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

jaykay · 10-13-2010, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gwoodburn

I have looked into that and have read that the M030 struts are the same as the Bilstein Sports. Quite a few people have been running that setup, but keep in mind that you may need adjustable toe control arms to maintain camber. Some haven't had a problem and some have; so its just something to think about.

Thanks I didn't know they were the same dampers. That is good news. I am concerned with fit in spring seats; available damper stroke with the lower H and R springs; mis match between the spring rate of the H and R springs a the M030 dampers. I definitely knew about the rear toe-in on bump that could require some after market adjustables (any favourites?) to get the wheels pointing neutral again. I thought one could get camber with the stock eccentrics.

How are these people finding the ride of this set up? Just a stock S on 18s can be harsh on certain roads.

gwoodburn · 10-14-2010, 06:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaykay

Thanks I didn't know they were the same dampers. That is good news. I am concerned with fit in spring seats; available damper stroke with the lower H and R springs; mis match between the spring rate of the H and R springs a the M030 dampers. I definitely knew about the rear toe-in on bump that could require some after market adjustables (any favourites?) to get the wheels pointing neutral again. I thought one could get camber with the stock eccentrics.

How are these people finding the ride of this set up? Just a stock S on 18s can be harsh on certain roads.

I am still running my stock suspension on my 03 S so I really cant answer your questions with any certainty as far as spring rates, ride quality and damper stroke. I think I have been trying to figure out the same things you are. I only want to replace my suspension once and I need something that fits my daily driving needs without being overly harsh or screwing something up that would require more parts. One thing I can tell you is that a lot of people have been using the adjustable toe control arms from Tarett. They seem to be a quality product.

http://www.tarett.com/items/boxster~cayman-products/996-986-987-rear-t-control-arm-pr-996tlnk-detail.htm

When it comes down to it, I think that for my needs and for the money I am willing to spend, the ROW suspension is probably best. I don't want to spend a ton of money on all these extra suspension parts to maintain alignment and then have my daily driver ride like crap. I started another thread last week asking questions about the ROW kit but haven't gotten any responses.

Rear suspension problem and the ROW M030 European suspension as a solution

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.