OZ951

Patrick your 110nm fronts x 5.7 = approx 627 lbs/in


Edit -> As a starting point I'm thinking in the 500lbs area for front rate (with 295 Effective rear). The thing I note with these numbers is that the proportion of front spring rate to rear spring rate is then fairly different from the cup cars which had about 10% difference between front and rear at their maximum rates (371 Fr and 334 Rear). What led you to choose 627 Front ?

333pg333

This is what they came up with. The effective rate of front to rear is 627 f to 708 rear. I had concerns when I found out what they had made for me but they are fine and the car was very balanced straight out of the box once installed. I haven't as of yet adjusted them to either extreme. I am going to visit the KW guy tonight in Sydney and have a play. I get the impression that due to the valving properties of the KW's you can run higher rates without compromising ride quality. Part of the prerequisites were that it was still going to be used on the street and they haven't failed me in any way.

JET951

the afternarket hubs used the ABS rings off original hubs we took off the car. install was pretty good for the KWs the only delay was getting the Axels drilled and tapped to accept the control arm ball joint pins. all the bushings were a perfect fit and even the bolybronze torsion bushing werent hard to do. ive only driven the car around the block a few times but you can immediately feel the difference. initial turn in is a lot better, the car dives into low speed corners with little to no understeer. i was impressed. and the ride quality is very good. it is no where as harsh as what i was expecting. i could definatly drive it as a daily driver.
sean

333pg333

Yes the car is starting to come together in the handling dept. Sean, the KW guy was very impressed with the installation. Everything was perfect and he says he always see some mistakes by the installers, so well done. I went in a modded Audi S3 running 20psi and a GT2871r tonight. Pretty quick little car especially with the shorter ratio box. Methinks it's time to start delving into my engine soon???

JET951

its like a desease isnt it. once you start modifying you just cant stop. i figured out how to stop modifying...buy everythink til there is nothing left to modify. ha ha

RolexNJ

It sounds like everything was an easy install, and that Patrick's car handles incredibe now too? That's great, so glad to hear that! People don't realize that suspension truly is an investment. When you get a suspension that had interchangeable parts, and a lot of adjustability, you can fine tune a car to perfection. One thing too which is very crucial is valving. Every car I've owned has always had the proper valving to accomodate the car, it's power, the type of driving I did, and my style too.

Anyway, glad to hear this about the car. Patrick is on his way to having a 951 that handles like an F1 car, with the realm of 944 Turbos. Let me ask you, do most people over there, whether it is 944Ts or whatever, look at KW as being one of the best, if not the very best type of suspension money can buy over there? I am curious, thanks

JET951

to tell you the truth, we hadnt really had any experience with KW. the only time i had heard of them was in exelence ads. with all the suspension, hubs, control arms, and every suspension bush you can think of it took two work days to install, not including taping the axels.

333pg333

Rob, the KW's are a German brand but are very big in Europe and the U.K. They have won many races over there and were in a 1/3 of the field at a major race in Germany. They are still a small co. compared to the big boys but they are really making a lot of noise in their markets. A lot of people will tend to play safe when buying something. Using the tried and trusted method instead of doing a bit of research to see if anyone's doing anything different or better. They are slowly getting a name all the way downunder as well. I went and saw the KW guy last night at his workshop and we went over a few things and he also wanted to check out the installation. As I said before he was very impressed and even the settings were pretty much spot on so I said he should give JET / Sean an agency for the product (only half joking). I'm sure if both parties wanted it , that would be fine too.
Rob, your car is just going to be awesome and if you haven't commited I would seriously think about the KW's. They can make something up just for you and your car. Contact them in the States and see what they have to say for themselves. I would go for their 2-way race like mine. They do have the 3-way system but that goes up a lot in $$$ from what I understand.

333pg333

See other thread "Big bore questions. Advice wanted"

RolexNJ

The suspension stuff sounds awesome. I did look at KW, they seem to be really big over there? And its funny, I just saw an ad for them in Excellent too. Anyway, I am so glad to hear your car is coming along great my friend. Why did you go with 285s on the back, why not wider? Do you think with those custom rims you can fit 295s?

333pg333

I took a couple of guys for rides yesterday who are considering some of the same suspension upgrades and they we're surprised just how compliant the car was on the road so just more proof that these are very good upgrades! As for the tyres, yes you can fit 295s but we have a limit to how big they can be for our class and Rod has 295's on his and they do rub at the back a little. Of course you can make them work and when I go up in class in the next few seasons I will look to go to a bigger tyre. I went back to my street wheels and tyres yesterday and I wish I could afford to run on my R-specs all the time is all I can say. The 17" 265 + 235 with Kuhmos really don't cut the mustard. When I go up in wheel and tyre size in the future I will use my current race ones for the road and put on better street rubber.
You could probably afford to run R-spec all the time with the cheaper prices you guys pay for everything over there. Once you've driven on them there is no going back (unless you have to )

RolexNJ

tconn

Patrick, nice car. I'm hoping to upgrade to the Racers Edge control arms this coming year.
Sounds like you made a great choice with the KW's.
Why did you go with them over Leda's. I thought the Leda's were "The" upgrade on our 951's?

thingo

Yea I went for a drive in Patrick's yesterday, it really does ride very well, the ride is as good in fact maybe better than M030, amazing really.The bushes make it very slightly harsher over joins in the road, but completely driveable.
I do run 295 on the street, it is actually my R-spec 285's that rub slightly on the back, but only on the track, Patrick's offset is slightly different to mine, I have new wheels on the way.
Rod

facboy

so we can run 9s on the front and 10s on the rear? or 11s on the rear? i'm looking at new wheels but i don't want to have issues with rubbing, and i'd rather not be so close that some tires will rub and others won't. if that makes sense.