Review of new KW Variant 1 coilovers (long)
11-04-2001, 08:56 PM
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Review of new KW Variant 1 coilovers (long)
I had the new KW Variant 1 coilovers installed on my car this weekend.
The install took about 5 hours including the 4-wheel alignment. Could have been done in less time, but the tech was also installing the new APR bipipe on a another car (BTW, that bipipe is a *very* nice looking piece in person) and was sort of going back and forth.
Looks like the KWs can go quite low if you choose. We initially installed them at the lowest setting and the fenders were covering a sizable piece of the tire (way too low for my taste, but YMMV). Unfortunately, I didn't think to measure at this setting, but it was LOW.
We ended up adjusting them to 25" in the front and 24 3/4" in the rear with the stock 17" Avus wheels and stock 225/45-17 Pilot Sports. There's still plenty of room to raise them up. They will probably go almost all the way up to stock height.
Tested them out today on a ~500 mile drive with some other Audi guys. Initial impression is that they are very nice and quite stiff. As you would expect, body roll through corners is significantly reduced, as is nose dive during hard braking. The car feels very tight (in a good way).
From what I remember from driving a friend's S4 with H&R Streets, I would say these are a little stiffer. They are awesome on smooth roads, but on rough or poorly paved roads, you definitely are feeling the road surface more. I'll have to drive his car again to really tell the difference.
And most importantly, I no longer have the "allroad S4" mod. The stock fender gap is just too much.
I can't wait to try them out on the track next weekend! Woo-hoo!
Anyway, here's some pictures. Sorry about the lighting on the first one...
From the side:
<img src="http://home.swbell.net/jsdev/kw/kw-side.jpg" border="0"><p>
Fender gap:
<img src="http://home.swbell.net/jsdev/kw/kw-wheels.jpg" border="0"><p>
Front:
<img src="http://home.swbell.net/jsdev/kw/kw-front.jpg" border="0"><p>
Rear:
<img src="http://home.swbell.net/jsdev/kw/kw-rear.jpg" border="0"><p>
The install took about 5 hours including the 4-wheel alignment. Could have been done in less time, but the tech was also installing the new APR bipipe on a another car (BTW, that bipipe is a *very* nice looking piece in person) and was sort of going back and forth.
Looks like the KWs can go quite low if you choose. We initially installed them at the lowest setting and the fenders were covering a sizable piece of the tire (way too low for my taste, but YMMV). Unfortunately, I didn't think to measure at this setting, but it was LOW.
We ended up adjusting them to 25" in the front and 24 3/4" in the rear with the stock 17" Avus wheels and stock 225/45-17 Pilot Sports. There's still plenty of room to raise them up. They will probably go almost all the way up to stock height.
Tested them out today on a ~500 mile drive with some other Audi guys. Initial impression is that they are very nice and quite stiff. As you would expect, body roll through corners is significantly reduced, as is nose dive during hard braking. The car feels very tight (in a good way).
From what I remember from driving a friend's S4 with H&R Streets, I would say these are a little stiffer. They are awesome on smooth roads, but on rough or poorly paved roads, you definitely are feeling the road surface more. I'll have to drive his car again to really tell the difference.
And most importantly, I no longer have the "allroad S4" mod. The stock fender gap is just too much.
I can't wait to try them out on the track next weekend! Woo-hoo!
Anyway, here's some pictures. Sorry about the lighting on the first one...
From the side:
<img src="http://home.swbell.net/jsdev/kw/kw-side.jpg" border="0"><p>
Fender gap:
<img src="http://home.swbell.net/jsdev/kw/kw-wheels.jpg" border="0"><p>
Front:
<img src="http://home.swbell.net/jsdev/kw/kw-front.jpg" border="0"><p>
Rear:
<img src="http://home.swbell.net/jsdev/kw/kw-rear.jpg" border="0"><p>
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