alexl993

Hi I'm a newbie to the forum but I hope you can all help.

Does anyone have any experience with KW Suspensions? I did a search but found very little info here.

I'm ready to upgrade the suspension on my '96 C2 and was all ready to go with the Bilstein PSS10 kit. However, when I spoke with http://www.manthey-motors.de they only use KW suspension. I tend to 'trust' Manthey as there is no denying their expertise. I think KW seems to be a more popular here in Germany than in the states, hence the dominance of the PSS9/10 system.

For now, I plan on using the car about 95% street and only 5% on the track. It's purely a fun car so ultimate comfort is not a problem, however I do tend to take it on long road trips. Over the next five years or so I plan on modifying the car with the focus to take it on tracks such as the Nurburgring. I've read many comments where people have said that they very quickly outgrew their PSS9 set-ups on the track. I want to avoid this but I still need to drive the car on the road for now. Can someone put this into perspective -at what level will I need a pure track set-up?

I've also looked at Moton's and JRZ. I've read everyones opinions on how these compare to the PSS10 set-up but don't really know how they compare to KW??

TheOtherEric

Moton or JRZ would be waaaaaaay overkill for a 95% street car. Either would be far superior to KW, PSS9, PSS10, JIC, etc. but also 3x the price.

alexl993

Does anyone know the price for Moton or JRZ in Europe? I see that both are located in the Netherlands and could go there for the install. The KW set-up at Manthey with corner balance is going to run over 3000Euro!

David in LA

I have KW v2 on the turbo along w/ RS sways and the suspension is well sorted out...very happy with it but I am thinking of upgrading to KW v3 and putting the v2 on another car.

alexl993

I just want to add that while the car will be used 95% of the time on the road, they are silky smooth German roads -i.e. high speeds the autobahns, lots of twisty stuff in the Alps and the occasional trip to the 'Ring'.

Therefore, a 'street' set-up for U.S. cars might not be the same as for cars living in Germany.

JM993

David, is there any chance you could take me for a short ride in your car (I'm periodically in LA)? I've been really unhappy with my Bilstein HDs (too much compression dampening for the driving/roads I do). Seems as though KWs might be a good alternative although not many people have them.

Mark in Baltimore

Eric's right. Motons and JRZ's are track tools and are ridiculous for a street car that spends 95% of its life on the . . . street, unless you're looking to enhance your street cred. With the design of either one, the issue has less to do with ride harshness (they're actually fairly supple on the street due to the low gas pressure) and more to do with the requisite monoballs/camber plates that one has to install. The ride is not crashy, but it is stiff and feels like you're abusing the car on rough street roads, as opposed to killing you and your fillings.

Also, your ride height will be silly-low and, unless you are trying to roll beer cans, impractical. Also, you will be limited in the amount of positive camber that you can get in the rear, meaning you will have too much negative camber for a 95% street car. You will have to get ERP links in the rear to give you full adjustment.

Stick with JIC's or maybe the KW's if they prove to be a good product.

David in LA

I would love to except that my car in LA has a RS/RSR setup; the KW v2 is on a car in Hong Kong...but if you are ever in Hong Kong then you have an open invitation for a ride! AFAIK KWs are not that popular/common in the U.S....perhaps they are not officially imported?

David in LA

One of the Rennlisters in Hong Kong swapped out his JRZ set-up for KWv3...said the JRZs were too harsh but HK roads are crap. He posted that his JRZ set-up is for sale so if you do a search you should be able to find him and get his thoughts...he posted just a few weeks ago. I thought about buying his JRZs to replace my current KWv2 but have decided that if I replace them I will go with KWv3.

JM993

Thanks David. I do believe KWs are officially imported - they're just not very well known in the US.

How long have you had your KWs?

How would you describe their build quality?

In you experience, can the shocks be set to provide a reasonably compliant ride?

I don't necessarily need a plush ride, but I do want shocks that can be set not to wallow while at the same time not be so non-compliant that the car steps out on mid-corner bumps. My Bilsteins have so much compression dampening that the car skitters all over the place when encountering a small imperfections in the road. Not confidence inspiring to say the least.

Thanks in advance for your help!

David in LA

Joe - The KWs were installed on the car by the PO and I've had the car for about 4-5 mos now. The PO's mechanic (who is also mine) did a good job of tuning the settings for the street; I have not changed the settings and probably will not do so....overall I'm pretty happy with them. The v3 are three way adjustable vs. the v2 which are only two, which is part of the reason I am thinking of replacing them (plus the other car could use a coilover setup so I'd kill two birds with one stone).

travanx

I have heard from a lot of people KW are some of the best. They tried to make a push into the import scene a few years ago and failed miserably. At least from what I could tell. I have been curious about getting these over the PSS10. I had one off Bilsteins from a Japanese racecar on my RSX, and no one could believe just how well the car road on these evil streets of california.

bart1

FWIW, a few 968 guys have the KWV3 and all seem to love it.