KW V3 Adjustments - Need Advice & Thoughts

[SROC3]

So I've had my KW V3s for 3 weeks already; had the car aligned and properly corner balanced as well. From a comfort and ride-quality perspective, its great. However, sometimes when i'm driving harder and accelerating briskly, it sometimes feels floaty and not as planted. This is very subtle and doesn't happen all the time as I'm sure this depends on the road surface, angle, etc....I just can't tell if this is because of my Comp or Rebound settings - or both. Mine are currently set at Factory right now.

Something to note: I do have a Stage 1 Tune in my car that has considerably increased my HP and TQ (I think I'm at 550/550 now). Seeing as the KWs were tuned for an M4 that has 425/420ish, I surmise some adjustments need to be made yes? Am I wrong to assume this? Or is the delta not big enough for it to matter?

Before I fiddle with the adjustments, do you guys have any settings advice? I read another thread too regarding KW settings but those were more for comfort and bounciness, as opposed to my issue of occassional "floatiness" and the car not feeling as planted. I feel like to remedy this it might be as simple as going under the rear - two clicks harder on each side (compression) to create less squat when accelerating? Or does this have to be mirrored on the front as well to balance it out? Additionally, should I be adjusting "rebound" as well?

Any suspension gurus wanna chime in?

[SROC3]

So thus far I've been playing with the V3 settings and a great shout out to Harold from HP Autosport who really took the time on the phone to discuss suspension dynamics with me. Was a solid help and guided me to understand all the different dynamics of compression and rebound.

*note: Most are very satisfied with the factory settings, I'm really just OCD

V3s stock settings are as follows:
FRONT - BUMP 6
REAR - BUMP 6

FRONT - REBND 9
REAR - REBND 9

I initially left it at stock and the car did feel a tad "floaty" under hard acceleration. I do have an aftermarket Tune from BPM and the power increase was significant - hence my drive to find better settings.

I began by changing:
FRONT REBND - to 6 (to reduce front float towards the rear)
***this immediately removed the "float" and the front was planted under hard acceleration**

Then I changed:
REAR REBND - to 10 (to see what the dynamics would be)
***the car was too "wiggly"***

Then I adjusted:
REAR REBND - to 7
*** was a tad stiffer on slower roads and bumps under 40mph. and the rear was a little skittish on higher speed curves***

Then I adjusted:
REAR REBND - to 8
***a lot more stable and just gave you enough "kick" to let you know you needed to drive smoother and not noodle the steering wheel too much***

Then I adjusted:
FRONT REBDN - to 7
*** gave me a little more weight transfer to the rear which was good in a straight line and gave me more confidence-traction as the weight shifted backwards. The caveat to this was that the front wheels felt juuust a tad "floatier" when I was dong lane changes under harder acceleration***

Then I adjusted:
FRONT REBDN - to 6 again
***with REBND on the rear at 8, this combination felt the best. Giving me a good balance of front-down and rear-end stability***

Without touching COMP/BUMP settings, my current setup is:
FRONT - BUMP 6
REAR - BUMP 6

FRONT - REBND 6
REAR - REBND 8

In most conditions so far it feels stable and planted. On lower speeds there is a feeling of "bumpiness" on road irregularities. But driving with a steady hand on on-ramps and higher speed curves it tracks really well. I will be adjusting COMP/BUMP settings down to 5 on all four corners and see how that might alleviate the minor "wiggles" (which are very minimal). I shall update this post as I continue my OCD tuning

Hope this helps anyone who needs it!

UPDATE (4/23):
I retained these settings as the suspension settled a little more and I eded up being very comfortable with the stock COMP/BUMP settings, leaving them both at 6. I can't see them being any more softer as I really like the feel of the road and the stiffness of the car. Pretty good balance and super happy with daily driving.

FRONT - BUMP 6
REAR - BUMP 6

FRONT - REBND 6
REAR - REBND 8

[FatRear08]

Nice detailed write up

[kevinchea93]

Are you supposed to count from full soft or full hard?

[RalphyBMW]

Full hard and dial back with KW