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Old 05-24-2018, 07:06 AM   #138
blee
Doctor Mudgeon
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 6,433
Quote:
Originally Posted by rumatt View Post
It's actually more more comfortable than stock?

Any negatives?
Definitely more comfortable than stock, by a considerable amount. Keep in mind, though, that I don't know how many miles were on the parts that were replaced. They don't look like replacements, so they could be 15 years and 105000 miles old. Or less, I suppose. In fact, during my buyer's-remorse phase as I waited for them to ship, I found myself thinking that the springs were fairly well-damped and everything couldn't be that old.

The estimated ride height ranges for these coilovers max out around 0.5-0.75 inches lower than stock and can be lowered about another 0.8 inch. KW offers three packages in their street offerings (not counting their ST brand) -- V1 has pre-set shocks and is height adjustable only; V2 has rebound damping and upgraded inox bodies to prevent rust; V3 offers rebound and compression damping. The springs in V2 and V3 are the same, I don't know about V1. I bought V2. They're around $300 cheaper than the Bilstein PSS10 kit and $600 cheaper than the V3. Interestingly enough, Bilstein's kit features a single knob that simulatenously adjusts compression and rebound. All of these kits use progressive rate springs and ride hide adjustment via threaded collars.

Back to your question: I drove the M3 to work today to let everything settle before doing an alignment. The ride is noticeably more comfortable on typical neighborhood roads. Bumps, manhole covers, and cracks are less jarring, although I can tell that I'm riding on firmer springs. Onramp cornering is vastly improved, as you would expect, and the highway ride is superb. To me, it feels the way an E46 should feel on a new suspension -- firm, with excellent road feel, but well damped and comfortable. I haven't gone down any truly terrible surfaces yet; I would expect it to be unpleasant, but probably not unbearable.

One of my gripes with my car was the fact that it seemed to crash too much over road imperfections, and while I suspect that the shocks and rubber bits were just old, my new suspension fixed all of the crashing and then some. I'm sure I'll find a ramp or speed bump that will disagree with my front bumper eventually, but for now, the lower ride height isn't affecting me at all, and I can always go up a bit...I didn't buy the kit for stance.

Biggest con is price. Compared to replacing the struts and shocks with OE parts, along with the associated mounting hardware, you'll spend $500-$1000 more for coilovers. And, I guess, once you're dialed in, you probably won't play with the settings very much, unless you hit the track or go to an autocross. But I'm very happy with my purchase. I'm curious to compared them to the Bilsteins, but I'd recommend KW to anyone.
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