Calling All KW V3 Owners (Need Help)

[OneFastBMW]

I got my KW V3's in the mail today. I have a few questions about installation.

1) How did you guys get the nut the mounts the front strut to strut mount tight? I have a set of gearwrench pass thru sockets that I used on the stock struts. However, the stock struts have a place to use an allen key on top of them. The top of the KW does not seem to have anything to hold on to while tightening the bolt down.

2) Did you guy's coilover come with the spanner wrenches to adjust the coilovers. Mine did not come with any so I want to make sure that they should not have been included before I order some.

3) How many clicks from full hard did you set your coils. I realize that once I install these it is going to be a PITA to adjust the fronts. I am thinking about just drilling a hole in the engine bay so that I can get to the adjustment without removing the front suspension. At least the rear shocks can be removed fairly easily.

Here are some pics of what I am talking about.

[MOFSTEEL]

1. I'm not sure if I understand correctly but maybe try using a table vice?

2. Yes they came with 2 different wrenches. One for front and one for rear.
Also came with allen to adjust dampening.

3. Measure the threads from the top down. I adjusted mine so the height was
the same all the way around. Not really hard to adjust if you know what you're doing. You should be able to place an allen on top of the rear perch to keep it from spinning while you make you adjustments with the wrench. As far as dampening I left it on the factory settings. Worked out great for daily driving.

[OneFastBMW]

1. I'm not sure if I understand correctly but maybe try using a table vice?

2. Yes they came with 2 different wrenches. One for front and one for rear.
Also came with allen to adjust dampening.

3. Measure the threads from the top down. I adjusted mine so the height was
the same all the way around. Not really hard to adjust if you know what you're doing. You should be able to place an allen on top of the rear perch to keep it from spinning while you make you adjustments with the wrench. As far as dampening I left it on the factory settings. Worked out great for daily driving.

Did you do the install yourself or have a shop do it? I am going to install to the height that I want based on KW setup sheet that came with the kit. Some careful measuring before should save me from having to adjust the height setting.

My main concern in the nut at the top of the front strut. I want to make sure that I get it tightened properly to avoid clunks. However I do not want to use my impact wrench for fear of damaging the shock assembly.

Anyone have any ideas on how to properly torque this bolt?

[MOFSTEEL]

I did the install myself and had no issues.

Initially I had the car corner balanced after my install and later decided to make adjustments to lower the car a little more.

I did use an impact gun to get the nut started and then torqued it down to spec. I do not remember that spec but im sure someone else can jump in and tell you. I might have gotten it from a DIY on Audizine.

I think Captian Obvious has one for his B6 A4 which is essentially the same.

[OneFastBMW]

I did the install myself and had no issues.

Initially I had the car corner balanced after my install and later decided to make adjustments to lower the car a little more.

I did use an impact gun to get the nut started and then torqued it down to spec. I do not remember that spec but im sure someone else can jump in and tell you. I might have gotten it from a DIY on Audizine.

I think Captian Obvious has one for his B6 A4 which is essentially the same.

So when torqueing the nut you didn't run into an issue with the piston just spinning when trying to tighten the nut?

[Peter@VMRWheels]

So when torqueing the nut you didn't run into an issue with the piston just spinning when trying to tighten the nut?

He probably kept tapping the trigger on the impact gun in quick succession. What happens is that the top nut overcomes the inertial force of the piston so that the nut gradually tightens.

Something like this is almost always not recommended because it can potentially damage the dampers, and theres no way to know the torque. But the irony is, almost every single installer from dealership to independent to individuals, uses this method to tighten.

I would check with KW on this.

[OneFastBMW]

He probably kept tapping the trigger on the impact gun in quick succession. What happens is that the top nut overcomes the inertial force of the piston so that the nut gradually tightens.

Something like this is almost always not recommended because it can potentially damage the dampers, and theres no way to know the torque. But the irony is, almost every single installer from dealership to independent to individuals, uses this method to tighten.

I would check with KW on this.

KW says do not use an impact wrench on the struts. I think I am going to use a pair of vice grips with rubber pads clamping on the piston while I tighten the nut with a torque wrench.

This method should work pretty well. I feel like there should be an easier way to get this nut correctly torqued though.

[dextrek]

I used impact wrench for my installation and eventually ended up with a really loud clunking on one of the side.
I had to pull out the suspension again and tighten it with a socket and it fix the problem.
The suspension rod tends to not spin when the spring is loaded, so the second time around it was possible for me to hand tighten instead of using the impact wrench.

[Prtaick]

The top is ground so you can put an open end wrench on it. I cant remember but its like 10mm or 9mm or something

[OneFastBMW]

The top is ground so you can put an open end wrench on it. I cant remember but its like 10mm or something

How can you get an box wrench on it when you also have to have a socket on it and it is down inside the bulky shock mount.

[Prtaick]

How can you get an box wrench on it when you also have to have a socket on it and it is down inside the bulky shock mount.

Well I have a socket with a handel on it for doing them, but the tool that the OP was talking about at first would do the trick.