Anyone have experience riding/driving between the PSS10s and either MCS or Ohlins? I have the PSS10s on my 95 C2 and they are great at handling - bonkers amount of grip with 225F/275R Michelin PS4S. However, for city driving, too harsh on the bumpy roads of LA. I heard MCS and Ohlins are much better at daily driving. Would love to hear from anyone who had experience with all three and whether or not it's worth upgrading to MCS or Ohlins.

For those wondering, I have tried the following settings on the PSS10s: 1F/2R, 2F/4R, 4F/6R, 6F/8R (this is where I am right now - may end up doing 6F/7R). Oddly enough, the stiffest 6F/8R is the comfiest setting I have experienced. 4F/6R wasn't bad in terms of comfort however 6F/8R seems better damped for the higher PSS10 spring rates.

 

I've driven on all 3, Ohlins are another level, nothing compares in my opinion, but they are expensive... PSS10 are a perfect fit for daily driving, or canyons but can be a bit harsh however, not much, the MCS are from my experience more of a very aggressive setup best suited if you're racing..

 

I have no experience with any of those three, but I went through just about every suspension thread over the past 20+ years on the Rennlist 993 forums and came to the conclusion that M033 springs with Koni Special Active shocks was an ideal combo of ride height, handling, comfort, and price when it came time to replace my OEM shocks and springs. I’ll never track the car, so anything adjustable was beyond overkill for me. Maybe that helps, maybe not.

 

Tarek! Good to see you on here. I met you in person on Palos Verdes East a couple of months back.

So in your opinion Ohlins provide the best compliance in daily driving? The only thing I don't like about the PSS10s is that almost "crashy" feeling going over big bumps at low speeds and highway interconnects above 90 mph.

 

After my scrub of the forum for suspension, I was considering the M033 and Koni Special Active (FSD) set up initially. But I wanted a RS +10mm or ROW -10mm which would have been hard to achieve.

 

I went through something similar to what you are trying to figure out now. My car has Bilstein B6 shocks and ROW M030 springs and I'm at approximately ROW -10mm. I also have that "crashy", "floaty," and/or "bumpy" feeling going over larger bumps at moderate speeds. After reading numerous threads on here and many opinions, it's just too difficult to narrow down a root cause(s). Lots of conflicting information, differing opinions, and a number of variabilities when it comes to suspension, the only way to truly know is to ride in various cars with different setups to see how they feel. I've heard everything from bump steer from a low ride height, to replacement of old tired shocks, improper spring rates matched to the damping of the shocks, to 18" low profile tires vs stock 17", worn bushings, improper suspension geometry, inherent feeling of our cars because it's weight-biased to the rear and light feeling in the front; the list goes on.

I would be interested to see where you land with your suspension since I have the same goal of a compliant ride on the street with a ROW -10mm ride height. I'm not in a rush to change suspension at the moment since the car is all street with spirited driving/canyon carving once in a blue moon. Best of luck!

 

The PSS10 setup in my car is more comfortable than what Tesla installs in a Model Y. I had MCS on a previous car but the setup was not customized for me -- it was wildly stiff even after adjusting canister pressure and comp/rebound. I think I'd look at the spring rates spec'd for each of the setups; I think the reason why I like the PSS10 on my car is because of how soft the rates are

 

i have PSS10s and have been extremely satisfied. my car has been tracked and also on cross country road trips. both MCS and Ohlins are a step above and adjustable, so i don't think you can go wrong with either of the 3 depending on personal preferences.

 

Definitely agree with you here. Too many variables that impact ride quality. I run Michelin PS4S tires for grip and their softer side-walls. According to my mechanic, the OEM bushings on my suspension are in sound shape and don't require service thanks to the previous owner. Additionally, I have heard adding RS hubs/wheel carriers with RS tie rods improve the ride quality, handling, and most importantly bump steer. Though I would argue that a shock/spring or coilover setup likely contributes to the largest difference in suspension characteristics - all else being equal.

For now, I don't think it's worth changing the coilovers to Ohlins. Rather spend that money RS hubs and tie-rods. The car spends 30% of it's time on the streets of LA and 70% in the canyons. Haven't tracked it yet.

What settings do you use on your PSS10s?

 

Aren't the PSS10 spring rates almost double that of M033? M030 might be hard to compare since they are progressive. What settings do you use on your PSS10s?

 

What settings do you use on your PSS10s?

 

I am not expert and am learning myself. Assuming shocks are adjustable I can’t think of any reason you wouldn’t be able to tune them to your liking by choosing appropriate spring rates and changing compression/rebound settings. Maybe also throw sway bars into the mix to get completely lost in the options 🙂

In other words, I don’t believe this question is even valid “Which one is better for street driving Ohlis or MCS”. I’m pretty sure both are just fine as long as they are setup for it.

Probably a better question is what spring rates to pick for street driven 993s and how to match shock settings to the spring rates. My 2c.

 

Tarek,

That's awesome to hear. I've heard nothing but good things about Ohlins and mine just showed up a few weeks ago. I'm waiting to get all of my Elephant Racing parts so I can upgrade all my bushings and install RS uprights at the end of the summer.


Ohlins R&T

 

PSS10 F/R 4/6 is firmish comfortable on our poor roads with PS2 N3's - maybe similar to stock. Depending which way you go, the settings get quite a bit softer/harder.

 

You may be right -- the car has BBi uprights in front.

If I'm not mistaken, the shock damping adjustment is set very soft -- 2 or 3. I'll have the car on the rack next week so I can verify then.

I also noticed that after I lowered the front a bit more, the ride got worse. I suspect that if you want to ride very low, the PSS10 isn't a great choice and you may be better served by Ohlins (which I think is a double tap coilover, allowing you to lower from the bottom bracket without sacrificing stroke) or a custom length MCS damper