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Not so. KW was adjustable springs, the OEM shocks remain in use. A normal coilover is a combined spring and shock system. The KW H.A.S (Height Adjustable Springs) allow you to dial in exactly the drop you want for each corner.
Car already has ability to adjust dampening based on mode (sport vs. normal) and you can turn this off if you desire inside the settings if you prefer normal mode, even when in sport.
To clarify, by "sport" I presume you mean dynamic mode, not just knocking the shifter to the left (S vs D).
Nope. First, terrible analogy, and you should NOT run any pulley upgrade without a tune. But I digress. How exactly do you plan to fine tune compression/rebound rates on the stock dampers? They have two modes from the factory.
For the rest, I have H&R springs and they work great with the stock damping, no oscillation, good body control, inproved feedback through the chassis and steering. Oh and they look great. Scraping - not terrible, you have to be careful with sudden grade increases like a steep driveway or some intersections but not that big of a deal.
Who said anything about compression and rebound rates? Suspension tuning isn’t simply the shock absorber and springs…
And as far as the analogy, you SHOULD get a tune, but you don’t NEED to. That was my point. One could probably argue that during spirited driving or tracking, changing the upper pulley and not tuning has less of an effect than dropping a car too low and not making adjustments.
With the pulley and no tune, all that will happen is you’ll get the initial increase in boost and then the rest will essentially bleed off.
Lowering your car too much can affect sudden maneuvering
What do you mean by getting the suspension tuned? I didn’t know you could tune a suspension without having coil overs. Did you mean getting an alignment done? I plan on getting an alignment regardless of what lowering springs I end up with.
Changing camber, toe, sway bars, bushings etc.
When you lower the car too much it can effect the dsc management during quick/sudden maneuvers. Your car is awd. It’d be ideal to make adjustments to try to counteract this, where possible.
Side note, It’s funny how mostly those with H&R springs are up in arms lol. For spirited driving and tracking, where sudden movements are inevitable, H&R springs are no better than VAP, and very well might be worse (again, given the amount it lowers the vehicle)
Unfortunately, I don’t think The KW coilivers are not an option for Ftype R AWD. VAP was working on a set, and believe have a kit made with steel. Not sure if it would fit the F Type R though
But KW H.A.S are (is) compatible. So there is a proven third option for springs, with advantages over VAP and H&R.
Yeah, I use KW HAS on my F type R. The recommended max doesn’t lower it that much. However it can go significantly lower than advertised, but youd run into similar issues as mentioned above.
Also there other options for springs like Mina gallery
Look at Eibachs, I had the car lowered on 20" now on 21", happy with height and ride, had 15mm spacers all round with the 20s but custom fitment with new wheels
When you lower the car too much it can effect the dsc management during quick/sudden maneuvers. Your car is awd. It’d be ideal to make adjustments to try to counteract this, where possible.
Side note, It’s funny how mostly those with H&R springs are up in arms lol. For spirited driving and tracking, where sudden movements are inevitable, H&R springs are no better than VAP, and very well might be worse (again, given the amount it lowers the vehicle)
Unfortunately, I don’t think The KW coilivers are not an option for Ftype R AWD. VAP was working on a set, and believe have a kit made with steel. Not sure if it would fit the F Type R though
Well nobody is really up in arms, but just reading your reply gives the impression you really don't know what you're talking about. Sorry. You are certainly right that alignment is a good idea after lowering (think i mentioned that before but maybe not), but you don't need to change your bushings, sways, etc. with these lowering springs. You certainly CAN do all that, but without a good plan you're probably going to make your handling worse. Spend some more time googling on what each one of those things do instead of just regurgitating.
Well nobody is really up in arms, but just reading your reply gives the impression you really don't know what you're talking about. Sorry. You are certainly right that alignment is a good idea after lowering (think i mentioned that before but maybe not), but you don't need to change your bushings, sways, etc. with these lowering springs. You certainly CAN do all that, but without a good plan you're probably going to make your handling worse. Spend some more time googling on what each one of those things do instead of just regurgitating.
Once again we run into semantics, at least this time your wording is a little better
I never said NEED. You likely read the post, got defensive because you bought those springs, and then misinterpreted what was typed.
Anyway, let’s modify your sentence: lowering your car excessively without a good plan is probably going to make your handling worse ….
Our cars have ride height sensors for a reason.
OP was concerned with scraping, handling, and ride quality DIFFERENCES. Let’s be blunt. Respectively, H&R springs will scrape more, cause more frequent traction/stability control intervention (read: handle worse), and likely be less comfortable than VAP.
What makes threads like this difficult is often times people default to recommending what they have, even if they bought the cheapest, poorly spec’d item for an application. I don’t have H&R nor VAP springs, and therefore don’t care to consciously/subconsciously hype a product for bias, self satisfaction, or ego issues. Just sharing information from research done prior to selecting springs, and adjustments made after getting springs. Take it with a grain of salt, but don’t ignore common sense.
When you ask for differences and someone only speaks on one product instead of addressing both products, that should be a little red flag. Kid even had the nerve to say l scraping isn’t terrible lol. Let’s be clear- the H&R springs are lower and more likely to scrape.
Once again we run into semantics, at least this time your wording is a little better
I never said NEED. You likely read the post, got defensive because you bought those springs, and then misinterpreted what was typed.
Anyway, let’s modify your sentence: lowering your car excessively without a good plan is probably going to make your handling worse ….
Our cars have ride height sensors for a reason.
OP was concerned with scraping, handling, and ride quality DIFFERENCES. Let’s be blunt. Respectively, H&R springs will scrape more, cause more frequent traction/stability control intervention (read: handle worse), and likely be less comfortable than VAP.
What makes threads like this difficult is often times people default to recommending what they have, even if they bought the cheapest, poorly spec’d item for an application. I don’t have H&R nor VAP springs, and therefore don’t care to consciously/subconsciously hype a product for bias, self satisfaction, or ego issues. Just sharing information from research done prior to selecting springs, and adjustments made after getting springs. Take it with a grain of salt, but don’t ignore common sense.
When you ask for differences and someone only speaks on one product instead of addressing both products, that should be a little red flag. Kid even had the nerve to say l scraping isn’t terrible lol. Let’s be clear- the H&R springs are lower and more likely to scrape.
Dissertation complete 😂
Wow :facepalm:
Anyways, to everyone else other than Obi, VAP and H&R springs are both great - I just happened to go with H&R. I think any of the lowering spring offerings for our cars work pretty well, subtle differences between them. None are going to make you run off the road or knock your teeth out. If you're thinking about it, pull the trigger, it's a great mod.
I'll dig up some before/after pics shortly, sorry for the delay, been a super busy week.
Anyways, to everyone else other than Obi, VAP and H&R springs are both great - I just happened to go with H&R. I think any of the lowering spring offerings for our cars work pretty well, subtle differences between them. None are going to make you run off the road or knock your teeth out. If you're thinking about it, pull the trigger, it's a great mod.
I'll dig up some before/after pics shortly, sorry for the delay, been a super busy week.
I have Eibach lowering springs which aren't as aggressive as the H&R's, but I've owned a G35 on coilovers that would scrape speed bumps so I am used to low cars.
All I have to say is don't worry about the ride height, even with the Eibachs the F-Type is not what I would consider a very low car. The H&R's are perhaps half an inch lower max which won't be what causes you to scrape.
I tried both VAP and KW HAS on my. 2023. The KWs looked better on the newer models because of the slight rake the newer models have. I still have the VAPs for an AWD. I had them on for 2 weeks, so they are for sale.
Had my H&R springs installed today [$695. for install and alignment, a major bargain from a great shop in SoCal] and it made an amazing difference aesthetically. I believe the improvement is along the lines of what the VAP ECU tune did power-wise. I know it's only 1.2 inches but it really makes a huge difference.
I am going to wait until I drive the car at least 100 miles before I have it re-aligned [as is recommended to allow for settling], but the the car seems to handle super flat and [of course] the ride is firmer and similar to other cars I've had lowered. You do have to be more careful and watch out for driveways, curbs, and the like, but there's always a trade-off. If you want to make a gorgeous car even better looking, go for it!
Here's some direct feedback on our Tapered Coil springs from a customer in the UK:
All,
I'd like to provide some feedback on your Velocity AP tapered wire lowering springs for the F-Type, because I feel your website could make more of the benefits they confer to the F -Type in particular.
My one significant criticism of the F-Type (mine is a V6S) echoes a number of road testers; it has an uncomfortably stiff suspension, in both Default and Dynamic modes. Particularly at lower speeds, it crashes over pot holes, broken and washboard surfaces and if the seat back is reclined to any degree, the experience can be like being repeatedly punched in the back - on some roads it's highly uncomfortable.
The Velocity AP website does say that the tapered wire progressive rate design permits more progressive absorption of bumps, but it also says the springs provide “…a substantial increase in spring rate (…) with no loss of ride comfort.”
The impression I got from this was that the springs would possibly go some way to addressing the F-Type’s suspension over-stiffness whilst at worst being no harder than standard.
Now I have them fitted, I’d like to confirm unequivocally that they do indeed make a noticeable difference to the car; it retains a stiff ride but I can now make progress over broken and pot-holed country roads at any speed with the suspension absorbing the irregularities and the car flowing over them rather than crashing into them and pummelling the driver. In both Default and Dynamic modes, the car is now as comfortable as my previous XK. Characteristic F-Type steering precision is retained, and stability in high speed corners seems improved.
I’m an extremely happy customer and I think you should make more of the fact that these springs noticeably improve the F-Type’s main dynamic flaw.
My 2c. I have experience in this matter by first trying the VAP springs, then the H&R Springs, then I installed the KW Variant 3 in my RWD XE 35t. (Tuned to 553HP on Ethanol. I paid $42K for the car new, lol., a bargain considering I'm less than 40HP away from the worlds fastest sedan, the P8 XE. https://www.hotcars.com/fastest-seda...e-nurburgring/ )
Both lowering sets helped with ride height and therefore reduces roll. The VAP's feel a little softer, mine were a Pre-production set from Stuart so they were raised a little for production after my test, and I found testers the lowest.
The Tapered Spring design of the VAP's do give a smoother ride, but the tradeoff is a little disconnection from the road. When compressed they stiffen right up and do their job.
I've used H&R's for decades, always liked 'em. I replaced the VAP's with H&R's, and as expected the ride stiffened up some but was still quite nice. The car rode a little higher, but I was still getting scrapes on driveways and other big humps. I preferred the more connected feel of the stiffer H&R's personally, it is a matter of taste I think.
I should have skipped all that shix and gone straight to the KW Variant 3's, but for the first couple years there were no coilovers made for our cars. I had the coilovers installed by the guys who set up weekend racers for COTA, (soulsped.com) and they really know what they are doing, the drive feel is Angelic.
The KW variant 3's achieved the impossible for me. They raised the car a little over the H&R's so I don't drag anymore, And my cornering improved, even though I have a higher center of gravity. I feel more connected and in control than ever, and the clincher is the Wife says this is the most comfortable feel of Stock vs VAP vs H&R vs KW. Now we know why they cost an arm and a leg, but it is Sooooooooooo worth it, believe me! :-)
I may swap my KW adjustable height springs to the KW variant 3s. The KW adjustables are super firm, and the 3’s may offer a slightly more comfortable ride. I had SoulSpeed Performance in Austin do my work too. Great folks. Like you, I tried the VAPs and while I was happy with the ride, I wanted a more level gap on all 4 wheels. I think the newer model FType have more of. Rake to the stance, so when I put the VAPs on, the rake was still there.
I may swap my KW adjustable height springs to the KW variant 3s. The KW adjustables are super firm, and the 3’s may offer a slightly more comfortable ride. I had SoulSpeed Performance in Austin do my work too. Great folks. Like you, I tried the VAPs and while I was happy with the ride, I wanted a more level gap on all 4 wheels. I think the newer model FType have more of. Rake to the stance, so when I put the VAPs on, the rake was still there.
Yes, the KW Variant 3's are fully adjustable. They were available for RWD only, which is how I specified my build from Jaguar so my car could drift. If you see a black 2017 XE in Austin, it's probably me. I've yet to see another black XE in town.
Soulspeed rules, been doing business with Colin for three decades.
Which F-type did you get? AWD/RWD? 6 or 8 cyl? Are you aware of all the tunes available for your car?
