weaponX

Besides what's listed on the manual:

Rebound - front (6 clicks open), rear (9 clicks open)
Compression - front (0.5 turns open), rear (0.75 turns open)

Anybody else experimented with other settings, got good results and would like to share?

s4play

iTrader: (2)

Mine has been trouble free and no rubbing for over a year now. If you want I can go find out my settings.

Takes 4 passengers around the city with on rubbing even though it's pretty low - no scrapes, no fenders cut.

oh btw, I'm running 19" stagger Advan RS-D

weaponX

Thanks, that would be great.

I was supposed to have these coilovers installed last fall, but my initial vendor screwed up big time and I actually just got them and will be installing them tomorrow.

I'm going to stay with the factory ride height and will be running the factory wheels in warm weather.

For those that already have these coilovers --- do they come out of the box with the recommended settings dialed in already?

This also may seem obvious to some, but I found somewhat confusing the way KW laid out their settings in the manual (pg 4). They have 2 sections there --- either "turns open" or "clicks open."

I'm assuming the V3's come with the clicking system. So, it's not like you go by turns, but go by clicking?!

Can anybody confirm? Thx.

N54MPower

iTrader: (3)

They come set from the factory with a recommended rebound and compression settings. There is a very narrow range of adjustment for them to work "right" per my friend at KW so I would install them and see how you like it.

I've never felt the need to adjust them apart from the height and I'm happy with them.

s4play

iTrader: (2)

^Totally agree with above guy…

The V3 designates 3 types of adjustments on the coilovers but in reality for most of us in day to driving we only need to worry about 2 of them.

Height is the obvious one people adjust and I have mine fine tuned for a slightly “raked” look on my IS-F since I like my stance to have equal spacing between each tire and fender. If you adjust the car to sit with a flat roofline then you will find the rear fender gap is less than the front which creates a sagging tucked rear look which I dislike.

Dampening is the other adjustment which can be done from the top of each strut with clicks to vary the firmness of the ride.

Rebound I left at the factory setting and from what I heard/read most people advise not to touch this one unless you know what you are doing.

We are doing another KWV3 install on my buddies 05 e46 m3 this weekend so we can take some more notes if you like.


TGIF! 

rhy

iTrader: (2)

How's the ride quality with these compared to the stock 08-10 suspension? Wondering what it would take to match the ride quality in the 11 while preserving or even improving handling.

N54MPower

iTrader: (3)

My car rides better on 20's and lowered that it did stock with 19's.

I haven't driven a 2011 so I can't give an accurate comparison to that.

PurduePete

I will also be getting the V3s soon. Any other tidbits, advices guys? I understand settings should be optimal from factory....Change as needed later.

DS2k

iTrader: (5)

I should have mine in a few weeks I'll share with everyone what I consider a comfortable ride shortly after.

Boofster

iTrader: (3)

I shouldn't have messed with mine. They don't feel right

I may have the setup wrong.

For compression when you say 0.75 turns open, what exactly does that mean?
Is it 3 clicks from full stiff? How much is each click? I'm not sure what a "turn" means because full stiff is not exactly at a position of reference.

Also for rebound - 6 clicks open > that means 6 clicks from full stiff clockwise?

I'm getting this weird float right now when I hit a bump the car kind of sways left and then right.

CalitriSC

iTrader: (13)

I left mine with the factory settings and it feels perfect.

T-Rex06

iTrader: (12)

You'll need to understand how shocks work first. Compression (also called bump) is to control how fast or slow you want the shock to compress when you hit a bump or apex at the track. Soft compression will allow the shocks to compress faster and hard compression will have make the shocks compress slower. Softer compression setting will make the car feel comfortable at low speeds, but if it's set to too soft, the shocks will compress too fast when you go over a bump. If it's set too hard, the shocks will compress too slow when you drive over imperfections or apex at the track. It means the shocks will not absorb and transfer the energy fast enough and make the tires lose contact.

Rebound, on the other hand, is the opposite. It allows the shocks to return back to the initial compressed stage after you drive over a bump. Softer rebound will allow the shocks to return to it's original state faster and harder rebound will do the opposite. Generally speaking, soft rebound will give you a much comfortable ride under low speed condition, however, you'll feel floaty under high speed condition. Harder rebound setting will give you more stability, however, if it's set too hard, the shocks will be slower to return the initial state after it was compressed, causing traction loss.

I hope I haven't confused you yet. As you can see, it's a delicate balance between compression and rebound adjustments. Of course, the spring rates play a role also. Since we're not replacing the springs, I won't go there.

Now on the KW V3, the compression (bump) is adjusted from the bottom of the shock assembly. If you look from underneath the car, clockwise turn is higher and counter clockwise is lower bump. The adjustment range is 0.25 turn for every sweep you make either way.

Rebound setting is done from the top of the shock assembly. It's determined by clicks. Clockwise is harder rebound and counter clockwise will be softer. KW recommends 6 clicks in the front and 9 in the rear.

If you want the most out of the shocks, you need to make sure you're within KW recommended range in terms of ride height. Suspension tuning seems pretty simple, but if you want a neutral handling car, it's quite the contrary.

On my set up, I have the compression set at KW recommended setting, which is 0.5 turns from full stiff in the front and 0.75 turns for the rear. As for rebound, I am at 5 clicks from the stiffest in the front and 7 clicks in the rear. The reason I went a tiny bit harder rebound in the rear is to reduce the understeer. It's all your personal preference.

Terrance

Boofster

iTrader: (3)

I appreciate the explanation! I was more asking for the procedure. The compression setting on the bottom kind of has clicks too but the part I missed was each sweep is defined as 0.25 turn. So your 0.75 turns is 3 sweeps from full stiff then I guess. How do you count the initial sweep at full stiff? Or do you start counting at the first full sweep? Same with the top. Is the first partial rotation until the click 0 or 1?

PurduePete

^^^ Good info. T-Rex06. I need to adjust mine too, as I feel they're a little too soft from KW.

T-Rex06

iTrader: (12)

Yes, whenever you adjust the compression and rebound, you go clockwise until you can't turn anymore.

For rebound, you use the 2mm Allen screw and count the clicks as you go counter clockwise. As you start turning you'll be able to feel the clicks. If you want the factory settings, you go 6 clicks front and 9 clicks rear from full hard.

If you have the new version, the compression adjustment has a dial built in already. Does yours come with the dial or do you have to use the needle adjustment tool? If it's the latter, each sweep will be 0.25 turn. So you'll be doing 2 sweeps (0.5) in the front and 3 in the rear (0.75) to achieve the factory setting. You'll hear a little click with each sweep but you don't have to count it. I hope this helps.

Terrance