Best Upgrade from M030 Suspension

[Ghostrider78]

So I ordered the Koni SAD set from Carnewal, one because I know Gert, two because nowhere in the UK has them in stock and Koni has a 6 week lead time and three, because Carnewal was cheaper than anywhere in the UK.

Now, the question is which springs do I go with. My indie, who will be fitting an setting up recommends the H&R springs, but CG recommends the Eibach Pro. I could also use M030 springs. I din't really want to go lower than the m030 standard ride height, at least not by much. I'm lead to believe the H&R are similar in ride height to M0303, the Eibach a bit lower.

I'm not an expert on the differences, so trying to make that decision seems equally as difficult!

 

[maldren]

My key conclusion from the our suspension day at Bruntingthorpe, get the spring rates right and, for road use, Porsche standard rates are spot on.

 

[tob_today]

Personally if given different options from CG or another indy, I would go with CG assuming they both have the same information. There's very few people with same level of experience / expertise.

However when I spoke to CG they caveated their recommendation based on seeing the car, and driving it around their test route also with me to better understand what I like and don't. That's the difference with their service, and there's so much subjectivity that makes recommendations on paper (or screen) difficult (or impossible) to compare.

 

[tob_today]

My key conclusion from the our suspension day at Bruntingthorpe, get the spring rates right and, for road use, Porsche standard rates are spot on.

Good advice to read a copy of that test day, it's very interesting. Also Chris (CG) shares good info. It's also interesting to see that the same set-up on paper can perform quite differently depending on other factors.

 

[NedHan79]

Just reading this and I've a different angle. I have m030 on a 98 c2. 75k and in decent shape. I found it very hard tbh and I'm coming from an Impreza p1 fitted with Bc coilovers which were brutal, always run on the softest setting and still very crashy.
Being the eternal modder, I fell in with -30mm springs randomly on eBay. Spax I think and I'm guessing -20mm instead of -30 as the m030 is 10mm lower to start with. Shocks seemed to be in good shape when I removed them, certainly not what new ones would be but definitely usable. The Spax springs must be a lower rate because I found them to be more what I'd expect a factory ride to be. A lot more usable on Irish roads. Very pleased with little outlay but I do my own work so no labour costs.
No set up yet on the geometry front as the cars been off the road for major surgery. I have changed a lot of other parts which will probably make it hard as hell again but I'm a glutton for punishment.
I made gt3 spec solid rear subframe bushes and my own poly dog bone bushes. Made my rear arb adjustable. Other stuff has just been bought such as new arms, poly arb bushes etc and I went for adjustable toe arms to eradicate the geo issues on a lowered car. Just be careful on that one as different people have different opinions but I bent comet as yet.
Hope your konis give you what your looking for. It'll be good to hear your thoughts

 

[coullstar]

If your not going lower then Koni Special Active dampers would be worth a look.

Cough.... Is it wrong to say I told you so. :lol:

 

[Ghostrider78]

Teaser shot...

 

[coullstar]

So I ordered the Koni SAD set from Carnewal, one because I know Gert, two because nowhere in the UK has them in stock and Koni has a 6 week lead time and three, because Carnewal was cheaper than anywhere in the UK.

Now, the question is which springs do I go with. My indie, who will be fitting an setting up recommends the H&R springs, but CG recommends the Eibach Pro. I could also use M030 springs. I din't really want to go lower than the m030 standard ride height, at least not by much. I'm lead to believe the H&R are similar in ride height to M0303, the Eibach a bit lower.

I'm not an expert on the differences, so trying to make that decision seems equally as difficult!

I asked Gert on the Koni SAD with lowering springs and he said not to. No lower than M030. Any H&R or Eibach etc will be 30mm lower than stock height and too low for the Koni SAD shocks.

 

[Ghostrider78]

Yes, it's up for debate. But Koni themselves advise the SAD are suitable for lowering springs up to 40mm. Spoke to CG and they advised 30mm was the sweet spot on the 996 with these shocks and their recommended route.

Good enough for me. Worst case is I can always go back to a different set of springs, but given my engine now has to come out for a load of work, it's the least of my worries!!

 

[coullstar]

Ah okay, good to know as I was looking at them but then Gert mentioned it so moved away from them.

 

[tob_today]

Worst case is I can always go back to a different set of springs, but given my engine now has to come out for a load of work, it's the least of my worries!!

That sounds a bit painful, hopefully nothing major. Seems you have quite a following here waiting to hear your feedback on your new suspension set-up. Good luck!

 

[Ghostrider78]

Worst case is I can always go back to a different set of springs, but given my engine now has to come out for a load of work, it's the least of my worries!!

That sounds a bit painful, hopefully nothing major. Seems you have quite a following here waiting to hear your feedback on your new suspension set-up. Good luck!

Well the car went in on Monday for the shocks and springs, also new top mounts. Also thought I'd have a major service done as it's pretty much due now.

Got a call advising that my oil leak had got worse, seemed to be from the spark plug tubes, both rockers and the RMS...easier to address them all with the engine out. SO while the engine is out, might as well upgrade the IMS, new clutch, water pump, AoS.

A painful invoice coming my way!!

 

[tob_today]

Ouch. Well the good news is you've pretty much covered all the long term ownership maintenance items, so can enjoy your new suspension with peace of mind. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[maldren]

While they are in there I would get a few other 'engine out' jobs done: outer seal off the IMS bearing, replace over engine brake pipes.

 

[Dammit]

Ohlin R&T maintenance is no small thing (as I am just discovering)

Road use - the suggested service interval is effectively 18.6k miles

BG Motorsports are main UK supplier - they quote £275 per front unit and £200 per rear unit inc VAT (then plus £20 to ship each way)

In practice, adding on labour to remove and refit, it means I'll be looking to have them serviced every 2 years with what equates to about £600 per year...



Mine are slightly overdue for a service so need to be done. I'll probably run them for a year to really evaluate what I think they are worth to me. It could be that I revert to whatever option this thread settles on(!) My car was previously on factory fitted M030 suspension, but I do love the -20mm from factory standard height drop of the Ohlins... and they do legitimately change the car into a different animal.... whether that is a £600 a year animal :dont know:

There are probably enough of us with the Ohlins R/T to each throw in some money for a 911uk set of dampers to be held by Centre Gravity (with their permission of course) so that we could drive in and drive out, with the set that we leave being sent off for service and then to wait for the next person?