Is anyone running a coilover kit on a 944/951/968 daily driver? I'm considering the following:

1. Bilstein Escort Cup (I know.. it's old technology).
2. KW Var3.
3. Cross.
4. LEDA (I understand they're back in business with new owners).

My concern is harshness for a daily driver, though I know I would benefit on the track (only a couple times per year).

 

I recently helped a good friend install LEDA coilovers onto his 88 951, and they (with a geometric-corrected balljoint kit) feel great for street use. He really likes them, and they give his car a much sportier feel without being ungodly on the street.

With any suspension upgrade in this area you will have a slightly harsher ride, but it is definetly worth it (in my opinion) to have a sportier/stiffer suspension setup.

 

I have coil-overs on all 4 corners. 400lbs in the front and the mathmatical equivalent in the rear.

I don't think its too harsh for street use at all. IMHO there isn't much difference between 250lbs rate feel and 400lb rate feel on the street. But then again my car is not a daily driver.

 

I've got the Leda's all around and I love them because they're adjustable.

I adjust them hard for the event and before leaving I set them full soft for the ride back home. It only takes a minute to readjust.

 

Thanks for the responses so far. I would expect that most people here would think that coilovers are fine for street use. I'm now leaning toward a coilover kit (Escort Cups were the leader, but now I'm leaning toward KW, Cross, or LEDA), but I'm afraid I might regret spending that much $ and not be thoroughly happy.

I'd like to also hear from people who think that coilovers are NOT a good idea for a daily driver. Anyone have any negative experience with any of these kits for street use?

 

The only reason i would ever tell someone not to get a coil over setup is if they were never actually going to use its features. A friend of mine was about to drop $2500 on a KW setup for his EvoMR. He was going to buy everything from the coil overs, spherical bushings and camber plates. He asked me all sorts of questions on what i recommend. I know the type of person he is (he will never track his car) and asked him what he was planning on using the car for? He told me probably a few trips to the drag strip and daily driver. I asked him whats the point of having all of this adjustability if your never going to use it? He saw my point and i think i saved him about $3500 in parts when he went with lowering springs.

If you plan to USE the suspensions adjustability, be it the dampening, rebound settings or adjusting your rideheight, i say by all means go for it. But if you are not too keen on tweaking things yourself, your probably better off with say the Bilstien setup (which is only height adjustable), or a cheaper setup like the Koni converted struts.

 

+1, a coil-over set-up will just give you more 'adjustability' options. If you don't need the options then it's not much use.

'Is a coilover kit, in general, too harsh for a daily driver'
Your original poll question really doesn't make sense. You have a great choice of springs for the coil-over from very soft to race hard, less of a choice for stock, but still enough to get the ride as soft or as hard as you like. You have maybe two height options on stock springs and unlimited height options on the coil-over.

For my road car I went for a compromise (read much cheaper) and used the ground control coil-over kit with 225lb up front and a coil-over set-up with 90lb 'assisting' springs on the rear. Stock torsion bars & F&R MO30 roll bars. After lots of research, and driving for a year on this set-up, IMO I think it is as perfect as I could get for spirited street driving.

Mike

 

BTW, did you get get in touch with Vaino? Auto-X season is rolling around again and im sure he will start to be more active on the NNJR forum.

Honestly i would go for the KW V3 setup. Its a very well liked setup on other cars and i know Vaino liked it also on his 968. Its also cheaper compared to the Cross and Leda setups. I dont think you will be disappointed with the purchase, regardless of what setup you bought. Especially if you are still using the original tired suspension. Cross and Leda both have excellent track records. KW is still relatively new for our cars (and only a handful of people who have it post here), but having read the happy users on the Suby, Evo and BMW forums..not to mention the lap record holding E46 M3 that used KW V3's on The Ring, i think they are worth worth giving a try.

I also do not think it will be to harsh for street use. As long as your struts are valved correctly to the springs your running, it should be more than livable on the street. And this is not really an issue as the springs are matched to the struts with the coil overs your buying. I think the problems people run across are trying to run a 500lb spring on a Koni yellow strut with stock rear torsion bars.

BTW, any pictures of the routing on your LC-1 wideband? I have the same setup i am going to be installing on my car soon, i just need to find the time to drop the test pipe and have the bung welded on. It will save me the trouble of figuring out where to route the controller and wires into the cabin.

 

I talked to Vaino at the NNJR swap meet last weekend. He's very happy with the KWs. However, I couldn't get a ride because his car is tucked away for the winter. I'm sure, based on many opinions posted on RL that the KWs would work well for me. Only thing is the current price (best I can find) -- $2360. (Vaino told me he got his some time ago for around $1200. If that were still the price, I'd order them right now.)

Here's the other thing about pricing --
I just came across a "special blow out" for the Cross kit for $2249. So, that puts the KW, Cross, LEDA, and Escort Cup kits all in the same ballpark.

So, given similar cost, are any of these better for street use? It comes down to the way these are all valved, and how compatible they are with various spring rates.
----------------------------------------------------

Regarding adjustability --
I don't necessarily believe that greater adjustability is wasted on a car if the adjustability isn't used frequently. I think the adjustability permits just the right settings to be selected to create a set-up which is to my liking. As I've said before, I'd hate to spend all of this $ and then not be thoroughly happy with the results. And, I will track the car some, probably more as time goes on. Then I'll be looking for the adjustability, so I might as well get it now, rather than buying two set-ups in the long run.


Jon,
I don't have pics of the LC-1 routing, but I'll send you a pm with a description if you like.


Thanks again for the responses. Please keep 'em comin'.

 

I have Ledas for three years (nice weather daily driver and D.E events with P.C.A.), as long as you leave the rubber ride is not too harsh. Makes a whole new car on the track. They are expensive though.

 

Chris, id appreciate a general idea as to how you routed everything if you get the chance.

$1200 for the KW's..damn wish i saw them for sale at that price!

Might also want to contact RS Barn. They are right in PA and pretty sure they still carry Leda suspension.

 

Jon,
PM sent. I've been to RS Barn's site. They show the LEDA kit for $2200.

 

I am running a set of one-way front coilovers made by a company called A-1 Racing. Im not sure what spring rate they are (bought them used on ebay) but they made a huge difference from stock... and they work fine for street use as well. The ebay seller claimed to have used them only on his 951 track car.

I just haven't heard of or come across A-1 Racing anywhere, even after asking a few guys on here about them. If any of you guys do know, let me know because I would like to know more about them!

 

Seems like overkill to me, given your purpoes. Why not add stock Konis and nice sway bars and save the difference to pay for more track days? That way, you still have a good it of flexibility with setup, but your street ride is virtually unchanged.

 

tifosiman,
What coilovers are you using? I've read (and believe) that harshness is more a result of the strut/shock valving and its appropriateness for the particular spring rates (or range of rates).



Anyone using the JIC Cross coilovers?