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YOUR RESEARCHBudget struts for slightly lowered non-DD?
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Use with h&r or eibach
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I believe those shocks can be used with H&R or Eibach.
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Hey y'all - I've got a 2002 C4S with worn out aftermarket RUF suspension (Bilstein PSS9's IIRC). What are my options for refurbishment/replacement? I don't plan on tracking the car, this is not a daily driver, and I would like a stance that's slightly lower than stock. There's a lot of potholes in my area, and ideally I'd have something that's sportier than stock without sacrificing stock ride quality, but I realize in the budget range that might not be realistic. I read a few forums and looks like folks are going with B6's/B8's or Koni's, H&R lowering springs, or M030 kits. The M030 kit sounds like what I'm after, but I can't find any for the 4S.
OP - My post covers options that cost $1000-$1800 for refurbishment or new parts. Have you contacted the folks at ruf-automobile.de about whether you can get the coils rebuilt with their Ruf valving vs standard Bilstein spec? Their customer service response has been great for me. Do you also have the Ruf adjustable rear bar? It�d be sweet to keep it Ruf-eed, if doable. If you don�t rebuild your current dampers ($1000), take a look at Feal 441+ coils (~$1750) for very good balance of price, performance and ride.
OE M030 is heavily burdened by Porsche tax and is vastly overpriced these days. It was a good performer 20 years ago, but isn�t near the top of the food chain today. I bought mine when it was $1200, but later ditched the springs for Eibach Pro. If you go non-coil, make your own M030+ kit with B6 or Koni Special Active and Eibach Pro Sport springs ($1300-$1500) to emulate M030 ride height/performance with better-than-yesteryear tech. Only thing is you can have highly regarded budget coils (Feals) for just a little more than conventional shocks, struts and springs to get all the suspension traits you desire, with adjustability.
My two bits�If I was to switch to coils, I�d 100% go Feals. You may want to stick with the PSS9�s because it�s really good kit. I really love how my car handles on standard dampers, so I�ll wait to scratch that coilover itch. Good hunting!
Thanks for the responses. Re:rebuild kits, I haven't been able to get a hold of anyone at RUF. I contacted Bilstein (which then led to Thyssen Krup) about a year ago, and they redirected me to a distributor stateside that wasn't much help. If anyone has a known-good contact, I'd appreciate the connection.
Thanks for the heads-up on the new options. Feals look to be in my budget range - wondering how they'd compare to rebuilt RUF.
I also heard back from Gert at carnewal.com. I guess my 4S comes standard with the US variant of M030, but the RoW (?) M030 sold in Europe is the same but 20mm lower, and price good for springs, B6 shocks (no Porsche tax), and shipping to US.
Gert also said they're accepting preorders on Koni sport + RoW M030 springs on front and rear for 1195 euro (includes shipping to US), which sounds like an excellent deal. I believe those shocks can be used with H&R or Eibach.
I guess my next question will be about which parts I can reuse, and which I need to replace. I'm assuming the top strut mounting bracket is same, but everything else needs replacement / refurbishment?
Ruf and one of their partners, performance shocks, say they don't offer rebuild kits. New shocks (only) would cost roughly double the cost of the entire RoW M030 set, so I guess I'll go with that or the Feals.
Any shop that rebuilds bilstein shock absorbers will be able to rebuild your Ruf version of pss9.
The hardware inside is all bilstein and is available through bilstein should it need replacement.
Normally that would be seals, oil and inevitably the nitrogen charge but even when valve shims would need replacement those are available.
OP - To add to hardtailer’s post, you could inquire with Bilstein and request a refurb with the Ruf spec valving/damping profile. Gert, at Carnewal, may have some arcane knowledge of Bilstein valves. However, time may have cancelled any performance gains divined by Ruf 20 years ago. Modern damping profiles should be improved by now, I hope.
