[antonch]

I read a few threads and some say that KW's have a similar ride quality to stock. Is that correct? I was under the impression that you want it to be stiffer when you lower the car so it won't bottom out.

P.S. I find the stock suspension to be too soft for my likings.

[allwheelsdriven]

hmm where to start...

the stock ride quality is ok but lower isnt necessarily better. What do you want to do with the car? Track days? daily driver?

actually talk to Myles at racecompengineering.com or Clint at TIC

[r12rex]

I have installed a handful of KWs V3's on STi. Everyone one of them completely satisfied. They ride much nicer than stock.

But like the post prior to mine said, what do you want out of your car? Do you do track days? Auto-x much? This will help steer you in right direction with what modifications are needed to be done to achieve your goal.

I can tell you that the KWs ride very BMW-ish like...very pleasant actually.

I am riding on RCE T2s in 400/350 spring rates F/R. I absolutely love them. Some may say they are a bit stiff, I think they are just perfect, in fact I may up my spring rates a bit here shortly.

Do a search, there are lots of threads regarding this topic spend a couple days researching. It'll help with your decision. Get a hold of Myles at RCE or Clint from TIC, they are both fantastic fellows that know what they are talking about.

Oh don't forget to watch your budget...

Kind Regards,
Ryan

[allwheelsdriven]

Yeah im riding on Whiteline G4's and absolutely love the daily driver ride. My ride height is a hair lower than stock and the spring rates are in the 5K range. Its incredible the difference. The car seems more planted, less chaotic if that makes sense.

However the G4s are no longer made, and Clints TIC coilovers are considered to be the successors.

[RaceComp Engineering]

Let me save you some trouble, time and tons of speculation. After 5 years of selling TONS of coilovers and nothing but suspension products.....for this small niche market ( the STI)...we have clients all over the country on various set ups. Since you live in the Bay Area I assume.....if you call me Monday, I can prob find someone in your area who will meet up with you with some V3's and get you a ride.

ALSO..lets NOT forget the TIC/ AST damper which have AMAZING ride quality and also would be an awesome option for no matter what your needs are. I would also talk to CLint at TIC and see if he has someone in the SF area with the TIC/ AST coilovers and you can do the same.

You can talk to and post and start 5 billion threads...and tons of people can come on and say...." blah, blah, blah"...but until your ARSE sits in and feels real world bumps and bridges and potholes.....NOTHING will make sense.

The V3 is a 2 way damper and offers separate rebound and compression adjustment. If that doesnt make sense to you........then you should SERIOUSLY look into the TIC/ AST coilovers. Call Clint or Tony at Turn in Concepts and be DONE.

You will NOT be disappointed by that set up nor by their level of customer service. ( As I press the easy button on my desk)...

Ok..NEXT................

Myles Williams

[Cpl Hicks]

I love TIC but myles came thru for me in a tight spot and "earned" my business the hard way. He worked for it. His coilovers we're made with the support and teamwork of KW. I own the KWv3 and love them. I wish I had known what a great guy Myles is so that I could have bought them from him. That is the only down side. I'll pay more to get a part from RCE just to help them out. Keep the good vendors in business and buy their products.

[r12rex]

Originally Posted by RaceComp Engineering

Let me save you some trouble, time and tons of speculation. After 5 years of selling TONS of coilovers and nothing but suspension products.....for this small niche market ( the STI)...we have clients all over the country on various set ups. Since you live in the Bay Area I assume.....if you call me Monday, I can prob find someone in your area who will meet up with you with some V3's and get you a ride.

ALSO..lets NOT forget the TIC/ AST damper which have AMAZING ride quality and also would be an awesome option for no matter what your needs are. I would also talk to CLint at TIC and see if he has someone in the SF area with the TIC/ AST coilovers and you can do the same.

You can talk to and post and start 5 billion threads...and tons of people can come on and say...." blah, blah, blah"...but until your ARSE sits in and feels real world bumps and bridges and potholes.....NOTHING will make sense.

The V3 is a 2 way damper and offers separate rebound and compression adjustment. If that doesnt make sense to you........then you should SERIOUSLY look into the TIC/ AST coilovers. Call Clint or Tony at Turn in Concepts and be DONE.

You will NOT be disappointed by that set up nor by their level of customer service. ( As I press the easy button on my desk)...

Ok..NEXT................

Myles Williams

Ah, forgot to mention that. Thanks Myles!! Probably by far the best advice to give anyone in the market for coilovers/springs/struts.

Kind Regards,
Ryan

[antonch]

Originally Posted by allwheelsdriven

hmm where to start...

the stock ride quality is ok but lower isnt necessarily better. What do you want to do with the car? Track days? daily driver?

actually talk to Myles at racecompengineering.com or Clint at TIC

OK maybe I needed to specify what I wanted to do with the car first. Right now I am its my DD, but I am trying to build a handling car. I feel that the STI has enough power. Once I am done with the suspension work I might take it down for AutoX. I've gone AutoX before the STI days and it just felt that unless you have the right suspension setup it just gets frustrating.

My plan is:
TIC front fender brace
rear X-brace
27mm FSB
24mm RSB
Endlinks
Some type of coilover<-this is where I am confused

My friend is actually selling the G4s. He said it was a good street coilover but the spring rates look a bit low for what I am looking for. After a few track/autox events he got another set of coilovers.

Originally Posted by r12rex

I have installed a handful of KWs V3's on STi. Everyone one of them completely satisfied. They ride much nicer than stock.

But like the post prior to mine said, what do you want out of your car? Do you do track days? Auto-x much? This will help steer you in right direction with what modifications are needed to be done to achieve your goal.

I can tell you that the KWs ride very BMW-ish like...very pleasant actually.

I am riding on RCE T2s in 400/350 spring rates F/R. I absolutely love them. Some may say they are a bit stiff, I think they are just perfect, in fact I may up my spring rates a bit here shortly.

Do a search, there are lots of threads regarding this topic spend a couple days researching. It'll help with your decision. Get a hold of Myles at RCE or Clint from TIC, they are both fantastic fellows that know what they are talking about.

Oh don't forget to watch your budget...

Kind Regards,
Ryan

I am actually coming from BMW world . Seems that RCE T2s and KW V3s are very good coilovers. Are the KW's like the e46 m3 stiff or something like a regular 5-series stiff?

I think the RCEs have 500/400 arangement as well. I might be interested in that.

When I got the car I was thinking that wow this suspension stiffness feels just right. If I can get a coilover like this, I'll be happy. But now that I got used to it, I think its a bit soft--car feels a bit sloppy.

Originally Posted by Cpl Hicks

I love TIC but myles came thru for me in a tight spot and "earned" my business the hard way. He worked for it. His coilovers we're made with the support and teamwork of KW. I own the KWv3 and love them. I wish I had known what a great guy Myles is so that I could have bought them from him. That is the only down side. I'll pay more to get a part from RCE just to help them out. Keep the good vendors in business and buy their products.

I ordered a brake package right now from a iwsti vendor. Order got messed up but they kept it very professional. So far I had only good experiences with vendors on this forum. They also seem to know these cars damn well.

Originally Posted by RaceComp Engineering

Let me save you some trouble, time and tons of speculation. After 5 years of selling TONS of coilovers and nothing but suspension products.....for this small niche market ( the STI)...we have clients all over the country on various set ups. Since you live in the Bay Area I assume.....if you call me Monday, I can prob find someone in your area who will meet up with you with some V3's and get you a ride.

ALSO..lets NOT forget the TIC/ AST damper which have AMAZING ride quality and also would be an awesome option for no matter what your needs are. I would also talk to CLint at TIC and see if he has someone in the SF area with the TIC/ AST coilovers and you can do the same.

You can talk to and post and start 5 billion threads...and tons of people can come on and say...." blah, blah, blah"...but until your ARSE sits in and feels real world bumps and bridges and potholes.....NOTHING will make sense.

The V3 is a 2 way damper and offers separate rebound and compression adjustment. If that doesnt make sense to you........then you should SERIOUSLY look into the TIC/ AST coilovers. Call Clint or Tony at Turn in Concepts and be DONE.

You will NOT be disappointed by that set up nor by their level of customer service. ( As I press the easy button on my desk)...

Ok..NEXT................

Myles Williams

Good to know. I'd be intrested in checking out the T2's and the V3's, if you know anyone in the Bay Area . I am trying to sell my old BMW so probably looking at picking up a set of coilovers by end of summer. So might take you up on that offer once I get the money ready!

[r12rex]

Ah, if you plan to make the car handle real well, stray away from the KWs, while they are good, the rears are progressive. Get the RCE T2s. They are a spec valved by RCE and made by KW. The rears are linear making the rear of the car perform more consistently VS the progressive KW.


My plan is:
TIC front fender brace
rear X-brace
27mm FSB
24mm RSB
Endlinks
Some type of coilover<-this is where I am confused

That up there looks about right to me.

My Current suspension set-up is as follows:

RCE T2 400/350
RCE Front lowering Camber plates
RCE Rear pillowball plates
Whiteline 27 F sway *soon to be replaced with RCE sways
Whiteline 24 R sway *soon to be replaced with RCE sways
Whiteline Sport Anti-lift kit
Whiteline Roll Center Adjuster kit
Kartboy endlinks
NRG H-Brace
Carlabs X-Brace
STi Titanium Front strut bar
TIC Fender Cowls

We share many of the same mods *at least you will soon*

Take a look into an ALK, but if you plan to class in auto-x you may want to re-think it.

While I have not ridden or had any first hand experience with the TIC units, I don't doubt that they are great themselves!

Kind Regards,
Ryan

[Neanderthal Racing]

i had one of the first sets of v3s on an sti. even with the progressive springs in the back they are incredible. the question is really, how far far you are going to push them. if it's a dd, you don't need the linear springs. the stock springs will be fine. either way, the ride quality with the same spring rate is extraordinary.

whatever you do, always listen to myles (insert smiley face here).

[Acejam2k]

I'm currently running the RCE Tarmac 2's, with 500/400 springrates.

I can tell you right now: On the recommended "daily driver" settings from RCE, the car rides MUCH better and smoother than stock springs/struts.

As of now, I'm running the following daily driver setup:

RCE T2 500/400 coilovers
WL 27-29mm FSB (set to 27)
WL 22-24-26 RSB (set to 24)
Kartboy endlinks

The car is my daily driver, and it's absolutely planted. When I go to autocrosses (actually in about 6 hours ) I simply adjust the compression and rebound, making them stiffer. The adjustment is very noticeable when driving the car, which is great. I highly recommend RCE, as they were a great vendor to do business with.

[antonch]

I am not discounting the KW's just yet. Just want to see what my options right now. On a DD progressive spring rates make a lot of sense.

I am still a little confused when I see posts that say KWs or T2's w/ 500/400 spring rates ride better than stock. Stock is pretty soft. Unless your back becomes numb due to stiff suspension, increasing the spring rate should make it less comfortable?!

Ryan, what are you alignment settings like? Does the car push at all with the 27mm FSB?
I am planning on keeping rear alignment as is, but maxing out the front camber. Trying to do it with camber bolts but not sure if I can get the amount of camber that I am looking for.

[Acejam2k]

Originally Posted by antonch

I am not discounting the KW's just yet. Just want to see what my options right now. On a DD progressive spring rates make a lot of sense.

I am still a little confused when I see posts that say KWs or T2's w/ 500/400 spring rates ride better than stock. Stock is pretty soft. Unless your back becomes numb due to stiff suspension, increasing the spring rate should make it less comfortable?!

Ryan, what are you alignment settings like? Does the car push at all with the 27mm FSB?
I am planning on keeping rear alignment as is, but maxing out the front camber. Trying to do it with camber bolts but not sure if I can get the amount of camber that I am looking for.

You can't compare springs. It's all about the dampers. The tarmac 2 damper's are much better than stock, they absorb bumps much better.

[stretch]

Originally Posted by Acejam2k

You can't compare springs. It's all about the dampers. The tarmac 2 damper's are much better than stock, they absorb bumps much better.

But you also can't ignore springs.

Dampers primarily influence the ride quality of really short, quick (< ~1/10th second) bumps.
Springs primarily influence the ride quality of longer-duration (> ~1/10th second) bumps.

Take this road:


On my TiC coilovers, which are a good example due to ample bump travel and good valving, ride quality can be better or worse than stock depending on what speed I drive. If I go slow (<10mph), the springs cause the chassis to respond to the change in wheel height more quickly than stock, causing more abrupt and greater overall chassis movement. If I go fast (>25mph), the increase in bump travel and better valving allows the bumps to be absorbed better than stock. The springs don't matter as much if I drive fast over these bumps because they are only compressed for hundredths of a second.

This is why most coilovers improve highway ride quality but not 35mph around-town ride quality. Large (3ft+) speed bumps are an obvious example of bumps that always get worse with stiffer springs, but some stretches of asphalt with longer, sweeping elevation changes certainly do too.

Overall, I agree that valving (and suspension travel) is more important, but you certainly can't ignore spring rates either!

[Neanderthal Racing]

Originally Posted by Acejam2k

You can't compare springs. It's all about the dampers. The tarmac 2 damper's are much better than stock, they absorb bumps much better.

taking that one step further, there is not just one spring/valving set-up of t2s to compare with.