KW V3 Too low on F80 rear

[x.shell]

Originally Posted by dms-01

Bumping this because I have the same issue, with the rears spun all the way down its still very low and gives you absolutely no room to raise it up any higher than how it sits now. Shitty because I really wanted to lower it slightly more than what I had with MS springs but can't without getting a spacer. So my question is would it be better to buy the 15 or 30mm spacers for the rear?

Typical KW shit.

When I talked to KW, about this exact issue, they revealed some stupid reasoning. After some back/forth, measurements taken, and then more measurements taken, etc etc, the KW rep admitted that the ride height (at its highest setting) set the car too low and would actually nullify all warranty claims for the damper — as it was "out of range" for what the dampers were designed to do. This is a conundrum for the customer because you can't go higher and the dampers will eventually blow. KW didn't give a rat's ass. They basically ended up saying your SOL. The final reasoning was, "we're very popular in the BMW/Euro scene and get virtually no complaints like this."

This experience is the single reason why I don't use KW products. I have no idea why they have such a huge fan base in the BMW world. Every single Coilover product they offer has a better competitor from a different brand. Virtually no shop will tell you this because they move so many KW products.

What KW does incredibly well is branding. They are the go-to for the majority of people modding BMWs — because honestly, 99% of customers don't know anything about suspension, they just want to lower their car and KW is what everyone is using.

[dms-01]

Yeah it's idiotic to say the least that a $2500 coil over kit doesn't even allow you to raise the rear higher than that. Not to mention I have to spend an additional $90 for 2 x 15mm spacers ($30 of which is shipping/handling charge which can't be changed) to even be able to raise the rear up any higher than it sits right now. If I didn't spend so much time and money installing these I would swap them for something else but at this point I have no interest in doing that. I'll just install the 15mm spacers and look elsewhere when the time comes.

Hell I've had better luck with cheaper TEIN and H&Rs then I've had with these so far.

[x.shell]

Originally Posted by dms-01

Yeah it's idiotic to say the least that a $2500 coil over kit doesn't even allow you to raise the rear higher than that. Not to mention I have to spend an additional $90 for 2 x 15mm spacers ($30 of which is shipping/handling charge which can't be changed) to even be able to raise the rear up any higher than it sits right now. If I didn't spend so much time and money installing these I would swap them for something else but at this point I have no interest in doing that. I'll just install the 15mm spacers and look elsewhere when the time comes.

Hell I've had better luck with cheaper TEIN and H&Rs then I've had with these so far.

It's idiotic for any priced coilover kit. Especially when the solution is so incredibly simple.

[Rokoz]

Originally Posted by dms-01

Bumping this because I have the same issue, with the rears spun all the way down its still very low and gives you absolutely no room to raise it up any higher than how it sits now. Shitty because I really wanted to lower it slightly more than what I had with MS springs but can't without getting a spacer. So my question is would it be better to buy the 15 or 30mm spacers for the rear?

So odd how much lower yours is than mine at max height. Did you buy your kit brand new this year? I wonder if it was revised, I have the same helper spring setup and I'm not close to tucking at max height

[dms-01]

Can you post of pic? I bought them second hand but practically new and you can see how clean they are. If KW came out with a new version that doesn't require you to max it out to get a decent height in the rear than I just assume these aren't them. I have adjustable rear camber arms ( -2.0 or -2.1 IIRC) so it does tuck the tire even on springs. Regardless you should be able to get more height out of these even if you don't want it. .

Going through and measuring the distances I said fuck it and spun the rears down to where the bottom of the collar was in line with the bottom of the threads. I got maybe 1 turn before they lined up and this is what it looks like:

[Wanted_M]

I had the same issue with my KW V3's on my S4, nothing new. I had to do the same and purchase the KW spacer to solve the adjustability/sagging spring issue. The spring was too short IMO and as it settles the rear sags big time but KW in their wonderful wisdom said no way.. At the end, to make me go away, they gave me a set of S4 Avant rear springs under warranty and had no issues with sagging as the spring was taller.
Have you tried submitting a warranty claim thru KW?

[dms-01]

yeah seems to be a prevailing issue with them. I just submitted a claim a couple hours ago.

[ptper]

I can confirm they make you jump through hoops to get any support/answers. I'll say the ride is fine for me, just not a fan of the slammed rear look. I did get spacers, so that helped. If i had it to all over again, I probably would have looked harder at other alternatives, but I bought into the hype of the masses. Oh well.

[NickyC]

This is a very surprising thread to me. With my KW V3s installed last month, I had the car absolutely dumped. Went with larger tires/spacers, and was rubbing in the rear so we brought her up (I also tore the front lip off while were adjusting hah). When we were adjusting, the rear was high enough at the start where you could see daylight and we wound up lowering it to where you see it now in the last pictures. I grudgingly had to bring the front up so my new lip could live, and I think it looks good now. I absolutely love KW suspensions, I personally don’t have enough good things to say about them. I’m not sure what’s going on here for others, but I sure hope you can get it worked out and enjoy them!

[FaRKle!]

How much droop travel do you have? If you have a good amount, just buy longer rear coilover springs (like 9 or 10") in the same spring rate.

[dms-01]

Originally Posted by FaRKle!

How much droop travel do you have? If you have a good amount, just buy longer rear coilover springs (like 9 or 10") in the same spring rate.

Droop travel? Don't know what that means. And Nickyc25 the question is how much you have to spin down the rears to get a decent height….way too much in my opinion.

In my case I cannot get any wheel gap at all with the perch at the bottom of the adjustment. Which is stupid if you ask me.

[NickyC]

Originally Posted by dms-01

Droop travel? Don't know what that means. And Nickyc25 the question is how much you have to spin down the rears to get a decent height….way too much in my opinion.

In my case I cannot get any wheel gap at all with the perch at the bottom of the adjustment. Which is stupid if you ask me.

Ahh shucks, yeah that's just really weird because on my 15 we could get a bit of daylight on the rear at the highest setting (granted it wasn't much but it was there). Your car looks incredible though, love the wheels and caliper paint!

[dms-01]

Thanks man. Not paint they're OEM red calipers.

And now that I think about it a little more it's even stupider than I originally thought. The front has a ton of adjustment to go up or down but why would anyone use any of it to go up from when the rear is maxed out? Meaning who the hell would want the front higher than the rear?

[tavio1227]

You need the 15mm spacers I just installed mine yesterday with that you can go higher than stock and can drop a little more than you are right now. This is how they car is right now is that's how much play you have

[NickyC]

Originally Posted by dms-01

Thanks man. Not paint they're OEM red calipers.

And now that I think about it a little more it's even stupider than I originally thought. The front has a ton of adjustment to go up or down but why would anyone use any of it to go up from when the rear is maxed out? Meaning who the hell would want the front higher than the rear?

Our cars sit lower in the rear than the front in stock form. If you drop the front to be as low as the rear you get quite a bit of rake and mass scraping on the front end, hence the loss of my first front lip hah.

[dms-01]

Originally Posted by tavio1227

You need the 15mm spacers I just installed mine yesterday with that you can go higher than stock and can drop a little more than you are right now. This is how they car is right now is that's how much play you have

Where is the spacer in that pic? I thought it went at the top of the spring below the collar.

I thought our cars had a slight bit of reverse rake from the factory? Either way rake is good reverse rake is bad. Lol

[NickyC]

Originally Posted by dms-01

Where is the spacer in that pic? I thought it went at the top of the spring below the collar.

I thought our cars had a slight bit of reverse rake from the factory? Either way rake is good reverse rake is bad. Lol

Right reverse rake, not telling you anything you don't already know but on the M3s stock there is certainly less gap in the rear than the front between the wheel/tires. My initial issue with my car was I dropped the front too much and the nose was pointed down, the lip wasn't long for the world at that point. Bringing it more in line with the stock look I was able to level out the car and now run a lip. I had no such issues on the M4s I've owned which I also installed KW V3s on. The M4s just look like 4x4s on all four corners stock hah.

[tavio1227]

Originally Posted by dms-01

Where is the spacer in that pic? I thought it went at the top of the spring below the collar.

I thought our cars had a slight bit of reverse rake from the factory? Either way rake is good reverse rake is bad. Lol

This is from kw website install guide

This is what you need https://www.ecstuning.com/b-kw-suspe...hoCrSMQAvD_BwE

[dms-01]

I ordered the 15mm spacers yesterday so I should have them next week. Will take a pic after I install them.

[ptper]

Spacers (recently raised)

[FaRKle!]

Originally Posted by dms-01

Droop travel? Don't know what that means.

How much lower does the wheel hang down when the car is in the air vs on the ground? If it extends quite a bit, then you should be able to fit a taller spring in there to raise the car up.

[dms-01]

@ptper that is what I'm talking about. Looks great man. Absolutely no reason why KW couldn't make V3s to allow that level of adjustment. Or at least include the spacer at no extra cost.