Coilovers- experiences please

I am starting to look into coilovers for my 40th. I have searched and came up with some old for sale ads and some old (2010) one off reviews. I would really like some up to date experiences on what you all have tried and liked. In the past, on other makes, I have tried Weitecs, FKs, KW, H&R and Bilsteins. What do you all have and why? Thanks!

Guess I should tell you my intended use of this car. Spirited Driving with maybe a "track day" 2 times a year.

My car's previous owner installed H&R RSS Spec (track) coilovers. We've not driven it on track yet but they are surprisingly comfortable for street use. Yes, they are a bit stiff, but not super bouncy. Very low - OEM GT3 spec as it sits now, but I may raise it up at least a half or 3/4" if I can. It also has GT3 swaybars which makes the cornering razor sharp. I'm considering softening those up a bit and with that plus the ride height increase I think we'd be solid. Of course, that's coming from a guy and his wife who are both track instructors and always like our cars to communicate everything that's going on. Others may find this too stiff. It sure does look good though:

I have PSS9s on my 99 996 set to 1 in the rear and 2 in the front ( 1 is the stiffest setting). While I don't DD my ride I do drive over 1.5 hours each way to and from trackdays with no issues. It is a little harsh but not bad for me. The nice this if I ever do deem the ride to harsh I can adjust it easily.

I purchased a set (4) of used JIC/Cross coilovers for my C2. The coilover allows for varying height adjustments (my car now sits lower than stock) and the spring rates are stiffer than the stock street set-up. While it is a bit stiffer on the street, the car handles much better, flatter in the turns and weight transfer. In short, I love it, I wouldn't want the car back to stock. I do track my car about 10 days each year as well as drive it on the street. As for what brand of coilover is better than the other, it will depend on the amount of adjustment you intend to be able to actually do, along with price (i'm sure-remmeber to include the cost of a proper alignment and possible corner balancing depending on hwo you intend to drive the car. GL.

If y'all don't mind I'd like to piggyback on this thread as well. I have stock suspension @95k miles, and while I'd like to lower it, I know that the struts/shocks wouldn't last long with lowering springs. Is there any consensus on new struts with lowering springs vs. coilovers for a car that will, for the foreseeable future, see just DD duties and back road jaunts on the weekend? Basically; is the price delta between the set ups justified?

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Since the x74 factory sport kit is NLA, the Bilstein Sports paired with H&R springs could be a great non CO alternative for around $1200 for parts. If your becoming an old fart or live around rough roads, the Koni FSD shocks might suit you more but seem a bit soft and disconnected to me personally.

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If most of your spirited driving is on streets rather than the track, the extra targeted compliance provided by the FSD technology actually results in a greater amount of mechanical grip; instead of "skittering" over bumps and ruts as you would with a high rate damper and spring set, your tire follows the road itself. Sort out lateral roll with a decent set of sway-bars, and nearly everything is addressed but for brake dive and acceleration squat. I'm ordering them as soon as I can for mine, as it was the biggest (and best) possible change I could've made when done to a prior vehicle. In all honesty, I would liken their performance to just shy of a magnetorheological damper (ala R8 V10). FSD's were stock equipment on early Gallardo's (as well as Noble's) for a reason.

My vote for PSS9 (or newer 10). Good range of adjustment. Soft setting works fine on bad roads yet steering responce and control are far superior to stock. A turn of the ***** tightens things up for AutoX days.

PSS9s and X74 ARBs (same as ROW M030) yield a nice 32mm or so drop, give a flat, far more controlled & comfortable ride at 5/6, & easily appreciated, far superior handling over stock. The easy to dial in settings allow for adjustment for the casual track user, and contrary to many posts, it is not hard at all to lower the car a small limited amount and get a bit more neg camber for the track or autox, and then return it right back to the previous position. You just have to get the car up and wheels off. Readily rebuilt at a reasonable price by Bilstein if you HAVE to have new ones, I've seen used sets under $1000. Highly recommend them.

Are PSS9's still available? Everyone raves about them but I only see PSS10's on vendor's sites. They're also very similarly priced to KW coilovers which in turn begins another set of questions.

PSS9's are no longer available.... unless a vendor has NOS. Now that the X74 is NLA... the next plug in play option would be the PSS10 set up. If you want to step up the food chain... Then MCS new single Adjustable Dampers with coil overs would be a great set up.

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I don't necessarily buy the mechanical grip theory as the spring rates can and often more influence that. As I've said, if you want a more refined and comfortable ride, the FSD's would be a great choice. You are bang on with the dive and squat characteristics. But important to note for others that FSD's corner and handle very well. It just provides some additional level of compliance that doesn't necessarily feel natural or "aggressive" enough to some drivers. Just for me personally, FSD's feel more at home on the BMW than on the Porsche as I sorta expect a slightly harsher and more aggressive ride characterstics in a Porsche. If you're looking for more a compliant and refined ride, I would def recommend the FSD's. As for CO's, that seems to be the popular choice these days. It's just a shame that those are recommended for even the casual "cruiser" that DD's his car and will never adjust them more than once in their lifetime. Yet are often sold in as "rebuildable, adjustable, stainless steel body, or even bragging rights just to say you have them" which might not necessarily apply to everyone and their intended usage or driving. There is nothing wrong with getting the good old fixed shock/sport spring combo IMO.

Thanks all for your experiences!! keep em coming!

Yes...PSS10 are the coilover of choice. I couldn't afford them so I compromised and installed H&R spring instead and very happy with the setup. 40K km later ....ride is not too harsh and lowers the car nice.

nice looking ride

I agree, new PSS10s are too pricey. Nothing at all wrong with used sets though, since they are rather inexpensively rebuilt by Bilstein. Or were, I should say. And they used to be found pretty often, maybe monthly on ebay or in BT. Many of the serious track junkies will tell you that the PSSs are not good enough for real track duty. I wouldn't know, myself. They killed the annoying brake dive, stutter bumping on road heaves, with rear wheel hop on a turn, and nose rise on acceleration that I experieinced with the OEMs on my car at various times. For the occasional DE, autox, and fun DDing, they are freaking awesome, as we used to say...

Many CR's in the stock class run the PSS10's and are very successful with them. Good bang for the buck now that the X74 kit is missing from the equation. We were extremely happy when MCS release the new single adjustable dampers... especially at their price point.

What shocks do you run with the H&R springs?

As a point of reference for my H&R RSS coilovers, H&R will not publish the ride height range because "they are meant for track and that's irrelevant for street drivers" but have told me that the springs are 450 lb-in up front and 915 lb-in in the rear. Just in case we need this for reference later on.

The H&R are progressive springs.... Kept that in mind when you talk about the Rates... what you stated would be at FULL Compression and you will never reach that on the street.

I HAVE FSDs installed. 99 C2 Cab. I had them with 19" wheels and the difference was so great compared to stock shocks, that the 19"s stopped bouncing over obstacles. I just put 18"s and even better. You can have the fsds with matching Bilstein springs to lower the car 30mm. I opted for pairing them with Euro springs, for 100 euro got them shipped over here, and the car has Euro stance (10mm lower on front and same in back). I am sure that track oriented coilovers offer more performance, but as a "do it all" component, I can't think of anything better.

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Stock Shocks.

One Word, KW Variant 3, well I guess that is three, but by far the best coil over I have run in any vehicle and I have tried out anything. Look at the reviews on them, imo they say all you need to know. search KW V3 review or KW V3 vs PSS10 KW V3 Coilovers If you want real baller go AST (Advanced Suspension Technology) coilovers, but be prepared to spend $$$

I just installed a set of pss10 and all I can say is.... it's superb. Currently set at 3f/3r, very smooth ride even on rough roads. Improved braking and squat under acceleration. Worth every penny...Also installed eibach sway bars at the same time. I'm very pleased with this combo and just wish I had done it earlier.

I'm still of the opinion that without the ability to independently adjust low speed compression and high speed compression, your results will be very limited. If nearly all your driving is city based, buying 2-3 way adjustable coilovers is nearly the most expensive way to get a fairly basic result. Either it will be soft enough to handle rougher roads but will not be stiff enough for cleaner tarmac, or the reverse for a given setting; they are definitely not "all situation" appropriate. This is exactly what makes the FSD's so impressive; essentially built in (but non-adjustable) independent low- and high-speed compression settings.

Not trying to thread jack but I'm thinking about goin cheap, remember I will do almost zero track duty just want the height adjustability but what do we think about ksports?