Advise/technical data regarding KW suspension

[Bowie69]

In the UK you can do anything you want, but if it breaks and you bolted it or welded it you can be made liable and sued/jailed. I think there may be an MOT rule surrounding welding steering rods, but it could also be internet rumours!

Ultimately you are responsible for the safety of your vehicle.

If a part failed because of bad workmanship the company who made it would get sued.

Bit like good old USA over here now

[Error404]

We are so lucky in the UK compared to almost anywhere else in the world in this respect.... one of the few.
You savages in the colonies may indeed have been better off under our rule it seems

In seriousness good to hear that KW themselves are involved. I am sure the German engineers will have taken this as a personal insult and follow it through to completion.

[quattro84]

Don't laugh too hard Brits, we are getting an EU-based MOT in some time and it won't be pretty.
In Belgium & Germany they are already adding all non-OEM vehicle modifications to your road approval papers.
Here in The Netherlands rules change every year, doing engine swaps which change the number of cylinders now ask for single car road approval tests which costs insane levels of money, (before it costs the price to reprint vehicle papers if you could convince there was no huge gain in engine power ) but annual brake testing for MOT can be done by checking the decelleration while driving., handbrakes capable over braking 1m/s^2 are fine sir!

But to comply with Mr Crossfire, the build process & quality is as he stated. and as an automotive development engineer myself i wonder wow the f*ck does your skilled approval board think a car is build? Do they want parts machined from single pieces of metal? If a certified company build it (which is the case) i am sure their welder(s) have documented & certified the building progress so i am sure they have data regarding weld quality, used filler material, affection of the heat affected zone and whatever a legislator can ask for. I guess TUV asks at least this info and perhaps they did some single piece destructive testing as well.

How does it work for any electical appliences in NZ? Do they test everyting imported as well? Like those Chinese christmas crap?? Far more lethal.

[le mans]

KW in Germany have committed to doing static testing of the RS2 struts for the LVVTA, but have given a time frame of '2 - 3 months'

LVVTA have asked for the following information, and I have no explanation why it is not readily available:

We still need the following information in order to assess the component and to gain assurance that the part has been produced in a controlled manner:
1. Any other TuV documentation regarding the strut tube and steering arm assembly
2. Material specification of the strut tube and steering arm
3. Manufacturing process for the welding
4. Details of quality control processes for the arm/tube/welding
5. Test reports for the ultimate strength testing of the steering arm and for the cyclic durability, which should have comparison to the original Audi component

So far KW have not supplied any specific information on the RS2 KW suspension, only general information about TUV approvals and so on.
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[le mans]

Overdue for an update on this.

KW commissioned a static strength test from a local university in Germany. This is what we had been waiting so long for. The testing was finally completed with the report dated 10/09/14. They compared the steering arm on the OE RS2 strut and the KW RS2. The KW strut was stiffer than the OE strut and neither showed any evidence of cracking at Fmax of approx 20kN (the equivalent of hanging a 2 tonne weight off the steering arm!).

The LVVTA TAC met and discussed the new information. They basically kicked KW into touch and rejected the suspension for NZ certification again. I wont go into details as it's not for public consumption. Suffice it to say the German KW manager who has spent months following up on this was not a happy camper and neither was I. To be fair to TAC they did have a couple of valid points I thought, including a lack of fatigue testing data. KW have since produced some fatigue test results for a Mercedes component they make and showed the KW inox welds to be more resiliant than the OE welds. However this is mute as LVVTA have stopped replying to my emails and I can only assume they are not going to spend any more time on it. KW have also said they are not going to put any more resources into this so it's a stale mate.

The KW suspension is still on my car while I wait for a Koni/H&R kit I've ordered to arrive. On occasion I take the car for a cruise around the 'driveway' to keep the fluids moving around and the KW kit is just fabulous as a sports focussed set up. But alas it's not to be and I have to move on.

[UrS6 - IamS6]

You've tried hard, what a pita. But it is good enough for Germany and all of the other countries it is allowed to be used in.

Thanks for updating.

Best wishes.