KW Variant 3 i KW Clubsport – Audi RS3 8V sedan

 

The success story of the Audi RS3 continues, and for the first time the most sporty compact model from Audi is now also available as notchback sedan. With the facelift of the RS3 Sportback and the introduction of the RS3 as a notchback, the performance of the 2.5-liter five-cylinder turbo engine climbed up to 400 hp. The revised RS3 performance also takes into account the latest generation of the KW coilover kits.

Similar to KW suspension kits for motor sport, the rebound and compression stages can be separately adjusted. So it is easy to directly take influence on the steering response, track stability, tire grip, and handling characteristics for safe controllability at the limit. With no other coilover kit for pure road use, you have such a great scope in regards of damper adjustment.

The compression damping force can be adjusted in twelve clicks by the integrated adjusters directly on the stainless steel housing in order to avoid pitching and rolling movements. Regardless of this, the KW Variant 3 can also be adjusted in rebound individually with 16 clicks, in order to influence the handling characteristics and driving comfort of the Audi S5.

If, for example, you install different rims than the wheel- / tire combinations offered by Audi, you will be able to further customize the damper setup, in addition to the possibility of a continuous lowering.

The KW coilovers allow changing of the handling and driving comfort according to the individual driving demand via an integrated rebound adjustment with 16 exact clicks. A total of twelve clicks are available for the compression stage, for example, in order to increase the tire grip and the road connection.

In case, the RS3 notchback sedan is equipped with the optional adaptive dampers, a so-called cancellation kit for the series dampers as Plug & Play solution is part of the KW coilover kit Variant 3 delivery content. During installation, the cancellation kit is connected with a compatible plug-in connection and with exception of the electronic damper control, all Audi assistance and dynamics systems remain active.

In addition to the adjustable compression and rebound damping, preconfigured high speed compression valves are also used for the Variant 3.

These high speed valves with their “blow-off characteristics” open additional bypass channels when driving over ground shafts or cross-joints, so that the wheels can dive in and the tires do not lose their road holding.

This is also one of the reasons why even at maximum lowering, a KW coilover kit allows such a sporty driving comfort in comparison to other suspensions.

The tested lowering range of the Audi notchback-sedan is 10 and 35 mm on both axles but due to its lower center of gravity from the factory, the adjustment range for the RS3 with a KW V3 Coilover kit installed is equivalent to lowering a standard A3 notchback sedan up to 60 mm.