[KennyP]

i raised my rear 1 cm and front 0.5 cm from what it was before... before rear seemed too stiff on bigger bumps, like ti ran out of travel... but after raising the car its a lot more forgiving. So dont set it too low. Springs do bind but kw has used that style of rear spring for a long time... on e46 forums there are similar threads on rear springs. I read that with progressive springs it can be normal for some coils to touch under static load. The "beehive" shape allows the smaller coils on the end to fit partially inside the larger center coils upon further compression.
KW, ST are on a sportier side... if you like stiff ride then ST or KW v1 or v2 are ok. IF you are looking for more comfort... then KW 3 is the way to go so you can soften out compression aswell as rebound...