autobonrun

My car 96 C4S came with the M030 US setup. I've got a couple questions. First, is the height of the M030 US suspension setup the same as the stock suspension? I can't believe stock could be any higher than mine.

Second, are the shocks on the M030 US the same as those on the stock setup?

Lastly, do the M030 US and M030 ROW suspensions have the same size sway bars? If they do, I plan to only order the ROW springs and shocks and save a few dollars.

thanks.

Slow Guy

I can only answer this question, other's will have to answer the rest.
The ride hight was set by the US Gov. so that all, inc. sport versions were at the same height. As far as whether the US Sport versions could be adjusted lower w/ their (sport) stock components I do not know the answer to that.

Greg Fishman

All US suspensions were the same ride height.
Do a search on your questions and you will see the different specs. Also check out www.p-car.com and www.carnewal.com

autobonrun

Thanks. I'll go back through the links again. I guess if ride height is the same, we're only talking about either sway bar diameters or spring rates. I don't recall seeing whether M030 US and stock suspensions used the same shock or not.

AndyT

euro MO30 sits lower and has shorter shocks. ROW is what we all get here. Even an ROW MO30

AndyT

BUt not everyone got MO30. Turbos and C4S and C2S had it standard i think. I replced my ROW suspension to ROW ero stuuf and it was great. I then went to a crazy track only set

Greg Fishman

C2S's did not have the M030 as std, don't think the C4S did either.

autobonrun

I think you are correct. I saw M030 on the options list for my C4S. Problem is it's the US version with US height as others have correctly pointed out. I'm going through the threads and links to see just what exactly are the differences between ROW and US M030, other than height of course.

Greg Fishman

Yes I am correct. I used to have an order guide for the 993 but can't locate it any longer. The main difference between the ROW and US shocks was the shock shaft length due to the shorter springs. The valving should be identical. Also IIRC the size of the swaybars were slightly larger.

To bad Viken isn't around any longer. He would straighten this out for us!

autobonrun

You were on the money. The second paragraph explained it all. So if my shocks were in good shape (and that's a big if after 55k miles) all I would need to do to get to ROW specs would be to change the springs. However, I think the smart thing will be to do both shocks and springs given the mileage.


http://p-car.com/susfaq.html

Greg Fishman

He wasn't called a guru for nothing

Per Viken, "All the US specification 993s came with 2 different suspension options. The standard M032 setup and the optional M030 sport chassis. You will have to look at your car's option sticker to see if it came with the sports chassis M030. The M030 option was only offered on the Coupe models including the Carrera S and Carrera 4S. The 993 Turbo already had the M030 sport chassis with the exception of a slightly firmer rear spring to compensate for the heavier rear weight. The M030 sport chassis option included firmer shocks and springs and slightly thicker anti-roll bars. There were some slight anti-roll bar differences between narrow and wide body cars as well. The ride height of all US 993 cars were the same regardless of suspension setup. The US cars were approximately 20 mm higher in front and 10 mm higher at rear than the standard ROW (rest of world) cars. On the other hand, all US cars were approximately 30 mm higher all around than the ROW M030 equipped cars. A US car equipped with the factory M030 chassis could be retrofitted with the ROW M030 springs for a 30 mm lower ride height without having to change the shocks."

Allen

How funny you should say this...as I began reading this thread, I thought the exact same thing...I can't tell you how many "screen captures" I have of information he gave us on here ...where is he these days...?

Slow Guy

I'm NOT a suspension expert but I just replaced all 4 shocks/struts and went w/ Euro M030 springs last w/e. At 67k mi. the shocks were so bad just turning them upside down and letting the weight of the shock body (less spring) was enough to compress the shock! The front were (burnt) toast, the rear were mildly toasted.

At 55k mi. don't waste the effort of replacing the springs w/o replacing the shocks too. Just my .02.

Jack of Hearts

Plus 1. Your stock shocks will almost certainly be toast. Get the Bilstein HDs and the M030 ROW springs. You won't regret it.

autobonrun

I've managed to stay off the slippery slope for an entire year but I'll make plans to order the ROW springs with the Bilstein HD shocks. Not bad for a 10 year old car only having the oil and tires changed since I brought it home last September. Probably waiting for the dollar to strengthen against the Euro is a wasted exercise but I'll see what happens. I've got some time. It's not like my shocks are completely gone but I am fed up with the SUV look.

My problem is that the slope for my M5 is as slippery as the one for the 993. I just ordered a new set of Chrome Shadow OEM rims for it and was trying to get a Tubi exhaust for it as well. I think I'll have to go with the 993 suspension upgrade first and let the M5 exhaust wait.

Thanks for the input by the way.