[stashtrey]

I am going to attempt to swap out my Koni/H&R setup on my awd xi e90 to a set of KW V3's with Vorshlag Camber/Caster plates.

I've done the rear end before but never touched the front.

The struts and plates are all set up for a precious xi so I'm OK there until I get it aligned. I basically need to remove the shocks/springs and swap in the KW setup and plates.


Would love any advice on things to be careful of, any special tools I will need, any particular order I should follow and anything unique to doing the front of an xi vs a rwd.

Hope to be rolling on a cloud of ta ta's tomorrow morning.

[flexinator]

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...62578216,d.aWc

[flexinator]

Sorry for the ugly looking link, but it's a step by step install guide. I have kW v1s I need to install, maybe next weekend...

[akotten]

The fronts are fairly straight forward from what I remember. Remove drop-links from the anti-roll bar, remove the three strut tower nuts, loosen the bolt on the spindle/hub/upright, etc. and remove the assembly. Getting it out of the wheel well requires a little work, but its not bad.

Be sure when you install the new ones, that it is fully seated into the spindle's hole before tightening it. I put it in, and used a piece of wood to compress it with a jack on the brake disk.

Do you have a Bentley Service Manual?

[stashtrey]

Forgot about that video. Amazing diy. Really gives you confidence!

Debating having a shop do the front as I have camber plates and not 100% sure how to set it all up properly.

Thanks for the link bro!

[stashtrey]

Originally Posted by akotten

The fronts are fairly straight forward from what I remember. Remove drop-links from the anti-roll bar, remove the three strut tower nuts, loosen the bolt on the spindle/hub/upright, etc. and remove the assembly. Getting it out of the wheel well requires a little work, but its not bad.

Be sure when you install the new ones, that it is fully seated into the spindle's hole before tightening it. I put it in, and used a piece of wood to compress it with a jack on the brake disk.

Do you have a Bentley Service Manual?

No manual. I do have the KW manual. There appears to be torque specs in there.

Gonna take my time preparing myself and likely go for it Friday night.

These V3's are so solid...you can feel the quality oozing out of them.

[akotten]

Oozing....that's an accurate description. Because they're going to start leaking soon lol

[stashtrey]

Originally Posted by akotten

Oozing....that's an accurate description. Because they're going to start leaking soon lol

Hey now! ; )

Let's hope that's not on the horizon.

How do you like your camber plates? I got the same ones. I need to figure out how you adjust the camber with the plates. I understand how the function but curious how you actually do it at ... say... a track day and then change back when done.

[akotten]

Originally Posted by stashtrey

Hey now! ; )

Let's hope that's not on the horizon.

How do you like your camber plates? I got the same ones. I need to figure out how you adjust the camber with the plates. I understand how the function but curious how you actually do it at ... say... a track day and then change back when done.

I love mine.

It's simple. Install your suspension with the plates. Set the plates to their least aggressive setting and get an alignment. What you choose for specs is up to you, but I left it at factory alignment specs. This gives me somewhere around 2.8-3.0 degrees of negative camber when the plates are set to full. I will try to measure this again this weekend at the track

To adjust camber, jack up the car on the side you're about to adjust. Loosen the three strut tower nuts, and push on the strut from inside the wheel well until you get the desired camber (indicated). It will most likely want to fall back into the non-aggressive setting, so you'll have to hold it while you tighten one of the nuts. After that, torque the nuts to around 25lb-ft and go have some fun.

Not sure how you'll have your ride height setup, but if it's low enough, there may not be any preload on your front springs when the car is in the air. If this is the case, be careful that the spring does not fall against the threads of the coil. They will rub if they do this. I don't have any personal experiences with the KW's so I don't know what your spring preloads will be like.