I recently bought some KW ST's and Enkei Raijins for my GF's TSX. I got a steal on all this stuff...so I couldn't resist.
I got the Raijins powder coated in the perfect colour (IMO). Its a medium metallic charcoal called heavy charcoal. The coater did an amazing job on them. I cant take a picture to show how nice they turned out.
I wrapped them in 225/45/18 Dunlop Direzza Z2s. Not my first choice. Id rather have Conti DWs or Michelin SSs. But my friend at Discount Tire was able to get me a price on these so low that I wept tears of joy.
![Click the image to open in full size.]()
The caps that came with the wheels were hideous.
I made some carbon fiber wrapped caps.. I liked them. But Im going to use the stock Acura caps for now so the car looks more OEM.
![Click the image to open in full size.]()
![Click the image to open in full size.]()
The ST coilover line is KWs zinc plated line. This is a KW V1 thats Zinc plated steel instead of being stainless steel.
I have a certain amount of criteria for this wagon:
- This is my GFs DD so it cant be super low.
-It also needs to be versatile and comfortable. We bought the wagon so we could take multiple bicycles to rides. Now I dont have to choose between my MTB and my road bike when we go on road trips!!
-It has to have good enough suspension compliance and ground clearance to do some mild offroading to get to mountain bike trail heads or gravel paths. Plus we do take a lot of road trips, so you never know what youre going to encounter.
I went with the STs because they were a fairly affordable (retail is around $850-900. I didnt pay near that much because I have very good friends in the performance parts business) and VERY high quality coilover. Even the box was a piece of art.
![Click the image to open in full size.]()
![Click the image to open in full size.]()
They dont have any damping adjustments. They are also not full body adjustable. While I wish they had like 5 10 clicks of settings .Im glad I didnt buy a $900 coilover with 32 way damper adjustment.
Even without adjustable damping and full body adjustments, they meet all the criteria I had in mind.
The other difference between these and fully fledged KWs is that STs have a 5 year warranty (KWs have a lifetime warranty).
ON TO THE INSTALL!!
I have never done a proper DIY on a car forum...so I thought I'd give it a shot. Any feedback is welcomed!
I got the Raijins powder coated in the perfect colour (IMO). Its a medium metallic charcoal called heavy charcoal. The coater did an amazing job on them. I cant take a picture to show how nice they turned out.
I wrapped them in 225/45/18 Dunlop Direzza Z2s. Not my first choice. Id rather have Conti DWs or Michelin SSs. But my friend at Discount Tire was able to get me a price on these so low that I wept tears of joy.
The caps that came with the wheels were hideous.
I made some carbon fiber wrapped caps.. I liked them. But Im going to use the stock Acura caps for now so the car looks more OEM.
The ST coilover line is KWs zinc plated line. This is a KW V1 thats Zinc plated steel instead of being stainless steel.
I have a certain amount of criteria for this wagon:
- This is my GFs DD so it cant be super low.
-It also needs to be versatile and comfortable. We bought the wagon so we could take multiple bicycles to rides. Now I dont have to choose between my MTB and my road bike when we go on road trips!!
-It has to have good enough suspension compliance and ground clearance to do some mild offroading to get to mountain bike trail heads or gravel paths. Plus we do take a lot of road trips, so you never know what youre going to encounter.
I went with the STs because they were a fairly affordable (retail is around $850-900. I didnt pay near that much because I have very good friends in the performance parts business) and VERY high quality coilover. Even the box was a piece of art.
They dont have any damping adjustments. They are also not full body adjustable. While I wish they had like 5 10 clicks of settings .Im glad I didnt buy a $900 coilover with 32 way damper adjustment.
Even without adjustable damping and full body adjustments, they meet all the criteria I had in mind.
The other difference between these and fully fledged KWs is that STs have a 5 year warranty (KWs have a lifetime warranty).
ON TO THE INSTALL!!
I have never done a proper DIY on a car forum...so I thought I'd give it a shot. Any feedback is welcomed!