Ed Hughes

Got the rear shocks in this morning and finished the rear end assembly. I took her for a test run, and I must say she feels years younger. Taut and secure, particularly at the higher end of the speedo. I've got a long gradual hillclimb near my house with large sweepers conducive to high speed, and the difference was dramatic, from how she used to feel. Once she is dialed in, I'll take her next weekend to my real hillclimb test route-Palomar Mountain's South Grade Rd, where you climb a few thousand feet in about 7 miles-those corners definitely aren't sweepers...

I had 68K on the original Monroes, and while it wasn't horrible, I could tell they were past their prime. I ended up going with Bilstein HD/MO33 ROW and new Walrod bushings on the control arms. I also installed a TRG strut bar and new ARB bushings.

No pics for now, as she is still too high! I used the spring perch dimensions on the suspension DIY thread, but the front only came down about 1/2" at the fender, and not much at the rear. Since I'm going to take it to Jae @ Mirage for his magic on the alignment and balance, I'll let him lower her down to ROW spec. I've an appointment for 9am Tues and will pick her up Weds afternoon, so I'll post pics of the new stance on Thanksgiving day.

Well worth the $ and effort.

Spidey 993

Ed,

Great to hear. I am pulling the trigger on the Bilstein/M033 combo as well so hearing your feedback helps seal the deal in my mind.

Out of the other 3 options you installed (control arm bushings/TRG strut bar/ARB bushings), do you feel they are must haves?

Thanks!

P-daddy

Congrats on your susp diy. The difference in ride quality is just amazing. It will feel in more dialed in after a proper alignment. Let us know how it feels then, and of course lots of pics.

ABCar

Congrats Ed....I remember how excited I was at the dramatic improvement my PS10's made. Just you wait though. When you get the right alignment dialed in, you will feel like you have a whole new car!
Enjoy.

Kiwi01

Happy to hear your first impression was positive. +1 on better results after it gets dialed in. I had Boges up until 65K and went with the HD's and M033's and have never looked back. My car is 90% street with 3 DE's a year and now at 70k ... I love this set up.

I'm still contemplating the bushes and the strut ... but I can wait.

Good to hear all went well ... I am an avid reader of your work on Ruby as well, thanks and keep posting.

Ed Hughes

Thanks guys!

As to the "must haves", I'd say that new control arm bushings, no matter which one chosen, are probably a must. The strut brace isn't a must I'd say. The ARB bushings are cheap and worth doing as you'll remove the rear bar anyway.

mikej

Ed,

I've been looking forward to hearing your impressions. I've been contemplating making almost the exact same mods to my car (it too has about 68k on the clock); this seals the deal!! Do you think the M030s would have been too stiff, considering your use? Is that why you went the M033 route?

Mike
'96 993c2

sander97C2

Congratulations Ed! It sounds to me like the HD/M033 and walrod combo is a really great street setup. I'm looking forward to the pics because I'm about to add the TRG strut bar to my list of suspension mods, but would love to see the fitment and look of the bar mounted on you're very clean blk C2! Great stuff mr. hughes

Ed Hughes

Yes, that was my thought behind the spring choice.

I'll take a pic of the bar too. I'm going to have an upholstery shop mod the carpet around the brackets.

Spidey 993

Did you look at the HD B8 versus the B6?

Reading up on Gerts site, he writes:

"The Bilstein B8 shocks have the same damping as the Bilstein B6 but the stroke of the pistons is 20mm shorter.
Due to the shorter rebound, it makes the Bilstein B8 an excellent match for the use with RoW M030 and M033 spring
as it eliminates the "floating spring" issue."

So, do you feel a floating sensation if you have the B6?

user 70801213

drive around a few 100 miles to let the springs settle in a bit, then lower it to where you want and then get alignment.

Ed Hughes

It sounds like they refer to the fact the springs "float" when the car is up in the air and the shock is fully extended?

I doubt I'll run it a few hundred miles, but it'll get a hundred or a bit more before it is in the shop.

Kika

Cool, looking forward to seeing it at C&C on 3 Dec.

skl2

I went with the exact setup minus the strut bar...and had the same response. Its a different car, and 100% better.

Spidey 993

Ed,

Reading some older posts, you were considering the Koni/033 setup, what made you switch to the HD?

Thanks