Suspension Thoughts?

I may have some "play" money shortly - and am thinking about redoing the suspension on my '09 Boxster 2.9 PDK . My experience with motorcycle suspension leads me to believe that adjustable shocks are the way to go - and if possible ones that have separate adjustments for compression and rebound, and a spring preload adjustment. Would I would like to gain by doing this is: A bit more comfortable ride quality over NJ's horrendous roads (potholes and rough pavement is the standard now in NJ, we grow the potholes NYC imports as speed control obstacles.) This generally is achieved by lessening the compression damping. It's even better if (like is available on motorcycle shocks there is high-speed and low speed compression damping adjustments.) Keep the lack of excitement when seeing how much grip the car has in tight corners.. can I double the suggested speed (yellow sign, not a white one - yellow is "suggested speed") in corners? Height adjustment isn't a huge issue for me - I'm not unhappy with my car's "stance" - so coil-overs aren't absolutely necessary. So my questions to the brain trust (group hive memory) are: Suggested brands and models that won't break the bank? Bilstein, Koni are ones I'm familair with and generally seem to provide reasonable life and performance for a reasonable cost - but are there others I should look at? Any particular models worth chasing? What's probably due for replacement? The car has 72k miles on it, most all in NJ. I don't want solid or urethane bushings. This is strictly a street car - no track is planned or anticipated. Awaiting knowledge..

I wouldn't waste the money on coilovers or adjustable struts/shocks. Just my $0.02 Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

Agreed, coilovers seem to need adjustments and tinkering... not my cup of tea, in general. I had Konis on a Mazda in the past... it was fine as a lower-than-stock replacement. They were adjustable, but I didn't notice a whole lot of difference in the settings. They also felt relatively "hard" overall... they didn't seem more "sporting" but just felt harder. Probably not ideal for pothole roads! I had Bilsteins on my Subaru which I loved... a much better than stock setup, as they were matched with the springs (JDM takeoffs). They were MUCH better than the USA stockers which were too soft. Yet, they didn't feel much harsher than the USA stockers. I would certainly consider them again. Being a biker guy, you probably know about Ohlins as well - they were always well regarded for bikes in my experience. I never rode them myself, but everyone raved. I think we have Ohlins options on the Boxster ? Might be more expensive than necessary. I'd probably start with the Bilsteins as an option, myself...

Where do you drive? The image above isn't unusual in NJ in winter. Summer about half of them get a dollop of asphalt that raises them above the pavement, so you have potholes combined with bumps. Theres a section of road - a fairly major busy road - that looks a lot like the above, and you can tell the natives and the tourists apart by how they go over it. Natives drive like the top photo.

Now wait a minute 🤣 coilovers are the best way to go if you track/street the car… if you street it, I’d get H&R’s with bilsteins … if you get coilovers Bilstein PSS9’s.. and if you really want to dial that in, a set of Swift springs… that setup was fabulous on my 996TT I agree with the simplicity of just springs.. they work really good and the ride height is near perfect whatever you get don’t cut corners and get rebuildable coilovers

Hilarious photo, Don. From the BMW E30 world, AFAIK - Bilsteins are really the go-to shock, and are often paired with H&R or Eibach springs as a great combo. I think B6 was a great replacement for stock, and B8 if you want a bit sportier (probably what I'd go with). If I were to do a shock upgrade, either B6 or B8 would be on my short list given crappy MA roads. I think B12 is too harsh -- as that's really more intended for track days. Definitely worth a look, Don. Again, adjustable shocks would be really cool like our BMW bikes, but I admittedly haven't heard of anyone doing the adjustable thing on our P-cars (out side of PASM , if your car already has it). As MA and NJ aren't too dissimilar per the poor state of the roads (as evidenced by my shattered collarbone), and if you're not going to track, my guess is that your driving experience is going to be generally similar if you're usually driving close to home in the Boxster -- so I'd consider just picking one style (B8?) and going with it. Also, don't forget that your tires and tire size contribute to road feel as well. I feel a HUGE difference between my stock 987.2 with 18" (more forgiving) vs 981 X73 (lowered by 20mm) with 20" tires (I feel every single crack in the road - LOL). Whereas my OEM setup in my BMW E30 (14" tires) is definitely more cushiony than either. As far as feeling like I'm driving on rails around corners at speed, my former 987.1S and the above two P-cars exhibited that. Sticky summer tires like Michelin Sport 4S are also a great part of the equation. YMMV, and satisfaction guaranteed!*** *** Not necessarily a guarantee.

I am really happy with the Koni Sport + Cayman R spring combo on mine.. Nice supple ride and looks good as well w/o the excessive lowering you get with aftermarket springs. Was also reasonably priced compared to other options; got mine from Carnewal but I think there is a 20% off deal now that Koni does annually in US. It is only rebound adjustable though. If you’re looking for improved ride comfort I would not recommend Bilstein B8/B6 (difference is shock body length, same valving — FCP Euro had a nice video comparing the various options); B4 is the OEM replacement one and will be another option if you’re not looking adjustability. Speaking from experience as I had the B8 + Eibach kit prior to switching to Koni + Cayman R Agree on others on tires making a big impact too. When I got the car it had 19” wheels with PSS and switching to 18” + PS4S made a huge difference by itself. At that mileage you may also want to replace shock mounts and strut bearing as mine at 82k were definitely past due. Also check control arm bushings as they tend to wear out as well.

I run the Bilstein PSS9's and like them a lot on the street as the softest setting is pretty forgiving with smaller potholes but if you don't plan on tracking it, I'd agree with some of the other members with just replacing springs and tires first and going from there. Unless you want to lower the car, then the Bilsteins make that process super simple. Also, since you're in NJ and probably experience similar weather to Chicago (where my 987.1 came from), fair warning if you plan on going with coilovers/springs and installing them yourself, get ready for the rust and the absolute PITA of getting all of the bolts and parts unseized if you haven't worked on them recently. I personally wasn't anticipating having to deal with everything being rusted together and it added on an extra day or two to the install process and turned what should've been a very straight forward swap (minus taking out the interior pieces which are always a PITA) to a very labor intensive process. Something to think about if you plan on installing yourself that may want to look at first.

Living in Kansas City where we have similarly shitty roads and patchwork pothole filling, I was debating on either the KONI + H&R springs OR Fortuneauto coilovers with Swift springs, I've heard good things about their digressive valving design but was yet to ride in a car with them. Very comparable price compared to the KONI + H&R combo because I was going to need new bumpstops, top mounts etc as well.

Don, Plenty of nay sayers about the use of coilovers, but my Ohlins have lasted for 5 years now and 40k miles. No issues with the setup and compression/rebound golden knob. Josh at ARCFlASH does sell a modified Ohlin coilover that has your name on it. It has less spring rate for touring and a revised valving action. I had mine for a year using the OEM lower control arms but soon my outside tire shoulders started to wear out. Not tracking you may not need the wider stance or more camber that these LCA's provide. Also, the ride height is totally dependent on your desires, both higher and lower, I could not be happier with this setup both from both their function and longevity.

I don’t disagree with your setup at all… if you get coilovers buy the best, so Ohlin, Bill’s, H&R’s… rebuildable is the key word… there are lots that are not

I think coilovers are a bit out of my price range - and perhaps more than I'm looking for. The Ohlins design is one I'm very familiar with from motorcycle use of them. The only difficulty on motorcycles is they seem to require rebuilding more frequently than one might hope, and there have been some instances reporting on bore-scoring (sound familiar?) due to the use of aluminum for the shock body. There are other motorcycle shock vendors who make a bit more advanced designs - with thin-wall steel bodies that seem to last through quite a few rebuilds. I know the vendor/importer for those shocks quite well (I actually got him into the business) - but despite his owning 2 Porsches, he hasn't yet convinced the manufacturer that there is a big enough market for built-to-order custom automotive shocks.

I happen to like the ride quality and handling of the H&R spring setup. It’s real affordable, handles real good (vs oem) and the drop is about perfect. I don’t like cars that are super low. Coilovers would be better if you track but if you don’t springs are the best way to fly. I have PSS9 coilovers on the 911 and run them on the softest setting. I also don’t like super stiff, then the chassis becomes the suspension and the car sometimes skips around in the corners. I’m still playing around tho. Also coming from the Lotus world Colin Chapman once said “give them adjustable suspension and they’ll adjust it wrong” hard to argue with arguably one of the best handling car manufacturers of all time