My KW V2 Install in Pics

[AchtungF80]

First off, just want to thank Andy @ Gravity Autosports for a great deal on these, my friend Shiv (not related to the guys who code the Procede) for doing the install and letting me assist, and would NOT like to thank UPS for holding my shipment in customs for 2 days and inadvertantly losing my allen key adjustment tool while inspecting my package.

So first off, I took out the trunk carpeting, but leaving the center floor carpeting in to hold minor items and protect the battery compartment.



Then just noticed this covered wiring loom...I'm wondering what its for? My car already has CA/I-Drive/ so i am assuming either this is Sat Radio or HD connection?



Here's the "inspected at Customs" package I received, thanks to UPS...at least the contents inside were undamaged.



Getting the car up in the air, jacked from the front jack point, shown here



Closer shot



Front in the air



Now to jack up the rear...we used the center beam and it was stable.



Another shot, close-up.



Wheels-up



Shot of stock suspension with the beautifully massive front brakes



Front right shock/spring out.





Another shot of the stock shock/spring with compressors on standing up.



Took apart front shock/spring, and keeping tabs on the re-installation order of components



Front right KW Coilover all assembled



Apparently KW still did not correct their supplied parts as this bolt/nut combo did not look totally well-thought out. I have already contacted KW with ssabripo's help to request the correct pieces.



Front right assembly installed



Disconnected headlight leveling sensor



Front left assembly installed



Now onto the rears...which seemingly was the most time consuming of the whole install. It was not easy removing the spring and shock off the perch without having to remove bolts which then were not easy to align once out without the help of a jack and some creative wrenching.

Due to frustration, there aren't many pics in the section...

Jacking up on the rear control arm to align/dismount



Close-up shot of this



Installed wrong...ended up taking this apart to remove the upper-perch support piece.



Finally done, adjusted the fronts/rears left to right to get even stance, then took it for a quick spirited shake-down drive, no clunking, improved ride quality and much more confidence inspiring.

Shot of the stance

[SV Concepts III]

Very nice, great choice on suspension. I LOVE mine

[MadMan77]

Very nice. I am looking to gets some V2s for my car soon. Can you PM me with the price and where you got them from?

[ssabripo]

welcome to the club

can I go ahead and say it in public? you wont mind? here it goes:

I TOLD YOU!!!

[sootyvrs]

Nice write up.

Should have a set of these with me by the end of the week.

Can you clarify the bit where you mention "Disconnected headlight leveling sensor"

I assume this gets reconnected at some point?

[Dave]

clean install cant wait to see it in person

love em

[AchtungF80]

Originally Posted by sootyvrs

Nice write up.

Should have a set of these with me by the end of the week.

Can you clarify the bit where you mention "Disconnected headlight leveling sensor"

I assume this gets reconnected at some point?

Just showing that it had to be disconnected. It does indeed get reconnected after final installation of that front driver side assembly. It was also a picture for reference so we could remember to orientation of the plug.

[Drew1]

looks good. how is the ride?

[ptack]

It looks lower than I expected. Did you mention .8" inches somewhere or am I confused?

[AchtungF80]

Originally Posted by ptack

It looks lower than I expected. Did you mention .8" inches somewhere or am I confused?

I made the mistake of not measuring a before and after.
At the meet I'll have to do this.

At the moment, (using the finger scale), the rears are finger and 1/4 (wheel well gap) and fronts are finger and 1/2 if that makes any sense.

No issues with scraping the front bumper...yet (and I haven't put my fmxomar splitters on).

I basically just set a height to where the height adjustment would not rub my sidewall, and matched it at the other side.

Same for the rears with just a slight variation for me being in the car. I am pretty sure I can raise it close to stock height if necessary.

As for the ride...I found the stocks to be really harsh in tandem with run-flats. Now with this...bumps and bottoming out aren't as frequent or severe, roll is greatly reduced, and response is much quicker than before.

[Dave]

this ride clearly means no fat chicks (good thing you have a tiny wife!)


hahah

thats my exit cue.

[suspendedlicense]

Achtung - thanks for posting, this is great and very helpful for those of us planning KWs in the future. Look forward to your updates on the feel, adjustment, and any other thoughts

[AchtungF80]

Some images of the wheel well clearance.








In terms of height, the rears look plenty low to me...just about perfect.
The fronts, I'm 50/50 about going another 1/4" lower. What do you guys think?

[sootyvrs]

My car has just been in for installation but the local garage has had problems.

They were unable to remove the front strut. They couldn't get the strut housing low enough to get the strut out like in the below picture!



Is it possible to give some more details of what links etc. was disconnected to get the strut out from the above picture? I can pass this info on to the installers.

The installers also had problems getting their spring compressors on due to lack of room. Not sure if they had different compressors to the ones pictured above. I assume they will not be able to remove the strut without the compressors?

Many thanks for any pointers.

[AchtungF80]

Originally Posted by sootyvrs

My car has just been in for installation but the local garage has had problems.

They were unable to remove the front strut. They couldn't get the strut housing low enough to get the strut out like in the below picture!



Is it possible to give some more details of what links etc. was disconnected to get the strut out from the above picture? I can pass this info on to the installers.

The installers also had problems getting their spring compressors on due to lack of room. Not sure if they had different compressors to the ones pictured above. I assume they will not be able to remove the strut without the compressors?

Many thanks for any pointers.

My friend and I did have a bit of trouble getting the front strut housings off as well. Basically, we never had to disconnect the front axles to remove the strut housing, just the upper and lower bolts. It was a 2-man job, I stood on the hub/top of the rotor applying weight while my friend pivoted the assembly, to the point that it came off free from the lower arm.

We also never had any issues getting the spring compressors on. We just used standard spring compressors and an impact gun/ratchet wrench to tighten them.

Sounds like you may need to find a shop that has done suspension work before. This was done by 2 weekend DIY mechanics (myself and a friend) and hand tools/18v impact gun.

[escobar929]

looks great! i would def lower it just a tad more in the front

[///Mike135i]

Looks superb, I will have to get saving, these would be my first choice. In the mean time I may just go for Eibach pro springs if nothing else to reduce the ride hight a little. Makes the car look much better.

[sootyvrs]

Originally Posted by achtungE30

My friend and I did have a bit of trouble getting the front strut housings off as well. Basically, we never had to disconnect the front axles to remove the strut housing, just the upper and lower bolts. It was a 2-man job, I stood on the hub/top of the rotor applying weight while my friend pivoted the assembly, to the point that it came off free from the lower arm.

We also never had any issues getting the spring compressors on. We just used standard spring compressors and an impact gun/ratchet wrench to tighten them.

Sounds like you may need to find a shop that has done suspension work before. This was done by 2 weekend DIY mechanics (myself and a friend) and hand tools/18v impact gun.

Thanks for that. I've been finding some problems finding local installers who have got coil-over installation experience. i found this one and they have installed a number of coil-overs on their own cars but it's the first time they have done a BMW.

The car is booked in again for a second attempt but I will mention that if they can't use the spring compressors that they have, then they won't be able to remove the strut. We will see.

Thanks for your help.... I only wish I was any good at DIY

[mangotangoe]

I finished swapping out my front struts yesterday. Used a standard screw style spring compressor and pushed down on the rotor. I was working alone, the strut just clears but is a little too close for comfort. For the reinstall and other side, I compressed the spring and then looped a ratcheting tie down across the top and around the lower part of the strut. I was easily able to then compress the strut an additional 1/2-1 inch and the struts cleared the fender. Suggest throwing a shop towel across the top hat. The fender can very easily be scratched.

[Mega Man]

Originally Posted by comeback1

this ride clearly means no fat chicks (good thing you have a tiny wife!)

Luckily for me, my GF is also pretty light, and most of my friends are too. However, she has some fat friends who i sometimes am burdened with transporting...what does one do in such a situation?

Furthermore, after KW v2's, what else are you guys putting in (suspension wise)? The only thing that kept me from pulling the trigger on the KW v2's for so long was that Dinan/BMW Performance were offering more components (sways and struts) in their Suspension Kits.

[SV Concepts III]

Aside from the coils, sways are also recommended. H&R offers sways and some members are doing the M3 sways.

[BMW86]

Sorry for the newbie question but will you be adjusting the rebound settings much, if ever? I'm leaning towards the V1's because my car will probably never see the track but the trend seems to be towards V2's.

Is there a link to a video that I can see as to how to change these rebound settings? I would like to know what is involved.