JP Schnitzer

I've looked at all the posts on the topic, and honestly there is not a lot written about driving our cars on a frequent basis with the x73 suspension. Can anybody give me the good, bad, or ugly on living with this kit.....I am swayed by the fact that it is Porsche OE, and slightly stiffer/lower than stock US set-up. I don't have any doubt that at the track and in extreme road circumstances it will be better, but how about the more mundane stuff....will the car be less usable???? Any words of wisdom? Mo30 ROW is also a choice, any advice on this one????

CLL ACAB

jp,

I have the X74 on my C4 CAB. The car dropped 1 1/2 inches in the front and 1" in the rear. The handling is vastly improved, but quite usable for the street. I definitely "feel" more of the road, but that's OK with me. I think it's the way a sports car should be. At high speeds (never over 55) it is extremely stable - before it used to "float" on sweepers.

Dave

Riz

I think the X73 is a little higher than the GT3 suspension, but not much. My GT3 scrapes on everything, while my Carrera could go almost anywhere. I would prefer something in between the standard and GT3 ride height for street use anyway.

Dock

It really depends on what you like. I have X73 and it's the best mod. I've made to my car! It's not too low as to scrape very much, and it isn't so low that the other suspension parts are out of whack (it's Porsche designed), but it greatly improves all aspects of the car's handling.

With X73, the Turbo rides and handles the way a Porsche should. It is no question stiffer, but not bone jarring at all. If a GT'ish like ride is what an owner is after, they should not get X73.

bigsky

Any idea how it compares to PSS9's?

GTRdream

i have the x-73 on my 996 i love it for the track
but for the street of LA not so good. change to
the pss9 much better for the street and
turn of the knop firm it up for the track

love it

Fred R. C4S

If you have smooth, good road surfaces to drive on, the X73 will be fine. If you live in an area with rough roads with lots of bumps, big and small (surface changes, expansion joints, small potholes, cracks in the surface) the X73 will be VERY stiff for you. I installed it on my TT in Illinois and after two days realized that I could not live with it driving on my roads. I converted back to stock and sold the suspension to a person in Washington state. He couldn't be happier. It dropped my '03 exactly 20mm front and rear. You drop may be different as there is a +/- 10mm tolerance on Porsche ride height specs.

Cheers,

kimh

Yes indeed thank you Fred!! - X73 here in Washington State and could not be more happy with it! The car now looks and feels just right! Installed with the included stiffer motor mounts the car is dramatically transformed. I was concerned about the ride height, which ended up just right. The drop on my 01' was 30mm at the Front and 15mm at the rear. The damping is greatly improved and is not at all fussy (at least on the roads here). The squat and pitch up under acceleration is now almost non-existent. The nose high attitude (high speed stability issue) on my particular '01 is gone. The X73 kit proved to be exactly what I was looking for and more! The car feels very 'tied down' to the road now. I was quite honestly expecting the car to be a lot more of a compromise with X73 - but to my delight it is not. The overall result (IMO) leaves no doubt as to the dilemma/calibration of ride height/damping that I might have faced with other systems. I can just really confidently enjoy the car now with the factory setup. I went with the factory alignment specs for X73 as well. For me the car went from a 7 to a 10!!! To my mind the X73 is not a compromise - it's definitely how the car should have been delivered all along esp. with your X50 package!

Cheers - K

rbcsaver

kimh,
How much does the x73 kit cost. I should have know before I (just) did the H&R spring thigie at the cost of a grand.
Steve

kimh

Steve, Gert at Carnewal has these... Although I was lucky enough to purchase mine (ever so slightly used!) from Fred R. I believe the X73 is on sale currently at around $2500 including the motor mounts.

http://www.carnewal-europe.com/

They are of course a complete replacement strut assembly at each corner, comprising of Bilstein dampers (and HR springs?). Each carries a multitude of Porsche part #'s. Of course there is NO adjustment / corner weighting / ride height choice as such, and this is exactly why I went this route!!

Cheers - K

deeroff

I did the ROW springs and I think it did wonders. Not a great expense either.

thusly

Not sure if these are entirely fair comparisons (and I think the previous posts are similar to my observations), but I found the X-73 suspension on the 996X51 was very similar to the feel of the GT-3, particularly if the GT-3 alignment specs are not spot on. I found the GT-2 suspension to provide much better feel, "comfort" and responsiveness (ignoring the 2wd vs. 4wd for the moment) than the Pss9s on the twin turbo. Since I am not that inclined to tinker with suspension settings, I would have probably opted for the factory X suspension on my twin.

boqueron

Thusly, was the Pss9 s a better choice than the original suspension on your TT ?

thusly

Pss9s were a huge improvement over stock. When I first got my twin, I was astounded how unimpressive the stock suspension was, not to mention that my car looked like it was set up for off-roading

I am quite certain that I am not maximizing the Pss9s and GT-3 sways to their fullest potential; unfortunately, I don't really have the time to tinker much so I am a bit biased as to set and forget. At the same time, given my current settings, others, as well as myself, have commented have wonderfully the car handles. It really does stick, and the settings are pretty compliant over rougher roads.

There are numerous other Rennlisters who have much more insightful perspectives as to the Pss9s - they are in a better position to provide technical and other commentary.

petert

Anyone attempted a self install on the X-73? Any tips?