streetsnake

I wanted to open a can of worms 😁 by asking for recommendations on shocks/coil overs for the ‘79. I figured I would learn some stuff along the way too. I will not be doing any track visits but also don’t mind a more aggressive ride. I’d prefer something where the coil overs are already assembled but obviously I’m asking for a lot. Thanks for the help and hopefully the education. It seems there may not be many options left? I’m planning on replacing the upper/lower control arms as well. If the is anything else that should be addressed, please let me know.

Mrmerlin

buy a set of Bilstiens they come with new lower adjuster collars and lower spring perches,
and get a used /or new set of springs from an 84 use the parts from your car to build new shock assemblies.

ROG100

What Mr. Merlin said
A pair of new 84 springs are only $320

Speedtoys

Replace EVERY rubber part of the suspension, put on new OE shocks, go OE ride height...and reassess.

Blown lower control arms, dead rear knuckles (and the other rear pieces not listed, toasted and FLAT upper shock mounts all around....

It rides like trash..just that you don't know it, but you will realize how bad it really was once you do the above.

And you wont end up with, bump steer, incredibly bad spring & shock rates...and well, losing what an early 928 is really good at.

streetsnake

What do you guys thing of the below? Good or over kill for my ‘79 that will never be going to the track. Just stick with bilstein up front/back and s4 shocks (‘84)?
https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_In...SABEgLTdvD_BwE

Speedtoys

BS is a great shock, but they are STIFF even on a later S4 which is a lot heavier.
M474 option shocks are still available from porsche.

92834305509
92833305117

streetsnake

I didn’t grasp your original quote. Not the one quoted here but your first one. Also, can you shed some light on what kind of feel the M474 option shocks will provide coupled with s4 coils?id like to try and start tracking stuff down. I haven’t seen lower front control arm that have been rebuilt nor rear ones. Also, I’m just trying begin creating a list for all the other parts I’m going to need. Brakes/rotors are good on the ‘79.

Speedtoys

It's the sport shock for the S4, better than the base, not a kidney puncher like the BS.

You havent found front LCAs?

928intl.com
https://shop.928intl.com/Rblt-Front-...8-341-017-02R/

streetsnake

Sweet thanks. So the 474s, S4 springs (still?), control arms, anything else you can think of?

Mrmerlin

Just to set the info straight , on the Bilstien shocks with stock springs in my experience.

Please Note the new version of the Bilstien is definitely not as stiff as the earlier version.
these can be discerned by seeing how the shock tubes are sealed.

The earlier version has a silver cap that seals the piston assembly to the shock body.
The later softer version has plastic black cap, these ride more akin to the Red Boges.

(I have a set of the earlier versions on my 88 S4 with stock S4 springs and they are more stiff as compared to the black capped versions)
all that being said, IMHO the stiffer version works very well at hi speed hiway driving,
as compared to the newer version, this has a smoother floaty ride.
The Black Boges offer the most floaty Caddilac ride.
The Red Boges are stiffer and more controlled compared to the Black boges,
the New Bilstiens are on par with Red Boges .

NOTE I dont think that the Bilstien silver capped version are being MFGd anymore.

Also note the Piston diameter of all the shocks Bilstien and Boges has decreased from 16 MM (silver capped version) to 14MM.
This size reduction effects all the brands but doesnt effect the fitment of the dust boots.
I believe the piston diameter change happened back in or around 2010.

NOTE I dont usually fit the Konis as they are too much of PITA to mess with with,
having to glue the inner threaded collars onto the shocks.
So I wont go into suggesting them .

Speedtoys

The larger invisible Koni problem is they dont match any spring rate we have, at any setting in compression, and its multiplied in rebound.

They have good marketing, and red paint.


I mean, how else can you be successful selling an adjustable shock you cant adjust that doesn't fit any spring you have
?

icsamerica

Can you elaborate on this from a technical perspective. I have Koni's and Welmaster springs and it seem OK to me. Could I have some thing better? Before I part with 1k and a day's labor I'd like to know what I'm missing ?

Speedtoys

Springs have a rate, and on the 928 the LCA's add a fair amount of spring rate as well.

If your shock isnt well matched to those rates, you get suspensions too slow to react to compression, too fast to rebound...the car's mass is no longer under "good" control. And all in all stiff(er) shocks are not all that bad a thing, if you know what you've been sized for.

But this starts to take away from being what a 928 is..IMHO. OE across the board, including height, and resolving shot rubber _everywhere_ will result in a car you wouldn't recognize.

Using a shock to stiffen up the car is sorta...backwards...most of the time.

A quote from Motor Trend I read in a suspension article on suspension tuning I read some time ago has always stuck with me:
"Your car's suspension is subjective. It's also a whole lot of sorcery. Combine those two things and you've got something that nobody can agree upon and that hardly anybody understands."

Here is that full article: https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/16...tting-stiffed/

I mean..ya..its 'stiffer;..but only initially when energy hits the tire..a shock doesn't resist movement, it slows things down and absorbs energy. It kinda works..but..controlling body mass is the springs job.

Springs (and in our case springs + LCA) and shocks need to work together. The shocks only job is to slow down spring compression and rebound. Since the number of people here buying REAL shocks can be counted on one hand, the compromise is what Porsche determined is the best in a few scenarios/options packages. Koni is no different. A REAL shock is dual adjustable, because compression and rebound are different things and need managed differently. But..at the same time the number of us here that could find a difference in lap times can be counted on one hand as well.

A BS is a better overall shock than a base OE one for sure, but the rates on a shock dyno I would bet are not THAT far apart. It doesn't take much.

Of course, when you lower the car, messing up that pairing adds other dimensions that a performance car engineer would spend millions to get away from. (But some want to embrace the suck I guess).

You..well, any two rando springs and shocks will feel "OK" to most, just that IMHO, you can buy a better OE shock than a Koni "the whole world only needs one design" shock. The WM are a great linear spring, Id love to find a set some year myself. If you feel its good, then its good. . Just that if you felt it wasn't...you're forced to spend a day guessing to make -1- adjustment. They should have never been rewarded in the market for this.

Tangentially @Michael Benno has just gone through a journey of 'f* around and find out' on suspension work.


A common (for YEARS) here "shock upgrade" was for a soft front end..because LCA bushings were gone, and replacements were NLA..so..it was the bondo of suspension fixes...get a stiff shock to hide it.

streetsnake

Can someone provide me a link of where to purchase a set of 84 springs as recommended? I figured I’d at least get a little something.

Rob Edwards

Here are your factory options, the best bet new are the 928 343 511 13front springs paired with the early M474 Bilsteins, which AFAIK are still available.