About to pull the trigger on coilovers and sway bars

[David_J]

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]

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]

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]

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]

nice looking coil overs you got there!

[David_J]

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

[redman12]

Nice rims but the caps aren't matched up.

[David_J]

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