OK, at long last my suspension has been fitted

So what do I think of it?

That's easy; by far the best suspension I've ever had!

Firstly, mine is non-standard V3. It has linear springs rather than the usual progressive, which does have an effect.

Initially it feels oversprung, due to the linear springs but when you push it, it feels spot on.

Turn in is immeasurably better than it was before. The ride dynamics are very similar to the standard car (see end of post as to why) until it is subjected to load ie as Ian said about the Jabba remap, like standard only more so.

Just cruising, you would assume that it was completely standard however, come to a bend and yeeeehaaaa its a racing car, no roll, really sharp turn in absolutely composed. I love it! Best mod so far to my car!

Oh and they look very nice, lovely stainless steel body, purple spring seats and yellow springs!

OK now some info (this will be boring ):

I spend Sunday with the guys from KW in Germany. They told me all about how the kits are made, developed and tested. Possibly boring to most,but very interesting to me (sad git of the month award over here please).

The kits are developed specifically for the type of car and the anticipated driver type eg they make kits for the Fabia, Octavia and Superb. These all have different driver profiles, with Fabia drivers being seen as young and possibly harder driving than Superb owners who are more likely to be more motorway cruiser types (with Octavia drivers in between). This means that they will make the Fabia kit perform differently to Superb kit.

Firstly the standard dampers and springs are put on a chasis dyno and all the measurements are recorded (in terms of high and low frequency bump and rebound settings). The new ones are then fabricated using these as a baseline, so that the uprated ones will perform in a similar manner (its not just a case of up the bump by 10%, up the rebound by 10% as that may cause imbalance, and don't forget the driver profiling). Springs are then matched to the new damper settings. It isn't a case of just drop it 10-20mm and make it stiffer, they are actually matched.

All their kits are TUV approved and homologated for the specific car (ie they will last and are a perfect match for the car). The materials are spot on eg the damper housing is stainless steel. I asked about this and how long it would last with our delightful climate and prediliction for so much salt on the roads. The way it is tested is to be blasted with a strong salt solution for the equivalent of about 30,000 miles. It is also subjected to blasting with other substances. The piston rod is the strongest steel available and is supposedly unmarkable. They test this by clamping it top and bottom, fitting a nice tight pair of mole grips and then hitting them with a lump hammer Theirs do not mark! I didn't believe this, so we tried it when fitting mine on Monday night No marks on mine

As I said, best mod I have done to date on my car.

Top job Jon!

Does the new suspension cure the RS being knocked off line when hitting a bump/pot hole mid corner?

I think the standard set-up has linear springs(??) what's the effect of having progressive springs?

Cheers.

Adrian.

Originally posted by TaviaRS in this post

OK now some info (this will be boring ):

Boring? It's a riveting read!

Especially the part where the pre-installation product testing is exposed as an excuse for simple and mindless iron bashing.

Anyone up for a Society against Cruel Treatment of Auto Parts?

Linears are a flat rate, regardless of load. ie 300lb all the way through their compression cycle. Can be bouncy when lightly loaded.

Progressives will start at say 200lb and as they compress they get stiffer, say 300lb at the end of their compression cycle. Progressives are less bouncy as on initial loading or when lightly loaded they are a "lighter" spring.

Jon

Tavia,

Glad to see another KW satisfied customer

Aparently acording to "your boss" my fourth leg arrived yesterday so will collect early next week & get it booked in, also Brakes ready & Wheels in, Wheeeeeeee Modding at last

stuart

mine are here soon too... but im poor so only have varient 2....

Save bumping my thread; just been in to have the springs rotated so that the tail ends on the outside edge as per Mr KW engineers suggestion.

It's done the job! No more noise, but going to give her a dam good run tonight to make sure!

yehhaaaaa right where do I get a sports cat burbler from..

What? There's an attachment you can get that makes the car louder? Where can I get one?

Pitiful at the moment, about the same volume as a Tuscan :(

As lovely as your's sounds Jon, the tuscan is nicer.. just deal with it.

Didn 't say nicer, just similar in volume :(

i seriously doubt its as loud as the cerb we took out?

tusc is much louder now reving to 7500!

Jon does it beat 104 Db on tickover ???????

Colin, good to hear, collecting mine tuesday or wednesday, will give you a call after

After following me today I'm sure Jon can verify that even the Tuscan and Cerb are quiet compared to some;)

Originally posted by Disco@Impreziv in this post

After following me today I'm sure Jon can verify that even the Tuscan and Cerb are quiet compared to some;)

I can conur.