ceboyd

o.k. this was a used 993 purchased with 90k miles... driven home 2200 miles from LAX and no noticable suspension issues.. only noticed clutch needed to be replaced and this has already been done with a lightweight RSR flywheel.


I'm used to the traditional 'gone' shocks when the car keeps bouncing or hits a bump so hard you think you broke something.

This doesn't seem to be the issue with 993s.

So there is NO fluid leaking from the shocks. ...and the car doesn't consistently bounce up and down...


....BUT the car has NOT yet been to the track...

The suspension appears to be stock and is factory M030.

So does anyone have any real tests or observations on when a suspension is bad for stock m030 on a 95 993? This car will be taken to the track soon and we'd hate to find out the hard way that the suspension isn't up to snuff BUT don't want to invest the money in suspension this year if not necessary (already invested over $4k this year in clutch, brakes, tune up, tires, etc.)

Terry Adams

1. Straight line, does the suspension feed back harsh jolts going over expansion joints, etc?
2. In a high speed sweeper, does the suspension take an initial set, then bounce slowly back, then take another set, like suspended on Jell-O?
The static push down on the bumper test is no indication here.

TheOtherEric

Tough one. My suspension felt really harsh over bumps. Not bouncy on the highway, but it didn't like speedbumps well. I wasn't sure that it was really that far gone until they put the new suspension on.

JasonF

Also, you may notice that the car has a "magic carpet ride" quality at speeds above 65mph. Great for your grandfather's Buick, bad for your 993. My car literally felt like it would float off the road. A set of Bilstein HD's and new tires all around and the car handles amazingly well.

My shocks would also make a "whooshing" sound over speed bumps, etc...The best advice I got was the following: if you have even an inkling that your shocks are worn, they are.

swmic

I just replaced my shocks with Bilstein HDs. On a bumpy road (very common here in PA) the car would skate across. Almost like the car was on ice. You could really tell the wheels were loosing contact with the road. Also with a strong cross wind on the highway going over bumps that went across the whole road like a bad expansion joint, I could feel a slight sideways motion after the bump. I guess what was happening is the car was leaving the road for a small amount of time drifting with the wind and landing. It was really strange.

The factory shocks/struts were totally shot and my car only had 16K on it. There was a huge difference after putting in the new parts and getting an alignment. Traveling over the same roads now the car acts the way I would expect it to. The ride is firm, not jarring, and no strange behavior. I also installed ROW M030 springs at the same time as the shocks.

Shawn

ca993twin

My 60,000 mile TT felt "lazy" and floaty when twitching the wheel at freeway speeds (you know, 80+ mph). The Bilstein PSS-9s fixed that fer sure.

I was also thinking that my car, with its worn out shocks felt pretty damn good (ROW M030). But it would get a little "unsettled" on rough pavement in sweepers. Was it night and day? No, but it was a nice improvement. If I were on a tight budget, I'd just ignore the suspension for a while... they're not horrible, even when worn out. Just not as good as they can be.

Going from USA ride height to ROW or even RS ride height makes a major difference in the handling and feel of the car. Some of the above "huge improvement" comments may be noticing that difference even more than the worn-out shocks. However... once you start changing suspension components, you might as well go all the way, since the labor and alignment is expensive.

ceboyd

o.k.

Have any of you actually gone from stock to stock (replaced with the same stock parts)?

What I'm hearing a lot of is how much better it was after you did the suspension but I would expect that considering I keep hearing how the new suspenion installs involved upgrades.

This 95 993 does NOT feel like it needs a new suspension despite having 93K miles on it. It does just fine (rock solid) at 85 MPH and does not 'hop' around over bumps. It also feels nice and tight around turns. It is the stock USA M030.

...so in the end, the suspension upgrade will be a project for next year on this track/autocross car (track only in DE events to clarify).

Thanks again for the feedback from everyone!

JPS

Do you have service records to see when they were replaced?

ceboyd

NOPE.. ZERO service records on this ebay purchase... ...but they appear to be untouched (no marks whatsoever)

..but it was obviously a well loved car because all the parts WERE factory stock and in a-1 condition ....even the seats show little wear..

All we were able to find out is that the majority of it's life was in the LA area and was female owned... it appears to have never seen a track..

Overall, it was in great condition... needing a clutch, tune up, brakes, trans fluid change, and oil change

TheOtherEric

From what I've learned here, people are getting anywhere from 15k to 40k miles MAX on the OEM shocks. Thus, I find it HIGHLY UNLIKELY that you have the original shocks in there at 93k miles, unless they're really shot and you just don't know it. Maybe they were replaced 50k miles ago with Bilstein HD's or something else that can lost a lot longer than the stock Monroes.

adsc4s

ceboyd, easiest thing to do is take a ride in another 993 with updated/upgraded suspension and see if you can feel the difference.

Chris C.

When loaded up in longer sweepers (on ramps) or on the track, my car would pitch back and forth diagonally (i.e. lf to rr) shifting weight around undamped. The ride quality around town deteriorated, too. That was at 40K, BTW!

When my mechanic replaced the RR shock, it came off in pieces.

jonathank2000

Wow! Now this explains my dilemma when going over bumps at 65mph on the freeway. It feels like my wheels come off the ground and I can really feel it because my steering wheel becomes really loose for a second. I doubt the shocks on my 993 Targa every got replaced when I bought it with 64K miles on it. Do I replace all 4 shocks with Bilstein HD's?

TheOtherEric

Jonathan, LOL. My friend, thus begins the slippery slope. Do search on "PSS9", "H&R" and "TRG". Sorry I had to be the one to give you the shove.

oh, p.s. you definitely need new shocks, and NOBODY will recommend you replace them with the OEM parts you have now.

kkim

ceboyd,

what color are the shock bodies that are on your car?

if they are the original, I think you must set some sort of record for the most miles on original shocks on a 993.