Technical Suspension for an Abarth, KW or Koni?

[Pooley]

Long time lurker, first time poster.

The front O/S spring on my 52 Stilo Abarth broke on the way home from Cardiff this weekend. The modifications done under the recall last year saved the spring hitting the wheel, but now the spring is deformed and is rubbing against the new tires I had fitted yesterday as part of the MOT. So the Stilo is stuck at the garage, as the mechanics can't get it safe enough to drive home.

I'm taking this opportunity to upgrade the springs and dampers as I feel the handling on the Stilo isn't good enough, with way too much roll on corners and general poor handling on fast roads with plenty of corners. Bear in mind that I was driving an Integrale before getting the Stilo!

The options for a complete kit seem to be either a Koni SSK kit, or a set of springs and dampers from KW. The Koni kit will take two weeks to deliver, as it comes direct from Koni and is made to order. So the other option is KW, which they can deliver in 4-5 days. I've looked at some of the other options, such as Eibach, but I'd rather not mix and match springs and dampers in case it causes a problem.

Has anyone used KW suspension, and can they comment on the ride and performance of these units?

Will a drop of up to 40mm on the ride height cause problems with speedbumps and kerbs?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Pooley.

 

[minimad99]

Hi and welcome to the Forum,

Eibach come highly recommended by numerous members on here. They do a kit of springs and dampers so no mix and matching required.
There are loads of threads about suspension upgrades and strutbrace issues on the Abarth.
Have a search and most things including links you will find

 

[Citizen Smith]

I have Eibach -30mm springs on mine and are really good. I now have got some Koni adjustable dampers to go with them, but still unfitted as the original ones are a bit worn now. Mine came within a week from http://www.europerformance.co.uk/

 

[Pooley]

I've looked at the Eibachs, as quite a few people have mentioned them. Just a pity they don't do a damper to go with them for the Abarth. I've looked at the Koni's, but after speaking to Europerformance they've stated that it may take up to 2 weeks to deliver the whole set of dampers as they're made to order in Germany. As the car is stuck in the garage at the moment, I'd rather slightly compromise and get another set of springs and dampers sooner.

Europerformance can deliver the KW's springs and dampers in 4-5 days. Damn tempting...

Thanks for your responses. I'll mull it over during lunch and order later today.

 

[Citizen Smith]

I've looked at the Eibachs, as quite a few people have mentioned them. Just a pity they don't do a damper to go with them for the Abarth. I've looked at the Koni's, but after speaking to Europerformance they've stated that it may take up to 2 weeks to deliver the whole set of dampers as they're made to order in Germany. As the car is stuck in the garage at the moment, I'd rather slightly compromise and get another set of springs and dampers sooner.

Europerformance can deliver the KW's springs and dampers in 4-5 days. Damn tempting...

Thanks for your responses. I'll mull it over during lunch and order later today.

I was told that also on the Monday and by Friday the same week I had them I think they overestimate so they look good TBH.

 

[Pooley]

Heh! Okay, so that's really made me think again on the Koni's. Dammit!

If I didn't really, really need my car next week, and the garage had given me a better car than a H reg Lancia Dedra, I'd risk it.

 

[Citizen Smith]

Just an update, have the Koni adjustables fitted now:slayer: and they are well worth the money, easy to adjust, makes the car feel soooooooo much better and responsive, highly recommend these .

 

[Shaun86]

I have had the Koni adjustables, fitted for a while now well over 4 months. the ability to change the stiffeness of the shocks is really noticeable.

Put it this way i rate this things with my life.. Had an close call the other day whilst driving at 70mph on the A34 towards the M4 some guy tryied pulling out as i was passing the layby he was in.. i swerved into the out side lane and back again very sharply and the car hardly had any body roll at all..

i know if i had the originals on the car would have skipped out on me with the back end. with the amount of body roll those things give.

If i remember rightly i ordered mine from a place called www.awesome-gti.co.uk they where the cheapest people i could find.

 

[Pooley]

Well, I went ahead and got the KW dampers and springs. I didn't want to risk having to wait 2 weeks to get my car back, especially as the Dedra the garage loaned me was proving to be a complete pig.

I got the car back two weeks ago, europerformance came through with the quick delivery on the suspension bits, and the garage fitted it the day it all arrived.

They had a fair bit of fun trying to fit the springs, as their spring compressors weren't able to compress the spring enough to fit! They ended up using four compressors on the spring and managed to get it on the damper.

Bright yellow springs, which look to be about twice the thickness of the stock springs. Bright purple dampers, which look very nice against the yellow springs.

The car has dropped around 25mm to 30mm, which to my eyes make the stance of the car much better. A few of my mates have commented on the lowered look, and they've all said it makes the car look a lot more "sporty".

How do they feel? One word, stiff. It's pretty difficult now to push the suspension down by bouncing on the corner of the car whilst it's parked up. The car feels so much more secure whilst being driven, body roll on corners has reduced massively. I now feel so much more confident whilst cornering, and I can feel the car really pushing the tyres hard. Roundabouts are now a complete giggle! The only downside to all this is that long motorway runs are now a bit more of a chore, especially poorly surfaced roads such as the M42. Speed strips coming up to roundabouts can be felt strongly through the chassis, and potholes and the like are now avoided if possible.

Even with the lowered springs, speed bumps are not a problem, though I do need to slow down more than before if I don't want to lose a filling.

Overall, they are a brilliant set of springs and dampers that have hugely improved the handling of the car at the expense of a small loss in comfort.

I'd recommend these units to anyone who does a lot of A and B road journeys, but I'd hesitate to recommend them to anyone who does a lot of motorway driving or if you need a comfortable car to carry the family.

 

[muppet42]

How much did the kit cost in terms of the kit itself and the labour to fit it? Just wondering since suspension is the first major mod I want to get sorted.

 

[Citizen Smith]

Well, I went ahead and got the KW dampers and springs. I didn't want to risk having to wait 2 weeks to get my car back, especially as the Dedra the garage loaned me was proving to be a complete pig.

I got the car back two weeks ago, europerformance came through with the quick delivery on the suspension bits, and the garage fitted it the day it all arrived.

They had a fair bit of fun trying to fit the springs, as their spring compressors weren't able to compress the spring enough to fit! They ended up using four compressors on the spring and managed to get it on the damper.

Bright yellow springs, which look to be about twice the thickness of the stock springs. Bright purple dampers, which look very nice against the yellow springs.

The car has dropped around 25mm to 30mm, which to my eyes make the stance of the car much better. A few of my mates have commented on the lowered look, and they've all said it makes the car look a lot more "sporty".

How do they feel? One word, stiff. It's pretty difficult now to push the suspension down by bouncing on the corner of the car whilst it's parked up. The car feels so much more secure whilst being driven, body roll on corners has reduced massively. I now feel so much more confident whilst cornering, and I can feel the car really pushing the tyres hard. Roundabouts are now a complete giggle! The only downside to all this is that long motorway runs are now a bit more of a chore, especially poorly surfaced roads such as the M42. Speed strips coming up to roundabouts can be felt strongly through the chassis, and potholes and the like are now avoided if possible.

Even with the lowered springs, speed bumps are not a problem, though I do need to slow down more than before if I don't want to lose a filling.

Overall, they are a brilliant set of springs and dampers that have hugely improved the handling of the car at the expense of a small loss in comfort.

I'd recommend these units to anyone who does a lot of A and B road journeys, but I'd hesitate to recommend them to anyone who does a lot of motorway driving or if you need a comfortable car to carry the family.

Nice one, I'm also loving my Koni dampers at the moment also, the only plus side is having some adjustment on these units.

 

[Pooley]

How much did the kit cost in terms of the kit itself and the labour to fit it? Just wondering since suspension is the first major mod I want to get sorted.

The suspension kit, front and rear dampers plus 4 springs, cost £506 from europerformance.co.uk. I've just checked their website and they don't seem to be selling them anymore though. Might be worth a quick phone call as they have to order them from KW, so they might be able to still do them.

Garage charged me £90 to fit it all, which I thought was a pretty good price.

A few months use seems to have allowed the car to "settle" and I'm still more than pleased with the ride. I'd suggest going Koni though, tbh, as the adjustment is probably worth the extra cost. Knowing me though, I'd never bother to adjust them, so the KW's are more than enough.

I had to go to a meeting with work the other day and got a lift from a work mate who drives a 4.6L Range Rover. Talk about "chalk and cheese"! I got back into my car at the end of the day to drive home, and I couldn't believe how low my car was and how secure and firm the drive was. It really made me appreciate the Stilo and the KW suspension.

Go for the suspension upgrade as soon as you can muppet42, it transforms the car.