AHH!!! So many suspension choices..any help?

[SlowToady]

Man, it seems like there are a million and one suspension choices for this car. I'm looking for something that will be solid, improve handling, and lower the car a bit. A quick search reveals "KONI Coil Over Kits", "KONI Sport Struts", "Bilstein Strut Kits" and the list goes on, with my favourite being the Ohlins kit offered by Lindsey Racing at a mere $5,000 (base price). So what the hell?

My 944 is used for cruizing around town and such, and hopefully, come summer it will again see the race track. So, I need something that is competitive on the track and off, but that won't kill me financially. "Cruizing around town" really means, "I like to drive the hell out of it" and my current suspension is leaving a bit to be desired.

Right now my 944 is equipped with KONI Reds in the back, and the stock units in the front. I really don't know what to go with, each setup seems to have its own benefits. I guess these are my options:

1) Should I go with the coil over kit? (Would run about a thousand bucks at Paragon for the front and rear kits.)

2) Should I get some KONI Reds to match the front and back? If I get those, I'd also get Weltmeister adjustable camber plates, 968 sway bar or possibly Weltmeister Drop Link adjustable bars, and Weltmeister/HR 250# springs. Figuring that the struts would be $170ea, the springs about $150, the camber plates $500, and sway bar setup around $600, I'm looking at around $1600. How would this setup compare with the KONI Coil Over kit?

3) Lindsey Racing has a Bilstein package for about $2,200 with springs. This might be stretching it financially, I'm not quite sure yet. Seems like quite a bit of money compared with option #2.

Also, I'm having to rebuild my control arms and I've read that lowered suspensions and hard driving destroy the balls joints much faster. Is there any way to get around this, besides perhaps an aftermarket set of A-arms?

::sigh:: I'm not sure what to do with my suspension. Suggestions anyone?

[Porschefile]

I just finished my Koni suspension setup. It consists of the following:

Koni Yellow fronts
Weltmeister 250# progressive front springs
Koni Sport Cup Coilover rears
Hypercoil 80# rear springs
Stock torsion bars

That equals a 250# front spring rate and ~206# rear spring rate. The handling is significantly improved, although my current limiting factor is my crap tires (Kumho ecsta supras). I'm going to try out Kumho MX's soon, as they are cheap but supposed to be a very grippy tire for the price.

I currently have the fronts set to 1.5 turns from full stiff, and the rears are set to "6" (12 settings), which equals 50% stiff. The valving in the rears is much stiffer, so it's set lower to compensate for the fronts. Overall, it handles very neutral, much like stock, but is much stiffer. I can't wait to see the improvement with a decent set of tires. I'd highly recommend this setup to anyone that plans on working with their suspension, and constantly modifying it. The whole setup was ~$1100 through Paragon, including the Koni yellow front conversion process (hey, I'm lazy!). It's cheaper than the Bilstein escort setup from LR ($2200). For another few hundred $$$, the fronts can be converted to coilovers and revalved by Koni for a much stiffer 300#+ spring rate setup.

[Dantilla]

If your car will only see DE days at the track, you have lots of options. If you will ever do any competition driving, like an autocross (highly recommended) you will want to see a rules book first. You can upgrade to Koni sports and stay stock. If you put in new coil-overs, you may find yourself bumped up to a class where you can not be competative without spending some serious coinage.

If you have never attended a high-performance driving school, that's the best place to start. A good driver with a stock car will cream an average driver, no matter how good the car.

[SlowToady]

Porschephile, thanks for the info. I'll have to look into that setup some more.

The 944 is (hopefully) going to see some track days, but it is also my get around town car, though I am looking at buying a truck to save wear and tear on the 944 from stop and go traffic. I'll have to see what the rules book have to say as you mentioned Dantilla, but that's why I was thinking about just getting KONI sports in front as well. Maybe no one would notice the adjustable camber plates and drop link Weltmeister bars:-D?

[tifosiman]

1)Yes

2)a. Maybe
b. It's different.

3)Is there a question?

I'd offer a little insight to you and offer other options, as I have a lot of expertise in this area, but I'm afraid my response would be too lengthy and digress a bit too much for your personal liking. I might tell you about other things you would want to do to ensure you are getting the most bang for your buck when upgrading the suspension.

Wouldn't want you to blast me like you did to the other people in the turbo swap posting.

[SlowToady]

Yes, it was an implied question. I suppose I'll have to spell it out for you.

Lindsey Racing has a Bilstein Escort setup for about $2,200; this may be stretching it financially but should I go with this over the other two choices?

Hmm, something else that would give me more bang for my suspension buck? Ah yes, a new air filter, right?

Keep your information and opinions, tifosiman, I'll find information via another venue.