Stock wheels with KW suspension

[Maarten]

Hi guys,

So it's asian weeks at KW => less expensive KW v3 YEAYY!!

So I'm at a crossroad here. I want the KW V3 because I want to do drift and track days frequently and I want to lower the car a bit for looks as well.

But ... For the time being I don't have the full budget yet to buy the wheels I want and buy the KW's.

Thus my question is, how do the stock wheels and tires (maybe same size but better type of rubber) cooperate with the KW suspension. Both in DD'ing and drift.
As I also plan to keep the stock wheels for the drift days and the new wheels and wider tires for track days, this is also quite important in the near future when I do have the budget for new wheels.


In advance, thanks for the help

Maarten

[murdoc]

It'll work fine if you upgrade to sports tires.

[jimmillion]

To elaborate on what murdoc means; with the new stiff suspension of the kw's your stock HP tires will feel like they bounce and loose traction much easier then with stock suspension. If you drive carefully then it's not a big issue, but it's advised to upgrade to gripper sport tires to compensate if you want to play it safe.

TL;DR - It'll work fine if you upgrade to sports tires

[renfield90]

Originally Posted by Maarten

As I also plan to keep the stock wheels for the drift days and the new wheels and wider tires for track days, this is also quite important in the near future when I do have the budget for new wheels.

This is a solid plan. The stock Michelins make it pretty easy to go drifting, although they are very slippery when they overheat so be careful. A reasonable tire upgrade here will help you realize the full benefit of the suspension.

Wheel upgrades help primarily to support larger tires and reduce unsprung mass, but the tire itself (regardless of wheel selection) will still be the number one modification to improve your car's handling (with proper suspension being a close number two).

[churchx]

And for drift & track i'd do some alignment to deal in more negative camber. Imho it's worth to also buy some crash bolts (not suggesting camber plates, as limited budget was mentioned) & some cheaper LCAs aswell.

[Tor]

Originally Posted by Maarten

Thus my question is, how do the stock wheels and tires (maybe same size but better type of rubber) cooperate with the KW suspension. Both in DD'ing and drift.

KW V3 is not that stiff at all, it should work fine with the stock size wheels and even with the Michelin Primacy.

[Calum]

I'm running RCE T0's, which are KW parts, but RCE valving. They're stiffer than V3's. I'm also on stock rims with MPSS. It works great!!!

[campy]

I have KW V3s on my FRS and I own 4 sets of OEM wheels and tires. They work fine and are perfectly comfortable for a DD. Obviously it depends on how low you set your coilovers, but you should have no issues in the rear and some minor rubbing on the front fenders during full lock.

[Maarten]

Ok, thanks for the help.
Sounds like I have a good plan then.
I'll be going camber plates as well. (maybe not immediately) I know they'll be about €500 but I think it'll be worth it to have them so I can play with it and see what happens. More as a learning experience.

[Calum]

Just get camber bolts. You can get about -2.5 degrees with bolts, and they cost less than a tenth of plates.

[Maarten]

I just found these. (close by so no shipping costs) But it states they are for the original springs.
But since the KW uses the original top hats this should fit or am I wrong thinking like this?

http://ra-performance.nl/Onderstel-S...r-Plates-Blauw

[Tor]

The KW mounts are recessed, meaning they move the top of the spring approx 2-3 cm upwards. This means you can have the car lower, without making the damper travel shorter.

Maybe those in your link will work, but you will either have to have the car higher or live with worse damper performance.

If you are on a budget, why don't you consider the KW/ST XTA coilover? They have a higher spring rate on the front than the V3 (same 6kg/mm as the Clubsport) and include the KW top mounts for the front. Basically it's Clubsport front and V3 rear, without compression adjustability and galvanised instead of stainless steel cylinder bodies. With those you can afford a set of ST anti swaybars (same as KW just grey instead of yellow) too.

I have those and couldn't be happier. Check the video I posted in my build thread (see my signature), there I explain the differences between V3, XTA and Clubsport. Tomorrow I will be driving them on a trackday at Zolder. We will be 3-4 GT86s there, from around 1 pm to 5 pm if you live nearby.

Edit: Not in my build thread. The video is here in a separate thread I started for the XTAs:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=100030