Back in the begining of August I had ordered a set of PSS9's for my AP1, but apparently they had some issues with the order and now its not comming in until the middle of november, so the supplier will refund me my money if I do not wish to wait. So now I am stuck to re-evaluate my purchase. My S2k is a daily driver (and an extensive daily driver at that) and a weekend track car. While driving my car, sometimes up to hours at a time, I do need some sort of softness in the car (stock is perfect.. dont need softer than that), but also need something which will stack up at the track. I once was talked into a set of JRZ (i believe the RS or the RS Pro), but turned them down. How well do the Variant 3's work in comparison to stock and PSS9's, what advantages (outside of the greater adjustability ranges) do they have over the PSS9's and are they worth the extra money (for me it will be a few hundred dollars difference)?

also on another note, I have always loved german suspensions after owning a 944, S4 and whenever I can, take my father's M5.


Just on a note, I had posted this in the s2k talk section but looking to get some feedback from some of the racers out here (don't flame me too hard for double posting)

 

The biggest problem I have is I need something which is sufficient for daily driving (as this is my daily driver and I do truly rack on the miles on this one, 18,000 miles in 4-5 months), and something which will be good on the track, and then at that, something which will work with R compounds when I decide to run them at some point in the near future (not talking uber sticky tires, but RA-1's, and at best V710's). Like I said, I typically like german suspension design and handeling characteristics, so with that in mind, How would you rate the mentioned suspensions as well maby give me some recomendations on other units.

 

I feel the KW V3 is good for occasional track use and still pretty good for daily.

However, I believe that if one steps up toe uber grippy tires the KW will not be enough to match the R compounds. I havent personally tried it yet,but will do so next season. I am running the KW on stock SO2s at the stiffest possible setting and it is not bad.

I find a lot of higher end coilovers feel also very nice on the street. Depending on your budget, you might want to look into higher end systems.

 

higher end systems such as? and would you be talking double or tripple adjustable?

Olhins, JRZ, Moton ? what are the life expectancy of these ?

Im thinking just sticking with the PSS9 or KW 3 for now until I decide to turn it into a true track car, then maby go much higher.

So you are saying that both the PSS9 and KW 3 wouldnt be able to cope with RA-1's ?

 

How are you able to say "KW will not be enough to match the R compounds" if you yourself admit you haven't even tried it?

KW's are totally fine for the grip level of R compounds. What about it makes it unsuitable for R compounds? If you go any stiffer, the suspension will be horrible on the street. True, maybe the uber high end shocks like JRZ or Motons have enough low speed compression adjustment to make a decent ride on the street with even stiffer springs but then you're looking to drop $4k to $6k.

I think the KW's 515 lbs/in would be the stiffest I would go for a dual purpose car. If you want something that is good for more than the "occasional track use" then you should have a track-only car IMO.

 

Note i said that I believe, so i am not sure. Just making a hypothesis from what I felt with SO2s.

Also, I find spring rate is not the only thing that affects ride on the road. My friend's TEIN N1 is running 12K/26k springs and it feels very well damped. Perhaps even better than my KW on the stiffest valving setting.

 

I do have a track only car... see my avatar .... just looking to "eventually" turn the s2k into a track only car in say 4-5 years when I need to get something more "practical" with 4 doors.... so right now i need something to use for the street as a daily driver and something to use on the track. In the begining I will be runing Hankook RS-2 on the track and then steping up to RA-1's.

I thought N1's were extremly harsh? at least this is what Ive heard.

 

well, the N1 and the SPOOn suspension that I have ridden on are all very good for the street. I find them well damped.
But also, they are not cheap. They are in the $3k to 4k range

 

I have no experience with the PSS9, but my vote goes to KW Variant 3. As far as I'm concerned (and many will agree), it is THE golden standard for performance in double duty shock/spring combos under $2k. Spend the few extra bucks and you won't be sorry you did.