Not my fault the struts on my 02 Boxster have not needed replacing. I've asked the techs...

Just asking about replacement struts at the moment - not complete coil-over systems (since i struck out on getting a complete, matched ROW 030 kit)

Who has used:

1. Bilstein sport monotube struts?
2. Koni sport struts

I know that when i went through this for my Audi, the Konis universally were preferred for street apps (comfort) and the Bilsteins got the edge for track use.

I certainly may consider full kits (PSS9, KW v1 or 2) but i'm looking for some BTDT - specifically comparing to OEM if possible, as a known baseline.

The race shop i'm currently workign with to do some extensive repairs seesm to really like the H&R progressive springs.

Thanks,

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

boxster durability, and the general lethargy of the community.

C'mon!

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

Quote
grant
boxster durability, and the general lethargy of the community.

C'mon!

Grant

about this more than once and they have test driven the car and report that it feels fine and as long as the struts are not leaking to leave them alone.

I talked about strut options and I forget the details but the conclusion was that for my type of usage for when the struts needed doing to simply replace them with new stock units.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

I don't know about their ability to go 200k, but mine at 50k are quite good. For pure street use, I'd hesitate to change them. but with the potential need to replace 1 or 2 anyway (due to crash damage), and my mix of autoX, track and street, I'm considering options.

in any event, i got one of the last ROW030 kits, new old stock, en route from Germany - thanks to texts from 3 friends, one here ion PB!

From what i have heard the 030 kit is quite street-able, and i know its designed specifically for this car, by the factory, for this particular motor etc. (the kits differ for 2.x and 3.x litre cars, and for tip/manual.

That said, we're a sizable community.

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

it makes for a harsher ride and the car is lower and dragging of the nose (and possibly even the tail) is more likely.

Thus the decision was easy for me to make: When (if) my Boxster's struts needing doing I'm just going to just stick with factory setup.

But like I started with different strokes for different folks. I'm sure you'll be quite happy with the ROW setup.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

I've driven a ROW030 986 - its quite livable.
Yep, its lower. Yep, its firmer. But not as much as, say, PSS9s or some of the other setups i've seen. So i hope it serves double duty.

On the flip side, its not as good on the track. One solid data point from Pedro -- he made clear that the big jump in his own performance came from the PSS kit - that said, he did not match springs and dampers, he used only ROW springs (claims they are similar, seems odd to me).

We shall see. After i drive it enough to know, i'll report back, much as i did when i put coil-overs in the wagon. That went well.

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

I've got the ROW 030 in my '01S, purchased during the PPBB group buy from Suncoast in 2002, and have driving it for 10 years, so I'm qualified to comment. For my purposes (98% street driving, 2% track days), I find it the 030 a great setup, especially on lousy New England roads where the (higher performing) PSS9's would be unbearable for daily driving. The 030 is a *tiny* bit lower, than stock, but nothing egregiously noticeable. Handling is very neutral, even pushes are tad, very controllable with throttle.

In summary, I guess one's choice of shock / strut it boils down to your primary use and environment, plus your tolerance for firmness - for me the ROW 030 is a nice compromise. YMMV

- JohnL
Boston

what i have pieced together, and speculated, based on specs. I decided the PSS9s are just too stiff for northeastern roads - driving in others' track cars. I felt the 15mm drop (actually a slight stagger rear to front) is quite modest. And i hear its about 30% stiffer, which is not a lot.

in general i find - from theory and experience, that people greatly discount (wrongly) the value of proper matching of dampers to springs to achieve something close to critical damping. changing, say, springs only is generally a recipe for disaster for both ride AND handling.

I also find that lowering a car pays big dividends in two collateral areas:

1. weight transfer - the lever arm is moved down by Xmm - so free reduction in weight transfer even with identical spring rates
2. increased negative camber, without changing mounting points or compromising toe (in the rear). This of course is a good news / bad news thing. It will promote inner edge tire wear. But in all reality, i kill the outer edge. Once, on the track, in only about 1 1/2 days - dead. So its a very use specific thing.

Anyway - i'm looking forward. Someday. when my car is running again :-(

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

several critical path parts in stock only in Germany (drive-shaft, for instance).

Should have body shop estimate today? tomorrow?

ROW on a slow boat from the Fatherland

VIR looking dicey. Considering running my S6, gently (if that's possible)

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

Getting everything done in a month might be tough.

Driving the Audi at VIR could be fun--it's a nice time of year to be down there.

and driving it like i'm getting groceries. And maybe really hungry.

unfortunately, it also likely means changing brake fluid to ate; swapping my brand new OEM brake pads for higher temp units; and changing my oil to something thicker. All for 3 days of driving, once. Then back ( at least the pads and oil). Sheesh

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/04/2012 08:57PM by grant. (view changes)

.... I replaced my springs at 20k from 030 to Eibach Progressive Springs.
Then at 210k I replaced all four struts with PSS9s, but you knew that
Happy Boxstering
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

Problem mostly solved. I bought a new, sealed factory ROW030 last night. Shipping from Germany. May nto have it when i prefer to, btu i have it coming.

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

I broke a spring, so you can't just replace one, you have to do two... well given my high mileage at the time (don't remember when) I said do the shocks... then it became do all four because I am keeping the car forever (har har).

Used Porsche springs and the Bilstein equivalent shocks. I wanted the same ride. Don't remember the model number, but supposedly, they are the same as OEM but a different color.

Bruce