Anyone with KW V3 struts/shocks?

[Bill Verburg]

I have finally made some progress,
spoke w/ Bilstein, they can't divulge b6 specs because it's Porsche proprietary property

but they were willing to share b8 inserts specs

I need to follow up as there may be a typo or slip of the typist(wink, wink)
The gave me the insert specs for

Bilstein b8 cartridge #34-050507
collapsed length 14.33 in
extended length 21.36 in

Bilstein b8 cartridge #34-001134
collapsed length 17.09 in
extended length 24.67 in

I think that you can see why there may have been a slip up here

anyone w/ b6 inserts laying around care to measure?

would love the compressive force too

[Bill Verburg]

From this pic it looks like the MC is ~3" shorter that the b6 you removed, about the same as a b8 insert would shorten the strut


If so, that changes the raised spindle calculation, because it places the stock spindle and steering in the same place on a 3" lowered 911 as the stock b6 would place them at stock ride height.

i.e. raised spindle isn't necessary

the relation goes like this

shorten the strut 1" is the same as raising the spindle and steering 1'

[Glenfield]

Bill, I’m genuinely a bit worried about that. Put it all back together today for most part once I can sort out spring plate covers. The MCS sits noticeably higher at droop.

I had to play around with the front ride height enough to relieve tension on A arm so I could jack shock into strut housing. Otherwise I’d measure TC to wheel hub for a proper A v B.

[Bill Verburg]

Originally Posted by Glenfield

Bill, I’m genuinely a bit worried about that. Put it all back together today for most part once I can sort out spring plate covers. The MCS sits noticeably higher at droop.

I had to play around with the front ride height enough to relieve tension on A arm so I could jack shock into strut housing. Otherwise I’d measure TC to wheel hub for a proper A v B.

This shock length thing is something that i've been looking at for the past few years, There's been very little discussion or been there done that advice.

It also explains something that I've known but hadn't thought about wrt to my 993 track car and a few others that I'm very familiar w/. There are all pretty hardcore very low track cars w/ in my case Bilstein Cup shocks and others w/ Moton shocks, all of these shocks are ~ 3" shorter than the street Bilstein/Monroe, Boge shocks. We all have 993 RS wheel carriers or aftermarket equivalents that raise spindle height.

All of these cars exhibiting outstanding steering and handling due to the combination of raised spindle, which I knew about, and shorter shocks, which I hadn't really considered.

This is eye opening to me.

[nickelplated5s]

I've mentioned short throw shocks to you before Bill as I've been running them on a SWB for years. No raised spindles but bump kit. Some poly and ER rubber in the front. Perhaps PeteK will chime in as a 'neutral' as he's driven it. Sadly my MFI pump is still away so I can't comment on the new rear bushings. The V2's did make a difference over the old Bil's I had. Car is low and handles about as flat as you could ask. Enough so that I can tell the difference with the fuel load.

[Bill Verburg]

Originally Posted by nickelplated5s

I've mentioned short throw shocks to you before Bill as I've been running them on a SWB for years. No raised spindles but bump kit. Some poly and ER rubber in the front. Perhaps PeteK will chime in as a 'neutral' as he's driven it. Sadly my MFI pump is still away so I can't comment on the new rear bushings. The V2's did make a difference over the old Bil's I had. Car is low and handles about as flat as you could ask. Enough so that I can tell the difference with the fuel load.

so what is the extended length of your struts or inserts?

[nickelplated5s]

That you will have to wait for until the motor is back in. I can tell you off the top of my head the front is 22" from ground to fender lip. Inserts. There is a trick for that I've mentioned in the past.

[PeteKz]

Originally Posted by nickelplated5s

I've mentioned short throw shocks to you before Bill as I've been running them on a SWB for years. No raised spindles but bump kit. Some poly and ER rubber in the front. Perhaps PeteK will chime in as a 'neutral' as he's driven it. Sadly my MFI pump is still away so I can't comment on the new rear bushings. The V2's did make a difference over the old Bil's I had. Car is low and handles about as flat as you could ask. Enough so that I can tell the difference with the fuel load.

I've been busy with other projects the past few days, so just getting to this thread. Yes, his car does stay very flat in corners, however, it's also very stiff over bumps. It also sits very low, as 22" at the front fenders would suggest. The Vons shocks should ameliorate the street stiffness somewhat, but we won't know until he gets his engine back into the car and we can drive it. Once the car is back together, we can figure out how much travel the shocks have before hitting the bump stops.

[DennisMenace]

Hi everyone, I am currently installing my KW V3s. Today I faced the issue that the wedge bolt is not going in completely / sitting flush. To eliminate any potential issues from the bolt itself, I tried fitting the original bolt that sat flush before in the BOGE struts. The wedge pin is sticking out about 2-3 mm in the KW V3s. Did anyone face similar issues on the KW V3?

[Glenfield]

Did you purchase a new wedge bolt or did you re-use? Long time ago, there was a batch of new wedge pins that sat proud. I can't recall if they were suitable or deemed bad. You'd have to search to find all of the threads on that.

What's the other side look like? Should be enough threads visible beyond the screw.

[Jonny042]

Originally Posted by Glenfield

Will see what I can cobble together with some crappy bathroom scales tomorrow, Bill.

MCS were very assured and that was reassuring. The strut height however was a surprise but may have been assumed knowledge (apparently MCS etc always shorter). Interesting tid bit … the Tuthill 911K uses 1WNR with Richard’s special valving.

Re: bump steer kit. Am I crazy for thinking I can run that in single sheer. I’ve read all the threads and folks using the Rebel or Tarrett kits have satisfied themselves that it’s OK.

I'm a little late to this particular party, but wow these MCS struts look great. Knowing that they have shorter strut bodies for greater bump travel is fantastic. I thinknoticed some concern about giving up droop travel? Not a worry IMO. A lowered 911 has droop travel for days.

Same goes for the bump steer spacers. Single shear is FINE.

What do the rear MCS shocks look like compared to stock?

[Glenfield]

Ah sorry Jonny, I didn’t measure those regrettably. They're certainly shorter than the bilsteins, but can’t put a precise # on it.

[DennisMenace]

Originally Posted by Glenfield

Did you purchase a new wedge bolt or did you re-use? Long time ago, there was a batch of new wedge pins that sat proud. I can't recall if they were suitable or deemed bad. You'd have to search to find all of the threads on that.

What's the other side look like? Should be enough threads visible beyond the screw.

Hi! I re-used the old original bolt to test the figment. The same bolt fit flush in the BOGE struts. This is how it looks on the other side. Seems very tight..

[Glenfield]

For such a critical part, would be reluctant to give the the all clear. Others with more experience will hopefully opine but I’d want to have more thread on the other side of that nut.

Presume you’ve done this but not difficult to support A arm with a jack to take weight off the pin and then try to hammer in some more. If you have the right sized punch, you can give it a fair whack.

Grady Clay recommended lubing the wedge pin before reinstalling. Not sure if you did that or not.

[shoooo32]

I've installed a few sets of these and it didn't matter new vs old pin - they were just barely engaging the locker. I removed the coating from both sides to try and gain a little more engagement.

[DennisMenace]

Thanks for your feedback. Much appreciated. I did all of the steps described: supported a arm, greased the bolt, etc. The only thing I have not done is trying to remove some coating.

@Shoooo32: With “a few sets of these“ - do you mean KW V3s? How did you remove the coating? Do you refer to the coating inside the hole in the strut for the bolt?

[shoooo32]

I have the V3s on my targa and hung a set on a client car. I didn't remove the coating from inside - just on the face. I used a spotface brush:

https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/00126763?cid=ppc-google-&mkwid=|dc&pcrid=&rd=k&product_id=00126763&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19817125408&gbraid=0AAAAADPhDjFvY2N6RV7j8-WPkRefZh_il&gclid=Cj0KCQjw267GBhCSARIsAOjVJ4GsoB7UBgLQ1DZV2DOV yFnvLCtFL3nShQLzMBrLWOEkRJFeisTWX18aAvaZEALw_wcB