KW V3 Install with photos

[Aronis]

KW V3 Installation: Front Drivers Side....

Two Top Bolts (remove rubber grommets) Drivers side has Brake Line is in the way. 13 mm socket.

11053

Top Control Arms - Bentley says "never use screw driver or chisel", but mine was so beat up that I know someone used a chisel. And to think they have the right special tools. 16 mm wrench

11055

Press out (exact right tool would be great, otherwise make due)

11056

Track Control - clip

11057

Bottom Control Arm (Audi has special tool, longer than mine, DAM) 18 mm socket, there is a mount plate for the bottom control arm which can be loosened (13mm and 18mm), this gives some more play.

Disconnect the two mounts for the torsion bar, this makes getting the strut out and back in MUCH easier. Too bad I only figured this out after getting the old strut out, I used a strut compressor to shorten the strut. But letting the Torsion bar down is MUCH easier.

11058

THE CHECK VALVE IS RIGHT ON THE STRUT. I took a careful look at the fittings and the spot where KW tells you to place the plug IS NOT A CHECK VALVE. Once you unscrew the bottom bolt on the fitting which enters the bottom of the strut, some fluid drains form the strut but not from the rest of the system. I left this tubing in place pending draining the rest of the system once the two fronts are in place. Then you lossen the nut on top and the fitting at the plug spot comes out of the bracket. THEN you can put a wrench on it more easily (20 mm) to disconnect the fitting. I could not be bothered removing all the lines and the central valves, I'll plug as shown by KW.

New Strut In

Forgot to photo the old strut and the mount. To get the old strut apart I used an alen wrench and an 18 mm spark plug socket which has a nut on top so you can use a wrench on it and still put the alen wrench down the sock to hold the strut shaft.

Reassembling the new strut was a bit difference, used a 19 mm deep regular socket and turned it with a vise grip. The inner staft is held with a 9mm sock on an extension which fit down the middle of the 19 mm socket. Torque? Not sure how to do that, just bottommed out the nut.

11059

Bottom Link In place, I will torque that once the other side is done and I have the torsion bar back in place so I can drive up on a set of ramps. 19 mm socket and wrench

11060

11061

Torque it up

11062

Hang caliper, don't want do pull on the brake line

11063

[Aronis]

One More Photo..

11064

Yes, I will remove that tubing at some point.

Mike

[Aronis]

Assembling the new strut was actually much easier than taking the Audi strut apart. The coil compresses with just body weight, due to that short secondary coil. I must say the KW coil is much smaller than the stock coil. I thought the car would be much stiffer (certainly stiffer to the quick push) but not as stiff as I thought. Oh well, I'll have to wait for the drive.

[speedtrapped]

Nice write up

[snoopra]

Nice write up, what strut settings did you settle on using?

[Aronis]

I used the recommended settings via KW.

[MaxRS6]

Nice pics and writup- Thanks for the effort and welcome to the KW club!

[Aronis]

I should have bought these sooner...

Ordered...

To remove nut from top of rear strut.

11065

Special tool to press out ball joint.

11066

If there was a special tool for the top two links I would have ordered that too.

[hahnmgh63]

I could have sent you them for the price of shipping. The strut tool is fairly common, usually available at Schuck's, Kragens, Autozone. The ball joint tool from a quality manufacturer, either Snap-on or Germany, Hazet...) is a must.

[Aronis]

When I was fishing for an 18 mm socket with a nut head (aka a spark plug socket), Autozone did not have such an animal. I told them exactly what I was looking for and for what, but no dice. Sears had an 18mm spark plug socket which worked perfectly.

Yes that ball joint tool will be very helpful. As in the photo I could get one of the smaller tools on ONE of the upper link fittings, but the other required a c-clamp with a small 4mm socket as a pusher LOL. worked great. The prior mechanics have been wedging the space in the stearing arm, a no-no for sure. I'm looking forward to having the right tool for the ball joint. The other side will be much easier as I have learned how! Taking down the mounts for the torsion bar is KEY. Draining the shock first will also save much time as I screwed around with the fitting I was supposted to cap. Thank God I did not open that fitting because the full pressure of the DRC leftover would have sprayed out! Perhaps after I drain the system I will be able to look inside that fitting to figure out if there is a check valve somehow in side there but I doubt it.

Mike

[Aronis]

Passenger side 50% done. Just need the T40010.

One bolt on top is not a straight shot due to a rigid line right about it. A/C tubing I think. I need a 1/4 offset

Mike

[Aronis]

Boy that T40010 is just great! I finished the passenger side in a total of about 2 1/2 hours (between two nights).

I drove it after torquing the lower bolts for the strut. No problems with stearing that I can tell at least at low speed on my bumpy road. No noises, lock to lock turning.

Front may be too low, I bottomed out coming in my driveway (was going very slow since I suspected that my happen). It may be because the rear is still sitting much higher than the front.

The front is low enough that I could not drive up on my low profile ramps LOL. I'll see if when the rear is done I will be able to drive on the ramps, otherwise I'll get some 2x10's to put the ramps on so I can drive up onto the 2x10's first and get enough clearance.

Yes, it is drivable with the rear undone. Yes it is loose and bouncy, just like the day I drove it into the Audi Dealership four years ago when the DRC first failed. I was driving it like that on the highway...not fun... but since I have a rental this week that is an HHR, the bouncing RS6 still handles better than that 1/2 truck 1/2 car thing.

Mike

[V8weight]

Good work Mike! What are your "B" measurements in the front right now? Keep in mind they'll settle around another 1/4" after few weeks.

[Aronis]

I set them to 305 mm in front and 195 mm in the rear. I may have to raise the front, but need to wait until the rear is done. I hope the rear goes quicker than the front. I'm disconnecting the struts at the check valve in the strut, so once I'm done and the car is driveable I'll do the messy deed of emptying the DRC and capping the ends.

I am going to get the car corner balanced and aligned at some point.

[Brav]

I started wit those measurements too. I found the rear was too high. Either that or I measured poorly..

[LIRS6]

Nice work. I did the faux-pas screwdriver trick. Did u replace all bolts/self-tightening nuts with new as suggested by Bentley? Didn't appear so, just curious

[Aronis]

Drivers side no. I used all old hardware. Had time to start project but the parts did not arrive soon enough.

Passenger side new nuts, new strut mount and new spring seat.

I plan on swapping out the old nuts on the drivers side.

Rear passenger side done tonight. New strut mount, old bolts. Took me 3 hours.

Rear looks too high as set. I may have to drop it a 1/8 inch or so.

Tomorrow I'll get the last one done. Test drive, then tackle removing the DRC tubing and capping the lines.

I plan on draining it from the rear as the tubing is longer and I think I can capture more of the fluid.

Mike

[Aronis]

Done!

Drives very nicely! Steering is unaffected. I'll watch for uneven wear.

Need to drop rear height a bit. Need to drain DRC and cap.

[MaxRS6]

Congrats on doing it yourself! Enjoy it

[Aronis]

DRC tubes front and back removed and lines capped.

Raised front two turns (5 turns is about a centimeter)

Not a DROP of fluid came out. Only about a half cup each time I disconnected a strut. Never under pressure!!

I wish I did one click firmer. No not going back I'm in a lot of pain!! LOL. Tylenol and Aleve.

Did not put the under engine cover back on. Too tired!!

[hahnmgh63]

What you mean by tubes removed and lines capped? Did you leave the hard lines (Brake line type metal iines going front to rear)? I would just remove them all. At this point in the cars age nobody will ever be replacing the DRC after having KW V3's installed.

[Aronis]

it's not worth the bother to remove the central valves. I looked at the bolts used to hold them in and they are in a tough position. I plan on putting in Hotchkis sway bars this summer and when I have the rear sway bar out and the mufflers dropped I'll be better able to get a wrench on those and remove them then.

Mike

[Aronis]

Quick notes on REAR struts. Sorry I did not take any photos!

The rear strut is easier to replace. The top two mounts bolts are 13 mm and come out easily. You can see the top half of the bolt by cleaning the dirt off the top part of the strut mount. Spray with penetrating oil.

The rear torsion bar mounting bracket must be removed (again 13 mm nuts x 2) and then the link to the lower control arm, 16 mm if I recall correctly. This actually came out very easily, rotate the control arm link toward the rear a little and the bolt came out easily.

The bolt holding the strut to the lower control arm is a 19 mm nut and bolts and is threaded all the way, so you can actually just back that bolt out with the socket wrench.

The bolt holding the top arm is also 19mm nut and bolt, also threaded all the way and backs out easily.

The bearing housing swings out of the way nicely.

I saw no need to remove the rear caliper or rotor.

Pry the lower control arm down a bit (a second person would have been VERY nice at this point, but oh well, big hands help here!)

With the strut and spring out, next remove the nut from the piston shaft. I bought the VAG special tool. It's an 17 mm deep socket and a second "special head" socket which fits inside the first, so you can have two wrenches working together.

(The Front was a simple 8mm socket, so I used an 18 mm "sparkplug" socket I got at sears (yes was in stock LOL) and the 8 mm socket to remove the fronts.)

On the first side I did (rear) I compressed the spring before removing the top nut since I was not sure how compressed it was, but on the second side I did not, and it was not compressed at all!

With the nut off, remove the old strut mount, and then remove the boot from the strut mount along with the strut dust cover and the top rubber bumper. I used new strut mounts. Assemble the new KW with the other parts.

Install...

I held the upper strut mount in place with a c-clamp (at an angle) while wrestling with the lower control arm, to get the lower end of the strut into place.

Reassembly was easy. Just torque to specifications.


I finished Saturday morning and did a quick test drive. All was fine, I did not push things at that point, but I thought the front was still too low.

Saturday night I tackled the DRC tubing and found no more liquid in that system! D'ooh.

I raised the front about three turns (5 turns = 1 cm).

I have been pushing it more this past week, and the handling is GREAT (even with my nearly bauld snow tires, I got four snow seasons out of them, not too bad). I have had it up to 100 and no pulling, no noises, no groans or creaks. Highway expansion joints produce a quick thump, no rebound.

I wish I did this replacement at 32,802 miles in January of 2006 when I first learned of the friggen DRC failure!

Mike

[MaxRS6]

^^ Congrats- Nice writeup and thanks for sharing!

Better late than nvr..;0

[melsas]

Very impressive that you did this yourself!!

[Aronis]

Thanks. It's all about the "special" tools.

[Aronis]

Summer Tires are on...

Wow!

Dump your DRC....

That's all.

Mike

[micdee]

Mike,

Do you have the hotchkiss ARB installed or are you moving around with the OEM's?

Oh and of course very well done; the actual replacement and write up :0:

[Aronis]

Wanted to drive with summer tires for a while before adding
The Hotchkiss sway bars.

[DHall1]

Nice job.

Pics of finished product?


Done!

Drives very nicely! Steering is unaffected. I'll watch for uneven wear.

Need to drop rear height a bit. Need to drain DRC and cap.

[Aronis]

I'll need to photograph from the same angle, but here's a quick Iphone Photo of after. The before photo was with a better camera.

Before

11137

After

11136

[Aronis]

(PS, don't tell Dr. Brennan I parked in his spot! LOL...)

[ben916]

I'll need to photograph from the same angle, but here's a quick Iphone Photo of after. The before photo was with a better camera.

Before

11137

After

11136

Much better

[Aronis]

With the summer tires on it's quite nice.

No tire rub on bad bumps as with my snows (the snows are a bit wider? taller? offset off a bit, not sure).

The handling is great. Exit ramps are fun..LOL.

It's overall a bit softer than I would have expected, so there is not harsh ride at all.

Mike

[Aronis]

Finally stopped by to schedule an alignment. They were able to do it today.

Front camber off about 2.5 degrees in front. Toe not bad.
Rear toe off a bit. Rear camber not bad.

There is no camber adjustment on this car. He is just moving the lower mount plates to equalize the front camber.

Still waiting on his evaluation of the tie rod ends.

Mike

(sway bars next)

[bmlee007]

Nice write-up and updates. Just one question, does anything have to be disconnected electrically or modified via VAG-COM when you remove the DRC system?

[Brav]

Nice write-up and updates. Just one question, does anything have to be disconnected electrically or modified via VAG-COM when you remove the DRC system?

Its an entirely mechanical setup, so no.

[bmlee007]

Its an entirely mechanical setup, so no.

Thanks for the reply, I'm planning to let things as-is through the summer, being that I don't get to drive it much, but the winter will see some changes...

[nene]

Where did you get the KW's from and price?
The front is still a bit too low for what I would like, so can it go any higher? I want to get rid of the leaning forward part that the RS6 has from factory. I want it to be a more even stance.
Thanks for information, and great write up man.

[Aronis]

Yes it can be raised up. I'll have to check my notes but the set up can be adjusted to match the factory ride height.

[Aronis]

www.ecodetuning.com

$2300 if I recall.
Extra Audi bits about $400.

I'll check my notes.

Special tool $350.

Rental car for a week, priceless!

[HeadShot]

I have to ask, can you adjust them without removing the shocks?
If not I think you may have missed a few steps. Not critical but sure helps when you can actually adjust the suspension without all the heart ache. :))

[Aronis]

To change the ride height:

Jack car, Let the wheel hang free, this unloads the coil.

Loosen the setscrew on the side of the ring which supports the coil - lower spring seat.

Turn the big purple nut which raises or lowers the lower spring seat.

5 turns is about 1 cm.

Remember the lower you go the more the camber gets messed up, as it gets more negative.

The RS6 does not have a Camber adjustment, that is why people swap out the upper control arms with adjustable ones.

My camber is out of the normal range by 8' on the passenger side and 22' on the drivers side.

The spec is -1º 45' to - 0º55' for the front camber.

Toe was 0º13' (range 0º05' to 0º15')

The cross camber is -0º14' (range -0º30' to +0º30')
Total toe 0º25' (range -0º10' to 0º30')

Rear Camber was less effected.

Left -1º29' and right -1º28' (range -1º30' to -0º30')
Cross Camber -0º01' (-0º30' to +0º30')
Total toe 0º10' (0º06' to 0º26')
Thrust angle 0º00'


Prices:
KW V3 $2395 including shipping
Special tools $317.99 with overnight shipping
Parts (front upper spring seats, nuts, front upper strut mount, rear strut mount) $496.84
My labor Priceless.

Mike

[HeadShot]

Sorry, I was unclear.
Great write up by the way.
I just thought new members considering this install should be aware there's another way to do this.
With just a little more time you can install so you have access to the compression adjustment without removing the shocks or wheels or even jacking the car, although it helps get to the rear for sure.
It makes a huge difference to vechicle handling and ride. Otherwise compression adjustment is a completely wasted feature of the KWs if installed without access.

I think when you drop $$$ on a great suspension you may want to use it right. The alternative is dropping the shocks every time and a realignment usually. :((

[Aronis]

To have access to the TOP screw for compression you need to drill a hole in the upper spring seat and the fender.

There is a post here of someone who did that. He used a rather generous hole size, but I think you can do it with a well placed 1/4 inch hole.

The adjustment CAN be done without removing the strut.

You can jack the car, unbolt the TWO nuts which are accessed from the engine compartment, lower the strut with the suspension still otherwise together and reach above to adjust.

If you remove the strut in this same way it does not mess up the alignment (as mine was not!) just the camber LOL.

If you loosen the OTHER Three more easily seen nuts and remove the entire upper control arm and strut mount from the fender well then YOU HAVE MESSED UP THE ALIGNMENT.

Now my car had the struts replaced in front TWICE and those two little rubber gromets were never removed and thus those two nuts were not removed. So I know that the mechanic did indeed remove the entire upper control arm and strut mount to do his job.

I was never charged for an alignment but they certainly could have done one.

Now the access to those two nuts is a little tricky on the drivers side as the break line is in the way of one, and on the passenger side there is an A/C pipe a bit in the way, so you need a universal joint to sneak by on the passenger side and a little prying on the drivers side.

I think one could safely drill that hole without disassembling the suspension.

Using the THREE-do-not-remove-according-to-bentley-bolts you can find the exact center of the upper strut mount and drill a hole.

I'm choosing to leave the setting at the KW recommended starting point. I toyed accessing it as above to tighten one notch but maybe after I put the sway bars in .

Mike

[Aronis]

11340 upper mount

This upper part can be loosened with those three bolts but there is some play when you put it back so it could mess up your alignment.

The other two nuts where bolt the upper spring seat to the control arm mount are very specifically keyed with TWO tapered pins which put it back dead in place each time.

I wish I took more pictures of that part.

I still have the other 'new' upper spring seat as I did the drivers side before I got the new parts, so I used the old spring seat, upper strut mount and nuts. Shame on me!

Mike

[Aronis]

you can actually see the missing gromet in this photo on the far left (top of the picture, sorry it's sideways).

[BLITZEN]

To have access to the TOP screw for compression you need to drill a hole in the upper spring seat and the fender.

There is a post here of someone who did that. He used a rather generous hole size, but I think you can do it with a well placed 1/4 inch hole.

I had mine installed by a performance shop that knew enough to put these holes in place to allow me to "easily" adjust compression. My question is what tool do I need to use to adjust them? A screwdriver? Or, allen key perhaps? Second, is it clockwise to add damping and counter to decrease? Or the opposite of that? Thanks!

[Aronis]

installation Manual

http://www.kwsuspensions.com/extras/docs/BBXQ/35210053-ea68577010.pdf

and

http://www.kwsuspensions.com/extras/docs/BBXQ/35210053-eah68610053.pdf

FYI