I am looking at the KW3's for about $2k.... anything else compare? My car will be mostly track fun this year and hopefully race with cage next year.

i see Ohlins and Bilstein have some choices but I am looking for some recomendations.

thanks

2004 Yellow RX8...

 

As far as my own experience I believe the KW v3 is one of the best coilovers you can get in that price range. I use my car for fairly serious autocross duty and have absolutely loved the KW's. They also have an amazing warranty and stand behind their product, I yet to hear from anyone who has had them that they disliked them.

 

the only other double adjustable coilover i could find in the $2k range was these.

http://www.mazdatrix.com/getprice.asp?partnum=5536.713 EIBACH R2 KIT I am not at all familiar with them though..???

 

Not that I am an expert but I am not getting the question:

Are you turning the rx8 into a race car, going racing and hope to use whatever 2k coilover you get now for that purpose? Or do you just want feedback on the kw3?

If it is the former - imho if you are going road racing you need a dedicated track set up.
If it is the latter - search kw3 has been discussed numerous times.

 

I have a set of Ohlins DFVs (they are single adjustable). One of the great qualities of this coilover is that at the soft setting, the suspension is more comfortable than the OEM R3 setup for street driving. When stiffened for the track, the car is very predictable when pushing hard (but I am not a suspension expert). These shocks are rebuildable.

If you building a truly dedicated track car, you might want to skip the Ohlins/Bilsteins and get a set of race shocks (but that will blow your budget).

 

in the end the car will be 100% track but for this year i will probably still drive it here and there on the street. I am thinking for $2k it is hard to beat the KW Variant 3's, but thought i would ask. I don't plan to put a cage in it until fall, but figured I would just plan on 1 suspension instead of swapping, etc...

thanks

 

if you are going to cage it and race it --look at the rules carefully. that may further limit your decision.
OD

 

Bilstein PSS9 is another option though you may want to alter the spring rates a bit which will then put you close to $2k, search for the info

or you could save up and get a better racing setup, or maybe locate one used for around your budget, $2k is not much to work with for a(mostly) dedicated track car

 

Define "better racing setup". Are we talking 4-5k or are there still reputable options between 2-3k?

2-3k is my budget when i upgrade. It's kind of an awkward budget though because its out of the Bilstein/KW range but not quite in the Koni, Moton, AST range. The only options in my price range that i can think of are Ohlins DFV, JIC FLT-RS, FCM custom Bilsteins. My car is more like a 80% track car but i'm having a hard time making a decision which 'tier' suspension to upgrade to. Anything listed here would be an upgrade for me (Tein Basics) but i'd rather do it right the first time ya know.

 

The Ohlins are quite nice.

 

Look into the aforementioned Bilstein PSS9s. Great build quality, no manufacturer mandated rebuild, optionally re-valve for higher spring rates if you so desire later on. I love mine thus far, though slightly on the soft side.

 

i ordered the KW Variant 3's.... double adjustable and right around $2k....

 

If you plan to time trial the car with NASA do NOT use KW3s. I have them. Love them. But take 10 points out of 20 for car adjustments. It's a killer. That stupid external reservoir!!!! Consider this before you complete the sale. You might want to TT in the future and you'll be changing again!

OD was right, read the rules and leave your options open!

BTW OD, having muchas success this year! Tnx for your advice!

 

i am not sure what class i am going to race in just yet, but i do not enjoy time trials. I have raced since 2004 so it is hard to enjoy TT's when fender to fender is sooo much more fun (and costly...lol)... NASA has a pile of classes that the care would probably fit into...

 

Yes, but be aware that the Perfromance Touring (PT) racing classes with NASA use the same classification rules at Time Trial. The RX-8 fits nicely into the D class. But as the poster above noted the rules currently give a large penalty to remote shock reserviors. Of course in reality this penalty is absurb as there is no big advantage to remote reserviors other than in endurance racing. I was there when the director decided on the new shock asorber rules and was wondering what he was thinking. It's possible the rules might change again next year.

FWIW I currently use the Ohlins and find them perfectly acceptable. And I'm still in "D" class.

 

They are external (still physically attached to the shock) not remote, does that really really matter?

 

Still counts, even when cars have factory external reservoirs (like the S2000 and some Porsches).

Sounds like the OP will do fine with the KW V3's for learning the car. When you get to the point where you feel like you've "outgrown" them (which may be a while), also check out AST for getting a custom setup put together for your needs.

 

Magnus, what region you running in?

You take 7 points for having an external reservoir. Plus points for the coils. You will not want to waste your points on these shocks. I know, I have them!! Listen to others mistakes.

 

I run in the Southern California Region of NASA in PTD and TTD. I know Greg Greenbaum, the national director of PTD and TTD pretty well.

What region are you in? Going to nationals?

 

I run Great Lakes Region. Definitely going to Nationals. Competition will be extremely tough. Look forward to meeting you.

 

Hopefully I will make it to nationals. It's a bit of ways for me. A friend of mine has a transporter and might be going - if he does I'm going to have him take my RX-8. Otherwise I probably can't make it. It's a long way from San Diego.

 

If you hadn't already ordered your kw's I would have said go with the R2's from Eibach. Or if the rules state no remote resi's then the R1's are just as good, but you can't "dial in"
compression. Right now the R2's are more for your race car than street, but with the compression adjuster on the reservoir you can soften and stiffen to your liking. Both r1's and r2's have the rebound adjuster. I don't know about KW, but yu can swap spring rates and change your piston valving to your driving style.

 

The Eibachs have a known issue with the bottom mounts breaking off on the rear shocks. The Mazdaspeed coilover kit is from Eibach, believe it is the R1. This has happened to several people here in the past.

 

The KW V3'S are not quite valved properly when used with stiffer springs and really sticky tires. The over the counter Ohlins DFV are about the same. For a race car I would look to the Koni Grand Am shocks or the Penske 8100 series.

 

Kind of ironic that many people who run NASA over SCCA often note the rules as being one of the main reasons, yet a $2000 set of KWV3s gets you a serious mod points penalty that you don't get with a $5000 Koni 28 series setup, go figure ....