Just wondering who tracks their car with H&R coilovers? Good, bad, meh?

 

I have them with stock shocks. I rip it around pretty good, but not on track. People with stock springs road race them so so springs shouldn't matter. Lower center of gravity some. As long as your alignment is good I don't see an issue. You won't be setting any lap records with it though.

 

I have H&R RSS ClubSport on mine, it is pretty great on track, a bit stiff for street driving however. (I do around 5-6 track events a year)
I used to run JRZ RS on my 996 turbo, they are amazing of course, but switch to H&R since I picked up another track toy (miata).
While the H&R RSS couldn't provide the control and quality I found in the JRZ, the H&R does give you very nice control and sharp handling. Very well track setup for a very reasonable price. I like them better than PSS10 on track, but PSS10 win for street driving.
The spring rate is well match for sporty tires (I had Kumho XS and NT01). But if you are planning to run Race Compound, they might be a bit soft.

My friend's E55 has the H&R street coilover, that ride amazingly well on street, but could be too soft for track.

If you are looking to track your car more than 4-5 even a year, get the RSS version.
Otherwise, street version will provide much better and comfortable ride in my experience. (But I would get PSS10 for street and light track duty coilover)

BTW, H&R coilovers ride LOWWWWWW on our car. Even thought at the highest setting, my ride height is as low as GT2. So if you are not looking to lower your car by much, these might give you trouble.

In conclusion, RSS version is a very well setup for track, yes. I like them a lot.

Pros:
Cheap (relatively)
Install and Forget (no damper adjustment)
Good Control, Sharp Handling and Nice damper
Good Spring Rate
Good Quality (H&R coilovers are built by Bilstein)
Inverted Mono-Tube Design

Cons:
Progressive Spring Rate
A bit too rough for street driving
Non Rebuildable
Can't upgrade spring if you ever desire to go stiffer
You will need to buy adapter for after market camber plates
provided end links are weak, need buy something better (for track, that is).

I have had PSS9, PSS10, KW, Apexi, Tein, and even cheap taiwanese coilovers experience on a lot of different cars before, and the H&R coilover is very well priced for what its offer. But since they are not on the same car, I couldn't say how well they compare to each other due to different design.

Hope this help

 

Just to be clear, I was referring to the full coilovers. Not just the stock shocks and H&R springs.

 

Thanks for the feedback Charsiu!

 

You are welcome, some picture just for your reference

 

Ooooooh. My bad

 

I'm with you Vglnte1, I almost posted the same thing with the title. Kind of confusing I guess.

 

The shocks are easily rebuildable. You can send them to Bilstein and they will rebuild them for $75 per corner. Front rates are linear, rears are progressive.

 

Good to know. They are very well priced; sub $2k if you look around.

 

I have the street H&R coils and find them quite soft. Good quality and street ride though. Spring rates are not much more than stock. They can be revalved though. The H&Rs, Bilstein pss9 and 996 GT stock shocks are all the same designs with different spring rates and can be valved to work with stiffer linear springs. But they will not get much higher than 700lbs rear and 600 front reliably. But the issue then is heat. I was looking into revalving mine, but I picked up some external reservoir sachs Cup shocks instead.

 

Maybe the RSS version is better? Will do some more research.

 

They are better. I just do not know how much better.

 

Great discussion... I am basically in the same position as FI_FTW. I think trying to get a suspension that would offer improved performance on the track while still offering a nice level of comfort on the street.

After looking at a bunch of coilover options in the $2k price range I'm also down to the H&R Street vs RSS. It looks like the RSS are the best for a more track oriented car while the Streets will offer a better match for a mostly street driven car but still offer better than stock performance on the track. (Hence the names, lol)

Its been mentioned that RSS can be revalved and springs changed can the Streets also be revalved and springs changed?

Just for reference I will post the specs I got from H&R regarding spring rates:

Stock 996TT 188 in-lb front, and 342 in-lb rear

H&R Street 996TT 250 in-lb front, and 260 in-lb rear (P/N 29462-2)

H&R RSS Club Sport Coilovers are 340 in-lb front, and 800 in-lb rear

 

The streets can be revalved. In fact the street H&Rs, pss9 and 996 GT OEM coils are all nearly identical shocks with different valving and spring rates. I will add that the H&R streets are so soft that revalving to a good track and street spring rate is pushing the limits of the shock shops without major shock component changes. So, I would go with the RSS coils which have stiffer springs.

One the subject of shocks, I would just like to add that a good quality external reservoir shock with high track spring rates will usually be less harsh than a regular shock with the same spring rate. Even if valved for that particular spring. It seems that most non-external reservoir shocks hit a wall with dampening abilities with higher spring rates. That is why early 996 GT3 cups ran Bilstein non-adjustable shocks similar to the street car but with much higher spring rates for a short period before switching to external reservoir shocks.