Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

KWs seem to struggle with durability, making GAZ look long lived. Peter Sherratt has replaced his fronts twice at his own cost!!!

That's news to me, I didn't buy LEDA/GAZ after reading about them rusting quite badly. This is going back around 6 or 7 years ago though. I did have to wait a couple of months for delivery of the KW's direct from Germany.

My GAZ golds are now over 6 years old. Nickel plating is nowhere near as shiney as they were in the first year or so but definitely no rust......yet

It does seem to be the nature of plate and viscous diffs it seems. Helical items like Quaife's ATB and the Wavetrac units are the exception to the rule, but again they come with other "drawbacks".

Maybe it was 8 or 9 years ago, I think they were around half the price of the KW's and I'm sure it would be easier to have them rebuilt, but people that were using KW's back then said they were better for road use due to the bypass valves.

Hi Joe -

Don't even think of coil-overs, they are are waste of time and money unless you are racing as a decent pro, even on a track day.
First job is to replace the ARB bushes, go for the stock Porsche rubber ones - polly are for track. Check your wishbone arm bushes for play - if necessary replace. The next is the big question of Shocks! It is best to get an upgrade from the normal stock Porsche - which way you do this is your own decision. Bilsteins seem to be a favourite for some, me I fitted Koni Sports and haven't had a problem.

It is also important to consider the old wear on the front springs - these should be changed at the same time - I replaced mine with H&R - a Koni affiliate, to 968 sports, these are 25mm lower than normal spec and will help handling etc.

Confused or helpful - just start at the beginning and all will follow...

Dave
CT S2

What were Porsche thinking with that MO30 suspension ?

I'd also disagree about not polybushing the front ARB bushes. Many people said they would squeak etc. On my 951 they were fine (they were PowerFlex items), and SuperFlex/SuperPro items on other cars have been spot on, if not an improvement over stock, including handling. The cheaper crap I admit does leave little to be desired.

I ended up changing 2 or 3 ARB bushes on my S2 as various bits of the power steering system gave way (Banjo seals mainly at the pump) and the rubber always swelled up, leaving a floppy ARB.

I agree your point but the MO30 was a complete package, including bigger calipers etc. To fit coil overs to an everyday car, with a bit of track day, is quite an financial outlay...

Dave

Chas,

Yes, you're right! Yours was the Turbo with KW's that I drove. And no, I haven't driven any car (FWD or RWD) with an LSD of any form, as far as I am aware. And that could well be part of the problem; there was more going on in the cars than I was aware of and that was clouding my judgement of the suspension.

I think my point was more that I was expecting to be wowed by KW's; they have had so many rave reviews, suggesting that the handling was great without coming at the expense of comfort due to the bypass valves and that they made a 944 feel like a more modern car. And while both cars I drove with KW's on were good they didn't wow me. Both of them left me feeling a little bit nonplussed. If my expectations hadn't been set so high I may have come to a different conclusion; equally, had I had KW's fitted to my own car (which I know very well indeed) then I may have appreciated them more. However I wasn't impressed enough to think about buying them for my own car when I needed new suspension, preferring instead to go down the riskier (as it was largely untested and involved some engineering) route of Bilsteins.

As I've said, I now think that the Bilsteins are the bees knees and highly recommend them. If you wanted a comparative drive Chas then do drop me a line .... I can hope that it may tempt you back into 944 ownership!


Oli.

Oli
You probably never noticed the kw's as you were so amazed by how much faster and better the turbo was over the s2

Really? That's the first reliability issue I've heard about KW's. Cosmetically they in another league from Gaz / Leda that I have used .. and mine seem to have survived several years of track days + the road use by the previous owners. They can be rebuilt (although I think you need to send them back to Germany).

Having said all that, Bilsteins would get my vote as a good cost effective 944 option. As for Geo, I notice some posters suggesting Promax would be cheaper than CoG - I'm not sure about that TBH as they also know how to charge..

I don't think there's too much magic in 944 setups - Nothing special about the front end, but some places won't touch the rear suspension as it's often seized & can be a pain to work on.

Getting the geo right is not a black art as long as the place you go to has the right kit and knows how to use it. A well-informed person will be able to tell you what differences the different adjustments will make but Porsche publish the recommended settings and most people will simply aim for those.

You're right in that the front is a doddle. Particularly if it has all been apart recently to fit the new parts. I did mine while the car was on the Hunter machine in about 10 minutes using a few 17mm and 19mm spanners (the people I went to were happy for me to wield spanners on my own car). It's very easy indeed.

You are also right in that the rears are a pain in the bottom. Mine were entirely seized and I ended up paying to have them free'd off. I don't understand the mechanics of how they work but following the instructions in the manual does produce the adjustments it is supposed to. The rear toe does need a special tool to adjust but it isn't expensive.

I used Rapid Mechanical Services in Romford for my alignment and would strongly recommend them. Their number is 01708 340168 and I dealt with a guy called Andy.


Oli.

You could be right, it's a few years since I've been to either workshop. I wouldn't be surprised if their hourly rate is similar, though Chris was certainly very thorough. Being pedantic it's Center Gravity .

which isn't even English..