If you are going to go with an X74 or M030, you should find someone with the setup and have them take you for a test drive.

Each one of those suspension are good.

Like what Viper said, the X74 does drop your car a bit lower than the M030. X74 is also more aggressive than M030 (translates to more rigid on the road).

That said, most people do suggest Pss9 because it is adjustable, so you can always retune it if you feel the car rides too soft/rigid. With X74 and M030, you are kinda stuck with what you buy.

 

Depends upon your usage and what you want to get out of it? If you want better performance/compliance and some adjustability then do some PSS9s with H&R sway bars. If you want smething cheaper, non-adjustable and a bit of lowering the X74 does the job.

 

This convinced me: http://www.carnewal-europe.com/cpx_p96079t.htm
and the opposing view: http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforum...d.php?t=181115

Whichever you decide will improve the handling dramatically. Good luck.

 

I'm very happy with my ROW M030 compared to stock
Nice ride, reduced body roll and changes cornering from under to over steer.

Also no problems with speed bumps or driveways

 

As you can see... not one suspension fits the bill for everyone. I will suggest testing them out as much as you can in person before you buy.

 

I think a lot of you guys are totally missing the point! The OP (b-man) clearly stated he doesn't want to go the PSS9 route because of the cost. Sorry, but after years and years of reading these threads where everybody says to go with the coilover kits even if the poster says CLEARLY they don't want them, it's really pretty irritating! It's a common theme on all of the Porsche forums I visit (including the one I'm a moderator on). It would be a lot more helpful on if people actually answered the poster's questions! Ok I'm done ranting.


b-man,
I went the springs/shocks route and you won't be sorry if you're just looking for a better street setup. Skip the PSS9. I've advised quite a few people on this after a lot of people told them to go the PSS9 route and every single person has told me after the fact that they're very happy with my advice. They were all people that just wanted to up their street performance a bit without sacrificing too much comfort, spending too much money unnecessarily, and lower the car a bit for a more aggressive look.

I did the H&R springs and the Bilstien HD shocks after trying just the springs at first. I knew just changing the springs wasn't the best setup, but when you do the swaps yourself, all it takes is some extra labor and an extra alignment to see how the car behaves both ways. I'm probably one of the few people out there that has thousands of miles of experience with both setups.

You have several choices:
1. ROW M030 - Lowers the car zero in the front and ~10mm in the back. Slighly sportier ride.
2. X74 - Lowers the car ~30 mm and a slightly sportier ride than # 1.
3. Bilstein HD shocks with stock springs - This will stiffen the ride a bit and keep the ride height the same. However, changing the shocks requires removing the springs so I don't see the point in saving yourself $350 on the springs when swapping them will make such a big difference and there's no extra labor (i.e. $$$) required (ok maybe a few minutes).
4. Bilstein HD shocks with H&R springs - This will lower the car 1.25-1.5" all around and give you a firmer, more planted feel. If you click on the link in my signature below you can see the ride height of my car with this setup. Like you, I didn't see the need to spend a ton of money on coilovers when I just wanted a bit of a performance improvement, plus I wanted a lowered look. The lower center of gravity doesn't hurt either!
5. Bilstein Sport shocks with H&R springs - This will lower the car 1.25-1.5" all around and give you a ride pretty much like stock, but with a bit less body roll due to the lower center of gravity. I don't recommend this due to the low ride height of the car and the risk of bottoming out now that you're 1.5" lower and don't have stiffer shocks.

One point of contention that I personally have gotten mixed answers from Bilstein on is the difference between the HD and Sport shocks. I finally got in touch with an engineer at the company instead of somebody in their customer service area and the engineer told me what I believe is the correct answer, and has been backed up by a number of people that have tried both. The Sport shocks are valved like the Porsche OEM shocks, but are intended for shorter springs. The HD shocks are stiffer, but are intended for stock spring heights. I'm sure at least one other person here will tell me I'm wrong, but that's the word straight from a Bilstein engineer.

Installation of any of these should cost you $800-1200 including alignment at any reputable shop. I've heard of prices as low as ~$600, but that usually involves somebody getting a deal from a buddy or becuase they do a ton of business with the shop.

 

I'll do it for 600 bucks, any day of the week. It's about two hours of work unless you have to swap the old springs onto new struts. In which case, I'd add about an hour. You can do the swap in your garage with a few normal hand tools (sockets, open end/box end wrenches, ratchet, and torque wrench) plus a 'rental' spring compressor from your favorite parts store.

 

Teflon,
According to your post the sport shocks and the HD shocks both lower the car 1.25-1.5 all around. Is that correct? BTW, thanks for the info.

 

Had mo30 intalled a few months ago. I am really happy with it. You can find it here http://e-partssales.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc? for a little over one grand. About 600.00 for intalation. I like the fact that I still have a Porsche "stock" suspesion.

 

Shocks don't lower a car, springs do. H&R springs lower the car that much. Eibach and Techart units both do about the same amount, but I'd stick with the H&R due to the low cost. Techart springs are made by one of the major spring manufacturers anyway, so you're just paying for a name. Eibachs are fine too, but many more people use the H&R units so I'd stick with those.

 

question- I had Eibach Pro-kit springs and Bilstein sports on my Dinan 330i, and enjoyed the ride quality + lowered stance over my 19" wheels. I'm pretty much a daily street driver.

Was thinking of doing same setup to my 2002 C2, have the factory 18 wheels but will probably get some nice 19's eventually. Anyone use Eibachs on their C2? looking for feedback.
Also, would it be better to go with Bilstein HD's vs. the Sports if I use the Eibach springs?

I will do the work myself, changing springs / shocks is no big deal to me.