mountaindrift

Since there doesn't seem to be a lot of reviews for civics with Kw v3's and I know how hard it is to decide on a suspension without at least reading a few subjective user reviews on the Internet, I've decided to post my comments.


Old setup:
Spoon Street dampers (non-adjustable)
Tanabe super down precedeo Springs (spring rate unknown)
I've used this setup for 11 years now and the spoon dampers still work flawlessly, but I have out grown the Tanabe spring rates.

New setup:
KW v3
Height front: 27 cm (hub to fender)
Height rear: 28 cm (hub to fender)
Compression front and rear: 5 clicks open from full hard
Rebound front: 9 clicks open from full hard
Rebound rear: 15 clicks open from full hard
The above compression and rebound settings are recommended by KW for starters.

KW V3 Cost: $2100 USD


Additional suspension/wheel/tire related info:
Skunk2 camber front: - 3
Srr rear camber rear: - 3
Tires: 15x7 195/55 Dunlop direzza Z star spec
Wheels: stance emotion 15x8 -25 offset
Sway bars: OEM SI front and rear
Chasis: 99 EJ6 (not ek9 since I'm in North america)

Suspension setups I've sat in or driven :

96 Civic with Tien type HA coilovers
98 ITR with tien coilovers (unknown type)
00 Stock itr
Stock s2000
00+ stock Bmw M3
90 Miata with Kw suspension (non adjustable)
Stock RSX type s
Golf gti with bilstein suspension
Nissan 240 with stance suspension


What I was looking for when shopping for new suspension:

1) 3 way adjustable (height, rebound, compression)
2) quality product for the amount of Money spent
3) reliability/longevity of the product (at least 10 years service life) read: OEM quality
4) rust resistant
5) decently comfortable DD ride quality yet be able to perform at entry level on track/good Canyon carver(read: better than stock itr)
6) lifetime guarantee is a plus

Side notes/biases:

I'm very fond of the stock itr and s2000 suspensions. Even the stock Rsx type s suspension is quite good. Some people may find this too weak for their taste but I am using my car daily and it rarely sees any track days and the occasional autox (definitely not as much as I would like). As long as I can carve the more frequent Canyon run or curvy on/off ramps or under/over passes then I'm relatively satisfied.

As much as I want to consider myself a road warrior the fact is I am an aging adult that seeks performance within the tolerances of some ride comfort. I also have the occasional friend/coworker/family member who rides in my car and I don't want to have to apologize for a harsh ride every single time I hit a road imperfection.

Impressions:

Whether I flick the car into a quick right/left hand turn or carve through a medium to large turning radius (think over passes / on/off ramps) the car feels planted with the KW v3.

With my old setup I could always tell when my car leans over and by how much before the progressive spring stiffens up. Once the suspension stiffened you could then accelerate harder but only to a certain degree before the car felt light/vague in response.

The new setup gives way less body roll and you almost can't even feel the progressive springs change rates. In other words the feeling of the spring rate is almost linear. Whether I initiate a turn in or accelerate out of a turn the suspension gives so much more confidence that I feel I could push it even harder and it lets me.

The best part is when I hit a bump in the road or manhole cover the impact is absorbed very well by the new dampers. With that said you will still feel the suspension's firmness while driving - it will gently remind you that it's firm while driving straight but won't break your back or hurt your kidneys if you run over road imperfections.

I had the opportunity to run the new KW v3's on my winter tires (general tire artic altimax 15/195/55 on 15x7 rims) before switching to my summer combo mentioned above. Due to the lack of stiff tire side walls I experienced greater nose dives while breaking and an expected amount of steering lag. This is true even when using the old suspension setup with the winter tires. What's interesting to note is that I could still flick or carve a turn and feel the same confidence given by the KW v3's while on winter tires.

Bottom line I would definitely buy this product again.

grumblemarc

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