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ST suspension review

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pudding:
So welcome to the fold Mr ST, aka 'Suspension Techniques', to those unfamiliar.  Made by KW don't you know  :smiley: 

KW meaning Krafty W@nk, or maybe Klaus Wohlfarth who founded the company 25 years ago?

Anyway, purchased from Mr Damian at DPM performance for the princely sum of £449 of your olde English pounds.

The cheapest, dirtiest, full of mayo and hydrogenated fats kit they do  :happy2:

This is what the -20mm kit looks like after 500 miles of settling:





Yeah, and?  Didn't you have some silly money Ohlins on your car?

Erm, yeah, I did, but they failed in a bad way.

But f'ck them, and let's focus on the the now......

Well, this is the thing folks, you're fully expecting the ST is going to be utter dog shyte for 4 fiddy notes vs 2.5K Ohlins, right?  Haha, you'd be wrong in that assumption.

Yes the Ohlins are the ultimate in damping and body control at the limit (whilst they last), but you know what.....

No one is going to believe this, but on a daily basis on dual carriageways, beastly B roads and the bumpy urban yawn fest, it's actually not far off the Ohlins at all! Can't believe I'm saying that, but it's true.

For additional context, I take corners at maximum attack (plebs getting in my way permitting) and average 90mph on my local DCs, in other words, I drive the sh1t out of this car, so I know what's good and what's sh1t. I don't mean to sound arrogant but I just drive the car as intended.

I also have Eibach ARBs, along with SuperPro's horribly stiff 90 Shure console bushes, SuperPro BJs, 340mm brakes etc, so not exactly standard, and yet the ST remains composed and sure footed throughout.  Nicely judged spring and damper rates, imo.  Those used to the stock suspension may find it a little harsh over crap roads but you can't eat Chocolate Eclairs every day without putting weight on.  The trade-off is a much more composed experience on back roads, free of the wallowing and floatiness of the stock suspension.

I don't know how they did it for the money tbh, considering KW's build costs, R&D, drop shipper's cuts etc etc.  Compared to the soggy VWR kit that brake dives for England and flops over too much on hard corners, this is kit is £100 cheaper and 100x better, imo.

Anyway, if you're not averse to a little extra stiffness in your life, but without shaking out your dentures, this is the kit for you  :happy2:

In case you're wondering, I'm not a shill. Neither ST or DPM know I'm posting this.  I'm just an enthusiast trying out different stuff for sh1ts and giggs and passing on my thoughts.  I don't give a toss what Ohlins or ST think about my opinions, if a product is sh1t, I will call it out.  I have no vested interests.

Quite honestly, my car is probably on the harsher side than most would tolerate with the aforementioned mods, so I reckon this kit on an otherwise standard car would probably suit a lot of folk.

I don't know if the springs are linear or progressive, they're kind of weird looking.  They feel linear to drive, which is what you want for predictability.  VWR's progressives and woefully inept dampers spat me off a corner the STs, Ohlins and OEM didn't even notice, so take from that what you will. I'm only mentioning the VWR kit because it's in the same price range as the ST and I believe in transparency and real world comparisons, having owned both.  Yes the VWR kit is more comfy and less jiggly at 30-40%, but get up to 60-70%+ and OMG, the ST absolutely p1sses all over the VWR.

rich83:
What happened to the ohlins?

bobby_fodge:
Aren't the ST shocks the same and the KW ones but just not made out of stainless?

pudding:

--- Quote from: rich83 on April 17, 2021, 06:00:24 am ---What happened to the ohlins?

--- End quote ---

They use a nylon sleeve as a bearing surface on the front dampers, which wears out and causes and almighty knocking/clunk.  They've since upgraded it to a better material but it's too late on one of mine.  Metal on metal has chipped away some of the chrome plating, so that damper is written off.  Out of warranty, typically.

To be fair, all mono tube struts wear out faster than OEM style twin tubes.  Bilsteins have done the same thing to me in the past.  I should have known better really  :grin:

pudding:

--- Quote from: bobby_fodge on April 19, 2021, 11:27:08 am ---Aren't the ST shocks the same and the KW ones but just not made out of stainless?

--- End quote ---

Yes and no.  It's common practice these days for start-ups to use an established facility's factory for production, for a fee obviously.  It's the same as Foxconn making iPhones for Apple.  Apple don't actually make anything, they just design it and send off the specs to Foxconn or who ever.  Same with ST.  "Dear KW, please make these kits for us, to this spec out of these materials.  Fanks!"

It's a bit misleading to use "Made by KW" as a marketing tactic as KW.  Technically that is true, but KW have nothing to do with the R&D, they just churn them out of the factory.  It's the same as Yamaha in Japan making the Road & Track kits for Ohlins.  It's far more cost effective to contract production out to other companies.

BTW, it's only KW's Inox line that are made of stainless. They do cheaper kits with regular plated steel also.

I've never been a fan of KW tbh.  I had some V3s years ago and they weren't amazing by any means. A bit over rated imo.  The STs are good for the money though.

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