Porsche Taycan KW V4 Coilover Review: 2021+ RWD Sedan

The Porsche Taycan KW V4 coilover kit answers a question every base-model owner eventually asks: what do you do when your rear-drive Taycan came with fixed steel springs instead of the optional adaptive air suspension? The factory steel setup rides fine, but it is not adjustable — you cannot lower it, you cannot corner-balance it, and you cannot dial the damping. The KW V4 replaces that entire system with a 3-way adjustable, stainless-bodied coilover engineered specifically for the Taycan Y1A sedan. In our Tampa, FL shop we treat it as the flagship handling upgrade for the non-air Taycan, and this review breaks down exactly what you get for $8,684.00.

Why Put Coilovers on a Porsche Taycan?

Coilovers transform the base Taycan because the standard rear-drive car ships with non-adjustable steel coil springs and Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) dampers — a setup with zero ride-height or corner-balance adjustability. The 2021+ Taycan RWD is the lightest car in the range at a 4,566‑lb curb weight, makes up to 402 hp with the Performance Battery (up to 469 hp with the Performance Battery Plus and launch control), and reaches 60 mph in about 5.1 seconds. That is real performance riding on a chassis you cannot tune.

A coilover kit solves three problems at once on this platform. First, stance: the steel-spring Taycan sits noticeably tall, and the KW V4 pulls it down 5–30mm at the front and 5–35mm at the rear. Second, weight management: at over two tons with a low, battery-dominated center of gravity, the Taycan rewards precise damping control that fixed dampers cannot deliver. Third, adjustability: with a car this heavy, the ability to corner-balance and fine-tune compression is the difference between a lowered car and a genuinely better-handling one. You can browse the full range of performance suspension options at NLP Performance to see how coilovers compare to springs and sway bars.

It is worth being honest about who this is for. The factory steel-and-PASM Taycan is a comfortable, capable car straight from Zuffenhausen, and plenty of owners are happy with it. But the base car's suspension is a fixed calibration — you get Porsche's chosen ride height and Porsche's chosen damping curves, full stop. If you want to lower the car for looks, sharpen it for canyon roads, or set it up for occasional track use, a coilover is the only path that gives you control over all of those variables at once.

KW V4 Coilover: What Makes It the Flagship

The KW V4 is KW's top street-and-track coilover, using 3-way independently adjustable damping derived from KW's motorsport program. Unlike a single-adjustment coilover, the V4 separates rebound from compression and then splits compression into two circuits — low-speed and high-speed — so you tune body control and impact harshness independently.

Rebound uses KW's patented TVR-A technology, while low-speed and high-speed compression run KW's TVCLH-A multivalve technology. In practical terms you get 6 clicks of low-speed compression (the purple adjuster), 15 clicks of high-speed compression (the gold adjuster), plus separate rebound — a combination KW rates at 16 distinct characteristic damping curves. Each kit ships with a vehicle-specific comfort baseline so you start from a livable street setting and dial up from there. The kit is manufactured in Germany and includes a component certificate.

That pedigree is not marketing. KW developed the V4 platform on some of the heaviest, most powerful cars on the road — the Audi R8, Audi RS6, BMW M5, Mercedes-AMG GT, Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, and even the Lamborghini Aventador. Applying that same three-circuit damper to a two-ton electric sedan is a natural fit, because the Taycan poses exactly the challenge KW built the V4 to solve: a lot of mass, a low center of gravity, and an owner who wants both daily comfort and track-day composure from one set of struts.

Ride Height and Corner Balancing on a 4,566-lb EV

The KW V4 lowers the Taycan RWD sedan 5–30mm at the front axle and 5–35mm at the rear, and every millimeter is set with a threaded spring perch rather than a fixed drop. That continuously adjustable height is exactly what a heavy EV needs, because ride height and corner weights are what let you balance more than two tons of car across all four contact patches.

Corner balancing (setting equal diagonal weights) matters more on the Taycan than on a lightweight sports car precisely because there is so much mass to distribute. With independent height adjustment at each corner, a shop can put the car on scales and equalize the cross weights, then use the 3-way damping to control how that mass loads and unloads in transitions. The result is a Taycan that turns in flatter, rotates more willingly for a rear-drive EV, and stops squatting and diving the way the soft factory steel springs allow.

Fitment: Which Taycans Does This Kit Fit?

This KW V4 kit fits only the 2021+ Porsche Taycan Y1A Sedan 2WD (rear-wheel drive) that was built without the optional adaptive air suspension. In other words, it is for the base rear-drive sedan on factory steel coil springs and PASM — the roughly 300 kW (408 hp) RWD car. It is not designed for air-suspension Taycans, all-wheel-drive 4S/Turbo/Turbo S models, or the Cross Turismo/Sport Turismo body styles.

Because the base RWD Taycan still uses electronically controlled PASM dampers, the KW V4 kit includes the electronic damper deactivation needed to run coilovers cleanly — it manages the factory adaptive-damper circuit so the car does not throw a chassis fault when the OEM struts are removed. Always confirm your car is the steel-spring, non-air RWD sedan before ordering; if you have air suspension, this kit is not the correct part.

Taycan RWD Suspension Options Compared

Here is how the KW V4 coilover stacks up against the two factory suspension setups offered on the rear-drive Taycan sedan. The KW V4 is the only option that adds true height and multi-way damping adjustability — the factory systems, air or steel, are fixed calibrations you cannot corner-balance.

Installation, Alignment, and What to Expect

Installing coilovers on a Taycan is a job for an EV-experienced shop, not a driveway afternoon. The Taycan is a high-voltage vehicle, and suspension work involves lifting a 4,566‑lb car and disturbing components near HV routing, so the vehicle should be handled by a technician familiar with EV safety procedures. Budget for the KW V4's electronic-damper deactivation step to be wired in during the install rather than treated as an afterthought.

Plan on a corner-balanced setup and a full alignment afterward. Because you are choosing your own ride height, set the height first, let the car settle, then align to Taycan-appropriate specs and, ideally, put it on scales to equalize cross weights. Expect the biggest change in body control: the factory steel springs feel floaty over crests, and the KW V4 removes that vagueness. Start with KW's supplied comfort baseline for daily driving, then add low-speed compression for flatter cornering and back off high-speed compression if sharp expansion joints feel harsh.

Two habits keep the kit performing over the long haul. First, revisit your settings after the first few hundred miles — new springs and mounts settle, so a quick ride-height and cross-weight recheck is worth the shop time. Second, keep the threaded perches and adjusters clean; KW builds the V4 struts to resist corrosion, but grit and road salt still belong off the threads if you want easy future adjustments. Do that, and the V4 stays as tunable in year five as it was on install day — a meaningful advantage over a sealed factory strut you can never open or revalve.

The Verdict: Is the KW V4 Worth $8,684?

For the right owner, yes. If you have the rear-drive, steel-spring Taycan and you want both a purposeful stance and a genuine handling upgrade, the KW V4 is the most capable coilover you can bolt to the platform — and effectively the only 3-way adjustable option built specifically for it. If you only want the car to sit lower and never plan to touch the damping, that is a lot of capability to leave unused. But for a driver who intends to corner-balance and tune, this is the flagship, and it is priced like one.