Hey Guys,

I was almost set on these coilovers but have run into a few things I DONT like about them:

1) twintube not monotube, now maybe its just marketing hype but I thought monotube was better (not sure why, simpler maybe???)

2) height adjustment affects damper travel, ie lower = shorter; judging from the manual/pictures it looks like if you lower the springs the damper gets LESS travel, I would have thought this would be bad (Cusco's little page about coilover selection says soo)

So what do you all think? both of these don't really phase me too much but I would like to understand KW's thinking behind these decisions!

Cheers
D.

 

1.) Monotube is nice.....but I don't think you'll notice much of a difference. Twin tube's generally ride a little smoother. Both have their own advantages and disadvantages.

2.) KW's still have TONS of travel.....way more then everything from Japan or China. So yes, you do still lose a little travel when lowering the car, but you end up with plenty more then a lot of the separate ride height/preload adjustable coilovers anyway.

You should be focusing on the quality of the damper and valving first when choosing a coilover.


- Andrew

 

How do KW V3s compare with Zeal Function X coilovers?

 

Thanks Andrew, I think KW's are a pretty decent choice

 

I would consider Robispec KW3 Streets, Bilstein PSS10 (when they get released), or Ohlins DFV. Those I believe are about the best 3 coilover setups you will get for the $$$(Ohlins being a little on the higher priced side at $2500). I plan to try the PSS10 when they come out..if infact the springrates are a little better than the previous PSS9's.

For your other questions Monotube is beneficial but whether or not you track quite a bit would be more of a deciding factor. Having the nitrogen and fluid in the shock separated helps to keep temps down and a more consistent viscosity and less aeration (spelling ?) As far as strength the KW3's are not likely to break unless you are abnormally hard on your car. Robi has sold countless sets and I haven't heard of hardly any complaints. Of course setups like Ohlins may be a stronger built coilover but it becomes a matter of if it's overkill.

 

the amount of shock travel is good even on the lowest ride height. The ride height only drops to a certain extent so not to sacrifice travel. Its not for slamming your car..but a functional drop.
I have no doubts about ever buying the KW3's.

 

You want to talk about travel on a coilover? I have Tein's and absolultely love them but when I turn when going up a very sleep incline my inside rear tire completely comes off the ground. Most coilovers are like that but from what I heard KW's are a little better.

 

I just ordered the V3's. So I need to reuse my stock top hats in the rear..? and for the front I cant reuse them, even if temporary..? I hope these coilovers are stiff as hell

 

So you don't llike the KW's....which are you deciding to go with?

 

u can use your stock top hats for both front and rear with your v3's.
im running kw race and using my stockers for now.

 

Should I use the stock front top hats..?

 

Its up to u..but u can .

 

Well I track my car once a month. What do you think are the pros and cons of using the stockers vs camber plates?

 

For the people that installed them themselves do you experience a lot of spring binding noise when doing lock-to-lock steering at low speed?

how did u solve this? just grease all the perches?

Cheers
D.

 

Tephra,



This is what I will buy if/when I get coilovers.

Koni race shocks at an affordable price with rock solid construction and race proven results

http://zzyzxmotorsports.com/products/coilovers/emsport


October 2, 2007

Zzyzx Motorsports customers trophy at 2007 SCCA ProSolo Finale and Solo National Championships

The 2007 SCCA Solo and ProSolo National Championships at Heartland Park, Topeka, stand as a showcase of the performance potential of Zzyzx Motorsports competition products when in the hands of highly skilled drivers.

We'd like to congratulate the competitors that, through their driving skill, managed to bring home trophies in no less than six classes: G Stock (GS), G Stock Ladies (GSL), Street Touring S (STS), Street Touring X (STX), Street Touring U (STU) and D Street Prepared (DSP).

GS, with 36 drivers, proved to be the closest race of the entire event. Craig Wilcox (Blue Springs, MO), missed the National title by a mere 0.017 seconds, coming in 2nd in his 2007 MINI Cooper S #199 shod in Koni dampers valved to Zzyzx Motorsports specifications. On day two his tire warmer, Steve Sulatycki (Overland Park, KS), didn’t show the speed he did on day one and dropped from the 7th to 15th. In GSL, Brianne Corn (San Marcos, TX) finished 2nd.

This year STS had 50 drivers, with 14 trophy spots. All but one of those trophies went to a Honda Civic Si. John Hunter (Omaha, NE), piloting the 2001 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS #122 owned by Doug Rand (Omaha, NE), managed to grab 9th in class. Jon Simmons (Gretna, NE) who in 2006 took the last trophy spot in STS, coned away his fast runs this year, dropping him out of the trophies.

This year STX had 32 drivers. Billy Brooks (Park City, UT), behind the wheel of Jason Wong's (Troy, MI) 2003 Subaru WRX #154, ended up grabbing 9th place, the last trophy spot. Billy also took 2nd in the ProSolo Finale.

In its first year as a National class STU had 47 drivers, with no less than seven Zzyzx Motorsports sponsored drivers. Of those seven, 5 captured trophy spots in what proved to be an extremely close race and tour de force showing for Zzyzx Motorsports.

Jerry Irvine (Lenexa, KS), piloting Jake Diehl's (Lees Summit, MO) 2006 Mitsubishi Evo IX MR #142, took 3rd. Unfortunately on day one, the wastegate actuator arm had come loose after their 1st runs, leaving Jake and Jerry to run on severely limited boost for their 2nd and 3rd runs, which had a dramatic affect on power delivery. Despite this, the Zzyzx Motorsports sponsored Evolution at the hands of Jerry Irvine proved to be the fastest Evo in STU, now for two consecutive years. Jake coned himself out of the trophies on day two. Trailing Jerry by only 0.091 seconds, Brian Peters (Litchfield Park, AZ) took 4th in James Balducci’s (Tempe, AZ) 2005 Subaru WRX STi. James took the 12th trophy spot. Patrick Washburn (Wausau, WI) and Christopher Deutsch (Anoka, MN) took 6th and 8th respectively, in Christopher’s 2006 Mitsubishi Evo IX MR.

Also in STU, Max Hayter (Trabuco Canyon, CA) piloted his 2006 Subaru WRX STi to 2nd place in the ProSolo Finale.

In DSP, Patrick Lipsinic (Tulsa, OK) in his 2000 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS finished 9th, picking up the last trophy spot in the class even with three coned runs on day two. Patrick had a brake rotor hat fail on day two, and had to take a mechanical to swap rotors in grid between runs. Suffice to say with fewer distractions in between runs, he likely would have cleaned up his fast but dirty runs, which could have bumped him all the way up to 3rd in class. But that, as they say, is racing.

We want to congratulate all of you who, by competing and excelling at National level SCCA ProSolo and Solo competition, demonstrate the capability of Zzyzx Motorsports products and look forward to partnering together for continued success in 2008.


http://zzyzxmotorsports.com/products/coilovers/emsport