x74 Suspension Installed on my 1999 C2

Well some of you knew what I was doing, some knew I was looking at different suspension systems, and then some didn't know. But I went ahead and purchased an x74 susupension system from Gert at Carnewal and installed it on Saturday. You can ask me why I chose this and not other suspensions if you want (i.e. PSS9). I wanted to also put to bed that the x74 does work on a '99 C2 as I read several posts here and there stating that it doesn't. Basically it was not available for the '99 and '00 here in the U.S. but was installed as an option from the "Exclusive Department" in Europe. This was a straight-forward installation because everything is pretty much pre-assembled, so no need for spring compressors etc. I hooked-up with Doug (C4 Pazzo) a couple weeks back and when I mentioned getting the x74 he offered to help me install it. I immediately took him up on the offer because 1) he has already installed a complete Porsche suspension (M030) on his car and so he is familiar with the process, although it will be easier this time, 2) he has a lift in his garage I will tell you that without a lift this job would have been a challenge and would have taken longer. It took us 7 hours to do the work together and we did take our time to check, double-check everything, torque everything etc. So I know it can be done quicker, but we were in no rush. All that is left now is an alignment which I am getting done this Friday before I go to Thunderhill for the weekend. So far my drive with the new suspension system has been fantastic although I need to wait for the alignment before I push it. But the ride is smooth, going over bumps in the road is firm but not harsh or a what I would consider a hard ride. The suspension still has not settled but it is close to what I had before with the sport springs in regards to the height of the car. Remember I have 19's on the car and so far with the perfect offset of the wheels (no spacers needed) I have no clearance issues, although I noticed that the previous owner had already rolled the front fender lip, that was because they had put on too wide of a tyre up front and it hit. This will be my last mod on the car this year, spent a lot of money in the last 2 months on: wheels, tyres, mufflers, aluminium gauge rings, aluminium pedals, tint, and now suspension. Come the winter time I have a list of other projects to do while the car is not being driven in preparation for next year, but nothing major like what I have done so far. Before I get to the pics I wanted to thank the following people: Doug (C4 Pazzo) for assisting me and for having a lift in his garage Andy (UCrazyKid) for insight on the x74 and allowing me to ride in his car Matt (Viper501) for insight on the x74 Gert (Carnewal) for selling the kit at a great price and also insight on the x74 Note: if I missed anyone specifically my apologies. So here are the pics of the install (this is not intended to be a technical thread but ask me questions if you have any): The Kit: Why it is nice having a lift: Marked the front strut location (although it is not correct until the alignment is done, but it is a setting with the car lower so something is better than nothing): Remove Belly Pan: Front disassembled (note caliper also removed for clearance): Front Installed: Front seen through wheel: Front suspension height difference (x74 is on the right): Front Sway Bar: Rear Reinforcement Plates: Rear Shock Nuts: Rear Installed: Rear seen through wheel: Rear suspension height difference (x74 is on the right): Rear Sway Bar: Engine Protection Plate: Pictures of the car will be posted once suspension has settled and alignment is done.

Congrats man! Taking the time to shoot the pictures is what took so long. Having a lift helps, a lot, but it isn't critical.

Nice job...

Congrats. I just had mine installed last week and from the road driving I have done, it simply transforms the car's handling. For those considering, the ride quality is similar to US sport suspension so nothing is lost there with the exception of some road clearance on ramped driveways and speed bumps. I am looking forward to taking my car to the Gingerman DE this week to really appreciate the difference.

Congrats Steven. I know how much you were looking forward to this. I'm putting my name in for a test ride next time we meet at SR. =)

Very nice! Congrats. You didn't tell me you had access to a lift, cheater! I did it on my own on jack stands. (An experience I would not recommend) ENJOY!

Great pics of the install, hope you enjoy the new suspension!

Yeah we did stop now and then to take the photos. As for the lift, you are right not critical but UCrazyKid will tell you it's a whole lot better to have one for this job. Thanks Thanks. I am too looking forward to seeing how great this mod is. Yep if you do not mind having to be 'more' careful when driving into parking lots etc. because it is so low, then this suspension kit is perfect IMHO. Thanks and you are on the list. Thanks. Oh yes that lift came in handy for sure. I could only imagine how it would be doing it flat on my back with the car on jack stands Thanks and I am glad I did the pics. I will update this thread once I have the alignment done and had a chance to experience this new setup.

Yeah, I did the initial install with a lift but had to change out a bad strut (front left leaking like a stuck pig) on jackstands in the garage. Not too bad but much easier up in the air. We need to see some after pics though.

Yeah I know, give me a week at least, by then I will have had the alignment done and driven it around a lot, going to Thunderhill this coming weekend to 'watch' the PCA GG race there

nice

Nice Steven! Thanks for sharing the pics! (Yes, I am on "pic patrol" tonight! )

Steven, It was fun helping you with the install on Saturday. I'm anxious to see the before and after alignment numbers (I hope they don't charge based on the magnitude of the adjustments required!). Enjoy Thunderhill this weekend. Doug

I considered the X74 and the PSS9 packages but, went with the M030 instead. I did the install by my lonesome and took me about 12 hours if I remember right. Not too bad considering the dealer would have charged me 12+ hours labor at $102 per hour and they have all the toys for the job. I like the protection plate. I wonder if it hampers the draining of the oil?

nice !

Thanks and I am glad I had the pics up Thanks Thanks Congrat's on doing the job yourself and I bet the cost by the stealership would have been outrageous. An indy shop would have been less. I do not believe the plate will be an issue but it is easily removed.

Doug, again thanks for the help, I really could not have done it without your lift, I mean your expertise Alignment is set for Friday and I will get a before and after. The cost of the alignment is pretty steep so I expect to have it dialed in without them having to charge anymore, I cannot see why they would and if they do I will not be happy. Thanks again mate

good selection bud - do a profile shot so i can see how the car sits.

I agree with ben, lets see a profile is your avitar with the new suspension? Great choice Steven.....

Suspension adjustment shouldn't be a problem, assuming the shop knows what they are doing. As to the protection plate, oil changes are a snap with it on. I have taken it off a couple times just to clean it but you won't need to for a standard oil change.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on it... some say its better than the PSS9 setup by a longshot!

is it really as compliant and smooth as US Sport Suspension though... maybe you need some more time on bumpy roads to fully assess this... if it is I"m swapping out my ROW 030 (not that there is anything wrong with it) but I bought ROW 030 instead of X74 because some X74 owners talked about the "stiffness"... hmmm I mean it is after all a super sport track suspension ... dunno...

Pete, I had the U.S. M030 and now have the X74. I would say it is stiffer, and definitely a lot lower, but not unreasonably so. This is especially true given how well the car handles now. Major improvement over the US M030.

wow!... I have ROW 030 and think it's awesome... a major improvement eh? hmmm.. you got me thinking now... I just find it hard to believe that a stiffer lower suspension has good street ride quality... I'm sure its as good as you say though... when my tires are almost worn the ride with ROW 030 is quite punishing...!

Pete, before you dump your ROW, take a ride in someone's GT3 or X74/73 car. I think that ride is highly subjective and somewhat road dependent.

I have ridden in a 996 GT3 and I would not want this on long trips or as a daily driver... but its a kick *** track setup!

Pete, that kind of demonstrates what I was saying about ride being very personal.

if its close to GT3 then yes I totally agree with you about the whole experience being personal... a GT3 on the street is not my cup of tea that's for sure... thx for providing that perspective...

Good job Steven, I'm glad you got it. I love mine. I've had the US M030 (factory installed) then the ROW M030, now the X74. Each one I've liked much more than the previous setup. The X74 is much stiffer than both, much lower than both and the car's handling is vastly improved from both the M030 setups. (02 coupe). Like Steven said, it's not any harsher but it's super-stiff, I think anyway. It depends on what the car's focus is--for me, it's not a daily driver so I want the best possible handling when I drive it and don't mind the very stiff ride because it's for more occasional use. Every day or long commutes would be too stiff IMO. Oh yeah and the car looks really good with the X74 too.

Congrats! Glad you got it done!

wow....fantastic!!! outside cuestion....i see he's got a four post lift...did you use a jack plate and a bottle jack to lift the car????? Thanks, Jon

Thanks. Will do a photo session this weekend, been out of town for the past week. Thanks. Nope the avatar is not the new profile but very close. Yep alignment done, normal adjustments since the X74 is not adjustable itself. Yeah it looks like easy to do an oil change. I can hear road debris hit the bottom of the tray while driving, nothing big just little pebbles, but you hear them now. So far the ride is great. It is firm that is for sure. Drove on some really rough roads (California Highway 880 through Oakland) not by choice, and it rattled me around a bit, but on smoother roads it is just great. Cornering is fantastic, very little body roll if any. As to compared to a PSS9, I have been in one PS9 car and I would say the x74 is firmer, but then it really depends on the PSS9 setting. Thanks mate. Yep I love the ride but as you say it is firm and as a DD the roads would have to be nice to do that drive everyday. The lower stance is perfect, as you will see with my 19's when I post pics this weekend. The handling of the car I would say is fantastic. I did a slow drive around Thunderhill this past Saturday but I was able to get up to a little speed and when I hit the apex it just stuck perfectly through the corner, my friend was in the car and she was liking the suspension upgrade. Thanks. Thanks. The lift has a central jack system that extends out to the jack points on the car, so that got the car off the lift itself. We did use bottle jacks while we took the suspension apart so that it supported it while dropping pieces out.

congrats, here's my x74 installed last month....love it....daily driver...kicks ***

TY, yours looks good too, and good on you for it being a DD too Are those 18's or 19's?

they're 18s....perfect other than around pot holes...many in Charlotte

Nice. I have 19's and so the with really low profile tyres pot holes have to be avoided as well as anything else that I can avoid, except for smooth roads.

how much of a difference do those reinforcement plates make?

I have no idea, but they are part of the kit, so the 20 minutes they took to install is no big deal. The bag that the plates came in had the installation instructions and the title of these parts is: P96079/P96161 - X74 Sport Suspension Retrofit - Installation of reinforcement plates. So someone must of had a reason for creating these and have them part of the kit.

for those who track how does PSS9 compare to X74?

Thanks for posting those initial pictures. I'm probably going to get the X74 for some road course driving.

YW and keep us posted

Finally got some time to look into my new setup and profile of the car. In regards to the height, from the ground to the bottom of the fender lip, well it is no different than what it was before with the lowering springs, so I decided it was not worth taking any more photos. OK there is an 1/8" difference in the rear but you would not see that in the photo. Here are the before and after measurements: Front: Now = 25 7/8" Before = 25 7/8" Rear: Now = 26" Before = 25 7/8" So basically from a visual point of view the rear has gone up an 1/8" inch but that is it. But in regards to the overall feel of the car now, it is night and day and that is what matters more than anything. The car handles fantastic and does not float or anything when going over bumps. My understanding is that I could lower the car a little more if I had gone with PSS9's, but not that much more, maybe another 1/4" but that is not enough for me to worry about. I have the X74 on now and will not change it, I love it Here's a picture of the car for those that have not seen it before:

Looks awesome! How much did that alignment set you back?

Just under $350

Holy crap! I can't tell my alignment guy that or I'll be screwed.