About to pull the trigger on coilovers and sway bars - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

David_J · 07-10-2006, 12:46 PM

My wife has given me the green light to upgrade the suspension on our 01 S. I originally thought I would go with the PSS9s, but now I'm not 100% sure. Through Epiq, they are a great deal. I have also been considering the JIC Cross setup as well. The Cross coilovers will run about $1k more.

Has anyone ever compared the two? I'm wondering if the $1k difference is worth it. I will be doing mostly street driving and the monthly local PCA autocross events. I will also be adding some upgraded sway bars at the same time. I was thinking of just adding the 030 ones. It seems like that will give you then best bang for the buck. Are the others that are available worth it?

I will be adding some R-compound tires as well to my stock wheels for the autocross events. It seems that the price difference between the 2 coilover setups could cover the cost of the tires.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
David

KRZTACO · 07-10-2006, 01:40 PM

I'd just save the money and stick with the PSS9's. An added benefit is that your mechanic hopefully, has some experience on the install and set-up of the coilovers.

KRZ

Cold Warrior · 07-11-2006, 10:14 PM

If the AX's arre just for fun, then get the PSS9's. I have the JIC's and they are significantly stiffer with the medium spring package than the PSS9's. I haven't driven a Boxster with PSS9's on the track, but I have driven one on the street and it was softer. Soft is not necessarily a bad thing for AX's, just depends on a lot of other factors like tires, weight, weight distribution, anti-roll bar stiffness, track smoothness, brakes and horsepower to name a few. Nice thing about the JIC's is that you can easily change the ride height for corner balancing without changing the stroke or spring rate.

CW

MNBoxster · 07-12-2006, 06:34 AM

Hi,

Truth is, either set of C/Os is going to be an improvement.

Unless you're dedicating the Car to AX/Track use and hanging Sponsor Stickers on the side, it's not too wise to sink lots of $$ into the car, because once you start, there's no end to it.

A couple other things to consider is that you will have to live with a stiffer suspension for the 98% of the time you are just commuting. Doesn't sound too bad now, but can get pretty annoying (for you and your Spouse/Passenger) with time. Also, while the Boxster can hold it's own in a Stock Class, if you're forced into a Modified Class (usually happens when you add DOT Race Rubber), despite the fact that you'll get a more satisfying drive, and probably reduce your times, you'll consign yourself squarely into the middle of the Pack because lots of cars will be better set-up and have more ponies on tap- you could actually make your car less competitive by jumping Classes, and spend lots of Do-Re-Mi doing it.

The most practical thing for a Street Car is to get the lesser expensive set of C/Os and use the difference to buy the Rubber (especially since this is a consumable). All IMHO of course...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

boxsterx · 07-12-2006, 09:14 PM

nice looking coil overs you got there!

David_J · 08-04-2006, 12:27 PM

I wanted to post an update. My car will be going in on Monday for the Cross coilovers. I figured it was worth it. I decided not to upgrade the sway bars at this time and would wait and see how the car reacts with the new coilovers. I also purchased some dedicated Kuhmo autocross tires that will be going on my stock wheels.

I will be trailering the car to the events which will allow me to get the car setup the night before.

Should be a lot of fun once the mods are done.

I will post some pics of the car after the coilover install.

-David

08-04-2006, 12:48 PM

David_J, this might be an informative read for you:

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=10254

David_J · 08-10-2006, 07:42 PM

I got my car back on Tuesday. Man, what a difference. Corners are so much nicer now. I spent some time today playing around with the settings. Definately a differnce between 1 and 15.

Here is a pic of what the car looks like now.

blinkwatt · 08-10-2006, 07:52 PM

Just wondering,hows do you adjust the coilovers?

Grizzly · 08-10-2006, 07:52 PM

David,

That thing looks so sweet I can't stand it!!!

You're killin' me man! I really want to lower ours, but the boss still says no.

David_J · 08-10-2006, 08:43 PM

The Cross coilovers have an adjustment knob on the bottom of them. There are 15 different settings from soft to firm. I have my first autocross with the new suspension this Saturday. It will be fun working on getting the car dialed in just right.

Grizzly, just get it lowered, she will never know. Oh wait, they always know everything.

If I added up how much I spent on the car since we bought it a few months ago, I bet my wife would

-David

redman12 · 08-10-2006, 08:54 PM

Nice rims but the caps aren't matched up.

David_J · 08-10-2006, 08:57 PM

I'm working on getting the caps taken care of. The wheels did not come with caps, so I just grabbed the stock ones one threw them on them. I am going to get a set color matched as soon as I have some free time. I know it doesn't look the greatest, but it works for now.

Here's another pic