INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS - KW HAS SUSPENSION

The KW HAS (Height Adjustable Spring) Kit has been around for quite some time now and is a popular option for a number of European vehicle owners who wish to lower their car. KW states that this suspension kit is designed "for improved looks and more driving dynamics - in OEM quality." The added benefit in comparison to standard lowering springs is the ability for height adjustment after installation. It also allows you to retain any OEM electronic damper control settings.

KW uses high-quality springs made of chrome-silicon steel. The springs are also developed with spring rates that match with the different damper characteristics of your adaptive suspension.

Installation is a little more involved as you need to remove and replace the bump stops to cater for the lowered ride height. We also recommend a professional wheel alignment to be carried out after the kit has been installed. For those wishing to tackle the installation themselves, we've included a DIY guide as well as the official installation instructions below. 

Official Installation Instruction Manual

Example: BMW M3, installation should be similar for most makes and models. Disconnect the battery first.

Remove the lower 18mm bolt.

Remove the rear strut by compressing it down, and pulling it out. If you have EDC, be careful of the connector and remove it by pulling it straight out.

Remove rear spring by sliding it through the hole of the lower control arm. Use an impact gun to remove the top strut hat in order to remove the old bump stop and replace with new bump stop.

Install the new spring assembly. Make sure you remove ALL components that were used by the old spring. Also, for the purposes of installation put the adjuster to full low. From top to bottom - adjuster, spring, adapter, helper spring, lower pad. To install it you will have to place the bottom portion in first. Now you're going to need to use some back strength to get the helper spring to compress far enough to slide the adjuster into the hole.



 Pre-assemble the strut assembly with both top mounts already together with the gaskets, this makes it a lot easier. Compress the strut fully, and quickly pop the bottom into place, and slide the top into place. For EDC, be very careful of the connector and don't forget to plug it in! Once you finally get it all lined up, tighten the e-torx bolts on the top, and the 18mm bolt on the bottom.

 

 

One side of the rear is done. Repeat for the other side, then move onto the front. Remove all the plastic covers in the engine bay and also the front strut brace. Remove the bolts holding on the strut and leave them loose.

Remove EDC plug if you have EDC.

Disconnect all the connectors at the bottom of the strut, don't forget about the headlight leveling sensor, wheel speed sensor, brake pad wear sensor, etc.

 

Disconnect the sway bar bolt.

Remove the 3x 13mm nuts holding the strut in at the top of the car. Remove the 16mm bolt from the sway bar you disconnected above. Keep the steering wheel straight.

 

Pull the strut out by prying the strut holder apart on the wheel hub.

Remove the strut top using an impact gun.

Put the strut in a vice. Hold it by the piston, but make sure you use a microfiber towel so it doesn't damage it and don't go too tight. Next, remove the strut sensor. Mark where the sway bar link lines up.

Spray WD40 around the area around the lower spring mount and using a hammer, hit the lower spring mount down in multiple places equally. It will fall off after a while.

 

Measure 3 inches down from where you marked the sway bar link and put a mark here.

Slide the KW spring mount down over the strut. Line it up with the sway bar link you marked previously. Use the

old spring mount as a press to hammer in the KW mount.

Install the bump stop now.

Installation of the spring and top is opposite to removal.

There is a right side strut bolt below the aluminum body brace. Loosen all the bolts on the left side. Remove the two big bolts in the middle. They are hidden under two covers that pop right out. Remove all bolts on the right side. 

 

Repeat previous steps until complete for other side.

AUDI S3 8V H&R LOWERING SPRINGS REVIEW

We recently installed a set of H&R lowering springs to our Audi S3 8V project car to see if H&R's product claims were true. H&R springs are specifically designed to suit particular makes and models and lowers the vehicle ride height by roughly 1.5-1.8". H&R claims that the lower center of gravity reduces excessive body roll while providing outstanding ridge quality and comfort with the progressive spring rate.

Sample of lowered vehicle:

Our vehicle after the installation and wheel alignment:

The below is our opinion of the parts tested in this review. 

H&R Sport Springs - Part Number 28810-1

Lowering - The car is definitely lower after installing the springs, while they may take some time to settle, the original wheel gap is less visible and in our opinion at a great legal height. Even with a front lip installed we have been able to clear most driveways and speed bumps without issue. 8/10

Handling - Body roll is noticeably reduced in cornering and higher speed turn in. The car provides a bit more confidence now while cornering where as previously, the car would feel less planted. If paired with a rear sway bar we suspect handling to improve even more. Overall we believe for the investment in springs to be able to achieve this is quite outstanding. 9/10

Ride Quality - We had the suspension setting in comfort mode during the ride quality test. While it is comparable to stock, the ride quality is somewhat compromised as the springs do appear to be harder and absorb the bumps a little less than the standard springs do. Cabin creaks seem to have increased slightly due to the stiffer springs. 6/10

LAMBORGHINI GALLARDO AND MURCIELAGO ERROR CODES

For those fortunate enough to own a Lamborghini Gallardo or Murcielago, we'll include a list of ODBII generated fault codes to help with diagnosing your vehicle yourself. If you are unsure of how to obtain the ODBII codes, please comment below and we'll look at making a short Youtube video or blog post to provide some guidance.

Note: Please use below information at your own risk, we do not take responsibility for any damages, faults or issues as a result of using this information.

VW - AUDI INFOTAINMENT SYSTEMS VULNERABLE

Vulnerabilities have been successfully discovered by Computest in a 2015 Volkswagen Golf GTE and a 2015 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron. Both cars are manufactured by Volkswagen Audi Group (VAG).

An insecure software process exposed by the Wi-Fi interface used by the cars Harman In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) system allows unauthenticated access. Some further digging revealed that it was also possible to access the IVI’s Control Area Network (CAN) bus.

This meant that:

"Under certain conditions attackers could listen in to conversations the driver is conducting via a car kit, turn the microphone on and off, as well as gaining access to the complete address book and the conversation history."

And:

"There is the possibility of discovering through the navigation system precisely where the driver has been, and to follow the car live wherever it is at any given time."

The car uses a different, high-speed CAN bus for vehicle-critical communication such as steering, door unlocking, park assist, and – yes – braking.

That high-speed CAN bus is precisely one component away from the compromised IVI CAN bus: the two are separated by a CAN bus gateway that acts as a firewall between the two.

It’s here that the researchers stopped in order to avoid breaking the law. The researchers reported their findings to VAG, which seems to have taken the issue seriously enough to invite them to come to its HQ in Germany to explain them.

The company later said it had patched the flaws that allowed access, although of course that would only fix new cars made from the point that firmware image became available.

HOW TO DIAGNOSE BAD IGNITION COIL

There are a couple of ways to check whether or not your car is misfiring (it may sound like it's running on less cylinders or very rough, a tractor or generally a noticable loss in power). While the ignition coil may not be the cause of the problem, it's definitely worth checking as it's fairly straightforward. The first method is simply using a ODB scan tool such as Carly or ODBII and read for fault codes related to misfiring/spark/ignition issues in a specific cylinder. A more traditional approach is to unplug the ignition coil while the car is running, if the car runs the same with the ignition coil unplugged then you know that there may be an issue with that cylinder and you can proceed to check the spark plug, ignition coil and wiring. If unplugging the first ignition coil and the behaviour of the car is worse then plug it back in and move to the next cylinder until you find the coil that is the culprit which means no changes after unplugging. As a test, you could use the ignition coil from a known good cylinder and replace the one in the bad cylinder to see if you can replicate the behaviour (the scan tool may also show the bad cylinder follows the coil). If this is possible then it is highly likely that the ignition coil is bad and requires replacement.

FACTORY COILOVER ADJUSTMENT FERRARI 360 - 430

The Ferrari 360/430 platforms came standard from factory with coilover suspension which allows for ride height adjustment in true racing fashion! Those who opt to lower their car (most enthusiasts seem to for better looks and lower center of gravity) can do so with a bit of know how and also the right tools. Note that you will most likely need to take the car to a workshop to have a professional alignment done once lowered. We provide a rough guide below on how to adjust the factory coilover for those who like a bit of DIY.

For a standard 360 the height is 125.2mm at the front and 146.8mm at the rear.

Front: Ahead of the front wheel there is a rubber drain tube. Measurement is just behind that tube on the aluminum frame. 

Rear: Below the curve of the lower air scoop.

Ferrari also suggests doing the measurements and alignment with a 70kg load in both the driver and passenger seat/footwell area to replicate the weight of an average person. 

In order to adjust the height, you will need to loosen the perches using a C-Spanner (can be purchased here) holding the spring in place, these are highlighted in red below. The upper perch is 90mm and the lower perch is 70mm - purchase the according tools on the website. 

Calculating vehicle drop is based upon the number of downward turns of the spring perch. Total body drop is affected by the Motion Ratio which is the ratio of shock travel versus wheel travel. It is equal to the Shock Travel (in inches) per 1 inch of Wheel Travel. Motion Ratio is used to account for the different suspension geometries and the resultant mechanical leverage on the spring. In almost all cases, the Motion Ratio is less than 1.

One can generally calculate the Motion Ratio by simply dividing the shock travel by the wheel travel. Example if the shock travels 0.5 inches and the wheel travels 1 inches then the motion ratio would be 0.5/1 = 0.5.

To achieve a 1" drop, we can base the calculations on the MR value as 0.70, 12 turns will drop your vehicle 1" (25.45 mm/cm/1.5mm = 16.97 turns X 0.70 = 11.88 turns/cm).

The threads on the Ferrari shock body are pitched at approximately 1.5 mm which means that every turn of the ring should equate to a drop of 1.5 mm. This means that for every downward turn of the top spring perch nut with a motion ratio of 0.70, you would get about .084” of downward travel of the body.

Once you have completed lowering the car, tighten back up the spring perches and head on over to your alignment workshop which we mentioned earlier. 

Ferrari 360 Alignment Settings

Height (CS Spec)

110mm front

130mm rear

Castor 

6.3 degrees (fixed)

Toe

1.25mm front toe-in

1.5mm rear toe-in

Camber (CS Spec)

-1.28 degrees front 

-2.00 degrees rear

Camber is adjusted by inserting or removing shims between the bottom wishbone mountings and the chassis. Increasing the width of the shim pushes the lower wishbone outwards and thus the top of the wheel leans into the car more = more camber. Adjustment requires removal of the wheel, undoing the wishbone, inserting or removing shims, refit wishbone and wheel then lower the car and re-measure the camber. 

Disclaimer: Please exercise caution when undertaking any modifications to your car and check with local authorities / warranty / manufacturers /insurers before following any advice provided on this website. We can not be held responsible for any death, injury, damaged parts, engines, cars, as a result of using information provided on this website. It is intended for general advice only.

FREE INTAKE MODIFICATION - GOLF MK7 / R / AUDI A3 / S3

We've noticed that the standard air intake for the Volkswagen MK7/R Golf and Audi A3/S3 models appear to come with some restrictions. While the manufacturer may have a legitimate reason to ensure these restrictions are in place (emissions, reliability) or otherwise, they are definitely robbing from the performance and induction noise. We'll explain below briefly how to remove these restrictions in an Audi A3/S3, however, this will also work across the turbo charged Volkswagen MK7 range.

1) Remove the screws holding on the front air induction box and intake

2) Use a hole saw + drill or dremel to cut out the plastic section blocking off airflow to the airbox

3) Remove the airbox cover, air filter and then finally the plastic grate sitting below the airbox, this will come out with a tug

4) Remove the grill trim sitting at the top of the Audi grill

5) Reassemble all parts and optionally replace panel filter with a high flow item from BMC/K&N. 

That's it, a few simple items to be removed in order to increase airflow to the air box. Combined with a high flow panel filter, we suspect that performance results will be similar to that of expensive 'cold air intake' systems on the market.

Disclaimer: Please exercise caution when undertaking any modifications to your car and check with local authorities / warranty / manufacturers /insurers before following any advice provided on this website. We can not be held responsible for any death, injury, damaged parts, engines, cars, as a result of using information provided on this website. It is intended for general advice only.