Luis de Prat

My 951 cab just turned 123K km (76,800 miles) and it still has the factory non M030 suspension which was a bit overly conservative, IMHO.

At around 150K miles on the S2 cab we replaced front struts and rear shocks with new OE parts from Porsche and it rides quite nicely but on the 951 I feel I should eventually try something a bit sportier while sticking with Porsche parts.

I don't want to stiffen the ride too much since I think it would take too much of a toll on the cab chassis, which is more prone to flexing, but I definitely want to turn it up a notch, as this car gets driven pretty hard and fast over twisted mountain roads and I would really enjoy some added performance from the suspension.

What do you suggest? TIA

SpeedBump

First thing is to add M030 sways, easily noticed improvement as the only Suspension Mod on my white one riding on tock 16" wheels. Blue one has M030 sways, KW V3, and a few braces riding low on 18" and might be too harsh fro some but, since I also drive a 4x4 PickUp Truck, it feels fine to me.

Luis de Prat

Thanks. Do you mean 968 M030 or 951 M030 sways. I know this is the 968 board, but don't remember if they're the same?

Stephenwz968

I would add the 30mm and 19mm front/rear 968M030 sways. I was running M030 and it's way too stiff for a cab. The M474 koni setup is nice...but I'm going back to stock components and H and R lowering springs. I may go to koni inserts and koni sport rear eventually, but the ride of the cab is very affected by firming up the shocks/struts. I would say that if you want a sportier ride than stock, go with koni inserts/sports and the 968 M030 sways. Good luck!
Steve

Luis de Prat

Thanks, so which M030 components were too stiff? Shocks/struts?

I take it the M030 sways would provide the most effective improvement then, without compromising the ride?

RajDatta

Luis, this was Steve's old setup:
968 M030 front and rear sway bars
968 M030 front struts with 200 lbs hypercoils (he moved this off his coupe that he sold)
951 M030 rear shocks or Koni sports shocks as some people know them as
18 inch 2002 lightweights.
Needless to say, it was a stiff ride. Recently he tried a set of factory 968 17 inch Cup 2 wheels. That pretty much got the ball rolling. He preferred the 17 inch ride quality along with the looks. Next came the struts and as they say, the rest is history. He is going back to stock struts to try them with H&R's springs since he ran this setup on his old cabriolet. If that doesn't cut it, we will go with Koni inserts for front and koni sports for rear. His current rear shocks are stock.

This is what I have:
968 M030 front and rear sway bars
944 S2 M474 struts with CS Springs (perfect match with stock ride quality but a lower stance)
944 S2 M474 rear shocks
2002 Carrera lightweight wheels
I still need to dial it in a bit but in general the ride is very nice. It has stiffen up quite a bit from the 18's so I might go to a set of 17's eventually. Steve is the one who owned the M474 setup but was generous enough to pass it on to me. I can't thank him enough for it.
Also, Thom was very gracious to share the CS Spring and M474 suspension setup with us and I have followed his lead.
If the CS springs are not stiff enough with 17's, I might go to H&R's. I am waiting for Steve to give it a try and see how it feels.
We will keep you posted.
Raj

Luis de Prat

Thanks, guys. I realize there are many options for coupes, but the last time I spoke with Jason at Paragon (I admit it was a while ago) the shock/strut options for cabs seemed very limited.

Stephenwz968

Luis,

I'm also running the brey krause underbody brace and a strut brace-those firm things up a bit as well; I didn't mind the M030 setup that much, until I put the brace in and then it just became jarring.

Steve

RajDatta

Oops, I forgot about the BK under chassis brace.
Me and Steve, both have them. I am waiting for my Dynatech brace.
Raj

Luis de Prat

Steve, I was very interested in the BK lower brace when it came out, but I believe it won't fit around the Turbo exhaust and that you need to run without the metal rear engine protection pan. Have you heard differently?

BTW, it's great to be able to talk cabs with people on Rennlist. Posts about cabs really fall through the cracks on the general 944/968 forum!

RajDatta

Luis, it says 944 - 968

http://www.bkauto.com/porsche/r1524.php

I wonder if it would fit a turbo with all the plumbing. Who told you it won't work?
Raj

Thom

It should fit a turbo fine since the X-over pipe is ahead of the castor mount line.
I haven't tested though ...

I personally would rather consider making a simple brace like the one used on Cup cars. It's a rather straightforward piece of thick metal (it looks so rough it looks "half finished") that doesn't go as low as the BK brace and does not give ground clearance issues.

RajDatta

Thom, I don't have any pictures of one installed but there doesn't seem to be a clearance issue with them. They are very nicely made. Extremely lightweight as well.
Raj

Thom

Yes, the BK brace looks very nicely made, but I don't like how it's linked to the castor mounts - those brackets look undersized compared with the brace itself and give me the feeling they might bend.
The Cup brace is a thick bar similar to this one except it attaches to all four castor mount bolts - the bolts used are longer.

Luis de Prat

IIRC, the BK lower brace was recently updated to attach to 968 M030 caster blocks.