HELP KW V2's or Bilstein SpecB/STi pink combo

[Nickz31se-r]

I am the new owner of a 05 lgt mt wagon and will be upgrading my suspension in the coming months. I am looking for the combination of sporty/yet not harsh. I can tolerate a firm ride, but not harsh. My 91 turbo se-r has a coilover set up and is pretty firm and rides on rails...

(Steve Foltz) Shortenend Koni's in front w/ G.C. 325lb springs w/es bumpstops

AGX in rear w/250lb springs w/es bumpstops

sway bars etc

The car is not too harsh as a toy, but I want the wagon to be a little more forgiveable.

I have not done any research as far as spring rates compared to vehicle weight, but with a set of coil overs for the wagon I think the springs would need to be lower than that of the sentras (in regards to the vehicles weight) in order to be a little more forgiving.

The afore mentioned info should give you an idea of the ride I am looking for.

It seems to be a toss up between the KW V2's and the Spec B's struts with the sit pink springs. I might do a track day or an autox here or there but racing is not my priority, besides I plan on keeping the car for family duties in the coming years as the clock will hit 29 in December. I only want to lower the car as much as the pinks will provide and I would probably not tinker with the coilovers once they are dialed in. With that being said the bilstein combo makes more sense. However, the coilovers would give me the adustability and ability to have rebuild.

A few questions.

1. How much are rebuilds, how often would they be needed if I am not pushing the dampeners to the limits?

2. What would be the plus's of the bistein/pink combo?(ride quality, no need to setup, would the bilsteins last longer)

Being that the price is about the same for the two setups, I really want to make the correct decision the first time.

[Th3Franz]

Usually a heavy car runs stiffer spring rates, I believe. Either setup would probably yield what you're looking for. KW's are $1500 new and used Spec B Bilsteins and pinks would be about $1100 or slightly less depending on the deal you can find.

 

The KW's have a good warranty and would probably last a long time before a rebuild is needed. The Bilsteins cannot be rebuilt. I'd say go with the KW's if you want to be able to play with damping and such a little bit. I'm running normal JDM GT Bilsteins and pinks and like the setup, but I have not ridden in a car with KW's installed.

[Xenonk]

1. rebuilds will vary, anything from $200 to $400+shipping. rebuilds would be anything from 2 years or 30,000 miles, whichever comes first.. but if you take care of the shocks well, then you could stretch it to 3 years or 50,000 miles, whichever comes first... Just get the shocks rebuilt if you start seeing a leak, dont abuse the shock anymore if you see that happening.

 

 

2. Plus side of the bilstein/pinks is that it's less clunking/NVH. Down side is that it's limited.

[sutter2k]

My KW's do not have any clunking.

[Xenonk]

^ good deal, that's just lesser of the evil..

[Boostjunkie]

My KW's do not have any clunking.

 

Ditto. The KW's are inherently as quiet as stock since they reuse the stock top hats. This also helps with ride quality as the rubber mounts add a degree of compliance. Most of the noise associated with coilovers comes from the spherical bushings that many use up top. The KW's are about as good a street/light track coilover as you will find.

 

To the original poster, if you end up deciding to go with the KW's shoot me a PM. I'll get you the best deal on them.

[rubbercow]

Ignoring the 400$ price difference, brand loyalty, adjustability levels and that you sell KW2's - how would you compare the quality, robustness and longivity of the KW2 to the Zeal V6 and Cusco Zero2?

 

Xenonk, if you're still reaping this thread, I'd definitely like to hear your opinion too.

[Boostjunkie]

Ignoring the 400$ price difference, brand loyalty, adjustability levels and that you sell KW2's - how would you compare the quality, robustness and longivity of the KW2 to the Zeal V6 and Cusco Zero2?

 

Xenonk, if you're still reaping this thread, I'd definitely like to hear your opinion too.

 

I do not have any first hand experience with the Zeal's, but I have driven and ridden in SnoDork's Cusco Zero2 equipped wagon quite a bit. IMHO, the driving experience is VERY similar to the KW's. The KW's are a bit plusher over smaller bumps and ripples but the Cusco's feel a bit better tied down over the really big stuff at speed. I'm almost reaching to even make that comparison, as the rides are so very similar.

 

Quality wise, both are outstanding. Clean and well finished. I don't remember the materials used on the Cusco's off hand, but I do know for sure that all the external bits on the KW's are stainless steel. That's not a bit deal for guys in sunny climates like me in SoCal, but if you live in the snowbelt that would certainly translate in to a much longer service life. The Cusco's may very well be stainless as well, but I don't know for sure.

 

The Cusco's have the advantage of being height adjustable independantly of spring preload. That's nice if you want to run a ride height that is different than the mild drop that the KW's default to. Having said that, since the KW's use tender springs, the difference in the amount of preload as you raise and lower the car is no where near as dramatic as coilovers that have only a main spring and one perch.

 

The Cusco's also have camber plates, which the KW's lack. If you need the extra negative camber for track use, that almost enough to seal the deal there, as adding quality camber plates to the KW's will bring the price almost in line with teh Cusco's. The downside of the camber plates a bit less compliance in the ride and the possibilty of noise. SnoDork did have some squeeking and clunking in his Cucso's but it was remedied by disassembly and oiling/greasing.

 

Really, both are great choices. As delivered, I'd say given their feature set, the Cusco's are bit more biased to the track and the KW's are biased a bit more to the street, although both are perfectly suitable to either use.