My thoughts on the RoW M030
 

I had the RoW M030 suspension installed on my 2000 S in November, but the day after I had it installed it snowed. I never even had the chance to get it aligned before I had to put the car into hibernation for the winter.

Well, the snow is melted, the sand on the roads is mostly gone and we've been seeing some spring-like temperatures. I had the car aligned and finally got to take the car out for a drive. Camber is set at about 0 degrees in front and -1.5 degrees in back. Toe is about at the middle of the factory M030 spec.

The previous stock suspension on the car with 38,000 miles was in good shape, no bouncing or wallowing. If felt tight and grip was great. I really didn't have any complaints but I wanted to see how much better it could get so I went with the complete factory RoW M030 upgrade.

The straght line ride is a little bit compromised, but not much. In my opinion though, if you're driving a sports car, you shouldn't be looking for a comfortable ride. I like feeling the bumps in the road and the feeling is accentuated with the M030.

I never noticed any steady state body roll in the stock suspension from behind the wheel, even with the tires squeeling for mercy. The car now still doesn't feel like there's any body roll, but ultimate grip feels a notch higher.

The most noticeable thing on the road is the immediate steering response. Steering response was great before, but the first time I took it around a fast corner, I couldn't believe what the car was doing. Neutral, neutral, neutral. It almost feels like the car has a shorter wheelbase than it used to.

So I think you can tell that I'm happy. I love the improvements in handling with the side benefit of lowering the car to the just-right ride height IMO. I'd definitely suggest this set up for anyone looking to get more enjoyment out of spirited driving in your Boxster.

Thanks for the information. Can you give us details of the installation...dealer, independent, diy?? Cost? Where did you purchase the parts? I'm thinking of installing this on mine and would appreciate any info. I looked on renntech and there's a great article on it but any additional info would be appreciated. Here's the link http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=10254&hl=

Bob

I started this thread as a follow-up to my initial post here:

http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-general-discussions/8386-row-m030-first-impressions.html

I bought the parts from Sunset Porsche. If I remember correctly, it was a little more than $900. I had the install at an independent mechanic for $550 and the alignment (which is mandatory and different from the standard set-up) was $65.

Thanks

I'd really like to sample one with the row suspension on it before I decide to do it or not. Would anyone in the KC area who has this setup care to let me at least ride in it? Its worth at least a couple of Boulevard Bully Porter's after we're done.

Bob

blue, do I correctly understand that Boxsters in Europe are sold either with RoW or RoW M030 suspensions, and that both in the USA and RoW (rest of world?) suspensions the M030 versions are the sportier (lower, stiffer) ones?

On my last trip to Europe I liked how their Boxsters all seemed lower than here -- by just the right amount. I just need some light thrown on all this nomenclature.

Thx.
Z.

Porsche has two different ride heights on these cars, one for the US and one for everywhere else, RoW. I'm not sure what Canada gets. If you buy a US spec suspension kit, you get the taller ride height, if you buy the RoW kit, you get the 20mm/10mm reduction in ride height.

There are US and RoW versions of both the the M030 (sport) or standard suspensions. So you could get the lower ride height with RoW in either flavor. Although I've not seen the standard RoW suspension offered for sale here, I'm sure it's possible.

Thx. Just as I understood it.
Z.