KW vs AMR Coilovers

[kuraijay]

so im drawn between KW or AMR as a upgrade from my BC's. but read alot of bad things about AMR but also good things. i already know KW's rep so dont need to research that much.

what do you guys think? i like AMR's customization but i think its their rep im worried about.

KW i have to reuse OEM parts and such not a big issues but KW's are just more expensive, but i dont mind saving up more for it but also like to save money if i could lol

[hermz]

Which KWs? I have the V2s in my 6 and couldn't be happier. Nice improvement over the Bilstein/Eibach combo I had before.


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[smr87]

I owned both, save your time, money, and frustration and buy KW v3. @kuraijay;

[MD1032]

Originally Posted by smr87 I owned both, save your time, money, and frustration and buy KW v3. @kuraijay;

Mind elaborating on that? I'm thinking about going with the AMR's myself. Cheaper than the V3's, built to order, and frankly, I don't see how I would be able to take advantage of the adjustability of the KW's. If I had it my way, none of these sets would be adjustable.

[hermz]

Originally Posted by MD1032 Mind elaborating on that? I'm thinking about going with the AMR's myself. Cheaper than the V3's, built to order, and frankly, I don't see how I would be able to take advantage of the adjustability of the KW's. If I had it my way, none of these sets would be adjustable.

I'm confused. You're looking at buying adjustable coilovers but you don't want them to be adjustable? Why not just buy a good quality shock and spring combo like Bilstein & Eibach then?

[MD1032]

Originally Posted by hermz I'm confused. You're looking at buying adjustable coilovers but you don't want them to be adjustable? Why not just buy a good quality shock and spring combo like Bilstein & Eibach then?

Coilovers should outperform stock replacement part combos like that. And I would be forced to lower the car too much. Coilovers will allow me to keep the ride height closer to stock.

[phate]

Originally Posted by MD1032 Coilovers outperform stock replacement part combos like that. And I would be forced to lower the car too much. Coilovers will allow me to keep the ride height closer to stock.

Originally Posted by hermz You have to spend a fair bit of coin on coilovers to beat Bilstein B8 struts IMO, but it's all relative to what you want your car to ride like. As for lowering your car too much, Eibachs barely lowered my 6 at all. Part of the reason I ended up upgraded to KWs.

I've autocrossed quite a few MS3's over the years...bone stock, one with just Bilsteins, one with MSM coilovers, another with KW V3's...maybe some more (I've ridden in some with cheaper coilovers...sweet jesus just don't even bother).

Out of all those, I'd take the stock sprung car with Bils over both the MSM and KW packages. Those coils didn't have enough rear spring and damping was a little underwhelming for body roll transition. No doubt setup plays a part, but if you aren't going to spend the time (or have enough seat time) to really dial in the damping settings, then there's no reason to have them. Most coilovers give you 'knobs' that don't do much, or they don't do it repeatably enough to give you consistent performance if you do get it dialed in somewhere and want to go back to a particular setting.

What coil overs DO get you is height adjustment, and I'm not talking about lowering the car one bit. They give you the ability to corner balance the car, but that's a very minor advantage, and essentially not an advantage at all if you aren't experienced enough to notice the difference.

Bilsteins...no knobs and they're pretty good right out of the box. They firm up the low speed stuff, which makes the transitions a little crisper. They handle the bumps better due to their valving.

Bilsteins can also be revalved. They can be revalved for stock springs or any spring combination you want, and they can be even better than ots. That means you can always get them and run them for a while, then sort out springs or whatever and get them revalved down the road. Good shocks are life changing.

Edit: Get the 48mm Bils for the rear if you can find them and want to get them revalved down the road. @MS3johanna; snagged a set and might be able to provide a part #.

[smr87]

Originally Posted by MD1032 Mind elaborating on that? I'm thinking about going with the AMR's myself. Cheaper than the V3's, built to order, and frankly, I don't see how I would be able to take advantage of the adjustability of the KW's. If I had it my way, none of these sets would be adjustable.

I waited almost 4 additional months beyond the original delivery date, and I had to beg for information on the status of my order. This was after a full 100% payment upfront mind you. But that doesn't speak to the product just the shitty customer service.

The coilovers we mediocre at best. They will give you any spring rate you want but it was very difficult to discern any difference between the shock/strut adjustments, they were grossly overdamped, even on the softest setting they were too stiff.
I put maybe 10k on them and one of the rear struts seized and could no longer be adjusted. I didn't get a response back in regards to warranting this for about 5mo, at which point I had already had two other suspension set ups on the car. Your mileage may vary, I believe the guy who was the development car had a very good experience but mine was shitty from the start.

My advise is fork up for the KW v3s if you want the best setup under 4k for this car, if you must have coilovers but won't spend the money for the v3s buy ISCs and enjoy your extra money in your wallet. i think they are the best of the Taiwanese stuff. If you're smart but sensible with your money buy bilsteins and swift springs and have a very good simple setup.

[Mauro_Penguin]

Some of the cheaper companies that offer customization, are in fact not really customized.

KW's are great if you daily the car at any point. I have the v3's and although they are a few extra bucks, they are worth every penny. You only reuse the top hats for the front and rear. You'll also need shorter endlinks for the front sway bar so add $100 to your budget if you plan on getting KW.

If you want full customization, hit up Fat Cat Motorsports. Theyve done custom coilover setups for a couple of guys here on the forums and they are all happy with the track and street performance. It'll cost the same as kw v3's or other reputable performance suspension setups.

Just remember that you get what you pay for. If you go cheap, you'll get overly stiff shocks with crappy springs, making for a bouncy ride, and parts that shamelessly rust.

If any of this seems like too much money, get Bilstein or Koni shocks and struts then call it a day. You'll be happy and not be over your budget.

[Nitro]

I have kw v1's. They are much better than stock, although I wish the maximum ride height in the rear was heigher. I had to run -2.5 negative camber with a +42 offset rim to stop the rubbing in the rear. I have two kids in the back so I wasn't looking to have the car slammed. If I did it again I would definately pay the extra for the v3. The adjustability would be nice to have.

[Finchee]

Originally Posted by Nitro I have kw v1's. They are much better than stock, although I wish the maximum ride height in the rear was heigher. I had to run -2.5 negative camber with a +42 offset rim to stop the rubbing in the rear. I have two kids in the back so I wasn't looking to have the car slammed. If I did it again I would definately pay the extra for the v3. The adjustability would be nice to have.

I'm confused. When I was looking at the KW website, I thought I read that both KW v1 and v3 have the same ride height adjustability range. Is this not the case?

Also you are rubbing in the back because you are pushing your tires/wheels out. If you had stock wheels or a higher offset wheel (maybe +48), I don't think this would be a problem.

[kuraijay]

My plan was v2 or v3's. I'll look in to fat cat also. So the rear doesn't go high enough?

[Nitro]

For me it is a little too low. I spoke to kw and the said there is nothing they can do. It's interesting that they sell a spacer for the rear....just not on this set up. It is fine now, but it took rolling the fenders flat. I run chassis braces so it will rub the braces over some speed bumps.

[Nitro]

Yes. If I was running a higher offset it would be ok for rubbing.

[Design]

I've run KW V2s for the last 100K. No rust, no noise, no leaks. Just sent them in to have the front struts serviced. Returned to me within a week; cost me $24 total for shipping.

Stick with KW.

/Thread

[hermz]

You have to spend a fair bit of coin on coilovers to beat Bilstein B8 struts IMO, but it's all relative to what you want your car to ride like.

As for lowering your car too much, Eibachs barely lowered my 6 at all. Part of the reason I ended up upgraded to KWs.

[Design]

Or just do B14s for around $1070.

[Nliiitend1]

Setup does indeed play a big part, as Clint ( @phate; ) says - but I also agree that a stock sprung MS3 with Bilsteins is no slouch and it's hard to beat such a setup's value proposition.

I really like my MS Coilovers (especially on track, as I have my car set up more for that environment than for autocross), but now that the MS3 will be seeing less track and autocross days (in favor of my new toy) I've seriously been toying with the idea of "de-modding" a bit and throwing a set of Bils on with the OEM springs...

As others have said - a lot of it depends on your goals for the car.

[ViperTGB]

Originally Posted by Nliiitend1 Setup does indeed play a big part, as Clint ( @phate; ) says - but I also agree that a stock sprung MS3 with Bilsteins is no slouch and it's hard to beat such a setup's value proposition. I really like my MS Coilovers (especially on track, as I have my car set up more for that environment than for autocross), but now that the MS3 will be seeing less track and autocross days (in favor of my new toy) I've seriously been toying with the idea of "de-modding" a bit and throwing a set of Bils on with the OEM springs... As others have said - a lot of it depends on your goals for the car.

I'm running Bilstein B8s with stock springs on my genpu and I like the setup a lot. Great combination for autoX/daily driver. The front feels amazing everywhere, and the only reason the rear isn't as great is because I drive on crappy/bumpy roads everyday and I have a stiff rear sway bar that exacerbates the issue. That said the Bilsteins do a damn good job at getting the car stabilizied again quickly.

[Say Chi Sin Lo]

Originally Posted by Nliiitend1 Setup does indeed play a big part, as Clint ( @phate; ) says - but I also agree that a stock sprung MS3 with Bilsteins is no slouch and it's hard to beat such a setup's value proposition. I really like my MS Coilovers (especially on track, as I have my car set up more for that environment than for autocross), but now that the MS3 will be seeing less track and autocross days (in favor of my new toy) I've seriously been toying with the idea of "de-modding" a bit and throwing a set of Bils on with the OEM springs... As others have said - a lot of it depends on your goals for the car.

I'm with you. Don't get me wrong, I think the Mazdaspeed Coilovers are really awesome for what they are. But with me doing 97% of my driving on the beaten up streets of San Francisco, I'm really starting to consider a more comfortable solution.

Don't get me wrong, the Mazdaspeed Coilovers are not bad by ANY means, but they're more suited for track than they are daily driving.

[kuraijay]

hmm got me tryna look in to a bilstein and swift setup now. i do like the adjustability of coils tho.

[kuraijay]

Will the gen1 kw's fit my gen2?

[Nliiitend1]

Originally Posted by kuraijay Will the gen1 kw's fit my gen2?

Yes, as long as you have a longer bolt for the lower rear shock mounts.

Gen2 shocks on gen1