I went from stock US suspension to M030 ROW on my 2002 Cab and am very pleased with result. Car is definitely more stable at speed (no more floatly front) and is plenty comfortable enough for 600+ miles/day road trips.

I, too, wrestled with this option versus coilovers, but three factors drove my decision for the M030s: price, simplicity (install and forget--no goofing around with the adjustability of a PSS9/10 setuip), and overall drivability of the resulting package. I don't track the car, and roads in Houston are also not the best so going super-low is not a wise option.

 

Although CO's are nice and I also run them, I don't think everyone's priorities and interests are the same. A lot of us don't "need" them.

Another thing that impressed me about the ROW(which I used to have btw), is the factory engineering behind them.

Just for the fact that they use different valving and/or spring rates for all their models, even differentiating between auto and manual tells me they put a lot of thought into it and got it "right" between handling and comfort for the typical owner. Just another $.02 thrown in...

 

Not much to add as everyone's spot on for considerations... just throwing in another example of a happy customer moving from stock to RoW M030 suspension for a daily driver, light ocaisional track day use, lower stance, and similar/worse roads that the OP has to negotiate.

 

I have H&R coilovers on my car. They are stiffer than stock and height adjustable only. Picked them up on ebay for $1500. Big improvement over the old tired shocks. I also paid quite a bit to install, align and corner balance but the $ spent was well worth it.

 

What he said^

 

Does anyone know if there's really a difference between the MK-I and MK-II ROW M030 kits? Suncoast sells them as different sets:

1999-2001:
http://www.suncoastparts.com/product...=996Suspension

2002-2005:
http://www.suncoastparts.com/product...WM0302002.html

 

IIRC, the mk2 models have stiffer spring rates and/or valving to compensate for the extra weight.

Just get the one for your car. As long as both are available, I don't really see a point in spending additional time on wondering things like this.

Don't be like my friend that still hasn't bought wheels for his car because he's still stressing night and day for the past 4 months on which to get.

 

So... hypothetically if I had a 1999 car that was heavier for some reason, I might want to look at the 2002-05 kit? I need to figure out how I should adjust suspension for a car that is 200 lbs heavier than stock... look slike '02+ was only 50lbs or so heavier than '99-'01 models.

 

The reason I ask is because I'm debating buying a used set for a MK-I for my MK-II car...

 

Yes, not everyone needs coilovers, but another thing to consider is the adjustability in stiffness front to back and being able to adjust rake. To some that's not important but for me, dialing out the horrible understeer has made the car a joy to drive. I also coupled that with some aftermarket sway bars and it corners flat.

 

I put fsds with euro springs on my 99 US. Floating gone. Have them for two years now. Way better than stock. More comfortable than MO30. Same or better response when pushing it. U can get a set of used euro springs from carneval for 100 euro or so. This would just lower ur front around 10mm or so and better the stance as well. That is all the difference between US and euro ride heights. Rear springs are the same.

 

Personal opinion, unless it is super cheap and you can trust the guy on the condition of them, I'd rather pony up the extra dough for a new set considering the price which is "a bargain" for a Porsche OEM part. The only other part that I felt like I was getting "a deal" from Porsche would've been the gt3 brake ducts followed by sport pedals

 

For me the RoW M030 gave me exactly what I want in terms of handling and relative comfort on the roads (it is still quite firm on bad roads).

But what I regret is it not lowering my car a whole lot. I tell people I have a sport suspension yet my car appears to be stock. I would have liked a little bit of a difference. I'm virtually at the same ride height as I was before switching out.

Great for daily driving though.

 

Yeah ,the gt3 ducts are probably the cheapest useful mod u can do. When I bought coilovers I knew I would use my indy for install, corner balance, alignment. That cost alone was near $1000. So if you are going to hire a mechanic to install the suspension why not buy new coilovers instead of springs or used shocks only. Do it right the first time. Explain to the tech what you plan to use the car for whether it be track or street. My car is setup aggressively as I track it every 6 weeks or so. I'm chewing through tires but I buy cheap sumis to keep the expense in check. Also have hollow spokes with r comps for track duty. If anyone is interested here is my setup:

front camber -2.8
rear camber -2.3
front toe 0
rear toe 2mm toe in

Near perfect corner balance of 655LF, 659RF, 967LR & 967 RR

Car is lowered the maximum amount the coilovers would allow with keeping 25mm of rake.
(About 2"+-)

She rips at the track, a bit darty on the highway though.

 

^^^ how far from the ground is your oil pan?