Similar posts have already been made and discussions on KWv3 installs are already plentiful. I just thought I'd share my install experience and provide some motivation/help/insight to those attempting to install their coilovers!
I don't have much experience with doing automotive installs and maintenance myself. I would say that I am fairly technically inclined, and I installed lowering springs into a '92 Prelude back in high school, which helped my understanding out a bit. The entire install took about 5 hours, which includes jacking the car up, removing tires, and an initial height adjustment. It could have went a lot quicker, but I was drinking beers and taking my time while enjoying the process.
I put the car up on jack stands on all four corners and removed the wheels. From there, I literally just followed the NSX Maintenance Manual for the front/rear strut removal. This site is also very informative and helped a lot because there are fairly good pictures.
Fronts:
The fronts were more difficult, in my opinion. Remove the plastic covers on the window cowl and remove the two front damper nuts. Keep the rear one tightened for now so that the strut does not move with the lower control arm later. Remove the 17mm lower damper nut and bolt. Remove the 10mm bolts that secures the ABS wire to the lower control arm and the 12mm bolt that secures the brake line to the damper body. Remove the 17mm nut that attaches the front sway bar end link to the lower control arm and move it out of the way. From here, everything is fairly "loose" and you just have to swivel the brake disc around and play with the angles while pulling on the strut toward you. It should pop out of the hub fairly easily. Some people said they had to use the 2x4 on the fronts, however, I found that using the 2x4 didn't help me as much as just finding the correct brake disc angle to slide the strut right out. Once the strut lower end is out of its socket, remove the last damper nut and the strut should fall right out! The KWv3 coilover slides right in with ease, and just button everything back up in reverse.
Rears:
The rears were far easier and took only about 15-20 minutes each. Again, I followed the NSX manual for rear damper removal. I did not follow the website I linked above for the rear. He disconnected the upper control arm from the chassis via two 17mm bolts. I did not do that, and just followed the NSX manual for removal. Once all the nuts and bolts are removed, I used the 2x4 method (4 ft. 2x4 and a small block of wood to rest on the brake disc to not damage the splash guard) to push the lower control arm down while pulling not he strut to remove it from its socket. Again, keep the rear damper bolt up top fasted until the strut is out of its socket. Then unfasten it and slide the strut out. The new coilover will slide right in with ease. Button back up and you're all done!
I also installed a set of the Carbon6 Non-Compliance Brackets in the front while I had the car up on jacks. The install was very simple and only required a slight amount of filing down the extra molding from the metal you clamp the bracket over. Install took about an hour for me, only because I had to hand tighten everything down with a hex key and not a ratchet. If I had a ratchet with the hex attachment, I could have probably had it done in 20 minutes.
My overall impression from my initial drive is: WOW! There is a much more firm and planted feel to these suspension (as expected when I was driving original '92 struts with 107,000 miles). The ride is still very comfortable, yet very crisp and more lively. The steering feels much more responsive. I used the recommended settings for bump and rebound that KW provides. I still have some more suspension toys to install so I will be messing around with it later. Hope that wasn't just a bunch of rambling!
I don't have much experience with doing automotive installs and maintenance myself. I would say that I am fairly technically inclined, and I installed lowering springs into a '92 Prelude back in high school, which helped my understanding out a bit. The entire install took about 5 hours, which includes jacking the car up, removing tires, and an initial height adjustment. It could have went a lot quicker, but I was drinking beers and taking my time while enjoying the process.
I put the car up on jack stands on all four corners and removed the wheels. From there, I literally just followed the NSX Maintenance Manual for the front/rear strut removal. This site is also very informative and helped a lot because there are fairly good pictures.
Fronts:
The fronts were more difficult, in my opinion. Remove the plastic covers on the window cowl and remove the two front damper nuts. Keep the rear one tightened for now so that the strut does not move with the lower control arm later. Remove the 17mm lower damper nut and bolt. Remove the 10mm bolts that secures the ABS wire to the lower control arm and the 12mm bolt that secures the brake line to the damper body. Remove the 17mm nut that attaches the front sway bar end link to the lower control arm and move it out of the way. From here, everything is fairly "loose" and you just have to swivel the brake disc around and play with the angles while pulling on the strut toward you. It should pop out of the hub fairly easily. Some people said they had to use the 2x4 on the fronts, however, I found that using the 2x4 didn't help me as much as just finding the correct brake disc angle to slide the strut right out. Once the strut lower end is out of its socket, remove the last damper nut and the strut should fall right out! The KWv3 coilover slides right in with ease, and just button everything back up in reverse.
Rears:
The rears were far easier and took only about 15-20 minutes each. Again, I followed the NSX manual for rear damper removal. I did not follow the website I linked above for the rear. He disconnected the upper control arm from the chassis via two 17mm bolts. I did not do that, and just followed the NSX manual for removal. Once all the nuts and bolts are removed, I used the 2x4 method (4 ft. 2x4 and a small block of wood to rest on the brake disc to not damage the splash guard) to push the lower control arm down while pulling not he strut to remove it from its socket. Again, keep the rear damper bolt up top fasted until the strut is out of its socket. Then unfasten it and slide the strut out. The new coilover will slide right in with ease. Button back up and you're all done!
I also installed a set of the Carbon6 Non-Compliance Brackets in the front while I had the car up on jacks. The install was very simple and only required a slight amount of filing down the extra molding from the metal you clamp the bracket over. Install took about an hour for me, only because I had to hand tighten everything down with a hex key and not a ratchet. If I had a ratchet with the hex attachment, I could have probably had it done in 20 minutes.
My overall impression from my initial drive is: WOW! There is a much more firm and planted feel to these suspension (as expected when I was driving original '92 struts with 107,000 miles). The ride is still very comfortable, yet very crisp and more lively. The steering feels much more responsive. I used the recommended settings for bump and rebound that KW provides. I still have some more suspension toys to install so I will be messing around with it later. Hope that wasn't just a bunch of rambling!
