jeffwe

Hey Folks-

Recently I had a set of H&R Green springs and Bilstein HD shocks installed on my 1990 Targa. The ride is ok on smooth roads, unfortunately I live in Seattle and the roads suck. Riding around in a mine cart is not comfortable or fun.

Now, I'm wondering is the ride problem caused by valving in the Bilsteins being too harsh, or by the springs, or both. Should I put back in the stock springs, the Boge shocks, or both. Can the Bilstein's be revalved?

I went for the sportier setup to make track days (particularly high speed T1 at Pacific Raceways) more comfortable.

I've decided I don't want the car to be dedicated for track use... You all probably don't comprehend how bad the roads are here...

Thanks,
Jeff

pete000

I am running that combination and like it. LA roads aren't to great either, but might not be as bad as yours...

LastMezger

I've got H&R Greens and stock shocks and the ride is great. Partly attributable to soft PS2s I'd think.

rlets

Hey Jeff. Exactly the same story here. I live in N. Seattle and bought my 964 last year with an H&R/Bilstein setup. It's great on track or when I go visit buds on the eastside. But going down into Ballard rattles fillings out of my teeth.

I've thought just raising the car up a bit might help. I'm pretty much at RS height and do experience some bump steer in addition to the jarring ride. Could lifting the car 1-2cm help both things?

Rich

ducnine

I have a Targa with H&R greens and Bilstein HDs on my car. I took it to a DE at Nelson Ledges in the Cleveland area and that track is real rough (maybe like Seattle not sure). I thought the car felt pretty good there. It could possibly be due to me paying more attention on keeping the car on the track instead of the weeds, not sure. My regular drives are on smooth roads so in general the set up is fine for me.

Finally, I think it comes down to personal preference and if you don't like the ride you should change it. Maybe you should consider some adjustable shocks and play around with it to get the feel you are comfortable with on the street. When you take it to the track you can then stiffen it up for that use. I think Konis adjustable or PSS9 would do the trick for you.

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

Hi Jeff,

Many factors play a role in perceived ride quality assessments such as:

1) Shock valving and design
2) Spring rates
3) Tire pressure and brand

You might review #3 to see if that gives you some relief on those choppy Seattle-area roads.

Beyond that, you might try some Eibach springs as they are a little softer than H&R's. A combination of OEM Boge and sport springs is not a "happy marriage" due to insufficient rebound valving on the Boges.

cornerhans

I can offer up some thoughts as a) one who lived in Seattle and b) one who has had 3 964's and finally was lucky enough to hear about the KW varient 3 system. By the way, if you are contemplating making a change and don't want to risk another unhappy result, feel free to look me up and you can drive my car.
The KW system will allow a cadillac ride with a low ride height, and control body movement while doing it, or DE day settings for both rebound and compression. All at a reasonably affordable price.
Hope this helps!

J richard

Like steve said, tires will make a big difference, I run the reds and revalved HDs and it's just fine, I swapped wheels that had some old S02s on them and it was almost unbearable...you might also look at your pressures as well to see if you are on the high side.

jeffwe

I don't really want the lower ride height so much as caring about getting rid of the wallow going into T1 at Pacific Raceways. In fact do to an approach angle problem at my new house garage I'd prefer a bit higher than I have now with the H&R Greens.

Are all the coilover choices availabe for the 1990 model I have? I've noticed that many of the suspension choices are not available for the 1990 due to some difference in rear suspension mounting with respect to the 1991 and later...

I don't live/work on the beautiful smooth roads in the suburbs. My car is enjoyable on those... Unfortunately that is rare...

ACSGP

I'm on the KW V3s for my 1990 964, and they're fully adjustable for height, spring rate & damping rate. I don't track the car, and reduced the damping and spring rates to abt 50%. Comfortable ride without being floaty.