Row M030 vs. JIC

alrighty... i have an opportunity to get some JIC, used of course... i think it was used for about 8K miles on it for about $1200...... this is in the same price range as the Row M030......... which one to get.... a little bit of background.... i have a 99 cab.... so i will not track the car... this is for a daily driver kinda situation... want the aggressive looks and better handling over stock components...... waiting for Andy to give me some feedback on his recent purchase...... until then... which is the better deal....or the one i should get? thanks Alex

I'd say neither....the JIC's are good, but they are harsh....they are good for track setups, but for street driving it may be a bit bone jarring...PSS9's are the way to go on the street, you can go as low as you want and then also give a smooth ride...plus with the adjustability you can go stiffer if needed...not as stiff as the JIC's but stiff enough for the occasional DE.

thanks newport..... do you know who would be the cheapest for the pss9? looks like they hoover around the $2K mark.... and then there's the cost of install as well.......

I got lucky and found a new set for a C4 for $1450....it was a special order and the guy flaked and lost his deposit, so they sold it for the balance...again, I was lucky....They hover around 2k but it was the BEST mod I have done on my car.....

yeah... your car looks it..... love that black beauty of yours....

well I have the RoW M030 and I think the ride is fine. As discussed in other threads..some peeps think my car should be lower. Truth be told I probably wouldnt mind it going another .5 inch all the way around. But...FWIW the RoW is just fine for me...and I have a cab too and I do not track either..and I drive it everyday!

JIC is adjustable as well, right? Who offers this new?

Keep in mind that the JIC is springs and shocks (coilovers) only. If you are looking for more of a change in the balance of the car, like reducing the amount of understeer; then you will still need sway bars. The ROW M030 comes with different non-adjustable sway bars that set the car very neutral. If you decide to go with the JIC's and think the ride is to rough, you can get a softer set of springs from JIC (or directly from Eibach). This will also cost a little more.

For me, M030 isnt low enough and the ride is a little too harsh....plus the M030 bar is smaller than other options, so to get the adjustability of PSS9's and a good size adjustable bar and good drop links is the best of all worlds....

M030 riding harsh? That's the first I've heard of that. How about the X73/X74 riding harsh? I believe that's lower than the M030, right?

Yes, but the M030 is more harsh than stock, so for me that was not a good option....the fact that I can go lower than M030, or X74 and still have a nice ride made the PSS9 perfect for me...I drive 100 miles a day on SoCal freeways so the better the ride the better for me....that fact that it also improves handling and lets me enjoy the height I want makes it a great solution for me...if it were a track only car, then I'd go with X74 or JIC's....

The RoWM030 is NOT harsher than stock. I installed the full kit on my CAB and to be honest it feels the way it SHOULD coming from the factory. It is much more planted and stable and I got a nice drop.....about 22-24mm in F and about 15-18 in the R. The most noticeable thing is the "floaty" feeling front the front is my more stable. By the way, it performed nicely on the track. However, I easily outgrew it and instead of turning our CAB into a track *****, I just decided to get a car that ios MADE for the track, the GT3.

I'm torn between the PSS9 and X73 but am leaning towards the latter. I'm waiting for the dollar to strenghten again so I can get the X73! This weak dollar is making the PSS9 more favorable at the moment.

Arnee....have you shopped around for the X73??? It's about $2500 + or - depending on where you shop. Try Suncoast and Sunset, they ALWAYS have the best prices.

IIRC you can get the PSS9 at shox.com for about $2100 for C2. I bought mine there with no problem. For some reason I'm not aware of it's about $200 cheaper for the C4. I'm happy with them, but you shouldn't view that as an endorsement of them over any of the other setups - it's the only one I've tried other than stock.

How do you guys measure which suspension setup is the best or is it just how the car rides on the street that makes or breaks the setup.

I only know of Suncoast and Carnewal. I'll check out Sunset. I posted a thread on here awhile back w/o any real responses on where else I could buy the X73. Thanks for the info on Sunset.

Hey Dell.... so you do like the Row a lot? someone told me that they have the Row with the H&R springs on them.... interesting set up..... they told me that the ride is nice so is the drop....... anyone here with that setup?

Anybody know how hard the JICs are at the softest setting?

M030 is only slightly stiffer than stock, but also only slightly lower. The x73/x74 is Waaay stiffer than stock, but also provides a huge handling difference! PSS9's provide a great ride and a great look, but won't handle quite as well as the x73/x74 IMHO. On the other hand they are much less harsh. (I've never driven a car with JIC, so I can't comment on that set-up)

Dell, I am going to be tracking my car this summer (4 or 5 times) and I plan on upgrading to the ROW M030. Do you recommend it? I've had 4 back surgeries and I don't want to make it undriveable on the street. I don't like the car's current soft suspension. Did you install it yourself? Thanks, Mark. Arnee, good luck with your upgrade. I'm leaning toward the M030 because of the favorable reviews and the price...$1054 at Suncoast.

mark... gl on your new purchase.... i've been in a pcar with the mo30 and it's a nice ride.... the JIC are much much stiffer and it's butt cracking..... it's perfect for the track .... i think...... haven't track my ride yet.... but i think the m030 is a better buy for you........