Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Hi all, looking for some advice on front suspension options having read up loads of guides for fitting the blisteins i'm left undecided.

I want to get a new set of shocks for my car, and will likely get a new set of springs at the same time if they're reasonable (not found any one with any yet!).

I found some Koni's online which apparently fit?! and the blistein B6 which I know will need some fabrication and welding before fittings, and another option which is from Porsche at £350 a side.
Are there any other options I'm missing?
I'd rather get the Koni's at £150 is they are plug and play.

Any advice much appreciated!
Thanks in advance.

My advice, having had both the Koni and Bilstein options on my S2 is that the Bilsteins are immensely much better. The hassle of modifying the struts pays off in spades once you have them fitted.

The only other option that seems to win almost universal praise is the KWv3's but they are a good deal more expensive. And the one car I drove which had them fitted didn't impress me that much; they were good, but not that good.

Springs lose a little over time but such a small amount it's rarely worth changing them.


Oli.

IMO the B6s are a great damper and it would be where my money would go.

The KWv3s are superb; they are a near bolt on solution. But as said before Oli I did also have an LSD in the back which can initially induce understeer initially ; It took me a while before I trusted that car to go further on the limits . I would have liked to have seen the 944 on the tyres on the M3 ; On that they have transformed the car along with one other modification.

Moreso than my current modern however, I really had to learn the limits of the car which probably took a good 100 miles .

New standard springs £180 a pair direct from porsche

Chas,

Yes, and thanks for pointing out that your Turbo had other mods as well. Although I stand by the fact that I wasn't as bowled over as I'd expected to be by the KW's! They were good - perhaps very good, but not as stellar as everyone made them out to be in my brief drive!

What's the other modification you made to the M3 that transformed it, and what's your current daily driver? (And when do you want to try my S2 with Bilsteins?)


Oli.

I recently ordered a pair at £40ea from design911.

That reminds me, they should have arrived by now....

For what its worth, B6s transformed my 944, but are still let down by other worn suspension and I've nothing to compare to other than worn stock shocks.

We'll need to catch up. The next month is getting quieter ; let us know when you are free on the weekends. The worst part? I was only down in Brands Hatch for the weekend a month back! Which brings me onto the mod on my M3 as I travelled down to ETA to get the car sorted.

The rear subframe bushes. I have gone Poly here over the comfort orientated stock items. My car along with others I test drove before was very nervous over white lines. Put the car over the white line and it would really twitch!


I also got my Rear Axle Carrier Panel (RACP) reinforced ; Google E46 RACP cracks/failure. I don't know if the reinforcement plates helped more than I thought but the bushes have certainly made this about the best E46 I've driven, so much that I notice it when it driving other E46s and even my lower mileage E36 never felt as good. The downside is that I have more drivetrain noise inside on acceleration due to the increased contact patch of the Poly bushes in addition to a slightly worn centre propshaft bearing.


The Turbo also to my surprise had new rear beam bushes when I checked. It's a shame the fate that car has met ; I should never have sold it but then...

My M3 is more forgiving on the limit than my 944 was but I wonder whether the speed sensing LSD helps there.

Thanks all - just to playback what I've seen (plus my additional research)

Options are:
Kw3 - I see a coilover set for £1850 http://www.kwsuspensions.co.uk/productf ... roupID=1-1
- not sure if these are bolt on I'd have to look

Official porsche - looks to be £450 a side

Bilsteins - I've seen a number of positive comments about these, but the fabrication puts me off a bit - I was hoping for a simple change.

Can anyone recommend the best place to price up Bilsteins, the prices I'm seeing are varying a lot!