Yep, after 2 years of thinking about it, buying all sorts of crap, cutting, switching, finessing, making do, cussing etc. I finally decided to stop wasting my time and money and get the K&W's. (Thanks Rob!) The last track day I got passed 3 times ...... by slightly faster cars ...... that caught me because of traffic. But I got to follow them and see exactly where they were eating my lunch. I should add that they were all on R-Compound tires but lets forget about that for now. They could transition from turning right to left in a flash where I have to do it gently and wait for the car to stop moving from one side to the other to trust that the grip will be there. You can see it in my videos. It often looks like I'm late turning in but it's mostly because I can't fully commit until the car is done changing from braking to rolling sideways. It's also hard to pin down the right alignment for maximum grip when the car rolls, dives and squats so much causing huge camber changes. The K&W's have a 640 lb spring in the front and 440 in the rear which may still be too soft. If I need something more I'll be going for the 30 mm H&R sway bar in the front. I hope this will be a big step in the right direction. I know this kit is not the be all end all for the track but I still use my SRT-6 to get groceries and go on joy rides. The few reviews I've found are vague about the track and focus more on the street. You can be sure I'll lay it out in black and white. I have high hopes.

Les

 

Tires, springs, shocks, sway bars,......wow....$$$$$$$$$$ Les, I have played with mine stock, no changes at all, and it pushes, try to force thru by stab braking, and the rear end wants to comes around, try to throw it into the turn hard, and it stays sideways too long to transition...I need some track time if I am ever to figure this car out... I really think some compound tires would help big time...more sticky would help when driving her hard into the turn..but, then I would need to do something with the suspension, as I have had the rear tire off the ground trying to push her thru...all but out of control, wouldn't do in a race situation...now on the straights...look out...

 

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I managed to get mine balanced on the slightly loose side but I can't leave it alone. I can fine tune it by lifting the rear end or dropping it a few mm. Labor intensive. I have a collection of spring pads ...... and sliced up ones to put under the spring pad to get in between sizes. I got some spring rubbers, that don't fit, but I cut them up and got them between the coils to see what would happen. I have the rear springs out monthly.
It's time to come clean ....... I'm getting my butt handed to me this year. A bunch of former racers have un retired and are bringing professionally prepared cars to compete. The final straw was the past track event. I got caught behind traffic and couldn't stay close enough in the corners, or get off the corners fast enough to make easy passes ..... they were slow to give point byes too. Thats the reason I got caught (I give easy point byes) and after following some of these caged cars, I could see what I'm lacking. The K&W's should be the biggest step to solving my cornering challenge while keeping the car street friendly. In about a month my custom valved Koni's, cut SRT springs, Eibach springs and assorted other parts may be up for sale. Stay tuned.

Les

 

 

They don't look like much, I painted them stealth black, but I love them. When the time comes I'll have you (peeping Tom) in mind.

Les

 

No worries on the color, I may paint 'em orange for *****'n'gigs

 

dang it, it's not a 4x4 silly....

 

Ya never know... I may get bored with the slammed stance...

 

Have you found out what modifications you'll have to make to get them to fit Les?

John.

 

As stiff as the rear factory SRT-6 springs are,I'm amazed at how our car squats down in the back while at full throttle on a dyno. Squirrel Crusher

 

It depends on how low you go. In the front you need to hammer in the bulge towards the front. I was rubbing it earlier with the Eibachs so it's marked. In the rear it's that pesky body seam where the sway bar passes under it. I have that one marked as well from my escapades in lowering. Possible the inside of the rear wheelwell, once again pre measured and marked. I imagine nothing will need to be reformed at a reasonable height. At the moment I'm not rubbing anywhere so I plan to keep the car the more or less the same height or drop.

Les

 

Les what do you think of these? Very good price I think.

KSPORT KONTROL PRO COILOVERS 97-03 MERCEDES SLK | eBay

 

I don't know much about KSports. I have an acquaintance with them on his Miata and he told me he wished he'd bought something better. He got that opinion from talking to other Miata owners. I imagine the KSports are fine for raising and lowering the car and driving the mountain roads. But if you search, I'll bet they sell mostly based on price.

I was looking a Bilsteins. I found them in Europe but they wouldn't ship to me. That could have been solved but they cost more and I wanted to read others reviews. I couldn't find any on a Crossfire. I briefly spoke to BC about custom making me a set. Too many unknowns for me and not the best communication. I guess they knew mine would be the only set they'd sell. Rob was searching for some Mercedes springs that would fit my car and that would be close to the spring rates I wanted. (700 lb fronte 500 rear)

I got tired of waiting and trying to find something better and my competition is more professional this year. The faster cars are all corner balanced, come to the track on empty and only put enough gas in the tank to complete the heat. They often come on a trailer with a crew. The time had come to up my game.

Les

 

I can't wait to hear how this works out for you. I also almost tried Bilsein's but went Koni becuase of lack of informaition on a Crossfire. Are the K&W's rebound and compression adjustable? You may want to consider finding someone with a set a scales to help with car set up. When I was involved with the Mini Cooper, we had to fight understeer and we solved it bigger rear sway bars.

 

What they sell for the Crossfire is the Variant 2 which is rebound adjustable. If I still need to get rid of more movement I'll get the H&R 30 mm roll bar. You know, I have a friend with scales but he's in Afganistan at the moment. Then he's off to Romania. So I may have to pay to get it done.

Les

 

You Tennessee fans
Next you're going to have orange fringe hanging off everything...

 

Hahahahahaha... what's wrong with orange fringe?

 

I got a tracking number today so I expect to receive the K&W's sometime next week. I'm planning to instal all but the front springs myself. The A-arm bushings need replacing so I'll let the shop instal the front springs while they have it apart.

Les

 

The K&W's arrived on Saturday at 5:00 PM and I installed the rear ones this morning. The shop that I'm using to replace the A-arm bushings will have the pleasure of doing the front since they have to dismount everything anyway. I'll go for a spin a little later in the day. These are real nice, shocks are Koni's, adjustable spring pads and real heavy looking springs for the front. The adjusters are so far up in the upper spring mount that it's necessary to remove the spring, or compress it enough for it to fall down to access the adjusters. It makes it real expensive to change the height. I measured the adjustable perches at 20 mm on the passenger side and 22 mm (taller) on the drivers side. I'll most likely adjust the fronts at 30 mm which is the maximum height for them which equates to a .9" drop in the front. After it settles I'll measure to confirm the height. It looks like the rear is at the same height that I had with the cut springs, spring rubbers and custom/butchered spring pads.

Les