DIY How To: Remove and Replace Suspension with KW V3 Coilovers on Mach-E

[edido]

Do you mean the KW shock damping and rebound settings? ...or the camber / caster / toe values?

I left my KW damping and rebound settings as KW suggested... might fiddle with them next month after being used to the KW suggested settings over the past 6k miles after the KE installation.

KW damping and rebound settings.
I drove much on their factory settings and to me it felt no different from stock.

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[ghamuser]

Hi again,

I am finally a happy MME GT, KW and Steeda customer! My GT finally drives as I wanted it!
- No more bumpy ride, the car is very comfortable (thanks KW)
- The car is very precise on fast turns (thanks Steeda)

Here is what I did:
1. I installed Steeda front and rear sway bars. I set both to medium/hole #2 (I plan to drive on medium for a while and might later change to hole #3 to try).
2. I researched how coilover shocks work and finally figured it out. The right adjustment for a comfort ride is to increase the "bump" and lower the "rebound". See my final settings below.

Setting	Front Compression/ Bump	Front Rebound	Rear Compression/ Bump	Rear Rebound
KW 'Factory' Setting	7	9	6	8
Adjusted Setting #4	10	6	9	5

The following video explains on a high level how coilover shocks should be adjusted based on a ride preference:


Let me know if you have questions.

Great post from the OP and the continuing discussions about KW V3 installation/results! I've learned so much from everyone. Now, I'm so ready to pull the trigger and do this install!! I have a '22 MME Premium XR RWD and have been dealing with all the bounce/gallop/jolting/bobble heading/pitching/po-going for 5 months and 8000miles. It bothered me even more when someone suggested resting your head on the headrest.... and boy!, that was it! I've read all the posts on this thread and the very large 89 page "bouncing" thread and now convinced this will solve the bounciness. I'm fortunate to have a lift in my garage so this will be a DIY.

My question is, which KW V3 kit is the correct one for my 22 Premium XR RWD? The website pulls up Part#:35230095 as the AWD Premium, but don't see one for RWD Premium.

https://www.kwsuspensions.com/products/kw-suspensions-kw-v3-coilover-kit-35230095.html

Edit: Just spoke with a KW northamerica rep and currently they don't have a kit specifically for RWD model. I'm assuming the AWD kit will work on RWD models(based on someone's install on an RWD model), but worry that spring rates may not be tuned properly for the RWD.

Finally (apologies for the long post), buried in these threads, I 've heard some of the owners were able to put a "group buy" on the KW V3 coilover kits, but lately haven't heard much about it. I'm willing to contact whomever and put it out here, but would like some details of contact person, discounted pricing and minimum number of people needed....and whether the discount is significant to make it worthwhile. The latest price from KW is $3089 plus $95 shipping from Germany.

Thank you all

 

[connoisseurr]

Great post from the OP and the continuing discussions about KW V3 installation/results! I've learned so much from everyone. Now, I'm so ready to pull the trigger and do this install!! I have a '22 MME Premium XR RWD and have been dealing with all the bounce/gallop/jolting/bobble heading/pitching/po-going for 5 months and 8000miles. It bothered me even more when someone suggested resting your head on the headrest.... and boy!, that was it! I've read all the posts on this thread and the very large 89 page "bouncing" thread and now convinced this will solve the bounciness. I'm fortunate to have a lift in my garage so this will be a DIY.

My question is, which KW V3 kit is the correct one for my 22 Premium XR RWD? The website pulls up Part#:35230095 as the AWD Premium, but don't see one for RWD Premium.

https://www.kwsuspensions.com/products/kw-suspensions-kw-v3-coilover-kit-35230095.html

Edit: Just spoke with a KW northamerica rep and currently they don't have a kit specifically for RWD model. I'm assuming the AWD kit will work on RWD models(based on someone's install on an RWD model), but worry that spring rates may not be tuned properly for the RWD.

Finally (apologies for the long post), buried in these threads, I 've heard some of the owners were able to put a "group buy" on the KW V3 coilover kits, but lately haven't heard much about it. I'm willing to contact whomever and put it out here, but would like some details of contact person, discounted pricing and minimum number of people needed....and whether the discount is significant to make it worthwhile. The latest price from KW is $3089 plus $95 shipping from Germany.

Thank you all

The KW kit will work for any non-GTPE trim.

Email the vendor who helped us with the group buy:

[email protected]

The group buy has been closed for a few months, but the vendor can help you land an order.

 

[ghamuser]

The KW kit will work for any non-GTPE trim.

Email the vendor who helped us with the group buy:

[email protected]

The group buy has been closed for a few months, but the vendor can help you land an order.

Thank you!

 

[connoisseurr]

My KW V3 set is for sale. Anyone who was on the fence, here is your chance at a great price for little usage.

https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/kw-v3-coilover-kit-w-preinstalled-tophats.25877/

 

[21st Century Pony]

After almost exactly 9 thousand miles with the KW v3 coilovers, I noticed significant inside shoulder wear on one of my tires. It is hard to see because it is on the inside shoulder of the tire, and I only noticed because I angled the steering wheel hard while parking. Had the dealer not rotated my tires at the 20 thousand mile service, this tire would have remained on the rear wheel (the one with the bigger out-of-spec negative camber) and its inside shoulder wear would have been that much harder to notice.

I had a suspension alignment done (prep for a long trip) about 400 miles after I threw the KW V3 coilovers on. I had another alignment check by a different shop (both recommended) at about 5K miles after the KW v3 install. I wanted to give the suspension time to settle after the 1st adjustment, which I had to execute a bit early. Both shops warned me, with no crossover information, that the rear camber was too negative per Ford specs and could not be fully adjusted into spec with what they had available.

Yesterday I noticed the tire shoulder wear, so I went back to the 1st shop for a check.

My camber is negative on both rear wheels and was since the 1st post-install alignment. It is out by about 2 degrees on the left rear and by over 2 degrees on the right rear... this remains true now after all available adjustment was applied.

BLUF: my Mach E AWD needs a set of eccentric camber bolts to adjust the rear camber by about one degree on each wheel to get it within Ford Mach E camber specs. I mention it here for the benefit of others with the KW V3 coilovers who might well find themselves in a similar situation.

For now until I locate appropriate eccentric camber knuckle bolts for the rear end, I'll check and likely rotate my tires every 2 thousand miles or so to at least even out and distribute the wear on my tires.

END NOTE: despite the excessive rear negative camber and its visible wear on tire(s), I still am a fan of the KW coilover mod and glad I did it. The KW V3s have completely eliminated my Mach E's "pogo hop" and have made the car really, really comfortable to drive, as well as more responsive. All the family Boxer dogs agree.

 

[Kkick]

Really good write up and trail of useful information. So I started looking into the installation of the kw suspension and received 1 quote back so far. Looks like nearly an additional 2k in labor and parts, and alignment. I have removed, replaced, and installed plenty of struts on my ice vehicles but seeing it cost nearly 2k makes me wonder how difficult the install might truly be on the mach e. I have to admit I would be a little nervous working on the ev but man 2 k nearly puts it to the cost of the magnaride suspension and has me wondering about just putting that money towards a gtpe. How difficult was the install for you do it yourselfers or how much did the installer charge?

 

[edido]

Really good write up and trail of useful information. So I started looking into the installation of the kw suspension and received 1 quote back so far. Looks like nearly an additional 2k in labor and parts, and alignment. I have removed, replaced, and installed plenty of struts on my ice vehicles but seeing it cost nearly 2k makes me wonder how difficult the install might truly be on the mach e. I have to admit I would be a little nervous working on the ev but man 2 k nearly puts it to the cost of the magnaride suspension and has me wondering about just putting that money towards a gtpe. How difficult was the install for you do it yourselfers or how much did the installer charge?

The quote is within the range I paid.
My two cents - go with GT PE. If I could go back in time, I would buy the PE instead.

 

[connoisseurr]

Really good write up and trail of useful information. So I started looking into the installation of the kw suspension and received 1 quote back so far. Looks like nearly an additional 2k in labor and parts, and alignment. I have removed, replaced, and installed plenty of struts on my ice vehicles but seeing it cost nearly 2k makes me wonder how difficult the install might truly be on the mach e. I have to admit I would be a little nervous working on the ev but man 2 k nearly puts it to the cost of the magnaride suspension and has me wondering about just putting that money towards a gtpe. How difficult was the install for you do it yourselfers or how much did the installer charge?

Find a shop with a more competitive price. Personally, charging $418 to adjust & set ride height is bogus.

We installed coils on my Mach-E on a lift. Once they were in, we lowered it, took measurements FTG, and lifted it back up to make adjustments. It didn't take $418 worth of time, that's for sure.

 

[21st Century Pony]

I installed them myself. I did have access to a lift and tools...

I mean... it's not a Space Shuttle, ya know?

 

[Kkick]

I installed them myself. I did have access to a lift and tools...

I mean... it's not a Space Shuttle, ya know?

I hear ya... got the tools, just no access to a lift.....

 

[21st Century Pony]

I hear ya... got the tools, just no access to a lift.....

Yes, for this job a lift is a critical capability. Gotcha.

 

[choson]

I finally got my set (thanks Connor) installed yesterday with the help of a friend.
It was the first time for both of us doing a suspension mod, but these instructions made the process very clear.
It did end up taking us all day (~8 hours) because we wasted a bunch of time figuring out how to get the first rear knuckle aligned and the bolt back in during reassembly.

I still have one issue with one side in the rear not being adjusted to the correct height.
It's a little low, and when I try to adjust the perch, the whole perch (purple and black) spins, instead of just the purple part. We redid the anti-seize and worked it in before installing too.

Any ideas on getting it to work? Or do I have to take it apart again?

 

[21st Century Pony]

I finally got my set (thanks Connor) installed yesterday with the help of a friend.
It was the first time for both of us doing a suspension mod, but these instructions made the process very clear.
It did end up taking us all day (~8 hours) because we wasted a bunch of time figuring out how to get the first rear knuckle aligned and the bolt back in during reassembly.

I still have one issue with one side in the rear not being adjusted to the correct height.
It's a little low, and when I try to adjust the perch, the whole perch (purple and black) spins, instead of just the purple part. We redid the anti-seize and worked it in before installing too.

Any ideas on getting it to work? Or do I have to take it apart again?

Yeah haha - I ran into the exact same issues when installing my KW set. The rear is the PITA, during reassembly to get those bolts lined up with their bolt holes and afterwards, when adjusting height evenly for both sides.

The only reliable way I found to get the two perches even-set was to drop the offending rear side's lower control arm and shock (bottom bolt) again to decrease the tension on the spring. Lord knows I tried the in-place adjustment method but with those side flanges and the damn shock and spring in the way, I just scored up the edges of the adjuster flange.

Good thing I had great access to a lift.

Good Luck!

 

[sci_goat]

I live in the SF bay area, just recently bought a 2023 CA Route 1. Does anyone have recommendations for a reputable shop that would install these coilovers? Hopefully a shop that has worked on Mach-E suspension before because it sounds like from what others have said, that there are some places where the aftermarket suspension could do damage if not set up right.

Also, since these could cause an issue with manufacturer warranty, would it be more prudent for me to perform the mod after my bumper-to-bumper warranty expires?

Edit: clarity

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