jimm

iTrader: (3)

Have been seeing several reviews on other coilovers and just passed the 20k mark on my Robispecs so thought I could post a review. Most of the driving has been as a DD on roads in and around Cleveland/Akron that are far from smooth. This includes 2 winters. Some spirited driving around the area plus around the country roads in Tennessee where I am from but no serious track time. Originally I was planning to make it down to Mid-Ohio or similar but just don't have the time right now.

The coilovers are specially made versoins of their clubsports for Robi by KW with slightly different canisters, valving and springs. Spring rates are 9/10 f/r which are increased over the OEM KW rates of 8/9 and the coilovers have adjustments for compression, rebound and height. The also include a replacement front camber bolt that increases the adjusment range to +/-3 degrees. PRice is $2800.

I also purchased the install package from Robi that includes his 27 mm rear sway, whiteline rollcenter kit, rear bumpstear kit and front brackets that make the stock front sway adjustable. With installation by Robi that included alignment and cornerwieghting with me in the car, this cost $1100.

First impression was that with the initial adjustments from Robi was much more grip and no body roll. There is just grip until the back brakes away just a little. Still use the stock mounts front and rear so no noise at all.

Ride comfort wise they were good for summer driving in Cleveland but when the first winter hit, I had issues as they were just too harsh for winter when the roads really get bad. I changed the adjustement and frankly made it much worse....To the point that after having them about 4-5 mos, I purchased another set of coilovers.

These were back ordered for 4 mos and it was during this time really I learned how to adjust the KWs and have been happy with them since then. The first secret is that the adjustments are progressive as you reach full still on both compression and rebound, not linear. The second secret is to not change rebound first but compression in about 1/6-8th turn. I then went up slightly on rebound to keep it smooth and you have a great ride for most of winter on really bad roads despite the horrible roads and handling is still great. Second winter through was much much better. I go back to Robi's suggested setting in summer both ride quality and handling is excellent. Just drove 2000 miles on a trip down south with the wife, baby and dogs and it was great the whole way, in fact, my wife likes the way it feels.

I have compared them back to back with stock, Ohlins (with 10/10 spring rates), Swift springs, and AMR coilovers and they are comparable to the Ohlins for ride comfort and performance, slightly stiffer than the stock set up with more grip, and perform much better than the swift springs which are much softer. Don't think it woud be fair to compare to the AMRs as I don't think they were set up correctly. I imagine that the Robispec Streets V3 versions which cost $2200, still have custom valving with and 8/9 spring rates are pretty plush for coilovers and probably the way to go for those who only use as a DD but probably don't perform quite as well. Robert says the Clubsports are 1 to 2.5 sec a lap faster than stockdepending on track and tires and that the Robispec Streets are around 0.5 sec behind the Clubsports...so probably not a bad tradeoff if you are mainly using as a DD and have a higher priority on ride comfort.

Since the purchase, Robert has been availble both by email and phone except for when he has been out of the country. He periodically travels to different cities so is availble for installation and adjustments. He offers a lifetime warranty on the valving etc and on his installed products (including his sway etc). The coilovers themselves look brand new and make no noise after despite the bad winters here in cleveland and 20K miles.

Positives:
Robi's specifically designed valving and matched spring rates with close development relationship with KW and rear sway bar that are competition tested specifically on Evo Xs for better performance on a range of tracks.

Ride comfort comparable with higher priced Ohlins with similar spring rates

Installation by Robi, who will travel to you if there is enough interest, that includes the roll center kit, bumpsteer etc with corner weighting and alignment to maximize the setup above

Durability of the KW Clubsport struts against winter etc. Lifetime warranty.

Negatives:
Spring rates may a bit agressive for places with really bad roads but can be adjusted away with the proper adjustements. Would think about the Robi spec Streets ($2200) if ride comfort the major priority.

Learning curve with adjusters...most of which I have explained.


Postscript:
I have stock KWs on another car and all that I have said as far as adjustments are the same for them. Cost was $1800 discounted through the local Mitsu dealer from tirerack and the spring rates are less agressive but still perform great although, not at the level of the RobiSpec.

Additionally, both Noise and ClipseGT have ridden in my car and can varify no noise and ride quality.

Pr3z

iTrader: (14)

Where are these? Cannot find them on his site...

jimm

iTrader: (3)

Give him a call. Comes part of the install package like the bumpsteer kit that is also not listed seperately on his site....have a feeling it has not been updated for a while.

JoeA

iTrader: (44)

Nice post I love my set also and have a 30k+ on them with a few track days.

jimm

iTrader: (3)

Necro bump for people googling looking for KW coilover feedback.

Still having good luck with both the KW v3 Robispecs on my Evo and the off the shelf KW V3s on my other car.

After finding the correct adjustments in the beginning (described above), I have had to do minimal adjustments for literally years. I now have a combined 60k+ miles on both sets and no issues. Ride is still sporty but nice enough my wife still can't tell the difference to a stock Evo. Handling etc all as it has been. Still no noise at all.

Recently moved back to Tennessee so no more harsh winters but the coilovers endured the snow etc without any long term issues. I keep waiting for one to start rattling or have other issues but nothing. Certainly worth the money spent.

TwinScrollSnell

iTrader: (1)

heard good things about their setup

hispanicpanic

I'll add my review.

My robi kw's high speed valving isn't very good. On bumpy tracks its impossible to keep your car smooth. No matter what you do with the settings, you can't find a spot where your high speed valving is acceptable while having your low speed valving anywhere near where you need it. I've had my coils rebuilt twice in the year i've owned them. On a super hot texas day, i can feel a difference in my valving between the first lap/session of the day and subsequent sessions. The fluid heats up pretty good and makes everything softer. Unfortunately the dials change low speed valving mostly and high speed valving is still far from ideal. I probably can't blame KW for this change in valving with heat because any coilover will be susceptible to this. Its just not fair with 100 degree heat and all the extra heat generated by brakes.

I purchased these coils used and i'm still using the springs that came with them. I've noticed some spring sag as each coilover has different preload on the helper springs. Not to say the springs that came with the coils are bad, but pretty much any coil looks bad when compared to a swift. Hyperco are really good too but swifts are indeed better at preventing spring sag over time and maintaining linearity with age.

I say all these things, but also recognize i'm not your average datapoint. I track the **** out of my car and these coils indeed help my evo perform to insane levels. They CAN be made to be comfortable on the street, but i doubt their comfortability compared to ohlins which are the same price and the Ohlins have digressive high speed compression valving which should make those smooth as butter over bumps. Yeah, those are only 1 way, but i'd be willing to bet that ohlins can generate more traction over bumps due to their softer, digressive high speed compression.

I still have yet to ride in an ohlins setup, so take my opinion on ohlins from a theoretical standpoint.


I'll also say that i have no doubt that the KW's could last 100k of DD no problem. No suspension can really last that long and maintain its performance, so around that mark i'd reccomend a rebuild/new springs and such, but the design is pretty robust. Plus the yellow/purple color scheme is pretty awesome.

Overall, i can't really hate on KW TOO much, but i've just found they're not optimal for my application. Keep in mind i probably won't be fully satisfied until i get myself in to a JRZ or MCS 3 way or something. I'm such a snob.

jimm

iTrader: (3)

Interesting experience,

Heat build up is a weakness of any twin tube design. I bought mine in 2009 so it could be that Robi has changed his specs since then. It is also rarely as hot where I have tracked the car so heat hasn't been an issue for me. If you see my first post above, I nearly took them off my car until I wrapped my head around how they liked to be adjusted as I thought the valving was to aggressive at first also. Getting compression right made all the difference.

I have compared them to Ohlins on two different Evo Xs...one belonging to Clipse and one belonging to Noise and they are very close. I am not one to be defensive about my purchases....if there was a difference I would admit it and trade up.

Not noticed much difference with the springs re sag etc but I just had corner weighted a couple times with me in it so wasnt surprised there were sight differences from corner to corner. It isn't like the wieght is perfectly distributed front to back side to side. I also don't track as much as you do so fatigue factors will not be as big an issue for me. If I were tracking this car hard, I would have moved to a heavier duty coilover. This is a great set up for a DD that you sometimes track. A dedicated or mostly track car would need more that a step up in coilovers but in my experience those are much less of a joy to drive to the grocery store.

hispanicpanic

Yeah i'll have to agree with everything you said. Where are your adjustments at now? In the rear, i'm 2 clicks from fill stiff on compression and 6 clicks from full stiff on rebound. In the front, i'm about 4 clicks from stiff on compression and 4 clicks from full stiff on rebound.

I also have hotchkiss sways at soft front and medium rear.

jimm

iTrader: (3)

Honestly, I don't remember where I am from full stiff etc. as I haven't had to do any adjustment for a while. My recollection is that I am a little less than 1/2 turn back on front compression and about 3/4 turn back on rebound in the front. The back I think it is close to the same but a little more loose. It is different than what Robi had dialed in....I think his set up is a bit stiff on the compression for bumpy surfaces ( I know the compression is mainly slow speed ie wt transfer but there is a decent enough of bleed through it the high speed that the adjustment makes a difference).

Interestingly, on a completely different car with normal KW v3s I used the same settings as a starting point and they were maybe a 1/6 turn off from being right.