Just pulled the trigger on RoW M030 - Page 3 - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

scribe · 10-14-2010, 08:31 AM

The M030 ROW suspension is installed on my car now and I had the car aligned yesterday. The shop that installed everything did a great job but the shop that did the alignment didn't do so great. They had the car for about nine hours and even after taking the car back three times everything still isn't right; the steering wheel (judging by the spokes) is still slightly off-center to the left. Otherwise the car seems fine and they didn't charge me anything.

But I digress ... based upon driving the car on the street for a couple of days it seems the car's ride feels more controlled and still very comfortable. At the same time the car also seems to handle/corner better and I'm really looking forward to trying out the new suspension at Mid-America Motorplex tomorrow.

jaykay · 10-19-2010, 04:25 PM

Thanks let us know how it feels under higher track loads. I guess you will be into flextion of old rubber bushing territory.

Has anyone gone through and changed out all the old rubber bushes? Did it make the car unduly harsh on the street??

scribe · 10-19-2010, 06:25 PM

Running the Boxster with the M030 ROW suspension on the track was a great experience. The tires reached pressures of 44 psi front and 42 psi rear by the time they got up to temperature. I don't know if those are the ideal pressures for those tires but the car feels good at those pressures and the sidewalls weren't rolling over past the tip of the arrow on the tire sidewall.

Especially once the track and tires warmed up the car performed beautifully. The car felt superbly balanced through each of the course's 15 corners and it felt like the car was generally neutral. The Hankook RS3s really grip once they get some heat into them and the new suspension made the car feel easier to control and there was less roll, squat, and dive than on the stock suspension.

During prior Fast Fridays my best lap times (on the 2.2-mile track) were around the 2 minute mark. With the 'Kooks on the car and the new suspension installed my lap times dropped into the 1:50 - 1:55 range. More experience on the track is probably a big factor in the lower lap times but I'm confident the tires and suspension play a major role, too.

Altogether I'm pleased with the new suspension and feel it was a worthwhile upgrade to the car. And I'm glad I was able to take advantage of the great weather and run at MAM again before the end of the season.

Are bushes the same as bushings? If that's what you're asking about I replaced my front strut bushings and sway bar bushings at the same time I had the suspension package installed. Between driving to and from the track and driving on the track I've put over 700 miles on the car since getting the suspension installed and haven't experienced what I'd call harshness. The car's ride is firmer and more controlled now but still feels pretty compliant. I wouldn't hesitate to take a long-distance road trip in the car since getting the new suspension installed.

yelojkt · 10-20-2010, 05:50 AM

What tires were you running before you put the RS3s on? You changed from 17s to 18s right? What were your two different tire sizes? I would love to run at MAM you lucky dog.

scribe · 10-20-2010, 06:13 AM

Prior to putting on the 'Kooks I was running Sumitomo HTR ZRIIIs (205/50-17 front, 255/40-17 rear), which are the tires the car came with when I bought it a year ago. Rather than switch to 18s I've stuck with 17s, at least for the time being. The RS3s are 225/45-17 front and 255/40-17 rear.

Hopefully you'll get a chance to run at MAM sometime. I'm actually heading down there again tomorrow, albeit in my Mazdaspeed3 rather than the Boxster. There's a two-day "Find the Line" event at MAM on Friday and Saturday and then on Sunday I'm going to co-drive a buddy's Evo X MR during a RallyX somewhere off I-80 between Omaha and Lincoln.

yelojkt · 10-20-2010, 06:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scribe

Hopefully you'll get a chance to run at MAM sometime.

Oh I will. Thats one reason for buying the boxster. I plan on going to different tracks all over the US.

I think I will skip the M030 suspension and go straight to the BSR set-up. Anyone Know the spring rates on the M030 setup?

scribe · 10-20-2010, 06:28 AM

That's something I'd like to do, too, whether it be in the Boxster or any of my other rides. It would be fun to run on different tracks around the U.S. I'd also like to make it to more autoxes around the U.S. and Canada and run at Nationals someday. For the past few years I've mainly run with our local club here but have also gone to events in North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

I'm afraid I don't know the M030 spring rates right offhand. The only spring rates I know for certain are those for the coilovers I'm having built for my '06 Miata.