Acute Performance | CROSS Suspension Coilovers
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My Ride: 2011.5 Alpine White E90 M3 | Black Novillo Leather | Carbon Fiber Leather Trim | ZCP | ZP2 | M-DCT | Navigation | Moonroof | 6FL Mods: TMS 12.5mm spacers all around l Hawk HPS Brake Pads l OEM M3 Edition Grills l Paint Matched Side Gills l Key Hole D
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Originally Posted by myfootsmells' post='914917' date='Jun 17 2009, 02:48 PM
i just got mine put on and they are niiiiiiiiice. very little body roll, stiffer, but the ride is still comfortable. i was on the sport suspension.
yes they are better than KWs. KW just has better marketing and have the german origin.
michael
acute performance
yes they are better than KWs. KW just has better marketing and have the german origin.
michael
acute performance
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They are definitely stiffer than my sports suspension but in a good way. I drove back on a pretty beat up road and the ride was comfortable. I wasn't telling myself that I hated them and wished I could go back. The one thing I that LOVED was there was no bounciness driving over the roads. I've had coilovers where they bounce and totally scared the crap out of me at high speeds.
Here are pictures on the car thought it doesn't tell much of a story. I had them set it at the same height as my sports suspension since they'll eventually settle.
![](http://acuteperf.com/cross/cross_e60_4.jpg)
![](http://acuteperf.com/cross/cross_e60.jpg)
![](http://acuteperf.com/cross/cross_e60_2.jpg)
![](http://acuteperf.com/cross/cross_e60_3.jpg)
Once they settle and I get my new rims, I'll get them aligned.
Michael
Acute Performance
Here are pictures on the car thought it doesn't tell much of a story. I had them set it at the same height as my sports suspension since they'll eventually settle.
![](http://acuteperf.com/cross/cross_e60_4.jpg)
![](http://acuteperf.com/cross/cross_e60.jpg)
![](http://acuteperf.com/cross/cross_e60_2.jpg)
![](http://acuteperf.com/cross/cross_e60_3.jpg)
Once they settle and I get my new rims, I'll get them aligned.
Michael
Acute Performance
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^Michael, those wheels look better with the drop
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Originally Posted by GENEaTALS' post='914939' date='Jun 17 2009, 05:16 PM
^Michael, those wheels look better with the drop ![Thumbsup](https://5series.net/forums/images/smilies/imported/thumbsup.gif)
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yes but my next set of wheels will look EVEN BETTER!!
Originally Posted by mrfva' post='914946' date='Jun 17 2009, 03:23 PM
+1, keep the wheels but put 305s on the rear and roll your fenders ![Thumbsup](https://5series.net/forums/images/smilies/imported/thumbsup.gif)
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Originally Posted by myfootsmells' post='914917' date='Jun 17 2009, 02:48 PM
i just got mine put on and they are niiiiiiiiice. very little body roll, stiffer, but the ride is still comfortable. i was on the sport suspension.
yes they are better than KWs. KW just has better marketing and have the german origin.
michael
acute performance
yes they are better than KWs. KW just has better marketing and have the german origin.
michael
acute performance
a twin tube vs inverted monotube design offer the same application on the street
Unless you had the KW suspension, Its not right to say its better.
The problem is that ive never heard of anyone having problems or performance issues with KW, so if there was a flaw in the design that CROSS took care of then that would be an objective statement of how its better
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Originally Posted by myfootsmells' post='914949' date='Jun 17 2009, 05:25 PM
yes but my next set of wheels will look EVEN BETTER!!
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I have driven on KW, Yes they are decent suspension systems, but when you compare what both kits offer, the decision is very clear. They are both similarly priced, but Cross comes with topmounts, and camber plates in the front. You can see for yourself how much camber plates go for alone. The KW's are also twintube in design which makes the shock itself very inconsistent. If your into tracking you will get much more consistent lap times, and even for daily driving you can feel the consistency in the Cross setup.
But the biggest problem I had with the KW is that you have to use your stock topmounts on the coilovers. The stock topmounts consists of rubber dampeners that are made to make the drive more comfortable. This rubber is not dampened by the shock, instead it was dampened by the progressive springs from the stock suspension. Now because the coilovers have linnear springs, the ride ends up being really bouncy.
Oh, I forgot to mention that the CROSS comes with adjustable bottom brackets as well so adjusting height doesn't affect suspension travel.
One more thing, the KWv3 comes with an external reservoir to minimize heat which is a good feature; however CROSS doesn't need them because they naturally run cooler than the KW shocks. Essentially the ext. reservoir helps KW with their image of being high quality (don't get me wrong I'm not bashing them), but with the CROSS design the coilovers still run cooler w/o the need for them. There have been tests done to compare the temperature buildup between the cross and KWv3. It showed that after a few laps around the track even with KW's external reservoir(which is there to dissipate heat) the Cross suspension runs cooler simply because they are monotube.
Let me know if this doesn't make sense.
Michael
Acute Performance
But the biggest problem I had with the KW is that you have to use your stock topmounts on the coilovers. The stock topmounts consists of rubber dampeners that are made to make the drive more comfortable. This rubber is not dampened by the shock, instead it was dampened by the progressive springs from the stock suspension. Now because the coilovers have linnear springs, the ride ends up being really bouncy.
Oh, I forgot to mention that the CROSS comes with adjustable bottom brackets as well so adjusting height doesn't affect suspension travel.
One more thing, the KWv3 comes with an external reservoir to minimize heat which is a good feature; however CROSS doesn't need them because they naturally run cooler than the KW shocks. Essentially the ext. reservoir helps KW with their image of being high quality (don't get me wrong I'm not bashing them), but with the CROSS design the coilovers still run cooler w/o the need for them. There have been tests done to compare the temperature buildup between the cross and KWv3. It showed that after a few laps around the track even with KW's external reservoir(which is there to dissipate heat) the Cross suspension runs cooler simply because they are monotube.
Let me know if this doesn't make sense.
Michael
Acute Performance
Originally Posted by PraiseTheLowered' post='914951' date='Jun 17 2009, 03:26 PM
so tell us how they are better then KW?
a twin tube vs inverted monotube design offer the same application on the street
Unless you had the KW suspension, Its not right to say its better.
The problem is that ive never heard of anyone having problems or performance issues with KW, so if there was a flaw in the design that CROSS took care of then that would be an objective statement of how its better
a twin tube vs inverted monotube design offer the same application on the street
Unless you had the KW suspension, Its not right to say its better.
The problem is that ive never heard of anyone having problems or performance issues with KW, so if there was a flaw in the design that CROSS took care of then that would be an objective statement of how its better
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Originally Posted by myfootsmells' post='914974' date='Jun 17 2009, 03:53 PM
I have driven on KW, Yes they are decent suspension systems, but when you compare what both kits offer, the decision is very clear. They are both similarly priced, but Cross comes with topmounts, and camber plates in the front. You can see for yourself how much camber plates go for alone. The KW's are also twintube in design which makes the shock itself very inconsistent. If your into tracking you will get much more consistent lap times, and even for daily driving you can feel the consistency in the Cross setup.
But the biggest problem I had with the KW is that you have to use your stock topmounts on the coilovers. The stock topmounts consists of rubber dampeners that are made to make the drive more comfortable. This rubber is not dampened by the shock, instead it was dampened by the progressive springs from the stock suspension. Now because the coilovers have linnear springs, the ride ends up being really bouncy.
Oh, I forgot to mention that the CROSS comes with adjustable bottom brackets as well so adjusting height doesn't affect suspension travel.
One more thing, the KWv3 comes with an external reservoir to minimize heat which is a good feature; however CROSS doesn't need them because they naturally run cooler than the KW shocks. Essentially the ext. reservoir helps KW with their image of being high quality (don't get me wrong I'm not bashing them), but with the CROSS design the coilovers still run cooler w/o the need for them. There have been tests done to compare the temperature buildup between the cross and KWv3. It showed that after a few laps around the track even with KW's external reservoir(which is there to dissipate heat) the Cross suspension runs cooler simply because they are monotube.
Let me know if this doesn't make sense.
Michael
Acute Performance
But the biggest problem I had with the KW is that you have to use your stock topmounts on the coilovers. The stock topmounts consists of rubber dampeners that are made to make the drive more comfortable. This rubber is not dampened by the shock, instead it was dampened by the progressive springs from the stock suspension. Now because the coilovers have linnear springs, the ride ends up being really bouncy.
Oh, I forgot to mention that the CROSS comes with adjustable bottom brackets as well so adjusting height doesn't affect suspension travel.
One more thing, the KWv3 comes with an external reservoir to minimize heat which is a good feature; however CROSS doesn't need them because they naturally run cooler than the KW shocks. Essentially the ext. reservoir helps KW with their image of being high quality (don't get me wrong I'm not bashing them), but with the CROSS design the coilovers still run cooler w/o the need for them. There have been tests done to compare the temperature buildup between the cross and KWv3. It showed that after a few laps around the track even with KW's external reservoir(which is there to dissipate heat) the Cross suspension runs cooler simply because they are monotube.
Let me know if this doesn't make sense.
Michael
Acute Performance
can you describe what you mean by "consistency" with a bit more detail?
As far as ride bounce goes, ive never had an issue with that, but i have all my settings set to 0.
You are spot on with the expense of camber plates though so thats a good value in itself