Coilovers adjustments..

MekstingerGT

Active Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2018
Messages
232
Reaction score
106
Points
43
So I'm trying to get a straight answer about adjusting my coilovers. The front is straight forward but the rear is making scratch my head. How do I adjust the dampers/rebound on the rears? I was told that you can not access the top of the coilovers from the trunk like other cars. Anybody with coilovers can chime in?
 
So I'm trying to get a straight answer about adjusting my coilovers. The front is straight forward but the rear is making scratch my head. How do I adjust the dampers/rebound on the rears? I was told that you can not access the top of the coilovers from the trunk like other cars. Anybody with coilovers can chime in?

All Stinger Coilovers have an adjustment for the rear shocks rebound located right under the rear strut mount.
There is no way to adjust it from the trunk. I didn’t set my ride height too low, so I was actually able to reach it through the fender/tire gap above the tires.

If you are too low to get a grip on the adjuster, you’ll need to jack the rear of the car up to make changes.
With the body elevated, you can clearly see the adjuster near the top of the shock where dust boot meets the strut mount. You don’t have to take anything apart to reach or see it.

If you have KWV3’s you’ll also have an adjustment wheel near the bottom of the shock tubes, to adjust compression.

Take a look with the car lifted and you’ll see everything clearly.

What coils did you get?

I first had HSD Coilovers. They increased road noise at the front a bit too much for my tastes though. This could be somewhat mitigated by dropping the tire pressure ever so slightly. My replacement KWV3 coils also increased road noise at the front, but by a much smaller amount that most people wouldn’t even notice. It was really only obvious to me because I was looking for it, based upon my experience with those HSD Coilovers.
 
______________________________
All Stinger Coilovers have an adjustment for the rear shocks rebound located right under the rear strut mount.
There is no way to adjust it from the trunk. I didn’t set my ride height too low, so I was actually able to reach it through the fender/tire gap above the tires.

If you are too low to get a grip on the adjuster, you’ll need to jack the rear of the car up to make changes.
With the body elevated, you can clearly see the adjuster near the top of the shock where dust boot meets the strut mount. You don’t have to take anything apart to reach or see it.

If you have KWV3’s you’ll also have an adjustment wheel near the bottom of the shock tubes, to adjust compression.

Take a look with the car lifted and you’ll see everything clearly.

What coils did you get?

I first had HSD Coilovers. They increased road noise at the front a bit too much for my tastes though. This could be somewhat mitigated by dropping the tire pressure ever so slightly. My replacement KWV3 coils also increased road noise at the front, but by a much smaller amount that most people wouldn’t even notice. It was really only obvious to me because I was looking for it, based upon my experience with those HSD Coilovers.
Are you satisfied with your V3s?
I like mine, very comfy and precise steering but I am thinking about adding front/rear stabilizers.
 
Thanks for the help everyone. I went with Ceika coilovers. Right when I got the box I went straight over to get them installed. I didnt even have time to look at them. Hopefully there is a adjuster under the strut mount. I'll take a look later today. Since we're on the subject I notice when I drove from the shop it feels floaty/bouncey. I thought it was the fact that it looked slammed so I raised it up about and inch and a half. Even after playing with the soft/hard setting it was still the same. Any ideas?
 
From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
You need to adjust your dampening in order to reduce the floaty feeling.

Dampening on most coilover is adjusted at the top

Extreme-XA-bulletpoints.jpg
 
Are you satisfied with your V3s?
I like mine, very comfy and precise steering but I am thinking about adding front/rear stabilizers.

My KwV3 coils were phenomenal, for a short time. The ride was firm, flat, comfortable and composed. Installing the KwV3 truly made the Stinger feel like a premium vehicle. The ride was better than original and the handling increased too. Bumps and bad pavement were dismissed with single, solid, thumps that did not shake or vibrate the vehicle.

Unfortunately, my KWV3 quickly became defective. The ride and handling deteriorated into a bouncy, noisy mess. The KW developed noise over bumps and shock damping failed. Each day I had to increase the shock valving, just to keep the car feeling stable. It would suffice for a while, but after 30 to 100 miles driven, the shocks would start to soften again. I would turn the damping up again, and all would be fine for a bit more time. Eventually, the ride would diminish again. Very bad body control, shock absorbing, and handling. This process went back and forth until I had run out of adjustment range on the shocks, I could no longer stiffen them because they were at max stiffness. But now damping still was insufficient. The shocks were so bad it became dangerous at this point... With each shock possessing a different level of wear and functionality, the cars handling became unpredictable, especially on wet roads. The rear of the car would routinely snap around and try to lose control. Shocks must be balanced front to rear to prevent excess under/oversteer.

All of this happened over the timeframe of 30 days. They were superb in every way, at the initial installation time/point. But every mile driven caused them to get weaker and worse in ride/handling. I decided to remove them before they caused me an accident, as these particular Coilovers were clearly defective and were not worth the safety risk.

Ultimately, I went back to the OEM Kia Stinger shocks and springs as the car was not drivable with the worn/defective KwV3.

Before you buy sways, experiment with increasing the damping a little bit. When my KWV3 were working properly, I was able to tune out most all body roll simply by adjusting the front and rear compression. The car cornered quickly, sharply, and nearly flatly with the damping turned up a bit. Additionally, steering feel improved tremendously. Steering effort went up, was more sensitive to input, and returned back to center more quickly and forcefully than with the regular suspension.
 
Found out the rear can be adjusted easily by jacking up the rear tires.

Ty David sorry to hear about your KWs, were you able to return them? Or get them replaced?
 

Attachments

  • 20190823_083444.webp
    20190823_083444.webp
    78.1 KB · Views: 52
Found out the rear can be adjusted easily by jacking up the rear tires.

Ty David sorry to hear about your KWs, were you able to return them? Or get them replaced?

Glad you found it!

I bought mine through CarID.com. KW does have a lifetime warranty. CarID.com has a stated warranty period too. They wanted to send me running back and forth between them and KW.

I boxed the defective shocks up and sent them back and filed a chargeback with my credit card company. Not going back and forth with either company about struts that failed within a week and a half of installation.

P.S. Anyone looking to get KWs, don’t buy them from CarID. They now have mine back in their possession and they look brand new. It wouldn’t surprise me if they try to rebox them and pawn them off on someone else. Get your merch elsewhere. Additionally, you want a supplier who will stand behind the product in the event of failure or defect. CarID, that is not.

Found out the rear can be adjusted easily by jacking up the rear tires.

Ty David sorry to hear about your KWs, were you able to return them? Or get them replaced?

Did you get the rebound adjustable Ceikos or the rebound and compression adjustable units. How’s the ride? Any more rolling tire road noise up front with these?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Sorry to hear about your KW coilovers.
I have been using mine for 1 year now and am very happy with them. No trouble and never had to adjust the damping/rebound after I found the proper settings.
 
______________________________
From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
Did you get the rebound adjustable Ceikos or the rebound and compression adjustable units. How’s the ride? Any more rolling tire road noise up front with these?

I haven't gotten around to mess with them, definitely this weekend. Any tips? I have 30 adjustments. Right now the rear is really floaty/bouncing. I want a somewhat comfortable ride.
 
Sorry to hear about your KW coilovers.
I have been using mine for 1 year now and am very happy with them. No trouble and never had to adjust the damping/rebound after I found the proper settings.

I know how good they can be, as when I first installed them they were so good.
They just quickly started getting softer and softer and eventually, there settings maxed out and I couldn’t form it back up again.

I bet the sways you are thinking of, would pair so nicely with them.

I bought subframe collars but haven’t yet had a chance to install them, while I get the suspension sorted out.

I haven't gotten around to mess with them, definitely this weekend. Any tips? I have 30 adjustments. Right now the rear is really floaty/bouncing. I want a somewhat comfortable ride.

Every type of Coilovers will have its own sweet spot and your personal preference will play a part too.
For me, the minimum setting is one where neither the front, nor rear, of the car bounce excessively.
Then I work from there to address ride quality and handling preferences.

One tip I have found (if this type of thing matters to you), is that adjusting the front a touch or two stiffer than the rear really does wonders to the steering. The firmer front makes the steering feel meatier/heavier and also lets the car dart around like a go cart in response to steering inputs.

since you have the 30way, I think your knobs control rebound and compression together. Do play with the settings and see where you like them.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
So I was able to adjust the rear rebound to full + and the floaty is gone but the bounciness is still there. Now I'm getting a slight grinding in full lock probably the front. The installer did mention that the collar lock is close to the wheel and he had to grind it down. I'll probably have to do more grinding.
 
So I was able to adjust the rear rebound to full + and the floaty is gone but the bounciness is still there. Now I'm getting a slight grinding in full lock probably the front. The installer did mention that the collar lock is close to the wheel and he had to grind it down. I'll probably have to do more grinding.

Full stiff will be bouncy because it is overdamped.
You’ll need to start reducing the damping until the ride starts to settle.

I like to start at low damping settings and gradually increase it, until all of the bounce and float is gone. You should be able to get the ride nice and compliant with good resistance to bounce and float this way.
You don’t want it much stiffer than it has to be for good body control.

Most coilovers have a lot of possible damping positions, but only a fraction of those will be truly right for you.

One more thing, If you have the rear set to full hard right now and the front at a soft or middle setting, be careful on wet roads or during sharp steering inputs at high speeds because that type of setup will cause an increase in oversteer that can catch you off guard.
 
So I was able to adjust the rear rebound to full + and the floaty is gone but the bounciness is still there. Now I'm getting a slight grinding in full lock probably the front. The installer did mention that the collar lock is close to the wheel and he had to grind it down. I'll probably have to do more grinding.

Did you ever get these to ride flatly?
Do you still have bounce? Front, rear or both?
 
From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
Did you ever get these to ride flatly?
Do you still have bounce? Front, rear or both?
Yes both. Eventually I sold it. It's the nature of coilovers.
 
______________________________
I am in the process of buying the Riaction Coilovers for my Stinger. Looking forward to the adjustably, but praying I don't have any of these issues listed here. I will keep you posted, and thanks for the tips!
 
I am in the process of buying the Riaction Coilovers for my Stinger. Looking forward to the adjustably, but praying I don't have any of these issues listed here. I will keep you posted, and thanks for the tips!

Yeah keep is posted. What spring rate did you get? Can you post pics of the actual coilovers?
 
Pics of the coils:

upload_2020-5-11_21-58-47.webp
 

Attachments

  • upload_2020-5-11_21-58-47.webp
    upload_2020-5-11_21-58-47.webp
    73.6 KB · Views: 1
From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
Kia Stinger
Back
Top