KW V3 Review

[Curt2000]

Gents,
I was enjoying a drive last night and realized Im long overdue for a review of my KW V3 coilovers so here goes.

For as long as I have had cars I've very much been a proponent of spring/shock combos for mild drops and retained OEM comfort levels. I was swayed by many friends whom my wife has deemed 'bad influences' to upgrade to my first set of full coilover suspension. The choice was easy, KW. I made the switch from my EDC shocks/Eibach springs for two reasons. 1. I needed to be able to slam the car for photoshoots and shows but raise it back up a little to make it up my driveway. 2. I plan on tracking the car on a quarterly basis and wanted to +up my track prowess.

I was kicking myself for purchasing the ZCP option and then removing the most expensive part! However, after several weeks of driving on the KWs I know that I made the right choice.

The car handles like it is on rails and honestly the bumpiness/ride quality is very tolerable, even with the car lowered to the stops ('0' shock setting). I enjoy the occasional powerslide and/or drift around turns or long cascading corners and the car feels much more settled during such maneuvers and inspires confidence while driving. I have yet to make it to the track but will post a review once I do.

The install was very strait forward and painless…I accomplished it in about 3 hours by myself on jackstands in my garage. The hardest parts were getting the stock trunk interior in/out and breaking some of the control arm bolts with limited maneuverability under the car. It would have gone much faster if I had had the car on a lift.

In summary, I had never thought that coilovers were worth the price but now that I have had a chance to experience the dramatic improvement of the cars handling and appearance that the KW V3's provide I will not own a sports car without them.

-Curt

[BimmerRob08]

You have a sick ride my friend. good combo's with tires and brakes and looks just right as for hight.

I'm looking to lower mine too but I don't have ZCP. So few questions I have;

- Did you get the emulator to shut off the check light for the EDC?
- With bumpy and shitty SW roads, is it beating the snot out of the car?
- How do you rate your turn in, grip, overall performance compared to when you had the ZCP OEM set up?

I'm on the fence with keeping my OEM struts and going Dinan or KW Sleeve kit so to retain the drivability and shock strut travel and not screw it all up.

[Curt2000]

Originally Posted by BimmerRob08

You have a sick ride my friend. good combo's with tires and brakes and looks just right as for hight.

I'm looking to lower mine too but I don't have ZCP. So few questions I have;

- Did you get the emulator to shut off the check light for the EDC?
- With bumpy and shitty SW roads, is it beating the snot out of the car?
- How do you rate your turn in, grip, overall performance compared to when you had the ZCP OEM set up?

I'm on the fence with keeping my OEM struts and going Dinan or KW Sleeve kit so to retain the drivability and shock strut travel and not screw it all up.

I purchased the Macht Schnell EDC module to shut off the EDC warning light but have yet to install it as the instructions are pretty confusing and I am not very electrically inclined. I would recommend/and will ultimately probably buy for myself the KW EDC modules which simply hook up to the EDC ports at each of the strut towers, no complicated wiring work like the Macht Schnell piece.

I expected the car to ride like a skateboard with coilovers but the KW set-up really impressed me with ride quality. I have them lowered all the way and the shocks at the '0' setting so I can still soften the ride a bit with the negative settings. The only time Ive felt like the car really took a good jarring was going over an intersection with a large dip at about 50mph causing the car to squat pretty far and either hit the stops or bottom out. I suspect if I had them set up a little higher and softened the dampener setting then it would be pretty close to sport mode in EDC for daily driving.

Turn-in is pretty aggressive with standard M3 oversteer but very grippy. body roll is dramatically reduced over stock and as I talked about in the first post, the car feels much more settled in turns. I wish I had logged lap times and entry speed data to show that Im able to carry more momentum into corners but unfortunately I don't have much track time in this car yet. I think my favorite part of this suspension is the feel of the steering wheel response, its so much tighter and more responsive…I find myself swerving down straight roads for no apparent reason other than the enjoyment of how solid the car feels lol.

Hope this helps with your questions.

[Mmmdreamer]

Nice review, great lookin' car.

I've got the Eibach springs so this is the exact comparison I've been looking for. I've been pretty pleased with the Eibachs in terms of comfort and improved handling.

How do the coils compare to eibachs in terms of comfort? Like I've got a 6month old...in terms of his comfort on the roads (knowing I drive through NYC)...is he going to be happier (less head banging/bumping in his car seat) with coils or current setup =)

[Curt2000]

Originally Posted by Mmmdreamer

Nice review, great lookin' car.

I've got the Eibach springs so this is the exact comparison I've been looking for. I've been pretty pleased with the Eibachs in terms of comfort and improved handling.

How do the coils compare to eibachs in terms of comfort? Like I've got a 6month old...in terms of his comfort on the roads (knowing I drive through NYC)...is he going to be happier (less head banging/bumping in his car seat) with coils or current setup =)

Honestly, I suppose it comes down to driving style, the suspension feel encourages spirited driving which always leads to my wife complaining! While firm over bumps, if you take it easy its tolerable, I drive pretty conservatively on the streets because I'm safe guarding my CF lip!

[Sedan_Clan]

Your car is stupid sick! Love it!

[fulizzy]

What are the spec of the wheel and tires thanks

[Curt2000]

Originally Posted by fulizzy

What are the spec of the wheel and tires thanks

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=911654

[saeedg48]

wow your car looks f'ing great!

[BimmerRob08]

Originally Posted by Curt2000

I purchased the Macht Schnell EDC module to shut off the EDC warning light but have yet to install it as the instructions are pretty confusing and I am not very electrically inclined. I would recommend/and will ultimately probably buy for myself the KW EDC modules which simply hook up to the EDC ports at each of the strut towers, no complicated wiring work like the Macht Schnell piece.

I expected the car to ride like a skateboard with coilovers but the KW set-up really impressed me with ride quality. I have them lowered all the way and the shocks at the '0' setting so I can still soften the ride a bit with the negative settings. The only time Ive felt like the car really took a good jarring was going over an intersection with a large dip at about 50mph causing the car to squat pretty far and either hit the stops or bottom out. I suspect if I had them set up a little higher and softened the dampener setting then it would be pretty close to sport mode in EDC for daily driving.

Turn-in is pretty aggressive with standard M3 oversteer but very grippy. body roll is dramatically reduced over stock and as I talked about in the first post, the car feels much more settled in turns. I wish I had logged lap times and entry speed data to show that Im able to carry more momentum into corners but unfortunately I don't have much track time in this car yet. I think my favorite part of this suspension is the feel of the steering wheel response, its so much tighter and more responsive…I find myself swerving down straight roads for no apparent reason other than the enjoyment of how solid the car feels lol.

Hope this helps with your questions.

That sounds promising. I'm on the fence of going DINAN state III. I kinda like my EDC functionality and not sure I want to bypass it, especially since I don't have much opportunity to track but a few times a year if that.

Looks great though. By the way, I saw a youtube video not long ago about I think was KW coil over installation, the wireless adjustable kit, and they go over the wiring issue you talked about. Complicated without a good wiring diagram so be careful and unless you know someone you can trust with electronics, don't let them or you go chopping into wires! Had an idiot friend that installed stereo's out of all things screw up my truck years ago to the point that when I turned on my headlights, I'd get a static jump through the speakers, no kidding! I had to go figure it out and fix it and I'm not an electrician but a mechanic.

[Curt2000]

Originally Posted by BimmerRob08

That sounds promising. I'm on the fence of going DINAN state III. I kinda like my EDC functionality and not sure I want to bypass it, especially since I don't have much opportunity to track but a few times a year if that.

Looks great though. By the way, I saw a youtube video not long ago about I think was KW coil over installation, the wireless adjustable kit, and they go over the wiring issue you talked about. Complicated without a good wiring diagram so be careful and unless you know someone you can trust with electronics, don't let them or you go chopping into wires! Had an idiot friend that installed stereo's out of all things screw up my truck years ago to the point that when I turned on my headlights, I'd get a static jump through the speakers, no kidding! I had to go figure it out and fix it and I'm not an electrician but a mechanic.

For this reason I recommend the KW EDC delete modules...plug and play vs trying to decipher wiring diagrams and splicing with the macht schnell kit...I had one but am a big DIYer and didn't have the knowledge/patients to figure it out.

[Z K]

Originally Posted by Curt2000

For this reason I recommend the KW EDC delete modules...plug and play vs trying to decipher wiring diagrams and splicing with the macht schnell kit...I had one but am a big DIYer and didn't have the knowledge/patients to figure it out.

You can have the EDC coded out of the car if you know someone who does BMW coding. I still feel more comfortable knowing something is physically plugged into the plugs so it doesn't collect dirt and get messed up if I decide to go back to the EDC shocks.