mnmasotto

I have the opportunity to get a pair of new JRZ RS dual adjustable front and rear shocks for my 2007 GT3. These are the non-remote canister shocks. I was planning on using the stock springs if OK. I drive the car mostly on the street but was recently bitten by the autocross bug. I have not yet been to a local track but hope to in the near future. I have already completed the Porsche Sport Driving School and want to learn more about high performance driving. My question is this: are these significanlty better than stock suspension? How do these these perform on a 2007 Gt3 with 15K total miles? The price is $2000 installed with complete alignement. For that price should I be looking at something else?

Thanks for all the help!!!

Larry Cable

quick question, what aspect of your current stock suspension do you find does not perform adequately, and what do you expect to gain from the replacement of the shocks?

I ask because while there are likely to be definite benefits to the JRZ over the stock suspension, you will lose the PASM by switching, *and* you also either have to have the ability to properly adjust your suspension, or know someone who does in order to fully benefit from such a swap ...

Note it might also impact the ride quality on the street ...

Also note you should probably find another '07 GT3 owner that auto-x's their car to determine what works on the car before investing in new shocks ...

Another thought, not sure if you can re-use the stock springs on the JRZ's ... and if you can, you will probably have to have the shocks matched to the spring rates.

not trying to spoil the parade ... just bringing some objectivity to the question

va122

Dont' use the stock springs. go with something higher like 600/800

Larry Cable

good point!

mnmasotto

Thanks for the quick responses. I was thinking that I get into this track and autocross stuff I would probably eventually upgrade the suspension. The shocks wore out on my prior cars fairly quickly. Since this seemed like a good deal I just wanted to know what you guys thought.

Larry Cable

sounds like a good deal ... actually pretty cheap ... having messed with the suspension on my 993 and 964 I have avoided doing so on all of my GT3's primarily because I dont have the skill to 'tune' the suspension, and therefore I am not sure how to extract the 'benefit' from it ... nor am I sure I really need to now either ...

personally I'd take the $2k and invest it in another (more advanced?) driving school ...

mnmasotto

Great advice, Indeed!

Larry Cable

Russell Racing, Skip Barber, or even the BMW CCA school ... all in Ca ...

Of course ... there are still places available at the Intl BMW School Nurburging 8/1-4/2010 ...



another alternative that would not disable PASM is the Bilstein Damptronic which I think is a stiffer setup than the stock but retains PASM ... which if you ever resell the car might be a plus.

mobonic

thats a smoking deal for JRZ RS's..... if you plan on tracking the car a lot its a great investment...

My JRZ's costed more than $2k just to install!

Carrera GT

The price does seem too good to be true. Are they used dampers/struts? I see you ask about springs, but do the JRZ's already have springs? (indicating they've been assembled previously) Does this include mounting hardware?

As for setup, I doubt you can improve upon the 997.1 PASM without considerable effort and I wouldn't expect to be able to have a car setup for autocross and track -- you'd have to decide whether you want the car to change directions at low speeds and put down the power or remain stable at high speeds and hold high apex speeds. Subjectively, I think the 3000lb+ 400hp+ GT3 is not the weapon of choice for even a long (one minute) autocross circuit, but it is the ideal car for the track. If you really get into autocross, I'd have to concede that the Boxster/Cayman/Spyder/914 are all superior (the Spyder with PDK would probably be impressive ... a Carrera 4S with PDK using launch control would probably be a lot of fun too (note to self: autocross the Cabrio ... : )

When you say you've "completed" PSDS, keep in mind there is a two-day and a three-day course. I'd say the three-day course is the better value and certainly raises the bar for the student. Of course, the three-day requires completion of the two-day.

The Baron

mnmasotto,

After reading your post about your driving desires, my advice for you (at this point) on the absolute best way to spend $2000 is a Pro-driving school.

There are several very good 2-3 day schools in the $2-3000 range.

This investment will improve your lap times much quicker than the JRZ investment. The non-remote JRZ shocks and stock springs are not that much better than the stock set-up.

To properly set your car up on remote 3-4 way JRZ (and springs) will cost several times what you're paying for these ..... so save your money !

I am intimately familiar with the following schools and recommend in the following order;

1. Bertil Roos (Best Value)
2. Bob Bondurant ( closer to you in CA.)
3. Skip Barber (too big but at many tracks)

Best of luck in your new hobby,

Chuck

utkinpol

i just got new JRZ RS on my car. those shocks are phenomenal.
As of price - new ones cost $3200 for shocks alone and 600lbs/700lbs Eibach main springs with tenders do cost $780. Those are relatively moderate prices, probably not cheapest but not priciest neither.

If you deal was for used shocks - do not try to save $$$ and send those shocks to JRZ to be re-valved, it will cost about of a $1k may be but shocks will be like new after that. Also check what springs did they come with. 550/700 may be OK, 450 front 600 rear is not.

Carrera GT

Great post. Thanks for the first hand facts. And those prices (and spring numbers) sound a lot more realistic.

mooty

good shox aren't cheap.
new moton cs
springs
alignment/corner bal
rear upper monoball
and a few other bits
and CA tax.
6500-7000

utkinpol

best springs rates are dark voodoo. i have investigated a lot prior to surrendering to my builder`s opinion. i think 600lbs/800lbs rule came from 993 days and is not very relevant for 997 cars, not to mention significant weight diff between, say, gt3 and c4s cars, for an example. 200lbs split is not a 'given' rule at all. my builder never uses split more than a 100lbs from front to rear.
I know TPC suggests using 900/900lbs springs for 997. cup cars go way over 1200lbs. go figure.
all i can say on this topic - 600/700lbs springs on my car that weights 3390lbs (me included) feels great on a street and is adjustable very well to be reasonably stiff.