put kw variant 3s on my car- review/info

20psirabbit

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so after all the trouble this coilover situation has turned into on my car, i'm glad to say it seems to finally be over. long story short, i bought maximum motorsports c/os (and practically everything else as well) and haven't ever really been satisfied with them. the rear was fine, but the front seemed to be under valved and under sprung a bit, though i wasn't sure how much more i needed. i called mm, they basically said i had too much rear spring. the rear spring THEY suggested. on top of that, i wasn't complaining about the rear. i wanted the front stiffer, and i was basically told i'd have to go to race shocks and springs "and most people don't like those on the street." they also suggested i raise the car an inch and a half and see if it gets better. i don't care if the car drives itself an inch and a half higher, it's not gonna be a 4x4.
after that conversation pretty much turned into a dead end, i started looking around, and after a discussion with Racerat (thank you by the way :) ) i decided to give the kw variant 3s a shot. they're pricy at ~$2750 retail, but i got them from grip motorsport in AZ (amazing service, awesome people) for $2350 delivered :D they are double adjustable, stainless steel, one piece fronts, (the rears go back to a stock style separate shock and spring in the stock place with an adjustable perch) with their own camber plates.
i still need to adjust the height and get them settled in, and tweak the bump/rebound a bit, but i can say out of the box they are DAMN good. my car is lower now than it was on the mm coilovers (due to guesstimating the height on install) and i haven't had a chance to raise them yet. the car still drives better even lower, eats up bumps and garbage better, and i don't have any more coilover noise like the mm did. plus, they're bump/rebound adjustable, so i can play with it to get them a little more to my liking.

you have to use the camber plates that come with them. they're not a nice as the mm plates, and only camber adjustable, not caster as well. i tried to keep my mm plates, but the kw shock piston is a little narrower, and a bit shorter, so they won't fit with the mm plates, the bearing just sits up too high to work.
another thing i noticed is that the kw seems to be a bit narrower than the mm coilovers, so in the shock towers there's clearance now, no more spring rubbing on the inside of the shock tower. i previously had to clearance inside my tower a bit due to the spring binding, and still had a bit of noise here and there. with the kw, no more of that, and there's room, so that nonsense is gone too.
i can drive faster through the stuff in the street that i used to avoid before, and the car still feels better, so i am very pleased with them. the cost was a little hard to swallow, but i guess the old adage is true, you do get what you pay for.
i just wanted to write this up since there's pretty much no info on this setup on these cars. literally the only person i found that has them is Racerat, who was also extremely pleased with them, and that's what made me pull the trigger and try it out.
i don't have installed pics since i was in a rush all weekend installing them and testing them out, but when i pull the wheels off to adjust the ride height i'll get some pics :)
 

Jroc

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Glad you like them.

What spring rates we're you running with the MM C/O's? I assume you were on their Bilstein Sports also?

I always liked my rear MM C/O's better than my front MM C/O's also. I had a 575 lb rear/375 lb front setup on my car.

EDIT: I see from your sig that you had a 600/375 lb spring setup. I would of go with a 400 lb or 425 lb front spring. I think some even go as high as a 450 lb front spring with a 600 lb rear spring. I was wanting to upgrade to a 400 lb front spring on my car.
 
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20psirabbit

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Yeah and that's the problem, if you go over 400 lb fronts they say you need to go to the race valved shocks, which I wouldn't have been against. But it was more like "whatever I want to do" as opposed to "here's our experience based on what you're telling us you don't like." and frankly, after i spent the money I did on their product, it seemed half assed. Kind of a bummer to fork out the dough instead of just switching springs and being happy, but at the same time I didn't want to try different coilover parts 3 and 4 times till it got right, because that's kind of where it sounded like it was going. At least it got rid of a couple issues I was having, fixed the characteristics I didn't like, and I've got some adjustability to work with.
 

desert_gypsy

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I'd like to go with the kw v3's at some point. Any plans involving some track testing with the new c/o's?
 

mu22stang

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I'm not sure who you were talking to, but your bad experience with MM is the first and only time I've heard of any "bad" advice or service from them. Try asking for Jason next time, if there is a next time. The best of companies will have their fair share of misfortune. I'm glad you like your new coilovers.
 

20psirabbit

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I'd like to go with the kw v3's at some point. Any plans involving some track testing with the new c/o's?

I do at some point, but I'm not going to lie, it will probably be later than sooner haha. I need to spend some seat time in the car now on the new suspension and get used to it, plus between work and everything else lately I don't get to spend much time in it. That and my favorite mountain road (in Mexico of course haha) is still closed :( we'll see what happens though.
 

untitledreality

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Bringing up an old topic, but I was just wondering if you have any more input now that you have had some time to rack up seat time with the KWs.

I have heard nothing but good things about the MM setup, but wouldn't mind learning about the other options... from looking at their site they have some quality stuff
 

racerat

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Glad to see you got the KW's on and like them. :banana:
I've been running mine for almost two years and I don't have a single gripe about them.
 

NeoTokyo

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I am interested in these too.

Could you post up some pics?

Also could you try to get a pic of how the rears fit in?
They arent a true coil over for the rears are they or are they?

I cant find crap anywhere that shows these installed on a Mustang.

Thanks.

-Eric-
 

03 DSG Snake

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bringing up an old topic, but i was just wondering if you have any more input now that you have had some time to rack up seat time with the kws.

I have heard nothing but good things about the mm setup, but wouldn't mind learning about the other options... From looking at their site they have some quality stuff

+1
 

20psirabbit

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sorry guys, i hadn't checked this in awhile, here's some pics-

DSC_0196.jpg


DSC_0197.jpg


DSC_0198.jpg


DSC_0199.jpg


that's correct about the rears, they use an adjustable shock in the stock location, with a spring on an adjustable perch in the rear.

i've also been playing with dampening and rebound on them lately, which is really nice. i wish i could get them a tad more compression in the rear, but i have a heavy vert with a bar and stereo equipment in the back, so i can't complain. but then again i like a very stiff car, so IMO most people would like these just fine. besides, realistically if i could get the rear any more compression than it has now it would be giving up lots of grip, so there's that tradeoff.
otherwise i have no regrets about buying them, and am very pleased with them :)
 

Teej281

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I wish I could find someone else with these on their car that lived close to me. I'd like to take a ride in a car with these on. I've been thinking about giving up my MM coilover kit and getting the KW V3's but I'd like to see how it compares first. I'll probably never do it. lol but I think the coilovers that I have are a little bit harsh and the KW's seem to be very unique when reacting to steering input. When its sharp and hard, the dampers dont give much but if its like on a bumpy road or something it acts as a normal shock or strut and has great ride characteristics.
 

racerat

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I've been thinking about giving up my MM coilover kit and getting the KW V3's but I'd like to see how it compares first.
I had the full MM coilover setup on my car for 3 years before going to the KWs. The difference is night and day! No noise, pops, creaks or bottoming out at all. Best money I've spent on the car and believe when I say I've spent a lot. :lol1:
 

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