Guest Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 Out of curiosity I spoke to KW today. Few interesting tidbits: 1. KW Variant 2 coilovers as sold by KW USA were designed for USDM top hats (KYB-specific ones), not JDM (Bilstein) top hats. They said they designed and tested them with a regular USDM Legacy GT (hence no official support for USDM SpecB now, obviously with KYB top hats the coilovers would work). They also don't know what top hats the kit sold in Europe requires (I asked, because I saw them advertised with an EDM car in a picture). 2. The coilovers should be adjusted within the advertised ride height range. They said the coilovers CAN be adjusted outside their range - but they would consider it improper installation voiding warranty - they say they must be set up within the designed range. I asked because on their website (here) they say min. drop is 1.4"/0.8" front/rear. Some people were claiming you can do just -1" or less drop. If the 1.4"/0.8" info is correct, than dropping only -1" would be an "installation error". 3. Rebuilds are NOT free - some ppl are spreading misinformation here. Typical periodic rebuild/revalving cost is between $80-100/corner, depending what needs to be done. 4. They say mileage between rebuilds is 40-60k miles. 5. They have limited lifetime warranty for manufacturing defects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIU Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 Yikes.............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 This was edited, as I was probabaly interpreting info incorrectly. So: Info here: http://www.kw-suspension.com/en/30_Products/20_KW_Coilovers/40_Application_List/index.php?gruppe=all&level=3&hersteller_1=SUBARU&modell_1=Legacy says min. drop is 1.4"/0.8" front/rear. Info here: http://www.kw-gmbh.de/kw_upload/Einbau/eah68645006.pdf shows adjustment range ("adjustment A"), but I don't know how it transletes into min/max drop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 OH, SNAP! See page #8 in the document. It has picture of the top hat. Damn, but it looks like a JDM Bilstein top hat!!!!!!!!! Need to check my car to verify... :confused::confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeyd2005 Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 2. The coilovers should be adjusted within the advertised ride height range (min. -1.4/-0.8 f/r). They said the coilovers CAN be adjusted outside their range - i.e like -1" inch drop, but they would consider it improper installation voiding warranty - they say they must be set up within the designed range. I asked because some were claiming you can do just -1" or less drop. I guess you can, but that's "installation error". How it really matters, I dunno. But I would take their word first. 3. Rebuilds are NOT free - some ppl are spreading misinformation here. Typical periodic rebuild/revalving cost is between $80-100/corner, depending what needs to be done. 4. They say mileage between rebuilds is 40-60k miles. Is this significantly different than other coilovers? I'm surprised that anyone would say rebuilds are free for coilovers. The MR coilovers are $75 per corner so $80-$100 for KW seems reasonable. As for the drop, most coilovers are only designed for a range of drops. I think the -1.4 to -0.8 is a tighter range than most. This may due to the fact that it uses helper springs (based upon picture) to adjust the height of the springs. This may limit the range of acceptable heights. When my MR coilovers wear out, I may consider getting a set of KW 2 or hopefully they'll have KW 3 available by then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 Mickey - see updated post #1 and post #3. The info about ride height is messed up. But now the picture of the top hat adds to the mystery. Does KW USA know what they are talking about? And, yes, rebuild cost is pretty much standard. Lifetime free rebuild sounded too good to be true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 I edited posts #1 and #3 again. I confused "adjustment A" in the document with drop adjustment. All now is . Guess someone needs to talk to them and clearify things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinjockey Posted November 22, 2006 Share Posted November 22, 2006 It looks like it may be less drop than 1.4"/0.8" f/r. The KW documentation lists max/min Axel - Fender distances. Front Max/Min mm 320 - 350 Rear Max/Min mm 360 - 330 17' rims with 45 series 215s 17*25.4/2 + 0.45 * 215mm = 312.65 mm I would think that stock would be a fender gap of close to 50 mm in front, looking from the KW A-F distance that would give 38 mm. Can someone measure the stock fender gap or axel - fender distance? (I'd do it but I'm 2000 miles from my car at the moment!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 23, 2006 Share Posted November 23, 2006 Didn't have time to measure that yet, but the top hats in the document on KW website is definately a JDM/Bilstein specific top hat. NOT USDM top hat. Anyone with KW Variants 2, what front top hats did you use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boostjunkie Posted November 23, 2006 Share Posted November 23, 2006 The KW V2 come with a little collar that fits over the top part of the strut shaft. With the thicker bearing of the standard USDM (KYB) tophats you remove the collar. With the thinner bearing of the JDM/Spec B tophats you leave the collar in. The V2's work equally well with both. Regarding the rebuilds, while it may be standard KW policy to charge $80-$100 for rebuilds, my distributor has assured me that if any of my customers ever experiences a failure (leaking shock etc...) he can get KW to rebuild them for free. My distributor is a good friend and I know he is not blowing smoke out his a$$. So rest assured that if you purchase your KW's from me, you can get your rebuilds handled hassle free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 23, 2006 Share Posted November 23, 2006 The KW V2 come with a little collar that fits over the top part of the strut shaft. With the thicker bearing of the standard USDM (KYB) tophats you remove the collar. With the thinner bearing of the JDM/Spec B tophats you leave the collar in. The V2's work equally well with both. Ok. But all other adjustments being equal won't the ride height in front be different? JDM/Bilstein top hats are "taller", i.e. require shorter springs for the same ride height. Regarding the rebuilds, while it may be standard KW policy to charge $80-$100 for rebuilds, my distributor has assured me that if any of my customers ever experiences a failure (leaking shock etc...) he can get KW to rebuild them for free. My distributor is a good friend and I know he is not blowing smoke out his a$$. So rest assured that if you purchase your KW's from me, you can get your rebuilds handled hassle free. This is not in contradiction with what KW told me. If something breaks they will cover it under warranty. It's nice they will do rebuild at the same time - I guess they should - at least for the coilover on the other side (shocks should be replaced/repaired in pairs). Regular periodic rebuilds according to KW are not FREE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuxtaGT Posted November 24, 2006 Share Posted November 24, 2006 Ok. But all other adjustments being equal won't the ride height in front be different? JDM/Bilstein top hats are "taller", i.e. require shorter springs for the same ride height. If you were talking about springs this would be true, hence the ride height problems people are having with the Tokicos & JDM tophats with USDM springs. I think KW would have a hard time proving you ran the coilovers out of adjustment range or voiding your warrenty in that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 all this goes the same for ANY coilover system.. nothing works well if it's out of range. Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 If you were talking about springs this would be true, hence the ride height problems people are having with the Tokicos & JDM tophats with USDM springs. Not sure what you mean. If the coilovers are designed to work with either style of top hats, I guess it would not matter (ride height). OTOH, if they're not, it's possible that either top hat fits, but affects ride height. I think KW would have a hard time proving you ran the coilovers out of adjustment range or voiding your warrenty in that way. I think it's not the point. I'd not use a product outside it's designed adjustment range, much less cheat on warranty if it got borked due to my error. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icandy Posted November 26, 2006 Share Posted November 26, 2006 I should be getting my KW variant 2s this week and as my car is the australian model I have JDM top hats. I'll let you know how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 26, 2006 Share Posted November 26, 2006 I should be getting my KW variant 2s this week and as my car is the australian model I have JDM top hats. I'll let you know how it goes. Yeah, definately please update us and include pics of the car! Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icandy Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 got bagged out last time I posted pics of the car on this forum coz I have 20 inch rims chrome rims. so don't think i'll post up pics on here. I'll email them to you or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metal2You Posted November 28, 2006 Share Posted November 28, 2006 got bagged out last time I posted pics of the car on this forum coz I have 20 inch rims chrome rims. so don't think i'll post up pics on here. I'll email them to you or something. That is crappy man. Forget the haters, post the pics!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 28, 2006 Share Posted November 28, 2006 +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rexster Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 for those who have installed these, is either top hat better? I'm thinking about getting a set of KWs and I want to leave my stock strut/springs assembled. I'm actually leaning toward the Spec B top hats because they should allow me to have a slightly higher ride height. I don't want to drop the car too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 Yeah, according to Jedi Pimp, SpecB top hats will raise front a little bit with KWs. He tried both kinds of top hats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.