Our well-known slogan, “The perfect suspension for every demand,” is not just an empty promise at KW suspensions. It reflects our everyday commitment. That’s why we have so many loyal customers who return time and again for KW coilover kits. One of these dedicated KW repeat customers is Gamaliel Toledo, a former U.S. Army serviceman who was stationed in Germany. For him, modified BMWs and KW suspensions are a true automotive passion.

In 2006, the American moved to Germany and has been inseparable from his adopted Bavarian home, his BMWs, and KW suspensions ever since. His current ride, the BMW X5 M Competition (F95), is already his ninth BMW.

In every one of his BMWs, he installs either a KW V3 or KW V4 coilover suspension. “And not just in mine,” laughs Gamaliel, who everyone calls Gama. “I haven’t let my wife drive a car without a KW coilover for years.”

Gama is an old acquaintance of mine. He’s also the European Regional Manager of the BMW M Flights Community (https://www.mflight.org/), and we go way back to the wild days of BMW tuning. The world, and especially our industry, is a small one, so it’s no surprise that Gama and I often cross paths at KW. Whether it’s during an M Flights Community visit to the KW headquarters or when he offered his M550i (G30) as a development vehicle for the KW V3 coilover suspension, we somehow keep running into each other.

Although Gama has been working on cars since he was a kid, he’s always had his KW coilover suspensions installed by our official KW specialist dealers. “It really depends on the overall package I’m getting for my cars,” says the American who now calls Bavaria home. “In recent years, I’ve gone to Aulitzky Tuning, Extreme Customs, and TVW Car Design.”

Quick tip: If you purchase your KW coilover suspension from one of our authorized dealers in Germany and have it professionally installed there, you’ll receive our exclusive three-year extended warranty on the KW coilover kit. That gives you a total of five years of coverage. Please note that this offer is only valid in Germany.

These days, Gama is often seen driving his BMW X5 M Competition. Under the hood, the powerful S63B44B V8 engine delivers 625 hp (460 kW), and he has treated it to the full Eventuri turbo inlet kit, installed by Aulitzky Tuning. He has also added plenty of visual upgrades, including decorative bolts from Downstar, along with custom caps and covers. All of it makes for a very stylish appearance.

Next came an Eisenmann center muffler and a rear muffler from Aulitzky Tuning. Since then, Gama’s BMW X5 M Competition finally sounds the way an M should, not just to his ears but to everyone around him.

Even better than the sound of the BMW X5 M Competition is its stance, thanks to the KW V4 coilover suspension and Brixton Forged PF11 RS alloy wheels. “I bought the suspension and the wheel-and-tire combo from TVW Car Design,” Gama explains. The wheels measure 10.5 x 22 inches at the front and 11.5 x 23 inches at the rear. Paired with Continental SportContact 7 tires in 295/30R22 and 315/25R23, they look even more impressive. The TÜV-approved lowering of 55 millimeters at the front and 50 millimeters at the rear adds even more visual presence.

The KW V4 Coilover Suspension in Detail

What makes the KW V4 coilover suspension so special is that it not only delivers a sleek lowered look but also significantly enhances driving dynamics. “The KW V3 is already amazing,” says Gama. “But ever since I had the V4 in my M5 back then, I knew I absolutely had to have this suspension in my X5 M truck too.”

The KW V4 isn’t just any suspension system. It offers the ability to adjust the dampers independently in three key parameters: high-speed compression, low-speed compression, and low-speed rebound. If you think that sounds like overkill for a street car or something only useful for track tools or motorsport, chances are you’ve never actually driven a car equipped with a suspension like this.

A KW V4 coilover suspension is, in many ways, the perfect balance of performance and versatility. Its damper design offers significantly more tuning flexibility than conventional systems. That’s why more and more car manufacturers are now equipping select special-edition models with triple-adjustable dampers. Interestingly, one of the first production vehicles to feature such a setup was the BMW M4 GTS (F82). KW developed, manufactured, and supplied the suspension system directly to BMW M for this high-performance model.

With its three-way adjustable V4 damper technology, this KW coilover suspension delivers a tremendous boost in driving dynamics in Gema’s BMW X5 M Competition, combined with sporty ride comfort.

Even during demanding driving maneuvers with rapid load changes and tight corners, or on highway sections riddled with transverse joints, the X5 M remains easy to control – even when fitted with 295/30R22 and 315/25R23 tires. It handles confidently even on undulating stretches or those notoriously bumpy sections of the German Autobahn A7, where transverse joints seem to appear every five meters.

This is made possible by the two-stage compression and rebound valves also used in the KW V4 coilover suspension. This allows the damper characteristics to be configured during the suspension development phase in such a way that driving dynamics and ride comfort are no longer mutually exclusive. Unlike the KW V3, the KW V4 features separate adjustability for high-speed and low-speed compression damping. The big advantage? You can fine-tune the damping much more individually. Still not sure what that means? No problem, here’s a helpful analogy to make it easier to understand.

When we talk about high-speed and low-speed in suspension speak, we are not referring to how fast Gama is driving his BMW X5 M Competition or how fast you are going in your own car. What we are actually looking at is the speed of the damper’s piston rod, how quickly it compresses and rebounds. This is the core of damper tuning. It means working more with the damper itself rather than just juggling spring rates or relying on a universal damping characteristic that is used across different vehicles.

Simply put, slow piston rod speeds refer to everything you do behind the wheel, such as braking, accelerating, and steering. In contrast, everything that comes from the road, like bumps, transverse joints, and similar irregularities, is considered a high-speed input.

What’s new about our KW V4 for the BMW X5 M (F95) is that, thanks to revised valve technology, no external reservoir is needed anymore. The dampers can be adjusted separately for low-speed compression (13 clicks), high-speed compression (13 clicks), and low-speed rebound (16 clicks).

The gold-colored adjustment dial is used to fine-tune high-speed compression damping, while the purple dial adjusts the low-speed compression characteristics. When the valves are opened, compression damping is reduced, allowing the body of Gama’s BMW X5 M Competition to compress more quickly.

Compression damping influences the piston rod’s compression speed to a certain extent. It also affects the vehicle’s pitch and roll behavior, as well as steering response. When compression damping is increased, the piston rod compresses more slowly. As a result, the large BMW SUV behaves more stably during steering inputs. The firmer the compression damping is set, the more precise the steering response becomes.

The adjustable low-speed rebound setting directly influences the extension speed of the piston rod. It controls how quickly the suspension spring returns to its original position. In simple terms, the rebound valve openings are widened for a more comfortable ride and narrowed for a firmer setup.

Don’t be afraid to adjust the factory preset of the KW V4 coilover suspension to better suit your personal driving feel. Every KW coilover suspension with adjustable damper characteristics comes with a detailed setup guide. In addition, many of our certified KW specialist dealers offer personalized suspension tuning services.

Since the BMW X5 M Performance, like many other vehicles, comes equipped from the factory with semi-active damper control, our coilover kits always include cancellation modules. The KW cancellation kits (ESC modules, suspension deactivation) are vehicle-specific coils and resistors that connect to the original damper control connectors.

Once installed, the modules simulate the electrical resistance that would normally be present at the electronically adjustable damper valves in the factory adaptive suspension system, depending on the selected driving mode. All other adaptive features such as automatic transmission programs, adaptive steering, ESP control, throttle response, exhaust valve control, and similar systems remain fully functional.

He doesn’t really know yet which BMW model he wants to buy next. He prefers to wait and see for now, but one thing is certain: there will definitely be a KW coilover suspension on board again.

Photos KW, EP Media, Philip Mühleck, Aulitzky Tuning, Eisenmann, TVW Car Design