Suspension Conundrum.
 

Hi all,

My independant shop has been trying to get my 2002 S (55K miles) aligned and the rear passenger side remains out of spec. They looked at the rear suspension and diagnosed that the rear passenger strut is bent by taking measurements across both rear corners.

So I am stuck with the conumdrum of whether to change just the one corner with an OEM part (~$380) and a couple of hours of labor or change all 4 corners with aftermarket parts (leaning to Bilstein HDs, don't want to go with a full coilover) and a potential 8 hours of labor.

Do you think that it makes sense to do all 4 now given that in the next few years I could have maintenance to do on the other 3 corners (is that likely)?

Or what other options am I missing?

Thanks

Gareth

First of all, you must have taken one hell of an impact in order to have bent your strut . Unless, you're trying to re-enact the "Streets of San Francisco", bending another one would seem unlikely . Therefore, my advice would to simply repair that corner . 55k is not a lot of mileage to be concerned about replacing your whole suspension anytime soon. Furthermore, swapping out the oem struts for a set of Bilstein HD's in my opinion is not a worthwhile suspension upgrade . Installing a set of fully adjustable coilovers like PSS-9's would be the way to go .

Mr. Danger
 

I am blaming the previous owner for the damage. I have had the car for about 8 months and that corner tire was worn on the inside edge badly when I got it. More fool me for not tackling the alignment until now on a new set of rears that are heading the same way. I dont think I have hit anything like that in the time I have had the car.

Thanks for the advice on the replacement question. That helps me think this through,

Cheers

Gareth

Please don't take my humor the wrong way (like my previous 6 wives did), from time to time I tend to be a bit sarcastic . :eek: Again, the most feasible thing to do would be to repair the one strut that is damaged . In my opinion, and others may disagree, if you're looking to improve the handling and performance of your vehicle, a well dialed in set of adjustable coilovers is the way to go .

I definitely didn't take it the wrong way and I like the sarcasm. I could've shown some humor in my response.

I asked the shop how someone could actually bend a strut and they thought most likely by the back end smacking a curb.

I have coilovers on my Audi which I used to track and now it is retired to street duty. I don't want to make the Boxster as 'crashy' as the Audi is on the street so that's why I shy away from the coilovers for the Boxster at this point.

Thanks again.

Gareth

You didn't mention how you drive the car and/or what you want out of it? Does it perform well enough with the stock setup? Do you want to track it? If so, how often? Is your tire wear pattern normal/acceptable?

If the stock suspension meets your driving needs, then by all means just replace the single damaged shock and hold off on any upgrade until you need it.

If you want a little bit of an upgrade or feel that the stock shocks might be feeling a little weary, then go the HD replacement route. With 55K on the original shocks you probably have another 25K-40K miles in them before they will be getting into the "easy to justify" range for replacement (80K-100K miles). How soon you get there depends on how many miles you drive per year.

If you want to track it and/or really want a suspension upgrade, go with the PSS-9's.

I have tracked it 4 times in the last 9 months and plan to do a day a month over the summer/fall. For my level on the track (probably intermediate?) and to maintain street comfort (my wife enjoys driving it too and she probably wouldnt want it any stiffer - the car guys, the car!) I was staying away from coilovers. If you had asked me before I knew about the issue I would have said that I wouldn't change the suspension (maybe that's my answer right there ;) ).

Tire wear on the rear passenger and front drivers side were very uneven and pointed me to get the alignment done.

It looks like the OEM part is somewhat difficult to come by (special order from pelicanparts). Assuming that replacing 1 rear OEM with a Bilstein HD would be bad, is it ok to replace both rears with Bilstein HDs but not the fronts?

Thanks for the help.

Gareth

Three useful choices and price points. All prices are guesstimates that will vary regionally:

1. Replace failed strut only- $700 installed/aligned. Still have three 1/2 gone stock struts that may be just fine.... or not.

2. Replace with M030 sport suspension. $1600 installed/aligned. Good ride quality, good performance, Porsche tuned to your car. Fresh on all 4 corners.

3. Replace with PSS9 struts. $3500 installed/corner balanced/aligned. Good (stock) ride quality at full soft setting. Fully tunable to your driving style. Adjustable rake and ride height.

A set of Bilstein HDs is an option but they are a generic strut that are not tuned to your car. Ride quality and handling may be better or worse but unknown. The Boxster is extremely sensitive to changes in balance, spring rates and dampening rates. They are also about the same cost as Porsche tuned M030 suspension.

FWIW I recently replaced my struts after 94k miles and they were pretty gone. I chose a set of PSS9s as my car is set up primarily for competition Time Trials. The car is now very good but I am not sure it is any better than a similar car with a fresh set of M030 struts/sways at 1/2 the cost. Choose the solution that is right for you.

Speaking from experience a DPO might have used the "wrong" jacking point while lifting the car for whatever reason. Ed

Gareth, IMHO you should replace the struts in pairs (both rears or fronts)

Also there seems to be a misconception on the coilovers, because these not only allow you to adjust the height ride but most of them allow you to adjust the stiffness making the ride even more compliant than the OEM set up (for real bad roads) and stiffer settings for the track.

.

Guys thanks for the advice.
 

This week I decided that I couldn't currently justify the PSS9s and had the rear struts replaced with Bilstein HDs. I went to an open lapping day today and was very happy with the results. It didn't seem too different from stock and I ran some good times (for me).

Thanks again for the advice.

Gareth