) and stiffen/tune them for the track (lower your lap times).

NOTE: Check that the rebound adjustment on the KW's ISN'T on the top of the rear shocks. If it is (and most adjustable shocks are) then you won't be able to make adjustments without removing the shock. It's not that hard to remove the rear shocks and do it, but it's still a pain. (get out the jack, tools, etc...) Some people choose to just live with the harsh ride of stiff rear shocks. I guess it depends on what type of person you are and it the Mini is your only car.

Leda's (see above post) have the adjuster at the bottom/outside of the shock. That was the main reason I went with them. (I've ran Koni's and Penske's in the past)

Good luck with what ever way you go! (great shocks make a HUGE difference and most people skimp on them)

 

KW only make variant one and variant two, they never make variant three for mini. If you saw variant three on mini-madness.com, they are the race two-way system. If u are going to use them on street / auto cross, variant two is good enough. The two-way is more like a race suspension, custom spring rates up to 1000lbs plus. John Cooper Motorsport teams use them in mini challenge in Europe.

JOHN

 

[quote=roadodendron;1241033]I am looking to upgrade to coilovers and thought the KW v2 or V3 would be great (looking for a good autocross setup that isn't bad on the street). I have heard that the KWs require running spacers due to the lower spring perches. Is this true?/quote]

I have a set of two-way system, I do need a set of 3mm spacers to clear my S-lite wheels. I don't know about the variant two.

JOHN

 

The spacers are to keep the tire from rubbing the springs or the shock body? Are you running standard 205/45/17 on the S-lites?

 

kept them from rubbing the springs, ya 205/45/17 runflats on S-lites.

JOHN

 

Okay, just to clear a little bit up here since I am very close to KW Germany:

KW makes three variants:

V1 -> only adjustable in height
V2 -> adjustable in height and rebound
V3 -> adjustable in height, rebound and compression

It is right, that for the mini only V1 & V2 are available, but if you aks gently they will also sell a a V3.

For the mini, rebound is indeed controled at the top of the dampening-unit ! On the front axle this is no problem, on the rear there are two possibilities. First is to remove the whole dampening-unit which means some work and you may end up with a realignment. The other possibility is (which is what I did) to make some small holes under you rear seats, so you can adjust the rebound just by taking out the rear seats. See the pictures I attached.

Here in Germany I sell a lot of KW coilovers, since they are (speaking for mini) one of the best solutions. V3 is ordered not that much, because most people do not know how to adjust compression rate and rebound. I do drive a V2 for allday-driving and some auto-x and nuerburgring-driving and I am very happy with it. I have been thinking about V3, but you really do have to know what you are doing when setting up V3. Most german custumers I have here already have problems with adjusting their reboud on V2 correctly for their needs !!!!!

About spacers, yes you may need some if you drop very much ! But only if your offset of your rims is very high, like ET48 or something. I am running OZ Superleggeras ET38 in 17" with 215/40 Bridgestones without rubbing at any height I set up. For auto-x of course adding some extra spacers would make sense, but thats not for rubbing more for handling !

 

As I said, you will not rub with the Kosei's as the off-set is plenty. But you should run spacers for other reasons.

 

KW has been trying to get into the American Mini market for some time now with little success. With their top mounted rebound only adjustment how can they compete with the likes of Leda and Bilstein? With the KW rears you have to remove them or drill holes in the body to adjust rebound and if you want different compression you have to revalve them. Bilstein's draw back is that for the fronts they come with barrel springs (which limit your camber adjustment), they utilize progressive spring rates, and are only 9-way bottom adjustable. Ledas are 24-way compression/rebound adjustable from the bottom and are fully customizable: valving, spring rate and type.

 

Carter,

is the V3 the same units the challenge is running in Europe?

 

I should have clarified this better. I run the K1s for autocross but as a daily driver I have the S-lites (215/40/17). For that I would guess a 5 or 10mm spacer would be required?

Is there a difference between the 2-ways and the V3?

 

No, V3 and the Mini Challenge in Europe run different coilovers.

Challenge coilovers are called "KW Competition" and are always adjustable in height, rebound and compression rate.

 

Sorry, but you got me lost here. I thought you said the same thing about the V3 above. What's the difference, shaft size?

 

KW Competition coilovers have different springs (for race use) and also the adjustment rates for rebound and compression are different.

The main reason for this is the german TÜV (something like CARB). You are not allowed to drive with competition springs on the street in Germany because they are much to stiff. Also the rates are set up much more race like for racetracks, so allday bumps will throw you off the street.

 

Thanks for this info cartermd, very helpful

 

Do you have the regular KW V2 or TSW's V2s? Are your tires rubbing at the spring or at the lower part of the spring perch? TSW's V2 use linear springs and they are not V-shaped so I'm guessing there is more probability of tire rubbing with KW's springs. I'm curious which springs you have since I'm considering buying TSW's version.