There are many exotic cars that come with a front end lift system from the factory nowadays. Cars such as Lamborghini, Ferrari, and even the Porsche GT3 have optional lift systems available. Purely because these cars are low to the ground for improved aerodynamics and not everyone in the world has buttery smooth roads like us here in Arizona. For example we had a 997 Turbo customer that got a lift system for his car because the speed humps in Australia were more like speed “jumps”. Some people just have driveways with knarly angles that make lowering their car impossible. Lets face it, these cars look awesome lowered and handle much better with performance suspension. But how can you get the best of both worlds for your required situation? KW HLS is the answer. As a big proponent of the KW coilovers, we have used them on our 997.1 Turbo and 997.2 Turbo S amongst many of our other Project Cars.
The KW HLS 2 is the front lift system only. KW also has the HLS 4 which can raise all 4 corners. The HLS 2 that we were installing for the Porsche 991 Turbo was perfect for our needs. The kit features new adjustable coil springs for the rear shocks and the front features a coilover with pnuematic insert to work with the factory shock. Because space is limited with most cars and especially the Porsche, KW locates the pump and fluid container to where the battery goes. This requires going from the long battery that Porsche uses to a smaller normal vehicle battery to fit with their system. The unit has steel braided lines that run to each corner and are activated by a switch which raises it and lowers. Because of the spring set up and pneumatic spacer on the front, it can only be lowered a certain amount for standard driving. So for those thinking this is like airride suspension, its not. It has a functional purpose to lift your vehicles front end 0-15mm even while you are driving up to 50mph. Once the button is pressed for either lowering or raising, the process is only about 4-5 seconds. We chose to mount our activation button in the center console coin holder.
Since this system works with the factory shocks, the PASM system is still able to be retained. Therefore you get the benefit of being able to switch that on or off for a firmer ride and have the functionality of clearance for daily driving needs to protect that front end from scrapes. Previously having the H&R springs on the car, I can say that the H&R had the car at a lower ride height, but with out the PASM activated, the car felt alittle loose. Not a knock on H&R, but the KW felt more tuned to work with the stock suspension. Now since these are purpose built, they really cannot be compared to the full KW Variant 3 coilover with independent rebound and compression. The ride quality and responsiveness of the full coilover is much different. Some applications KW has incorporate the HLS with the V3 on other vehicles. At a retail price of about $5600, this would be a great upgrade over standard coilovers if your driving environment and love for lowered cars demands the functions of the HLS system!
View all KW Coilovers For Sale here.
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