AST vs KWv2

[Nafoff]

interesting thread as i am also looking at the 3 mentioned in here, KW, Bilstein and AST

 

[Kam.]

I think you (meaning people in business) need to consider the bigger picture when dealing with customers. A little sale now could lead to a much bigger deal..... sorry for rant

on the money there. Even just giving 5 minutes of time to give some advice may hopefully lead to a sale down the road.

 

[Tom@JMS]

As Ian suggests; just pick up the phone and talk to Curtis directly:

01684 275000

 

[964]

As Ian suggests; just pick up the phone and talk to Curtis directly:

01684 275000

Im going to give my business to KW.

 

[Inferno]

It's a shame that Curtis does himself no favours when it comes to e-mail responces. Having dealt with him on more than a few occasions it would be fair to say that he's a very friendly and knowledgeable guy, and he can get things done very quickly when he needs to.

I found the AST kit to be of very high quality and I'd go back there again in the future. Unfortunately in this day and age where everyone wants something now there will be a significant number of people who aren't happy with responce times and will purchase elsewhere, even if you end up with a compromise as a result.

 

[ForceIndia]

I'm sorry but to say kw, bilstein, h&r are a compromise is ridiculous.

 

[Alex_X93]

kw seem to be the way to roll.

 

[Inferno]

I'm sorry but to say kw, bilstein, h&r are a compromise is ridiculous.

Any suspension set up is a compromise. In my opinion it's easier to get a set up taylored to what an individual wants from AST than from any of the others you've just mentioned - it all depends on whether you're willing or able to spend the time and money.

 

[ForceIndia]

Any suspension set up is a compromise. In my opinion it's easier to get a set up taylored to what an individual wants from AST than from any of the others you've just mentioned - it all depends on whether you're willing or able to spend the time and money.

How? I'm sure if you know exactly what spring/damper rates you want, it's easy. If you don't you can spend hundreds extra, as well as time chasing a setup. Or you could go to companies with much higher r&d.

If you want something fully custom, kw etc can also do that. But at higher quality. Seized adjusters and snapped collars with approx 6 months use is not on, when the product is pricier in the 1st place!

 

[Kam.]

I'm sorry but to say kw, bilstein, h&r are a compromise is ridiculous.

i dont think anyone has said that. They are very capable but more designed for road. Thats not a bad thing and does not mean that they are not very good when taken out on track, but if I had a dedicated track car i'd be looking at something more custom as out the box they are too soft if using anything more than road tyres.

 

[Tom@JMS]

Getting carried away gents.

Warren comparing RD budgets is simply speculation as you simply don't know the numbers.

I'll agree with you on the adjuster collars, I had one fail: but only due to neglect by a previous owner that was adjusted on unclean threads and was gripped incorrectly - but still shouldn't happen.

 

[Fred@BTM]

i dont think anyone has said that. They are very capable but more designed for road. Thats not a bad thing and does not mean that they are not very good when taken out on track, but if I had a dedicated track car i'd be looking at something more custom as out the box they are too soft if using anything more than road tyres.

have you been to the Bilstein test facility at the ring? Bilstein, H&R and KW are not too soft (on the clios anyway)

 

[Nafoff]

keep an eye out for Ohlins also guys, not hust yet but its in the pipeline in the future,
however if you want you can just build these up custom pretty much...depends how much dollar you have again.

 

[Kam.]

have you been to the Bilstein test facility at the ring? Bilstein, H&R and KW are not too soft (on the clios anyway)

maybe its the way i drive:rasp: but i've got wheel scrubbage on all cars i've driven with Bilstein and KW when running cut slicks. There's obviously a few factors at play but i'd still recommend the KW over the AST for the OP in this situation

 

[-J-]

I have run KW V2's for the past year and a half (They came off BenP's old TB'ed PH1) and I have been very happy with them for day to day driving and on Track and would not hesitate in replacing them with another set if needed.

I do suffer some scrubbing when conering hard, but i do have the car set quite low on the front so thats to be expected.

I run them with the AST Adjustable top mounts and as a package they are spot on.

 

[p@blo]

I went onto the AST site filled out a form with an idea of what I wanted and what the plan for my car was but heard nothing, you would think that someone who is trying to grow a business through a distribution model would forward the email on to one of his dealers like you.

I have KW Clubsports now for my other project but I do need to buy something for the Clio. KW have said they may want to develop a KWv3 kit for my car but nothing firm yet.

I have also referred 4 suspension customers to a specialist that I use in the last 6 month and I think you (meaning people in business) need to consider the bigger picture when dealing with customers. A little sale now could lead to a much bigger deal..... sorry for rant

I hear this. Granted Curtis is a really nice guy & yes he is from experience nearly always willing/seemingly available to deal with enquiries over the phone. However, when requesting additional info that cant be relayed over a phone call, its a bit disappointing when emails & subsequent web proforma enquiries receive no reply.

Also disappointing when requesting servicing info to be told that no such documentation exists. Granted Tom@jms did acknowledge that there was an assembly manual, but advised he was unfortunately unable to provide me with a copy.

Having since dealt with an AST rep outside of the UK, they very helpfully supplied it within a matter of hours. Its a really handy document & contains tooling info, written build procedure & exploded diagrams covering 4000/Sportline1&2 & 5000 series dampers.

 

[shiyan]

I've got the KW V2 and have been very happy, but my personal experience with them on the 'Ring for the past 2 years is that for road tires they're great but for semi slicks I'd want slightly stiffer springs. Still have a lot of damping adjustment left to go.