OK folks, so it seems that the KW Variant 3 coilovers are the topic of much discussion these days, and for very good reason. Today we installed a set of V3's on a 2008 Carrera S. I thought I'd give my first-hand opinion of the product, the install, and the ride quality.

The install was very simple and straightforward, as with most coilovers. The KW's came packaged and pre-assembled with everything needed for a direct swap. The stainless shock bodies look great and are perfect for cars driven daily in rain, dirt, etc. Height adjustment is very simple and identical to any other coilover suspension out there. Both front and rears have external reservoirs attached to the shock body.

The benefit to the KW system is in the ride quality adjustment. While most coilovers have only an adjustment for compression, the KW V3 system has a seperate adjustment for compression AND rebound. The benefit here is that you can adjust the time and *feel* of how the suspension recovers from every movement. That way you won't have the "bouncy" or overly harsh ride sometimes associated with coilovers.

At the same time, we also installed adjustable sway bar endlinks from Road Sport Supply, truly a must for anyone who spends considerable time on the track.

Here are some pictures from the install, and the completed car.

Front coilover installed, and a good view of the RSS endlinks:


Front coilover with external reservoir showing: Some people in another thread asked which coilovers would let you go REALLY low. Well, as you can see from this pic, we have about another 1.5 inches of lowering available. I would not recommend going much lower then we did with this install, but if you must, the room is there.


Rear coilover in place:


Rear coilover and view of RSS adjustable endlink (sorry, I forgot to take pics when the wheel was still off. These guys just work way too fast back in the shop!)


And the finished product. (Pardon the dirty car. Anyone living in South Florida knows the rain has not been our friend lately)


Overall we are very pleased with the KW V3 product. The ride is great. KW recommends allowing the springs to break in for a short period of time before making too many adjustments to compression and rebound. This will save you the time of re-adjusting a few weeks down the road. Initially, we are on the harder setting for both. While it's stiff, the ride is very manageable and if it was my daily driver, I probably would be happy with it just the way it is. The owner of this vehicle spends a lot of time at the track, so I suspect he'll leave it set pretty firm as well.

If you have any questions please feel free to let me know. We liked this setup so much that we decided to stock a few sets for future customers. So they're here, and ready to ship! Who wants the best track/street setup money can buy?

For more pictures or to see the full size versions, click on this link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/3973303...7622255156253/

 

how low did you go? how many turns? if somebody with KW wanted to mimic the lowness youve done on this porsche setup, how would one do so? Thanks for the write up , Im sure this will help a lot of people picking the KW setup... Thanks for the post, we all apreciate it.

 

Great job guys, the KW V3 System is very impressive. We install these kits almost every day and you simply cant go wrong when choosing KW Suspensions.

 

Nice work guys, thanks for sharing the pictures!

 

friend of mine had v3's on his 997.1 and 997.2 they feel great, he dropped like 40mm from stock non pasm height.

wish they would put pillowball tops on them so they were an easier swap tho...(i had to help)

 

You're most welcome

With most coilovers, when you open the box they're set at a random height based on how they were set during the final assembly. What we did was install them completely, put the car back on the ground, and then adjusted height accordingly. So I can't really say how many turns from the top, or turns from the bottom unfortunately.

Also, the final fine tuning of the height is done during the corner-balancing process. So it's totally possible that between left and right, front and back, the adjusters can be set in a very slightly different position.

 

great job guys, car looks great.

time to get my car dropped.

 

Let me know when you're ready. We'll be happy to help you out.

 

Car's coming along nicely!

 

Thank you sir! Our goal is to do more coilover installs this month then you!

 

I was wondering is the KW3 suspension Heavier than the stock suspension it replaces? or is the KW3 lighter than the stock suspension? Im wondering if the KW installed adds more weight, is just about the same weight, or is it lighter than the stock suspension?

 

Unfortunately, I did not weigh the stock assembly or the KW's. However, for what it's worth, the KW did feel slightly lighter.

By the way, I have another set for the 997 C2 or C2S in stock and ready to ship. PM me for special pricing.