chasing comfort, choosing custom coilovers

I�ve been previously spooked by low oil pressure during banked freeway on- and off-ramps, even while wearing all-season tires. Now that I�ve installed @Porschetech3 �s UIDS (thank you!), I can rest easy knowing my oil pressure will remain high during cornering, and turn my sights towards upgrading the suspension. My car currently has 95k miles, and I�m fairly sure the current suspension is the original US M030 suspension. This car is a daily driver operating on sub-par roads; ruts, potholes, cracks, and pitted asphalt are daily obstacles. Obviously I would do my best to avoid them, but I�m often forced to choose between the lesser of two evils. My car arrived to me at 60k miles with taut suspension, and I immediately complained about the ride quality during my daily drives. Funnily enough, the current state of my suspension feels much more comfortable than when it was �new�, despite my dampers� weakening control. I knew it was time for a change to my suspension, and my research had me contemplating a switch to Ohlins Road & Track or ROW M030. There are lots of glowing reviews for Ohlins R&T, but I�ve also read some reviews about their discomfort on less-than-stellar roads, especially from 996 owners in the UK, which gave me major hesitation. Even those R&T users who had switched to softer springs remained disappointed by the stiffness of the dampers. My motivation to change to ROW was solely for the reduced front ride height. I�m fairly happy with my US M030, but I�ve been struggling with a light front-end at highway speeds, which didn�t inspire confidence, and I�ve read that the lowered front-end of the ROW helped improve the ground feel tremendously. However, knowing that ROW M030 is equally stiff to the US version, I wondered if I would still experience the discomfort I complained about when I first drove my car. By coincidence, I recently reconnected with @Shaikh at Fat Cat Motorsports through Rennlist about a month ago. (I had read about his successes in tuning Miata suspensions and contacted him in 2022 for a suspension consultation about a Honda of mine.) He graciously invited me to visit his workshop and ride in his BMW E46. I accepted, and was awestruck by the experience. He explained his philosophy on suspension tuning and drew shock dyno graphs to help me understand what he was talking about. He talked about the gas force of a damper and asked me to try compressing an aftermarket damper (adjusted to full soft) - I couldn�t get it to budge until I decided to put all my body weight on it.. lol! I don�t think there is any way the tires can maintain contact with the ground with such high gas forces. Shaikh took me for a ride in the E46 and I was blown away at how supple the ride was. We drove through some really rough roads - representative of what I see everyday - purposely attacking each obstacle and I felt the ride was light years more comfortable than my �new� US M030. Shaikh explained that the suppleness of his suspension was made possible due to his tuning for Flat Ride and his custom damper build. He said that although the spring rates of the US M030 suspension were tuned for Flat Ride, the suspension was also purposefully designed to engage the bump stops, which - when engaged as a �secondary spring� - no longer provided Flat Ride. This phenomenon is even more apparent on the lower, ROW version which engaged the front bump stops much sooner than the US version. Later Shaikh would prove this to me by showing me some articles from the magazine �Panorama�, where the authors had measured, dyno�d, and analyzed the M030 suspension of the 996. Shaikh then drove through a series of freeway cloverleafs and I was not prepared for the immense grip I experienced. I kept expecting the car to slide, but it maintained composure throughout its exercise, gripping like a rollercoaster ride. Later, when asked, Shaikh estimated we had sustained about 1.3 Gs through those turns. I couldn�t believe the versatility of his suspension: it handled amazingly well, yet maintained a comfortable ride. The demonstration by Shaikh put to rest my contemplations of Ohlins or ROW M030� I knew Fat Cat coilovers were exactly what I wanted. For the 996, Shaikh explained that he would use the H&R Street Performance coilovers (which uses rebuildable Bilstein monotube dampers) as the base of his coilover setup. He would use the corner weights of my car to find the appropriate spring rates that maintained Flat Ride. He talked in depth about disassembling those brand new dampers and rebuilding them as he sees optimal, and with better shock oil than Bilstein. His explanation shows that he puts a lot of thought into the construction for each usage case. Shaikh understood my concern for ride quality through rough roads, and didn�t make me feel like a wimp when I emphasized its priority. Shaikh said his coilovers do not employ the use of kn0bs, and I�m completely okay with that. I remember messing with the adjustable rebound on my Koni Yellows in my Honda, stopping every ten minutes to fiddle with the settings until I was content. But that only lasted until the next day (orr week), and I�d make another adjustment thinking, �I swear this is going to make it better!� Although Shaikh said I�d be able to lower my car with his coilovers, I told him that I was mostly pleased with the ride height of my car. I want to keep my rear ride height near stock, for fear of cracking my beautiful UIDS sump plate, and would only want to lower the front enough to eliminate the floaty front-end at highway speeds� and maybe for aesthetic purposes too, so that the front and rear wheel gaps were visually similar. I committed to purchasing a set of Shaikh�s coilovers, and submitted the corner weights of my car to him. I was pleasantly surprised to discover my car has near-equal weights in its current form. Here are my corner weights (pounds) with me in the driver�s seat and a half-tank of gas: FL: 654 / FR: 608 RL: 1044 / RR: 1009 Using these weights, Shaikh determined that my car will be utilizing 280 lb/in front springs and 525 lb/in rear springs to achieve ride frequencies of 2.0 Hz front and 2.2 Hz rear, satisfactorily achieving Flat Ride. He assured me that my ride frequencies are similar to that of his BMW, which has me eagerly anticipating the day I get to try it out on my 996! (I�m also looking forward to corner-balancing this car with the height adjustment!) I�ve had the pleasure of riding in Shaikh�s car again this weekend, and we took the opportunity to go on an extended drive. I described to Shaikh a bad experience my 996 recently endured on a nearby freeway: I was bouncing wildly in my seat across a concrete bridge after hitting a series of sharp expansion joints, and backed off the throttle for fear of losing control. I asked Shaikh to demonstrate his suspension across the same stretch of road, and he happily agreed. His car handled those successive expansion joints without any drama. The event was over as soon as it started - much different than the five seconds of terror I had experienced in my car. We continued on driving, and I lost track of time, fully enjoying the ride over the bumps, dips and cracks. This extended drive allowed me to focus on the details of his suspension. The tires maintained contact with the road throughout all road conditions, and my head wasn�t bouncing off the headrest. I noticed the steering response of his car was very sharp, and yet he was easily steering with one hand in a relaxed manner. For those of you who live in the Bay Area and share my dissatisfaction of our poorly-maintained roads, I urge you to contact Shaikh for a ride. This eye-opening experience has been beautiful; it�s like listening to your favorite song for the first time. I look forward updating this thread as my coilover build continues. Thank you for reading this far.

I got to 1.3G and stopped reading.

Quotes source post: 19708867

^^^ ^^^

@996love Looking fwd to hearing about what he does with the build and set-up. No question, most 996 owners don't need adjustability for the street if they are able to get the right set-up from the get-go. Can't argue with keeping the car "flat" over the bumps especially at high speed. No need to have your 996 bouncing like a basketball.

Graph below was from 2012, Aim EVO data system with shock pots at all four corners. I had added data acquisition to several cars in my suspension investigations, including an STX Mazda RX-8 that ran Solo Nationals events. I was more into autocross until about 2015 when I became more track-focused. 1995 Miata 'Senna' with FCM suspension, circa 2012, using 195 Toyo R1R pulling 1.29g peak There's a 'test circuit' near the shop that has some excellent cloverleafs which I know very well at this point (over 14 years being here). I can gauge by butt and also speedo without data acq approx g-levels. My BMW is pulling similar g's to the fastest street-tired Miatas I've tuned and instrumented. I don't recall if that Miata had aero at that time. We did end up designing a custom birchwood front splitter and used an autocross-focused rear wing from a Socal shop. '95 Miata "Senna" using 275 Hoosier A6s at a Marina (NorCal) autocross. So yes, the numbers I gave 996love as estimates are realistic, though not in most people's reality ...

Quotes source post: 19708867

Some of us know how to use data acquisition and have set up quite fast cars, including race-winners. Stop by and bring your Depends, sonny! EDIT to add that up until about 2014 and even as recent as 2021, I had yet to learn about and develop technologies I use now such as Ripple Reducer (drilling small holes in the damper piston to reduce small amplitude / high-frequency jitter) and damper blow-off capabilities (to decrease launching or jacking down on larger amplitude sharp-edged features). I was also less aware of how important it is to avoid over-pressurizing a monotube damper since the Miata's motion ratios were in the range of 0.66 to 0.72 vs. a Porsche / BMW strut or rear shock at 0.95+. Deficiencies in damper design are much harder to mask when the damper is effectively sitting ON the wheel. This is why 996love's recent experience reflects continuous development and refinement over many years. If someone is skeptical, contact me for a ride and let's see where you are afterward.

Quotes source post: 19709139

Thanks for engaging. I have found that the 'need for adjustability' does not extent to damping adjustability when you design for minimum jerk and maximum grip. While adjustable dampers are common, I've never seen a single one that actually did what a proper damper *should* across a wide range of shock velocities / road conditions. Finding a truly optimized baseline damper tune is what makes for an excellent cut of steak - then you don't have to drown it in sauce since it's delicious with minimal seasonings and just a bit of cooking. I find adding ***** to be like throwing sauces on poor quality meat. Until you know what a really great steak can taste like, you just don't know what you're missing. 100%! The benefits of Flat Ride is really far-reaching. I also like to call it 'Fast Settling' because that's the physical mechanism at play, the front and rear and working together more effectively with less jitter and oscillation. This lets the tires be more connected to the ground (increasing grip and comfort) and the driver / passenger feels less jostled around. The perception might be the car is slower but reality is that the car is faster. Consider how a rally car manages rough roads - I design for a 'tarmac rally' driving experience. The key questions I ask a customer are "how firm do you want the ride? what are you doing with your car?" That translates into target ride frequencies. The unfortunate effect of high-speed jacking down, increasing front ride frequencies and the resulting porpoising / pitching (which essentially every Porsche exhibits to some degree, and most 'lesser' sports cars as well) is to reduce suspension travel and compliance. The car effectively is 'bouncing off the bump stops' in a very uncomfortable and unpredictable way. One 'solution' is to increase spring rates and use softer / shorter bump stops (Ohlins usually takes this approach). However, if there's still a rebound-bias in the damper then the jacking down / loss of suspension travel / decreased compliance is still occurring, just not as immediately.

Quotes source post: 19710129

Sorry guys, I know it was a lengthy post, but I did my best to condense a month�s worth of conversations while providing some background outlining my goals. That�s the word! Pitching was the terrifying experience I had while bouncing over the freeway. Like I was getting bucked about in a rodeo.

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Thanks for coming onto the forum and engaging with us. I have to ask what tires are on the E46; 1.3G's is not typically a street tire number. I'm also interested in learning more about reducing porpoising in 996 front ends. I'm on RoW M030 springs/sways/bump stops + Koni yellows, all other components stock and recently refreshed. I love the ride quality and the handling, except for the (mild) front end porpoising.

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Super200's do 1.4G without aero, and we still call these street tires lol. I pulled out 1.2 on Michelin PSS and BC coilovers a decade ago, surely a proper setup with newer Michelins can eke out a little more than that. FWIW I'm also a proponent of the whole "soft, fast settling" tuning concept for basically everything that doesn't rely on aero downforce. The faster we can settle the ride, the more consistent the loading is at the tire, and that objectively gives more consistent grip. It also increases driver confidence to push harder, even if the peak grip is lower than an edgier setup, and is overall faster for most people. Do your thing Shaikh, I've driven a few cars wearing your coilovers and it's so much better than the Bilsteins that most Euro people accept as gospel.

Quotes source post: 19710699

My pleasure, happy to be here and thanks for engaging as well. Yes, Christina wearing 'cheater' street tires all year round: a square setup of 255/40-17 BF Goodrich Rival S V1.5 on an appropriate width 17" wheel. I've been happy with this combo for a while for multi-purpose high-performance street / summer / track / autox use. Good in the wet as well. In my experience and understanding, the cause of porpoising / pitching is from the continual compression of the front bump stop due to the front strut's bias toward producing more resistance to opening (rebound) vs. closing (compression). I have to add screenshots from the Panorama articles but the front damper clearly has a preference to stay closed while the rear has a more neutral damping profile. Porsche wanted the 911 (and most of their cars) to tie the front end down a bit, which has benefits for inducing understeer but also makes for a choppy and pitching driving / handling experience. I haven't tested the Konis on the 996 so I can't speak directly to their force profile, but prior experience with Koni Sports suggests that as a twin tube, they lack sufficient compression resistance to slow downward movement but have a preponderance of resistance to extension. This means they 'jack down' and the stiffer you have the **** turned, the more rebound and jacking down you'll experience. There's no way to fix this without attempting a revalve / rebuild (even then, the type of twin tube design will not allow sufficient compression force to be generated to resist bottoming / jacking) and I think even the piston design would generate more mid- and high-speed rebound which would still leave the damper jacking down. You could increase the rear stiffness, both damper and springs, to try and reduce the pitching but that is a bandaid and would increase ride discomfort along with reducing overall grip. I'm a fan of fixing the core problem vs. masking it. The core issue is that, dynamically, a car with a front rebound-biased damper will have a higher effective front ride frequency which will cause those pitching oscillations (teeter totter, porpoising, etc.). You need to address the cause of the pitching at the end that has the damping imbalance, otherwise you'll always be chasing an unwanted oscillation / vibration. E.g. if the front wheels are out of balance, you fix that end instead of also making the rear wheels out of balance to 'compensate' A 'tarmac rally' style suspension has Flat Ride throughout its suspension travel range. It maintains a neutral suspension position (i.e. no jacking down / pulling down) throughout various interactions with the ground. This scheme is a superior damping profile for racing as well as comfortable driving vs. the very common rebound-biased damping profiles you'll see on most factory and aftermarket suspensions. Very few companies provide this although notably, VW on many of their non-Sport models are often 'tarmac rally' tuned. Some Audis have less tendency to jack down BUT in comparison to the VWs, Audis are usually 'more sporty' so firmer damping, springs, sways, etc. for that 'sport driving' experience. I often see Audis having excessive amounts of high speed damper force on both compression and rebound. This causes the dampers to be very reactive to the road in both downward and upward movements, especially as speed increases or the size of the bump / divet increases. For example, I have a Lamborghini Gallardo customer and the original dampers (sister hardware to the Audi RS8) had very strong and nearly symmetric rebound and compression. It would be tolerable on a very smooth circuit or road on smaller bumps, but beyond about 10 in/sec (not a very big bump at all) it would kick the car up in the air and then pull it down afterward. A solution was to reduce overall damping with more 'rally' behavior in mind, increase spring rates to about 2.0 Hz front / 2.2 Hz rear, and use softer / shorter bump stops. You could watch my video on the 3 Keys of Ride Harmony: 3 Keys of Ride Harmony to which I later added the title 'Do you know how to keep your tires happy?' since that is fundamentally what 'Ride Harmony' is about : having happy tires in a straight line so you have a great foundation for excellent cornering. Most of the time, the approach I see is 'to go FAST you have to stiffen up the springs, dampers, and sways. When the car is UNcomfortable and bouncing around then you'll know it's a real race car!' But it's important to ask how much (or how little) of each element is needed, and which element do you change / increase first, second, third? A surprising discovery I made is that by using Flat Ride / 'Fast Settling' suspension tuning, you end up needing MUCH less overall damping. That means you are also reducing the likelihood of jacking down (too much rebound) or launching (too much compression) while also providing a smooth, rapid, controllable response to road features. This is a very important video that illustrates how critical Flat Ride is. I would consider it mandatory viewing for any potential customers or anyone who wants to truly optimize their vehicle suspension. If you have enough aero to drive your car upside down in a tunnel then perhaps Flat Ride isn't going to work for you. Until that's the case, it's more likely that NOT having Flat Ride (or losing it due to damper / bump stop interactions as with most sports cars) is causing more jerk in your suspension and preventing your tires from unleashing their true capability. You Tube

Quotes source post: 19711540

Thanks for you great comments and sharing your experience. A Miata with double wishbone / multi-link has that advantage plus lower weight so achieving amazing grip values is much easier (and yes, without aero). Your 1.2g is definitely solid and yes, more was on the table! Very exciting to see what's possible with a more grip-focused setup instead of hyper-control. When I started racing, I wanted to crank all the adjusters up but later on the data suggested that wasn't the fastest way. Plus, it's just much harder to drive fast and repeatably. There's a happy medium - my current setup is more dialed in for a street-driven autocross / track car. Like you said, a driver who has more confidence to push harder will be faster. An edgier setup may be situationally faster but, again, I would question what they're losing due to excessive energy put into unwanted frequencies. I would say that even with aero loads, you don't have to go as stiff as some people believe. This is my next area of exploration as I have race customers using aero (NASA ST / GTS, Champcar) and I want to keep getting more from the tires. I'm very pleased you've already experienced some of what I've done. Curious what cars they were, and any idea how recent the builds were? The past few years going into this year I'm starting to really feel like things jelling even better. I'd also argue (based on experience) that the use of inverted monotubes with lower gas force and better damper tuning has exceeded the abilities of JRZ / MCS / Moton / AST / etc. with non-inverted front struts (in particular) to generate optimal grip and best lap times. Quite a few customers have removed 'high end' dampers that were far from optimized, at least in the forms I saw them. I hope / expect others to improve their products. At the very least, I want more enthusiasts to ask good questions from the people they buy suspensions from. Stiffer is NOT always better,' and a **** or 3, or reservoirs, will NOT make your car faster. A great baseline damper tune that lets you drive at the limit, consistently, WILL make you faster. The hugely negative impact of gas force / rod force on tire grip and compliance is something I intend to demonstrate and make abundantly clear. Until I got more heavily into strut-based cars with higher motion ratios I paid little attention to the nitrogen charge pressure and resulting gas force. You can't ignore it on a BMW or Porsche, not if you want a smooth or fast ride (or both).

Quotes source post: 19710699

For refference i just got to 1.56g's on a set of 3ryr/old perelli scubs. I regularly get to 1.4+ on the nt-01s. On the track of course.

Quotes source post: 19710181

All ^this^ means is that the suspension was improperly adjusted. There are tons of cars (street and race cars) using Ohlins r/t and they�re not �bouncing over the freeway��

Quotes source post: 19711956

I�m on stock US M030�

Quotes source post: 19711956

FTFY.

@Shaikh at Fat Cat Motorsports do you rebuild and work with PSS9 systems for a 996 or strictly the HR Bilstein non adjustable?

Quotes source post: 19712248

Hi GC996, Great question which provokes a short / long answer situation. Short answer : currently, I avoid working with a PSS9 / PSS10 whenever possible UNLESS there is no other rebuildable Bilstein monotube fitment available.* I could make an exception and as much as I love to reuse / refurbish the very durable Bilstein, I just find superior results with the smaller 11mm (fixed) shaft vs. the 14mm (drilled/adjustable) shaft. Longer answer: In the early days when 1) I thought a **** was needed, 2) the customer really wanted one, or 3) that is the Bilstein they had to start with, I did tune a few PSS9/10 systems. As I investigated how the adjuster worked, what I found was both a physically complicated damper with additional failure points (more seals to leak) and a practically useless damping adjustment (largely a 'bumpiness' adjuster vs. a handling adjuster). Plus, the gun-drilled shaft (with 12mm ID piston) being a larger diameter made all the internal components large, creating a greater high speed force build-up vs. a solid shaft (with 8mm ID piston). When I've gone through my optimization process, the **** must remain closed so its basically useless and just a hinderance in the long run. My goal, in particular on the FCM Elite Stage 3 Ultimate (my current most comprehensive damper upgrade), is to achieve a multi-stage damping force profile. While I do not share current damper dynos (if you visit the shop I can show you the final dynos), I like to describe the general behavior and do 'back of the envelope' sketches as well (as I did for 996love during his first visit!). I've evolved my approach from the dynos you see in videos and what I post - got to keep a few things as trade secret To get the best results as a 'tarmac rally' setup, is to have a region from somewhat low speed into 'early high' speed damping where the force does not build up significantly on either compression or rebound. Then, at higher compression speeds, there is an intentional increase in *very* high speed damper force which acts as a 'hydraulic bump stop' and further resists the chassis bottoming out. On the rebound there is less emphasis on high speed force (which causes jacking down and I'm trying to avoid) so the net effect is the damper will have very flexible absorption and control through the wide range of velocities which the road could throw at your car. The rebound serves several functions and is important, but I find that less of it is needed when you maintain consistent Flat Ride frequency tuning across a range of road amplitudes and frequencies. This comes back to how the damper is designed and how you can achieve these varying force profiles. Through having a narrower 8mm ID 'stem' (from a solid shaft) to mount the internal damper hardware (pistons, shims, etc.) I can better-achieve this multi-stage profile vs. using a wider 12mm ID stem from a adjustable shaft. You can think of it like having a sharper roofline in a snowy region which helps prevent snow accumulation vs. a flatter roof which would gather snow and get weighed down. A narrower stem (the end of the shaft inside the damper) means you can design for lower high speed force / better blow-off behaviors vs. having a wider stem. Also, there is the gas force effect. This is the 3rd principle of Ride Harmony and in a way, the one most difficult to achieve without choosing the correct components at the start of the design process. Commonly, any Bilstein PSS9 / 10 monotube with a damping adjuster has a 14mm shaft. Sometimes, the non-adjustable Bilstein HD or Bilstein Sport (prior inverted monotube style) use a 14mm shaft as well. However, with H&Rs these days I have usually seen them provide an 11mm shaft. While that may not 'sound' impressive (and if this was an engine discussion then yes, moar bore moar stroke man!) but in the world of hydraulics a little goes a long way, especially when you aren't OVERLY relying on the damper to generate a ton of (unnecessary) compression or rebound force at low-speed). In practice, the 11mm shafts on the inverted strut design is perfectly sized to achieve excellent results. When using an 11mm vs. 14mm shaft in the inverted front strut you get a noticeable reduction in gas force in comparison to a non-inverted 18mm or 22m shaft. As a numerical example, see my comments below on shaft diameter, shaft area, and resulting gas force calculations. The relationship of pressure, force, and area is as follow: P = F / A or Pressure equals Force divided by Area . If the pressure is fixed (what you put inside the damper) and the rod or shaft area is known you can calculate the expected rod force or gas force. An 11mm shaft has an area of 0.147 in^2. This is what a Bilstein inverted commonly has, and a good number of H&R Street Performance coil-overs use this diameter shaft as well. A 14mm shaft has an area of 0.239 in^2. This is what the PSS9 / PSS10 use (due to the drilled nature of the shaft for the adjusting mechanism). Some H&R (fixed damping) use this diameter as well. An 18mm shaft has an area of 0.394 in^2. Many overseas market coilovers seem to use 17-18mm ID shafts on their non-inverted struts. A 22mm shaft has an area of 0.589 in^2. These are commonly found on MCS, Moton, AST, and I believe the JRZ-based family when using non-inverted front struts. For a commonly-used nitrogen charge pressure of 200 psi, to calculate the resulting gas forces, multiply the area by the charge pressure. This yields: 29.4 lb rod force for 11 mm shaft (inverted) 47.8 lb rod force for 14 mm shaft (inverted) 78.8 lb (!) rod force for 18mm shaft (non-inverted) 117.8 (!!) rod force for 22mm shaft (non-inverted) You can see the very dramatic difference in the gas force as shaft diameter increases. More importantly you can FEEL the drastically higher gas force as road jitter, harshness, the car trying to shake itself apart, etc. The 22mm damper (MCS non-inverted) if pressurized to 200 psi would have 4 TIMES the rod force of an inverted Bilstein / H&R with 11mm shaft. The difference between 11mm and 14mm shaft is 63%. Much smaller than compared to a non-inverted 22mm shaft, but still noticeable. Remember, area is the SQUARE of the radius so as shaft size increases, the increase in gas force / rod force is quadratic, not linear. There's a lot more I can (and will) say about this later but these are some of the reasons I avoid using the larger 14mm PSS9 / PSS10 design when seeking to 'optimize, harmonize, and synergize an FCM Elite setup for a discerning customer! P.S. There's also the nice benefit of reduced unsprung weight with the inverted H&R / Bilstein monotube design. Some people care about that, right? === Graphic below illustrates a bit better the difference in high speed compression and rebound force of an earlier FCM Elite Stage 3 vs a typical Ohlins damper. The overall ratios of compression vs. rebound apply to OEM dampers, too. I've tested a good many Ohlins and they all have a similar damping profile. The inverted monotube Ohlins uses a 14mm shaft, like the Bilstein PSS9 / PSS10. An earlier FCM Elite Stage 3 exhibiting superior compression blow-off through mid and high-speed vs. Ohlins DFV 'Dual Flow Valve'. Note reduced high speed rebound for the FCM setup vs. Ohlins. The Ohlins will tend to jack down into the bump stop by ~ 5 in/sec. == *NOTE1: I currently have a set of Bilstein PSS10s in the shop for an Alfa Romeo 4c. The owner was very happy with the work I did on his Morgan Aero 8 so I got a call for his Alfa and agreed to work around the limitation of the PSS adjuster. I'll be swapping in a fixed 14mm shaft for the gun-drilled shaft and he'll deal with the slightly higher-than-optimal rod force to have all the other benefits he's come to expect from Fat Cat tuning. NOTE2: I just confirmed that 996love's H&R Street Performance front struts are using the desirable 11mm shaft, same as I have in Christina's fronts

That reminds me: I forgot to mention that I expressed to Shaikh my desire to keep my car at, or slightly lower than, stock height. Out of the box, the H&Rs will lower the car by one inch at their tallest position. Shaikh said he will rebuild the shocks with longer shafts to give me height adjustability in the ranges I am happy with.

Seems like an awful lot to go through to re-build, re-valve etc. when you can easily adjust coil overs. I�m not saying there�s anything �wrong� about what�s being done, just that it seems a little over the top� Go to it!

@Shaikh at Fat Cat Motorsports , so how does it work? You build a set of coilovers either 1, 2 or 3 depending on the clients purpose. Let's say a clients says, give me coilover version 3 for the track and aggressive canyon carving. Do you build the coilovers to a specific set of pre-determined sway bar settings, wheel/tire sizes and alignment specs? What happens when wheel and tire sizes change, aero is added etc. Are the coilovers then rebuilt with your internal formula to address the set-up changes?

Quotes source post: 19713396

I don�t think so. If I can use the M96 as an analogy: we have failing IMS bearings, weak diaphragms in the AOS, and low oil pressures in high G turns. Do we continue running our engine oil at 0.5 qts less-than-full to accommodate the AOS? Do we use less-sticky tires so we never generate high Gs? (I actually don�t know what we can do to accommodate the IMS�.. maybe we leave the engine off?) Shaikh is fundamentally addressing the issues inherent to the design of nearly all coilover suspensions, quite like what the IMS Solution, UAOS, and UIDS have done. From what I understand (and Shaikh, please correct me if I�m wrong) the shock adjustment kn0bs cannot alter the behavior at high shock velocities, which occurs during events like big bumps. The adjustment does alter the the behavior of low shock velocities, which are typically driver�s inputs.

Not this again..

Quotes source post: 19713492

Since you asked, this is the starting point - the FCM Elite Consulation form . The first few and most important questions I ask are 'how do you intend to use your vehicle? what changes to power / aero / grip / weight are you aiming for?' I don't have 5 minute conversations with my clients, I'm not rushing you off the phone to ship a setup to the next suc.. customer. I want to know what you dislike about your vehicle now and how I can help get you where you want to go. There's no 'version 1, 2, 3, etc.' really unless you mean FCM Elite Stage 3 Ultimate. We would discuss what level of technological sophistication you need to meet your goals and budget. Typically, that's either FCM Elite Stage 2 for non-strut applications or tighter budgets, or FCM Elite Stage 3 Ultimate for strut-based and definitely race / competition-focused setups. Those prices are subject to change as it's clear I'm undercharging for the result I'm able to deliver, especially in the Porsche aftermarket. The FCM Elite setup is customized to your anticipated vehicle weights and usage. If you have an intention to use aero or wider wheels / tires, then that is accounted for with my recommendations. The dampers are tuned to work for your optimal / intended usage. There's no need to rebuild the dampers if you're making changes within about 15% of the intended targets for weight and grip. I prefer to ask you to get clear on your intentions so what I design is going to hit what you want vs. the standard OEM and aftermarket approach of 'here's what you get, now go live with or fiddle with some ***** and hope it helps.' I've been doing this for quite a while, have about 1,800 setups under my belt. It's amazing how good a setup can be when the vendor asks a few questions and actually incorporate your needs into the final design. Like, 'do you prefer red or white? how do you like your steak? window or aisle seat?' You send in the consultation form, pay the 30 min consult fee, we talk (usually for more than 30 min however the timing works out) and determine what Flat Ride - providing ride frequencies would work for you. Flat Ride - based ride frequency selection is the foundation of my approach ( Principle 1 of Ride Harmony ). Then we determine the specific components list. Whatever H&R / Bilstein dampers will work for your needs, the primary spring rates / length, helper springs and adapters, top mounts / spherical mounts required, bump stop type, sway bar(s) needed, nominal target ride heights, any changes that might be required to the dampers to achieve your ride heights (i.e. purchasing longer shafts if less lowering is desired). I have personally gone up in spring rate over 100 lb/in from a 'target' value and the system still worked great. That's one of the beautiful aspects of Flat Ride tuning is what you simply do not need as much damping as a typical pitch-based setup. The springs and chassis / suspension members are encouraging Fast Settling and the dampers are not being over-driven / over-heated. Changes to sways can often accommodate changes to tire compounds / wheel width. If you need more spring, then you'll increase the frequencies symmetrically front AND rear, maintaining Flat Ride. Alignment changes are guided by tire pyrometer data - I always recommend any enthusiast get comfortable with a pyrometer. I suggest bookmarking Emilio @ 949Racing's excellent guide on using a tire pyrometer. There are also packers to shim under the rear bump stop (adjust understeer / oversteer balance on 911s) and spring rubbers which are quick and effect 'bump stops donuts' that fit between spring coils. For fast testing and setup changes, those are a few helpful tools I love to inform my clients about if they're not already using them. Running to twist a **** becomes much less the focus than reading the tires and determining what roll stiffness or alignment or subtle balance changes may be needed. If the weight isn't drastically changing, and your nominal roll stiffness is in a good region (so the dampers are well-optimized in general) then changes around that baseline are easily accommodated. I'd welcome a phone call if you want to discuss specifics for your case although I appreciate you asking a general question so I can outline the process here for those who want to see things in writing as well.

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I'd have never gotten into the 'business' of suspension tuning let alone shock development if I could just 'adjust' an existing coil-over. I just couldn't find something (even 'double adjustable Penskes') that did what I needed as I learned what a well-designed 'tarmac rally' style suspension is like and why that's the Ultimate type of road-going suspension to attain. There are lots of options out there and some have several adjustments available but I'd like ask you what adjustments are you talking about, and how much can you actually change with those adjustments? I can pretty much guarantee anything you have on your car or could buy off-the-shelf CAN NEVER be adjusted to give optimal grip or lap times. What I think of in terms of adjustments are: 1. Ride height 2. Low-speed compression 3. Low-speed rebound 4. High-speed compression 5. High-speed rebound 6. Knee / digressive blow-off point 7. Nitrogen pressure via external reservoirs A typical coil-over most people would be looking at has Ride Height and either Low-speed rebound or both Low-speed rebound and Low-speed compression. Sometimes you add a High-speed compression and maybe High-speed rebound also. The problem is that the damper, to have the suspension work properly, ALSO has to have a well-selected set of springs and ride frequencies. You can't adjust that without changing the springs and KNOWING what target ride frequencies you should have for your application. A big problem I've found with coil-overs that have adjustable damping is that the more ***** that are present, the more the customer will A) get confused on how to use them , B) assume they need a lot of sensors and gear to adjust them correctly, or C) that they actually CAN get to some magical perfect setting with just the right combination of ***** . It's more likely that people will adjust for 'feeling sporty' vs. maximum grip. Dennis Grant (on his excellent Far North Racing website) talked about how the numerically fastest setups felt softer than he expected. This is because data doesn't lie and the tires don't like being bounced around even is the enthusiastic driver is 'okay being punished because racecar.' Also, C) is nearly never the case and the exceptions prove the rule. If someone wants to mention Ohlins TTX then yeah that has a lot of adjustments. That would be a development damper for someone who really doesn't know what the car needs so you can play with all kinds of settings (most of the list above, although it has an inline reservoir as they describe it). If you can answer a few questions (like I ask through my Consultation process) then you can get about 90-95% of the baseline setup really well dialed-in and NOT need ***** that ONLY adjust handling and not bump response. You can't prevent jacking down or launching with a low-speed, which is what most adjustable dampers have. Even with a high-speed adjuster, how much force the damper has created while getting to that high-velocity will affect how that adjuster works. If you have too much mid-speed rebound and too little mid-speed compression, then you have a damper that will jack down (like the majority of OEM and aftermarket systems do). No amount of adjusting is going to fix the fundamentally non-optimized baseline damper setting! For a visual and deeper dive into this, please watch 'Playing with ***** .' Part 1 is 22 min, Part 2 is 6 min. You can probably watch at 1.25x speed (I'm doing that now) or 1.5x. You Tube and Part 2 (more on my perspective about OEM / aftermarket suspension tuning psychology): You Tube

Shaika you remind me of Steve Hollinsworth the owner of Fast Lap Suspensions that does most all the Cross-Country and MX suspensions for the Southeast.....My Son used to race with SECCA and Steve could make an Ohlins or Kayaba suspension do anything you wanted it to do to soak up ruts and rocks and roots, and fly through whoops and rhythm sections... Steve is a great guy to work with and can do anything you want for a Dirt Bike Suspension and you seem to be the same for Sports Cars...

Dr. Porschetech3, thanks for your very kind comment and reading through all this mumbo jumbo! Now I know who I need to call when I get a dirt bike to complement my 'too-heavy-to-off-road' Versys 650! And, when I have a Porsche that can use your UIDS which 996love is so pleased with I had been eyeing a 996 for a long time but the issues with IMS (solvable) and then oil starvation had put me off. No longer the case with your UIDS, looks like! My original mentors included Phil Douglas of Aftershocks Suspensions here in Norcal, who specialized in track and MX bikes. The first thing he said to me was 'compression damping is your friend.' I think the guys who are around long enough learn much of the same 'secrets'. The proportions of springs, tire type, etc. were different between the two environments but he said the fundamental approach he took was very similar between on and off-road. His racers were consistently winner / podium finishers. Again, thank you! I'll be sending you a PM, can potentially arrange an FCM test ride / drive in the near future.

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Ok, so what�s the cost of this �custom stock� strut/shock/spring combo? What if it doesn�t behave as you like after the initial test drive? Do you tear the whole suspension apart and start re-valving again? What do �adjustments� cost? Or is this an �open checkbook� excersise ?

Quotes source posts: 19716097, 19716097, 19716097, 19716097, 19716097

Let me clarify some language so you understand how I operate vs. what I've found through Bilstein and most 'shock builders.' If you're asking these questions because you are seriously curious, then I'll presume you are and I'll take the time to respond in kind. Again, for your benefit and that of anyone reading now or in the future. I hope you'll find it worthwhile. As an overview, let me state that I started tuning suspensions in 2002, over 22 years ago. I stopped counting at about 1,700 unique setups a few years ago. Every job is build to a customer's needs, building upon my prior experience. I don't 'revalve', I optimize. There is a very important distinction and unlike anyone else in the aftermarket suspension industry (from what I see). If I think your spring rates, intended sway bar(s), etc. are not going to help you achieve your goals, then I will tell you. I won't take on a client who is an Adam Henry, or who doesn't appreciate that I have some experience and some success following my model of Ride Harmony and Race Synergy. I'm vetting you as much as you're vetting me. If we follow my FCM Elite Consultation process (where we actually have to talk live, on the phone, for more than 5 minutes!) so I know what you have and want you want, then the results are consistently excellent, the first time. I've already done a number of Porsche setups that owners have been very happy with, so it's not my first rodeo in this community. I apply a quantitative / numerical approach (Excel FTW) combined with qualitative / seat-of-the-pants feedback (from myself and others) to integrate Theory with Practice. There are very few to no surprises when you account for all the essential variables (including driver preference). This is not rocket science or building an interdimensional transwarp drive. Now, to your questions... For the Porsche community, there are currently two FCM Elite damper optimization options available and currently the costs are the same as as I charge for any other manufacturer. I may decided to increase my prices for this community given the very high costs I see for other vendors product (which I think is largely based on 'It's a Porsche so of course everything has to be more expensive.' I decided years ago that other than the instance of a Miata coilover (where I can provide the complete assembly), my speciality is on the damper optimization and component selection side and you're paying me to optimize a set of Bilstein / H&R monotube dampers that you provide to me. There are already vendors in the Porsche space that have designed excellent quality camber / caster plates, spherical mounts, sway bars, etc. I work with the customer to determine what components need changing and what can remain factory (or be replaced due to age / wear). The FCM Elite Stage 2 is $2400*, which includes a damper tune for compression and rebound, a reasonable amount of nitrogen charge pressure, and the "Ripple Reducer" modification which enhances both grip and comfort. You can search the Suspension Truth YT channel for more info on Ripple Reducer. The FCM Elite Stage 3 Ultimate is $4400* and is my current top-of-the-line service, providing the full 'tarmac rally' experience. It is designed to be a multi-stage damping profile, resisting bottoming out and jacking down more thoroughly than the Stage 2. I will state that in my and my customers' experience, the FCM Elite Stage 2 is already better than anything else out there. The FCM Elite Stage 3 Ultimate adds additional technology and methods that address the deficiencies of a purely digressive-based (two stage, low and high speed) damping profile. Also, given that the Porsche uses a high motion ratio suspension at both ends of the car, the control of high speed damper forces is even more critical than on a double-wishbone / SLA vehicle like a Corvette, Miata, Lotus, etc. For this reason I recommend anyone seeking a very thorough upgrade to budget for the Stage 3 Ultimate for the 'Ultimate' driving experience. Perhaps someone will decide to get a Stage 2 (no Porsche customers have done so yet) and can report of their experience which would still be superior. The cost of the dampers themselves depends on the vehicle in question. Springs are fairly constant - I usually recommend Swift especially up front to get maximum spring travel and reduce the risk of coil-bind (yes, that's something I assess and avoid in my calculations). Helper springs are usually a good idea, spring adapters, top mounts depends on the customer's goals. This is more of an a la carte approach where we select what makes sense for YOUR needs instead of applying a defined off-the-shelf kit that forces you to accept whatever the designer was thinking without consulting you. Then you would be the exception to the 1,700+ customers I have worked with over the past 20+ years. It's not impossible, but I would say it's highly unlikely. There's an expression from the wonderful book 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' that I suggest anyone with the fortitude to dive into and cogitate. "Quality eliminates subjectivity" Each design choice I make is inherently higher Quality than the alternate, provable both by reason and experience. The choice of spring rates leading to ride frequencies creating Flat Ride creates a smooth, Fast Settling suspension response that avoids the excessive vibration and harshness (and even noise) created by a pitch-based (higher front frequency) setup. The dampers avoiding jacking down (too much rebound) or launching (too much compression) so the ride is smoother and grip is enhances. The damper rod force is lower, especially vs. other choices as I've described above, so the grip and ride are again enhanced. Additional technological innovations that 'read' the road in advance, anticipating what the damper needs to be doing in given amplitude / frequency ranges and creating a balanced response to those inputs. It's building Intelligence into the damper without needing to have a computer flipping a valve back and forth on a non-optimized damper. Compared to the factory Porsche suspension, and anything I've ridden in or analyzed, on my worst day anything you'd get from me would be superior. Period. I do not provide any warranty, relying on the inherent build quality of the Bilstein damper which has that reputation for a reason. The overall reliability of FCM Elite-optimized Bilsteins is a point of pride for me. If a damper was leaking and needed repair then my shop labor rate applies plus the parts cost (rod guides are in the range of $30-$40, etc.). Usually 1 hour is all I need to repair and retest a problematic damper, provided there's no damage to the shaft or body. A damper that's been in a crash where the shaft is clearly bent is NOT serviceable. If you are concerned you might not like the result, then I suggest you find someone who has an FCM setup and get a ride / drive to know ahead of time what you're likely to experience. I have done a LOT of experimentation, testing, revisions, critical evaluation. I'm up to 10 revisions on my E46 330i BMW. The pace of changes has slowed down in the past several revisions as once I developed the FCM Elite Stage 3 Ultimate in 2020 (motivated by feedback from Anthony Zwain of Edge Motorworks), I believe I have as near a total package as I can create for a non-Formula 1 car. I've done the revisions for years, and worked with a few customers who have been with me from the beginning and seen the evolution of my understanding. I can tell you that people who have had MCS 2-ways, 3-ways, Ohlins, KW, whatever have never been happier than taking those setups off and putting on an FCM Elite-optimized damper with all other aspects of the suspension designed to integrate into a Harmonious unit. No ***** to screw around with, thinking they're actually doing something really useful when in most cases they aren't. This is why I have confidence appearing on Rennlist and promoting myself in the Porsche community. I cut my teeth with other brands first, with some Porsches sprinkled in along the way. Based on the recent test drives / rides with 996love and another owner (with 997.1), the universal feedback is 'I love it, I want it, how do I get it?' A superior approach yields a higher-Quality result. So how would you like your filet mignon cooked, sir? It depends on what you want 'adjusted.' If you've given me corner weights, and are using the springs we've determined are optimal for your application, and you're using the tire / wheel package that is within the range we intended for your build, why am I needing to 'adjust' the dampers? You can change a multitude of variables that are far more impactful and beneficial vs. wishing you had a **** that would everything ok. The racers I work with, especially since I stopped offering ***** in around 2012, find that the setups I build work WET or DRY (because tarmac rally tuning is like that!). They adjust sway bars, tire pressure, play with bump stops spacers / packers, or spring rubbers, or alignment, etc. Once a car is dialed in it seems to work very well on a variety of tracks surfaces and conditions. If it's VERY wet, then the guys at Edge reported they just disconnect the sway bars. Anthony did that at Sonoma some years ago (when we actually had rain in California). He said the setup worked great at Sonoma in the wet with sways disconnected. For a non-racer enthusiast, you're not pushing 10/10th on the street so you simply adapt to the available grip and drive sanely. Regardless, you will have more grip and confidence at the limit with a setup from me, so you CAN push your Porsche harder than you ever could before, and you will have a more forgiving car at the limit. The biggest adjustment most people have to make is realizing they never needed a **** to begin with. That, like Neo waking up in that cold pod after taking the red pill, they had been misled at best (or lied to at worst) about the world of suspension tuning and what a 'real suspension' had to have. That was my biggest shock - realizing that all the adjustments in the world wouldn't matter if the components weren't working together in harmony, creating what I know is possible and desirable. Buy once, buy right. Sort out all the details possible and then appreciate the result of planning, experience, and you being honest with me about what you want from your Porsche. If you had a way to come out to Cali (or soon, perhaps a state closer to you) then all this would be solved by 'jump in and hold on.' I do appreciate that no everyone will be able to have a test ride before buying a setup. That holds true for everything else on the market, right? A big difference is I have investigated and reported on many different products out there (see all the videos on my Youtube channel, it's no monetized and never will be - any ads are Googles fault). I have pointed out pros and cons, learning from each vendor / offering so when I have the audacity to label something as 'Ultimate' it actually means something and it's not just marketing hype. It's an open mind exercise - perhaps the highest cost to ask anyone to accept. Usually at some point in my conversation with potential FCM Elite clients, I say that I'm not selling a product but rather promoting a philosophy: that of Ride Harmony and Race Synergy . If the approach that I outline makes sense, then you can expect the results to be very, very good. This is why the Consultation process is absolutely 100% essential to what I do. I need to know what you have experienced, what you like and dislike in a suspension, what your roads are like, the problems you're dealing with, if you have a bad back or haul delicate cargo (including 2- or 4-legged), etc. There is no one-size-fits-all with FCM Elite. I treat you the way I wish someone had treated me over 20 years ago. To ask me all these questions and had the knowledge and experience to design something Tailored just for Me. I had to become that person, and I'm doing my very best as a one-man operation. By God's Grace, I've been able to stay sane throughout this process and even have some fun along the way. I remain very honored to be part of the Porsche community and to treat each potential client with the respect you deserve. You Tube In some Fantasy Island alternate universe, I'd love to see a company like Porsche offer an option on their build sheet 'consult with FCM Elite for a built-to-order suspension' but I doubt that'll ever happen. Instead of being a factory or dealer-installed option, I am offering bespoke services that I find to be unique in the aftermarket. You tell me what you want to experience from your car and I'll do my best to design that with your help, then build and deliver it. Some assembly may be required so it's not turn-key. I think the overall benefit is worth the more convoluted process. Thanks for your question and for reading. I hope I've sufficiently addressed your questions. My offer for a ride / drive is genuine and open (but call / text first!).

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Cute comments about 'free your mind' aside, I'll address this in more detail. If you have already purchased an FCM Elite Stage 2 or 3 Ultimate and you want me to make some specific changes to the damping (because it's clear to both of us that there are no other parameters you can possibly adjust or change to achieve your goals), then that is done at my R&D / shop rate of $300 / hour. I usually need between 3 to 5 iterations to get the first damper (say, left front) to be in my desired target force range. Then, I build the second damper (say, right front) seeking a profile that works with that corner weight (because they're usually not equal left to right!). With the first baseline achieved, there are usually fewer iterations to get the second front within a good range. Rinse, repeat for the rears. Thankfully, the components I have created along with the fundamental Bilstein internal hardware are very repeatable but variations still occur. This process takes multiple hours, time that when doing the initial build I wrap into my package price and don't charge separately for. This is why I ask lots of questions up front, to avoid you having to pay for a damper adjustment that would not be needed if I had a clearer picture or if it's actually some other aspect of the suspension (alignment, roll stiffness, camber / caster / toe, ride heights / roll centers, bump stop engagement) that needs adjusting. I have worked with some very demanding people and those coming from having one or more *****, driving their cars in different environments (street to autocross to track to even offroad). No one setup can do everything perfectly. However, my customers find that they have such an excellent base and plenty of parameters they can play with on their own (including changing springs within a reasonable range around the initial targets) that the dampers never have to come back to me except for a refresh / rebuild. On that topic, since I do not introduce a Schrader / nitrogen valve to the Bilstein / H&R monotube dampers, there is no external leakage path for the nitrogen charge due to the permeability of the Schrader's o-ring, worsened with heat cycles as it hardens and degrades. The lack of a nitrogen port means greater durability and longer service life. I have racers who go multiple seasons (meaning, racing or practicing just about every weekend) and the vast majority report their FCM setups working well. The damper oil will degrade and on returning dampers I do see a few percent reduction every year or two. It's small enough that most wouldn't notice it. Most of my customers from 10+ years I never hear from unless they want to drastically change their application beyond initial scope or have a new vehicle they want an FCM Elite for. My general advice for racers is to plan for a service every two years to change out the AMSOil Synthetic Shock Therapy 5wt and if desired, pay for new rod guide and separator piston o-ring (the main wear items). For Porsche 911, a new rod guide is about $30-$40 depending on front strut (36mm) vs. rear shock (46mm).

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Happy to see choices for the 996 suspension set up. The more choices the better. This is pretty attractive for the owner that wants a customized, one and done set-up that doesn't want to mess with one way, two way or three way adjustable *****. Especially if they want a more comfortable ride for the street. Which seems to be the biggest complaint coming from the RL forum. Guys move to the "hot" coilover of the month and then get frustrated because its too stiff and are not sure how to dial it in. Same can be said for guys that want to track their car and then put on a set of coilovers and are uncertain how to dial it in and then think it's normal to go from understeer to oversteer and back again all in one lap. Hey, I had no clue what I was doing with a coilover set up, sway bars and tires when I first had them put them on my 996 18 years ago. They were set to the basic Bilstein recomendations for a 996. They key was to spend two track days with my indy to understand what I was feeling and to dial in the settings. Those two days were critical to my education and application of settings for PSS9s to get what I wanted. Funny thing is I haven't changed the settings for 17 years. In many moments of optimism over the years I have thought about moving to some of the well respected 2 way and 3 way systems to possibly shave off some time on the track. Then I come to my senses.

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Thanks for your comment. The approach I take has evolved from seeking / needing / thinking I need *****, even for competition / racing. I have worked with ME's who have helped me design the gamut of features from non-adjustables, single-adjustable, external reservoir doubles, even contracted to have 4-ways designed by a former boss (Ph.D M.E. with decades of experience in multiple industries, expert in FEA, etc.). I realized that what the dampers does INSIDE is more important than the ***** you put OUTSIDE. And beyond the damper, the choice of springs / frequencies, sways, alignment, other factors and adjustments. Developing blow-off capabilities, looking at frequency filtering, managing different amplitude inputs - all of these get overlooked by the majority of aftermarket companies, or they introduce problems into their design that the average driver / racer won't understand until they experience something faster for themselves. If you want to go faster on the track, then an optimized setup without ***** will get you there. You'll have fewer failure / leakage points, no need to 'recharge' the damper every 2 races or 3000 miles or whatever. No worry about the adjuster freezing in place, or breaking. You won't have the confusion of trying to play with ***** without knowing what the ***** do or if they're doing what you need. Even with the work you've done to find a setting you like, I can you for a fact that the PSS9 is not an optimized setup. I've done the years and years of testing, analysis, and refinement so the serious racer can focus on driving and adjusting multiple parameters that matter more than adding or substracting rebound / compression. Short (2 minute) testimonial from a few professional racers (among them Kai Goddard and Alan McCallum) who came in and drove an FCM Elite-equipped '14 Lexus IS250 in the 2014 25 Hours of Thunderhill. Short video but their comments go to the point of not needing to play with suspension. Kai Goddard specifically says "it was a breath of fresh air" to not have to mess with suspension all weekend. Then, the FCM tech who was there (Nic) told him 'we were so confident in our setup, we didn't give you any *****.' You Tube Those 'respected' 2 and 3 ways systems don't deserve the respect they're given, from where I stand. I know too much about how non-optimally they're designed. High gas force due to non-inverted BIG shafts, excessive low speed bump making for a choppy, jittery, lower-grip ride. It sure FEELS sporty, though! Lap times suffer in the name of 'feel' and 'sportiness.' I hope we have occasion to meet. I am planning to move within a day's drive of you in the near future. One of my goals is to have as many Porsche enthusiasts / racers experience and FCM Elite suspension first-hand. And as you said about your own experience with the PSS9, once you adjusted it you didn't need to mess with it. I save you the step of having to adjust ***** to begin with by going through an exhaustive process to begin with.

Shaikh, you will have to pm me when you get to the midwest. Would love to test out your suspension. I have no complaints with the PSS9 system since its been duruable as hell and my set up is flat and stable at speed. But there is always a better way and i will be needing a refresh. So I look forward to testing out your system.

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@996love This is an interesting concept that I know has its proponents. Since you have had a chance to gain some seat time on the system. What are your thoughts?

Getting behind the wheel of Shaikh�s E46 for ten minutes was enough to convince me that this was what I needed. I�ve also sat shotgun while he drove his car for an hour and it felt really composed. I can certainly tell the spring rate has been increased above stock, but the dampers are really, really good at soaking up rough pavement and controlling oscillation. I would liken his suspension to the 911� you could read auto journal reviews and devour every article about it, but once you actually drive it - the lightbulb clicks. There hasn�t been much development on my car since committing to a set of coilovers because I�ve been taking my sweet a** time getting some measurements for Shaikh. In order to fulfill my request for stock ride heights, I need to measure and record the bump travel and motion ratios of the suspension before we can proceed. But I�ll surely bump this thread with an update when everything is ready.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts

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How exactly do you measure MR? Do you just put the car on an alignment rack, jack one wheel up XXX cm and measure how much the stroke of the damper moved? What exact point do you measure the wheel travel? Thanks!

Yeah, that�s what I did. I tied a ziptie one inch above the shaft base and measured the the wheel travel. The wheel travel was measured from the center of the hub to the top of the fender arch.

Wow! Nine months of “the same dissatisfied ride quality” and a whole lot of technical forum regurgitation? I’d want results. Nine months of unhappiness is a lot of lost fun in my car.