KW Coilover Settings and Review

greygrey370

Just installed a set of kw variant 3 on my nismo edition 370z. What are the recommended adjustments to make the ride comfortable? also does the car have to be lower at the front than the back? since the car is a rear wheel drive?

chops

you want more comfortable than stock springs/struts?

if so, here is what i did. follow instructions, and turn all valves to hardest setting. then from there:

front/rear:
rebound - 9 clicks open (this should be what comes set from the factory)
compression - 1.5 turns open (this is a half turn softer from factory)

try this first, it should be relatively softer than the factory settings. if its not soft enough, open the rebound 1 more click open. as for the rear being higher than the front. its not necessary...but i have my rear maybe 1-2cm higher than the front, i like the aggressive look




on topic with the thread, im running the following:

front:
rebound - 8 clicks open
compression - 1 turn open (factory)

rear:
rebound - 7 clicks open
compression - 1 turn open

i figured, the stock nismo setup has a stiffer rear, so i adjusted it to be similar. sure enough, ride quality is definitely on par with the stiff stock nismo suspension, ill probably soften the rebound back to 9 front, 8 rear

greygrey370

Thanks for the quick response. Whats the best way to adjust the coilover height so that all 4 sides are equal in height? it was equal when i had it adjusted suddenly the rear dropped 5mm each. Is there a tool or a way to measure the height of the vehicle precisely and adjust the coilover?

memorylasts

***IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A PROPER WAY TO SECURE YOUR VEHICLE WHILE IT IS SUSPENDED TAKE IT TO A SHOP AND HAVE IT DONE. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS TO YOU OR YOUR CAR****

***DO NOT AND I MEAN DO NOT USE THE WIDOW MAKER... AKA THE JACK IN THE TRUNK UNLESS YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD.***

Use a tape measure, get the measurement now, and see how much it needs to go up, i would measure from the ground through the middle of the wheel to the high point of the arch.

Losen rear wheels

Put on Jack stands

Take off rear wheels, after you have secured it on jacks.

now grab the wench like thing that came with your V3's

Get comfty...

spray down the collar threads to clean it

For the front you will need the 2mm allen key to loosen the collar, this gets spun up to raise the car and down to go down.

for the rear use some muscle and crank on the collar so the collar goes down and the car goes up, might be a bit of trial and error, but it isn't that complicated. Move the colar the distance of height you want...

Put the wheels back on make sure they are snug, put it on the ground, and then tighten them to their proper torque spec.

go for a drive to let them re settle, and measure and see if it is where you want.

Hope this helps.

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chops

anyone have odd noises coming from their coils? im hearing a metal-metal noise coming from my rear dampers, however ive checked and double checked the top hat bolts, damper mount bolts (the 2 facing down) and where the bottom damper is mounted to the car. i hear it clearly from inside only when its cold, once it sits in the parking lot at work, the noise is gone!

frankster

@chops: Completely off-topic, but it can be that your coils have not been placed correctly, that is slipping forth & back from a notch in which the coil oughto be placed.
Hope you understand what I mean...

frankster

Bump! News anyone? Improved/adjusted settings or something?

ZInferno0248

I just installed KW V3's today. I have the dampers set in the middle of the range. The car is 1 & 7/8" lower in the front and 1 & 3/4" lower in the rear than stock. I think it may have settled slightly after driving. I also replaced the stock nismo sways with Whitelines, front and rear (these are set full stiff). My first impressions: The cornering feels dramatically better than stock, zero roll... Also I think ride quality is actually improved, the chassis feels more settled over stutter bumps and re-balances instantly after going through big dips and ridges. Certainly a more confident feel going into and accelerating out of corners. No rubbing issues until I filled up the fuel tank and had a friend of mine in the passenger seat (he's around 300 lbs and I'm about 180). I drove quickly over some railroad tracks with this added weight and one of the tires scuffed the fender liner slightly. Because of this, I may dial the ride height up a little, or just ban heavier people from riding with me.

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2010 370Z Nismo, Silver / GTM Stage-1 SC / Custom Tune / GTM Oil Cooler / FI Resonated Test Pipes / FI CBE / Alpine HU / Focal's / JL AMP & Sub / AP Racing BBK / TTA TE-37's / RE-11's / KW V3's / SPC Camber Arms / Whiteline Sways

FireDan50

I just installed mine and used the suggested settings as stated above from KW. Car feels awesome, even on these crap roads here in South Belgium. I am hearing some clunking noises from the front though. I'll need to double check everything next week. I took some pics and will post up in the suspension forum soon.

chops

be careful being this low...im this low, and if you hit a bump hard enough since our nismo's have a different bumper, the wheel will actually hit the bumper. enough hits and the bumper starts to indent. after a while, the indents will start to crack the paint and plastic bumper. mine are already indented, hence why i've raised it a bit. ive personally seen a nismo with the paint completely cracked already



itll start to dent in the area of the red circle. keep an eye out!

frankster

@ZInferno: Congrats to your KW! But your front is too low imho. Driving fast press the car down additionally (aerodynamics). Driving over small a small wrinkle or something will let your car hit the ground...or the fender, as you already mentioned.
Keep in mind that the car will settle after a certain period of time to max 5-6 mm front/rear. My car setttled about 5 mm front/rear. I don't have an actual photo to compare with the one taken on the Leipzig fair (suspension was built in 2 days before photo was taken). There's less room now between fender/tire.

whoady4shoady

Did you guys install these yourself? If not, how much did the install run you at your local shop? Just trying to get a ballpark. Would thses be a good mod for autox? Anyone here autox?

forza370z

I know it's an old thread... But for Nismo owners who have kws on their cars, what are the ideal ride height for the lowered look while not hit or rub the front bumper too much?

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09 PW 370z Nismo | K&N Drop Ins | HKS Hi Power | Berk HFCs | Work Meister S1 3P | Project Kics R40 Neo Chrome Lug Nuts | KW V1 | SPC rear camber arms/toe bolts | Southbend Stage 3 daily clutch | Southband 19Ib Steel Flywheel | ZSpeed CSC

ROWDY370

Anyone have any further input or changes (since its been a couple years haha)? About to install my V3s and was checking if there where any newer findings. Also was wondering what are peoples style of driving (Events/sported daily driving) and the settings they are using?

Bshields22

Thought I'd try and refresh this thread. Does anyone else have some settings they would like to share?

I am getting mine installed in about 3 weeks and would like to see as many settings and reviews of those setting as possible to.

Thanks fellas

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308 rwhp | 252 rwtq | Fast Intentions CBE 18" Res | Stillen Gen 3 CAI | EcuTek Tune | Stoptech Slotted Rotors and Sport Pads | KW V3 Coilovers | SPL Upper Control Arms & Lower Rear Arms | Seibon CF TS Hood | Vossen CVT | SPC Toe bolts