Modern Suspension

[notny41]

@Tom, do you have any before/after pics?

[blade7]

I put the KW Variant 3 coilovers in my 944 Turbo and love them. In terms of transforming the car, it was up there with the 3 liter motor.

What settings have you used?

[Tom]

Funny you ask that. Yesterday I got the car back on the road after sitting quite a while as a test-mule for the 911-style gauges and took it for a spin. I forgot how stiff it is, and was thinking I might back off a bit. On the other hand, it grips really well so don't want to lose that either, so we'll see... At any rate, here are my notes from when I installed them showing the settings. If I recall, these were the KW middle-of-the-road recommendations too.

Front rebound 8 clicks open; bump 6 clicks open
Rear rebound 11 clicks open; bump 3 clicks open

Set rear to max height, 50mm
set front to 90mm (range is 70 to 100, so this is 10mm lower than max height)

[blade7]

I put a new set of KW's on my 91 turbo around 14 years ago. Had it aligned by one of the best shops in the UK. And used some 968 track day settings, which as I have heavier 18" wheels, I reasoned would be about right. On smooth roads it's great, on bumpy roads it's quite harsh. I had to replace the front springs after 10k miles last year, as they'd both snapped in the same place. I might try your settings, when I fit the new uprated front brakes I recently bought.

[333pg333]

I'm considering putting a set of KW V3's on my 86 951. For those who have purchased these, do they come with camber plates?

While their suspension kits are very nice, the camber plates that you can probably option are not so great. Go for the once from Racer's Edge. They're a better design (give proper droop) than the KW version and stronger.

[blade7]

My KW's were set at 1.5 negative camber all round. That can be achieved with the standard suspension adjustment.

[cp99]

Has anyone run the KW v3 at full soft? If so, are they still harsh?

[cda951]

I just installed this rear suspension beam in my 951, which has a very low ride height that affects the suspension geometry (was mostly a track car for the last 15-ish years, had already installed custom drop spindles to correct the front geometry). This mimics the old Kokeln rear suspension beam, and replaces the factory torsion tube.

I just did a 3-day road rally in far northern CA with the setup and it was amazing---harsh for some of the narrow and rutted roads, but the handling was great. This setup is a bridge too far for most, but this car has been my suspension/handling test bed for 18 years now, not going backwards!

I'll make a comprehensive post in the 944 Turbo section when I have time.

https://www.boostbrothersgarage.com/col ... suspension

[cp99]

I'm considering putting a set of KW V3's on my 86 951. For those who have purchased these, do they come with camber plates?

No, mine did not come with adjustable camber plates. I put the basic KW V3 kit on my '86 it completely transformed the car. Can't say enough good things about that set up.

Did you use the factory strut mounts with the KW suspension?

[Darwin]

I just installed this rear suspension beam in my 951, which has a very low ride height that affects the suspension geometry (was mostly a track car for the last 15-ish years, had already installed custom drop spindles to correct the front geometry). This mimics the old Kokeln rear suspension beam, and replaces the factory torsion tube.

I just did a 3-day road rally in far northern CA with the setup and it was amazing---harsh for some of the narrow and rutted roads, but the handling was great. This setup is a bridge too far for most, but this car has been my suspension/handling test bed for 18 years now, not going backwards!

I'll make a comprehensive post in the 944 Turbo section when I have time.

https://www.boostbrothersgarage.com/col ... suspension

That looks very nice. May have to switch to that. My LEDAs don't have the top hat on the rear coilovers that the KWs do and it rubs against the wing portion of the factory torsion tube. Major bummer