Calling all KW Variant 2 coilover owners Advice needed

[Izover4u]

I was wondering what rebound setting you have your KW Variant 2s set at? how many clicks?

While the car feels great on a perfect road once it hits some bumps it seems to bounce all over the place. Plan is to get it up on the lift this weekend and soften her up a bit. Curious to know what you guys have your rebound set to for a nice comfortable ride on the street.

Thanks!

[Racer_X]

I have 3 clicks in the front and 4 in the rear. Im going to adjust the height here pretty quick

[Izover4u]

Are those clicks from the softest or hardest setting?

Thanks!

[Izover4u]

No one else is running the KWs?

[SilverACR]

No one else is running the KWs?
I am and just took my car down half an inch. My shocks still have the unbroken factory stickers covering the knobs so I assume they are set on the street setting from the manual. I plan on tightening up the compression a little because it's been really soft during autocrossing. I will probably click and feel it out, but I know there are a couple of threads her and there on this topic.

[SA Heat]

IMO, the soft stock rebound settings on the 2008-10 ACRs are borderline dangerous, even for the street. I think I'm 9 clicks out in the front and 10 in the rear, which made it a different car, getting rid of the bounce you're describing.

[Izover4u]

Thats what I plan on doing once i get the other car off the lift... Just wanted a base line to see what to try first...

Thanks!

[Izover4u]

IMO, the soft stock rebound settings on the 2008-10 ACRs are borderline dangerous, even for the street. I think I'm 9 clicks out in the front and 10 in the rear, which made it a different car, getting rid of the bounce you're describing.

I am curious to see what the shocks are currently set at. Will give the 9 clicks out for the front and 10 clicks out in the rears a try first... Thanks for your input

[Redx]

I am curious to see what the shocks are currently set at. Will give the 9 clicks out for the front and 10 clicks out in the rears a try first... Thanks for your input

ACR's have KW V3's with stiffer spring rates. Im still running on the stock setting on V2's, which leaves something to be desired on the roadcourse but squats and launches like a mofo on DR's.

[viperBase1]

IMO, the soft stock rebound settings on the 2008-10 ACRs are borderline dangerous, even for the street. I think I'm 9 clicks out in the front and 10 in the rear, which made it a different car, getting rid of the bounce you're describing.

I don't think I have the same coil overs, but sounds awfully familiar.

I have the KW ACR-X two-way damping coil overs (w/remote reservoir - 1 damper control at the top & 1 on the reservoir).

When I got the car I think it was setup for roll-racing. Was lowered to the max and had 24psi in the tires.
Just felt tight/stiff every which-a-way..like a race car should :dude3:
Also, the wheels have spacers that extend them slightly beyond the lip of the fenders.

I pumped up the tires to 29front/31rear to alleviate scraping, but made no other adjustments.
After that, the stiffness in the rear was exaggerated when I hit a bump. Sure kept my attention.. but wasn't sure what was happening.

Then, I was lucky enough to have Todd at A&C Performance drive the car for a spell and he described it as "so stiff in the rear..was like being launched when hitting a bump".
(otherwise he said he was plenty impressed with the car).

Washing the car, I discovered the tires were rubbing up against the lip of the fender a little bit => there's the stiffness and the launching sensation.
Luckily the soft Toyo's just rubbed off and there was no damage to the fenders..not even the paint.

So I popped the rear wheels off and raised/lengthened the coil overs by about 2" and then midlined the reservoir adjusters (just as a new stepping off/baseline point).
N' that fixed my stiffness/launching issues. Rides much nicer and smoother now, with no bouncing and jarring around.

So be careful how low you go n' watch for rubbing of the tires. (n' account for spacers on the wheels).

After I get the new Toyo's on the car, I'm gonna take her BACK to A&C Performance and have them do a new alignment and full scale adjustment on the entire setup (corner balancing n' all that).

[RedTanRT/10]

Most of the posts are from folks with the ACR V3's, except for RedX, and they are much different than your V2's.

Your KW's are pretty stiff across all ranges but they were a lower cost alternative to Moton's if you wanted a coil-over set up to lower your ride height.

Guys behind me on a road course would tell me how much my car hopped in bumpy sweeping turns, but the car handled better than the stock shocks.

I can't remember where mine were set (10 years ago), but I will tell you that if you get them to the softest settings the handling will deteriorate.

Also, I remember its a hassle to switch springs, no one I knew had the special KW tool so I had to send them back to KW when I went to stiffer springs. (The KW ACR V3's are easy DIY to swap springs).

Play around and try to get it a little better, they'll always feel stiff on the street. My advice, find a set of used Moton's or MCS. World of difference in both ride and handling, and much better than the KW3's too. Good luck, Mike

[bluesrt]

run them midway and go from there(middle position)

[Redx]

Most of the posts are from folks with the ACR V3's, except for RedX, and they are much different than your V2's.

Your KW's are pretty stiff across all ranges but they were a lower cost alternative to Moton's if you wanted a coil-over set up to lower your ride height.

Guys behind me on a road course would tell me how much my car hopped in bumpy sweeping turns, but the car handled better than the stock shocks.

I can't remember where mine were set (10 years ago), but I will tell you that if you get them to the softest settings the handling will deteriorate.

Also, I remember its a hassle to switch springs, no one I knew had the special KW tool so I had to send them back to KW when I went to stiffer springs. (The KW ACR V3's are easy DIY to swap springs).

Play around and try to get it a little better, they'll always feel stiff on the street. My advice, find a set of used Moton's or MCS. World of difference in both ride and handling, and much better than the KW3's too. Good luck, Mike


I agree, I jumped the gun and didn't wait for mcs, regret it. Kw v2's make a "good" street coilover, but I can't say they are much better than a comparable bc coilovers.