H&R vs row m030
 

I was going to install the ksport coilovers. But, after extensive correspondence with Insite I am starting to reconsider. I am looking for a lowered stance but not slammed. I am running volk te37 forged wheels and she looks like a 4x4. Curious about others experiences with row or h&r.

Assuming that you're referring to lowering springs, the H&R's will definitely result in a lower ride height than the M030. Coilovers, needless to say, will give you full adjustability. How much are you looking to lower your vehicle ?

Around an inch or so. I am trying to stay away from needing sway drop links if possible. I would like to run 1.5 degrees or so of front negative camber as well. As I said, not looking for fast and furious slammed, just a better stance. Improved handling can't hurt either.

Fwiw I have a line on a set of h&r springs #29779 for less than 200.00 nib. It has me thinking.

Others may disagree, but my experience with just adding lowering springs has been that it can lead to suspension sag over time by virtue of the fact that the oem struts are not designed to accommodate the increased spring rate associated with aftermarket springs. That's why most people upgrade to a more robust shock like Bilstein HD's. Or, they go the route of the full ROW M030 set up. Then you have individuals such as myself who chose to go with fully adjustable coilovers. In any case, if you're looking to lower your vehicle a full inch, I don't think you'll be fully satisfied with just M030 springs.

In my experience with cars running stock, HR lowering springs, M030, PSS9s I would rate HR springs last for handling quality. The problem is you want to add forward rake to the car to improve handling. ROW M030 and PSS9s make this possible. Get the rear too low and the car tends to wobble and loses precision. They are ok if you just want to create a "look" for the street but if precise handling is important, go for the M030 or PSS9s.

FWIW I'm not a KSport fan either.

Curious to know what your thoughts are regarding the long term effects of using stiffer aftermarket lower springs with the oem struts. Have you seen cases of suspension "sag", or even shock blowout over time ?

Clearly the best setup is to have springs that are matched to strut dampening or vice versa. I have not noticed spring sag or obviously blown out struts when running lowering springs but if the car is 10 yrs old, the stock struts are pretty far gone already and probably won't play well with stiffer springs. My impression from student cars running HR springs was simply "stock probably handled better." YMMV

I am thankful for the input. I believe I will skip a lot of the drama and pursue the m030 option. I am interested more in handling than looks, but a bit of stance is always appealing. There are many positive reviews of the m030 setup and I am never going to be a racer. An occasional hpde is all. Hopefully I will be satisfied with the row m030. The price on the h&r's was tempting. I had hoped to hear more positive reviews.

I've had a lot of trick suspensions on my cars over the years (Datsun 510, MR2 SC, Miata) and the ROWM030 on my care is a VERY nicely developed setup. I have zero inclination to replace it with something else.

For a primarily street driven car, I think it's probably the best possible choice.

+1
The ROW M030 feels like it is about 80-90% of the way towards a full set of PSS9s in terms of handling at a bargain price. Porsche factory sport-tuned suspension works.

I briefly considered the PSS9 despite the cost mainly because the disadvantage of doing springs only is that wherever the car settles is what you're stuck with. It may be too harsh for road conditions so its a a dice roll. I learned this hard way with a previous car. The car and wheels took a serious pounding and the rattles multiplied quickly. I had to pay labor a second time to swap over to a set up that was well known for that car. Because the roads up here are so busted up I decided against lowering the Boxster at all.