a_CQ wrote:Nice. I did that same thing a week ago here in Chicago. I liked the new A4 but they let us pick anythhing from Audi's line up short of an R8 afterwards and do more laps. I got into new TT....that was amazing ride.
Haydn, could you comment a bit more about that KW suspension....compare maybe to how your Miata drives? I know, 2 different beasts, but I'd like to hear...tia.
Hey Peter,
I didn't get to abuse the suspension as much as I would have liked, if I had I WOULD STILL BE GOING
It is hard to compare between the 2 machines as they are so different, as you said, however I would say they both felt very similar. The Miata weighs in at about 2370lbs and has fully spec'd up JIC coilovers fitted with 12/9 springs. The car is a lot lighter than the coupe but still with stiffer springs I think (Mark what are your spring rates?)
From Goodwin Racing site "We can build these JIC's 10kg/8kg, 9kg/7kg and 12kg/9kg...and more. Email us to discuss which rates are right for you (to convert lb/in to kg/mm you multiply by 0.0179 and to convert kg/mm to lb/in you divide by 0.0179)"
Therefore my setup is approx 670lb front, 502lb rear. 15 way adjustable twin tube shocks. I was at a shock dyno tester over the winter with some friends running the same setup and the JIC's performed fairly well, but most of the adjustment was limited to the first 5 clicks. This matched up with what we found on track last year.
Outside of that the Miata has a big 1.5" hollow front ARB and stiffener plates with heim links, and the same but smaller and solid in the rear.
Anyway that was a bit of background on the Miata to add a frame of reference for the Coupe KWV3's.
As I said at the top, the ride quality felt about the same, however I had the Miata on full soft on the shocks and I think Mark had his KW's up a bit. The coupe felt a bit bouncier than the Miata but I think that is just a matter of tuning the rebound damping. (The Miata has had 3 years of track day testing to get it dialed in, plus I am running a fairly aggressive track alignment)
Both setups are definitely on the harsh side, certainly not a nice cushy ride, but very confidence inspiring in a corner. For your level of abuse Peter the V3's would be great. For a car that only sees the track once or twice a year and the rest of the time is just on the street the V2's would be a more comfortable way to go IMHO.
Having said that the level of adjustability in the V3's woudl allow you to tune the ride to your liking, plus the better damping in the V3's would allow you to run much stiffer springs without compromising ride quality much
There you go , my 2c
H
