Which First: PSE or RoW M030

car: 1999 996 Carrera 2 Coupe which would u recommend first in terms of bang for the buck and immediate gratification? it would be my first real mod although i upgraded the rubber just recently. the car has 43k miles (pics below if link is up). i've caught the porsche bug bad, i've longed for one of these babies for years and years. just took delivery of it a few weeks ago. so, RoW M030 or PSE to kick things off? i have done all the necessary research on both, now it's just a matter of listening to you pros. thanks in advance. i love this place.

IMHO I would drop PSE and go for Fabspeed. It's half the price of PSE and is misically as good (I like it better but that's my own opinion). Also, the savings will allow you to do the 030 upgrade too. Best gratification is the music your car plays. Any bystander would not know a lowered porker to a stock one. But the sound of a sport Exhaust will make their back hairs stand up. If your thing is tracking your porker then maybe the 030 kit. Otherwise no question. The exhaust comes first.

thanks for the reply! i can't believe there haven't been more. as for the suspension, i won't be tracking the car, just looking to improve the "look" is all while keeping it oem. as for the exhaust, i think you are right, but would love to hear from others. thanks again.

I am in the same place as you. Having just come back from a PCA weekend run, I am going for the suspension. I have an '02 C4 Cab and I think the suspension upgrade would be much more worth while. Just my two cents.....but the exhaust will be next....

Since you are not planning on tracking your car you will get the most "fun factor" for your money out of the PSE. Have fun whichever you chose!

I would go for RoW M030 so the car looks and drives "correctly". Next, I would get the exhaust upgrade.

I am in the same boat as you, apart from the fact I have already started the mods...... I get my car back today with the PSE and full electrics installed. Can not wait to hear the true sound of a sports car again. After leaving my 993 for the 996 I missed the music the air cooled engines made. At the same time trying to coordinate a PSS9 group buy for the suspension. It is just by chance that it happened exhaust => suspension. Either way I was/am doing both at the same time. Regards Arthur

i would get some H&R springs, bilstein HD shocks, and the fabspeed exhaust. you can get all three for the same price as the PSE!

I am in the same boat as you, apart from the fact I have already started the mods...... I get my car back today with the PSE and full electrics installed. Can not wait to hear the true sound of a sports car again. After leaving my 993 for the 996 I missed the music the air cooled engines made. At the same time trying to coordinate a PSS9 group buy for the suspension. It is just by chance that it happened exhaust => suspension. Either way I was/am doing both at the same time. Regards Arthur

thanks Teflon and Arthur. Teflon, thanks for the suggestion, but i'm trying to stay as close to OEM as possible, hence the RoW M030 and PSE bit. i might be willing to budge a little on the exhaust, but would like to stay with OEM. thanks again.

If you are going to drive any twisty roads and want to enjoy them, get the 030 first. If you are just going to be cruzing down the freeway, get the PSE first. My car came from the factory with both PSE and 030 (USA). If you were to tell me I couldn't have gotten it with PSE, I would have missed the sound but I would have bought the car anyway. If you told me I could only buy it with the stock suspension, I wouldn't have bought a Porsche. Hope this helps, Tim

I did both (PSE and 030) within the first couple of months of ownership. The RoW M030 makes a very subtle difference in looks (hardly noticeable), but it makes a huge difference in handling. I would do that first, no doubt. You're talking about a real performance improvement, versus subjective experience.

I am doing the PSE now. I am fairly new to this so sorry for the STUPID question: What is 030 and PSS9. Thanks (go easy)

030 is the Porsche sport suspension. PSS9 is an aftermarket coil-over suspension made by bilstein. with coil-over suspensions you can change the ride height of the car by twisting a large nut on the outside of the shock. the 030 comes in 2 versions: US and ROW (Rest Of World). the US version lowers a 996 10MM, the ROW about 20MM. this differs by each car though. some people report no lowering, some report as much as 30MM with the ROW. there's a lot more i could tell you about these, but this is enough to get you started! a saying i'm very fond of: there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers.

Go to the PCA national website and read the article pertaining to 996 sport suspensions. All you ever wanted to know about M030 suspensions. As to the coilovers, if you're not tracking the car a lot it's a big expenditure for looks only IMHO. Remember if you adjust the ride height, regardless how easy it can be done, the car must be re-aligned.

It's a feel vs. sound thing. Mine has H&R springs (bought it used that way) and I love the way it feels. Personally, can't see investing in something that doesn't actually improve the performance, just makes the car sound better. A matter of preference, I suppose.

it is amazing that with subject matter such as exhaust and suspension that the world is as divided as it is. after having done the reading and research, i am still confused!! i still have owners saying that the RoW M030 doesn't lower the car all that much, some suggesting that "it's hardly noticeable." then the PSE owners have problems with it not being loud enough or the like. at the end of the day, all of this has been a learning experience, a wonderful exercise, but one that has not made the decision making any easier. i suppose that is what makes the world go 'round. thanks for all of the help and efforts. i could not tell you at this moment whether or not i would do PSE or M030 first. regards

i would go for new wheels, exhaust, springs. actually, i did exactly that. for me, the wheels were a priority cause my C2 came with 17"ers. the exhaust was an hour install so it came next (got a sweet deal from board sponsor GHL, ~675 to my door!) and the springs were last 'cause i was still doing the reseach on the diy. i suppose my post wasn't really helpful. i just knew that i wanted all of these mods and it would all fall into place. next: cold air kit B&M shifter (undercar) aerokit bits again, in no particular order

It depends on what you want - sound or handling. I went performance mods in order of cost, B&M (same as Porsche short shifter for MUCH less), PSE (no electronics), and then RoW M030. I've got to say the one mod I've been most impressed with is the RoW M030. It's the way the car should be.

what are you going to do with the car? i.e. track? that should determine you priority the PSE won't help you much on the track

PSE won't help as much as RoW M030, but it will help you to hear your throttle blips on downshifts, heel-toe, etc.

appearance and then exhiliration. i suppose that would then be row m030 then exhaust. is carnewal the only place to order the part from??

Row030 will help you the most. PSE is just sound...great sound, but just sound.

Is there a cost difference between ROW 030 and US 030 (how much are they respectfully)? Thanks!

Charnock - Since you have an '03 another suspension option is the X74. I also purchased from Gert and it was a real pleasure. I am very pleased with the X74. The car feels like a true sports car. I would say just about perfect. The combination of the PSE and X74 is wonderful.

Charnock Actually I stand corrected, I'm not sure if the X74 is recommended for the Targa.