Looking at doing a suspension upgrade on my 01 TT (lowering). The car is not a track rat and doesnt not need to be "competitive" on a roadcourse, however, I do have some spirited runs in "the twisties" every now and then. I was trying not to spend the $2k + install for coilovers, so the thought of a shock/strut/spring combo was more appealing to me than a coilover setup at this time.

Looking for some guidance as far as what suspension to go with. I previously had an 03 TT (not sure if there are ANY suspension differences between an 01 and 03 model year). I installed a set of H&R springs, with stock shocks, and replaced all the suspension mounts in the car. THe ride height and quality was great for me, although, I put less than 5 K miles on that setup before I sold the car (biggest regret of my automobile-owning life). Maybe I didnt put enough miles on it before it would have started to give me issues that some members on here complain about when going with lowing springs and stock shocks.

Now, it has been a while since I had my 03 so I dont know exactly what the height difference was with stock vs. H&r springs, but I can say that my 01, looks ridiculously high. It may also be that my 03 was black and my 01 is silver (the black cars seem to have the illusion of looking lower). The rated drop on the H&r springs is only 1.0" according to tirerack. Is this usually underestimated, or pretty accurate? I am looking for something a bit more aggressive than 1", but still driveable on the street without spending $2k + install.

Now onto the issue with shock/struts. I can really only find two manufacturers that make shocks/struts for the 996tt without goign to a coilover setup. The bilstein HD non-adjustable are damn near $400 a piece, bringing this project up to coilover price. At that point, I would jsut get a nice coilover. I did find that Koni makes an externally adjustable shock and it is very reasonably priced, however, they only make rear shocks... would it be stupid to mix the adjustable konis in the rear with stock front shocks? why doesnt koni make fronts?! UGh...

Thoughts? Comments? Advice?

Thanks!

 

row mo30's with h&r sport springs will give you what you remember from your other car. i can't imagine you'd need more than that for the driving style and conditions you described. in concert with engine mods, lowering the car 40mm will get you anything you need for street/canyon driving. it may take a minute to get used to the harsher ride compared to stock, but you'll never go back.

 

cool thanks! any info on the row mo30's? I always thought those were just oem Euro springs?

 

i don't know much more than that. other than the row euro height is preferred by far, and the mo30's on our cars ( as i understand them ) were the factory answer along with the x73 components to a stiffer/flatter ride setup, and expressly designed for what we hope to do; eg go fast and stick it. my point is also that stuff is cheaper ( if you can find it ) than full coilover setups. i just got a new set of h&r's front and they were about $300 bucks? ya can't beat that.

 

I wish H&R made a "race" model of their lowering spring like they do for some other models. Any idea if Champion motorsport springs are a lower drop than the H&Rs? How does the mo30s compare to the H&R and champion springs in ride height on the 996tt?

The ROW Mo30s are a traditional shock and spring combo, not a coilover right? Where is a good place to buy them from? Do you know the P/N? Thanks!

 

last thing i can add, and hopefully others that know more can help further..

but if you;re driving canyons and streets, you won't need a lower drop or ride stance than provided for with h&r's "sport" spring. it's kinda in the middle of full race and street/stock. not familiar with others' ride height(s) but an inch and half drop, will keep you very planted.

 

I looked into shocks and springs and thought it was cost prohibitive when you could get H&R coilovers for ~$1800. The H&Rs will get you lower than springs. I ran techart springs on stock shocks and when I removed them for the suspension upgrade after four months the rear shocks were leaking. Not to mention the stock shocks are not enough dampener for the shocks. My rear end was unstable under hard cornering due to this and borderline damgerous. The H&Rs can be had for $2000. Or you can find a nicer used suspension. But make sure any used dampener you buy is rebuildable. I would also upgrade your rear sway bar. It makes a world of difference.

 

I think the X73 package is the best set up if you want to lower the car without running in to crazy alignment issues. Factory parts always seem to work better. Unfortunatly, I've heard the package is no longer available to order.

 

Just want to say, I took off the H&R from my car to replace them with stock springs. I can't believe people actually put H&R springs on stock shocks and believe the car drives nice. Stiff? yes. Lower? yes. Dangerous? YES!

The springs are too stiff for the shocks. Unless you drive on smooth roads all the time, this is a dangerous combo. The problem is especially obvious in the rear. The tires will lose contact with the road on every bump. This makes the car VERY dangerous on bumpy roads especially when it rains or when in a high speed curve or in a cruve when it rains!

Whatever you choose, go with something that was sorted together. You need to have shocks that were designed/valved around the spring rates. I found the H&R and stock shocks to be a very bad combo.

I'm curious to know how PSS9-10 or H&R coilover compare...

 

The pss9s have dampening adjustment iirc. The H&R street performance do not have dampeners adjustments. The H&R streets are probably the closest to stock gt2/3 dampeners in design. And maybe even dampening?

 

Bottom line is that there is no "cheap" (just springs) way to lower/stiffen these cars safely (shocks/struts that work with springs)?

By this I mean that besides stock, or the no longer available M030 and X73, the only way to achieve this modification is through coilovers such as PSS9-10/H&R/Motons/JRZ/Ohlins/KW, etc.

Am I correct in my assumptions?

 

i'm sure that's right, but i know nothing beyond what i've got, and how it runs. in my case the car was tweaked by some guys that really know these cars, so presumably there are reasons it has h&r springs on mo30's with gt3 sway bars f/r..drop links matched with 9x12x18's at gt2 row height; using the x73/gt2 alignment specs. i can't imagine anyone on the street needs a more stable or compliant setup than that.

i mean, sure.. all the options are cool ( and more expensive?) .. and if ya really want to spend $ motons look cool and all .. but do i *need* "em? ... i think not.

also, someone mentioned h&r springs on stock shocks possibly being "dangerous"(?). i have trouble with that, beyond the fact that our cars might be considered "dangerous" anytime at wot. but hey, who really knows..

 

www.carnewal.com is a good candy shop for a TT owner:

 

So that means that M030 is standard on European models only?

 

Yes.

I have a set that just came out from my car when PSS10 coil overs went in. My M030 have 50kmiles, other than that they are in good shape. I will sell them cheap!