Kw Installed On 1.4 Auris

[FROSTYBALLS]

Perhaps KW are getting confused between the Auris 1.4/1.6/1.4 D4D/2.0 D4D/Hybrid which have the torsion beam rear suspension and the T/SR180 which has multi-link rear suspension.

[Uncle Buck]

Could be 'nail on head' Mike - they probably haven't even had anyone ask for KW coilies on a 1.4 Auris before ...........

[brainii]

lol on the last comment, probably right!

Anyway's, I took the car for wheel alignment yesterday, the shop was able to align perfectly all settings except the left front wheel setting which controls how far back the wheel is and now the car pulls very slightly to the left (guy said car has no adjustment for this) but it's a very small difference..

Afterwards, I took the car for a semi-aggressive test drive, differences are that the steering is now much sharper, it corners better, there is virtually no bending whilst turning or stopping or while emergency manueuvering right/left sharp turning of the steering wheel..

This is all on a smooth road surface, on a badly paved road, ride is harsh but bearable, and the back end seems to lock up the wheels faster than before in emergency braking, and while on a bumpy roundabout, going slighlty fast the back end drifted a bit!!

I really think that if KW pulls their !Removed! together and sends me the correct rear springs the handling will become perfect..

[Uncle Buck]

The harsh ride & high cost of KW's is the reason I went for BC's, where you can dial in more compliancy. But I hope this issue is sorted out once & for all, otherwise KW will be losing some credibility for an inability to please.

On a more positive note, once those coilies are sorted I'm sure you'll love the handling :)

[brainii]

So KW finally sent me the correct rear springs.

So I gave them a few days to settle in and though of tweaking the rear height.

I jack up the car, go under, try to turn the purple thingy to the left to increase the height and what happens?

The damn black spiral turns together with the purple and I can't adjust !Removed!!

So angry!!

Reading online it seems that the only solution is to drop the suspension (it's one bolt) adjust, then use another jack to push the axle back in place to reattach the suspension.

I also saw that some black spirals can be held in place with a wrench, but no, nothing like this in the ones that come with the Auris! (it's just empty underneath, nothing to attach it to or hold it so it won't move).

I'll leave this for another day..

[Uncle Buck]

Are you saying that £1100's worth of KW coilies don't adjust for ride height ? There's something far wrong here ........

Are you sure you're trying to adjust them in the correct manner ?

[brainii]

I'm saying that it's hard to adjust them (you have to unbolt the rear control arm).

Considering the cost they could have designed them a bit better (e.g. put a hole under the black spiral that you can attach a key/wrench to keep it from moving, while turning the purple thingy).

[brainii]

Well, I had to go to the mechanic to adjust the rear height.

I think I'm now finally finished with adjustments (for summer weather) and the car handles great (even though you can feel every bump, uneven surface and pretty much everything more). Rear passengers complain that my driving, especially turning, has become a lot more abrupt, but it hasn't, it's just the feeling of the stiffer suspension.

The only issue is that I can't park in empty uneven plots of land anymore as the car's front area might scrape on the ground.

Overall, I'm happy I chose KW but would I do it again? Probably not!

Here's some measurements, all taken with a full tank:(see photo as copy/paste from excel messes it up):

[Uncle Buck]

As far as I'm concerned here, the moral of the story is that KW were not the product or service you were hoping for (especially at that price).

I'm glad I went with BC's for my previous car & would choose them again, as an excellent product at a much more affordable price. That said, the chances of me fitting ANY coilies to my Auris are minimal because I just can't afford or justify them for the forseeable future.

[Cougar motorsport]

Hello guys. Just recently i have been informed about this post . I am the rep of KW who sold the kit to my friend braini. Just read it and i think you have been hard a lot to KW which i dont find it fair . So we ordered the kit but none of us knew that the car was twisted beam and not independent suspension. How could i know or how could kw could know since we were not informed . After too much hassle to find it out through the help of OP we realized it was twisted beam so again they send us tje right springs. To be honest it wasnt kw's fault but ours and op's . But still, kW they send us for free the needed springs even if the first order dispatch was right from their side. Out of experience all these years in tuning , you cant find so easy factories backing their products as kW does . As far as for other brands , i strongly believe that if you just order something wrong they wont even accept sometimes returns or you will just be charged for return and for delivery charges.

[Miseryguts]

Nobody knew it was torsion beam suspension !!

Blimey,even I know that.

[brainii]

Well, KW should have known, since all 1.4's are twist beam. Even if they didnn't know, they should have asked for clarification (since 2 different types existed).

Anyway, I'm just happy that my friend Cougar helped (many Cypriot selles wouldn't..) and I got the right parts in the end. Would gladly buy from him again.

And also happy with KW's, they have really transformed the car.

[Phil_1985]

now that you've had them on a while and they've settled - how is the ride quality compared to before? In what way do you think they've transformed the car? I'm thinking of getting the v1's myself!

[Cougar motorsport]

Well the positive think on this is just that managed to do another friend from this business. Really , after all this hassle , i hope ur to the moon with these . Still waiting for a coffee from u haha

[northernlite]

thats exactly what i thought in september 2013, that you have not the correct suspension kit for your car. some posts later we solved it.

so i cannot see there any problem made by kw.

be lucky, that you have kw and not a individual solution, this will cost a lot more

[brainii]

Phil the changes are:

• Car sits lower of course so lower center of gravity, more stability etc
• Ride is stiffer (and a little noisier than before) and you can feel more from the road (bumps, changes in road surface elevation etc)
• Handling has improved dramatically, sharp turns at any speed are now not a wobbling problem like before and the steering has become a lot more sharp. This is the reason why I wanted new suspension in the 1st place!

One negative thing I noticed is that now, sometimes, when braking hard or abruptly, the rear wheels lock up for some reason (before the front wheels).

Cougar, I'm still waiting for them free car cleaning products you promised, hahaha!