When I factored in the cost to install, I decided it was not the place to cheap out. Speaking to another member who has experience with both setups. He felt both setups performed very well. He said the PSS10's were much easier to adjust and appeared to have more accurate detents. He also felt that the differences between detents was much more consistant. When making my decision, I further took into account buying a discontinued product and the future servicability if I was to have any problems. From what I have heard probably not an issue. That said, I don't think you can go wrong with either product and if it is a daily driver the need to easily adjust the shocks is probably moot. Its hard to pass up the deals currently available for the 9's but I just preferred the upgraded product.

 

yea what erub said. what's $500 worth to you ? that's the question u gotta figure out. your ego would be better fed saying u got 10s than the common 9s. 9s are totally proven since so many of us run it.

but seriously take a look at the kw3s and compare with the 10s. i think they're both similar money.

 

erubin - Are you saying that you got PSS10's for a C2 from tirerack for $2,057 + shipping. The price they quoted me for PSS10's for a C4 was $2,300+ shipped, and athe C4 is usually cheaper than the C2. Who did you deal with at tirerack?

 

Yes, $2057 is the price for the PSS10's that I ordered from their website. I placed my order a few weeks ago and they gave me a ship date of around 5/22. They even called to confirm. It is a very competitive price and not as large of a spread as you are looking at. especially since the sale price for the PSS9's was higher for the C2. If I was at $2300-2500 it might have made my decision harder since the sale price on the PSS9's was so attractive. In the end I really wanted the pss10's and the Tirerack price was just too good to pass up.

 

TR has listed the 10's for a C2 at 2057 for several months. The issue is availability, not the price.

 

For the C4 its a bigger price difference. Its close 800 for pss10's over pss9's.

I guess to me pss10's with 1 more click of adjutablity and a new look cant justify it. Not that I would skimp if I thought they were better.

Bottom line, its the same shock, same valving, and progressive springs. So really at the end of the day its the same performance.

I have pss9's on my M3 now. I really like them. The shocks are actually quite good and if you ever did want to track you could switch the progrssive springs for rated ones. And really adjusting them is quite trivial. Listening to clicks or seeing a number really is a moot point. Generally I dont adjust them much anyways.


I kind of feel the same way as others though. Id like to get the "new stuff". I guess Im just on the fence if the new stuff is worth it, or is it just only "marketing changes" to fetch an extra $800 out of the unsuspecting.

 

My understanding is they made several small improvements but they are not dramatically different. Furthermore you may need to wait for the PSS10's. I don't think you can go wrong either way. If the PSS9's deliver everything you are looking for save the money. If you are going to question your decision everytime you drive the car get the 10's. If the difference for me was $800 I probably would have gotten the 9's as well. for $300 it was an easy choice for me. I will never regret getting the newer setup but I would probably have kicked myself for not stepping up for a few hundred dollars.

 

The only way to go!

 

I don't know about the only way to go comment....
but I just installed Pss9s 5mos ago and have no complaints period. I do not see much difference in 9s vs 10s for someone like Ben and myself that rarely will change the settings. I believe that sooner than later the 9s will be discontinued and the 10s will be the only option. I do know that I paid 1775.00 for the 9s and would buy again from Special1/Specialty Auto Products again the Groupbuy from last year

 

the guys who have stated the KWv3s would be a preferred choice, could you a elaborate a bit further? How do these stack up on the price / features continuum?

 

I have coilovers on my list... I was thinking H&R, Bilstein PS9's or KWV1's. Obviously, price is a big factor for me but I simply want some adjustability in ride height and something better than stock (I don't race). I was told the KW's are reaLLy are better solution for our cars as well. WHy is that?

 

I've owned KW's on my 996, and I did literally months of research between buying them vs the "typical" PSS9/PSS10 choice. You know, buying PSS9/PSS10 is sort of like going with AOL for your internet. You buy into their marketing hype, and you end up paying for something that is not the 'real deal'.

So, KW's are the "real deal" - they actually race on what they sell, they have had numerous pro and semi-pro cars, especially pcars, setting lap records and winning races on their KWv3's. They do most of their R&D / testing on the Nurbergring. -and OMG, they ride like absolute butter on the street. I had mine set for daily street driving / LA crappy streets, and on the weekend I would simply firm up the rebound on the F/R by 1 to 2 clicks and I was off to the canyons with a nasty handling little beast of a pcar. One click on the KW's for either damping or rebound makes a difference.
I could get the lowering height spot on, the thread adjustments are very fine.
Build quality is amazing- they look like a million dollars on the car and the finishes hold up very well to road grime.
They do not void your wannranty for racing / track use- in fact, they encourage it!
You can call and talk to a real KW tech, someone who has an engineering background on the suspension, and you can discuss track adjustments for your particular car.
I have never heard of a single KW owner that did not love them on their pcar. And I'm talking DD'ers as well as racers. Due to the wide range of adjustment, you can get a "cadillac" smooth ride or a tail-happy old-school 911 go-kart ride. -and anything in between, to your prefs.

Bilstein- they do not race what they sell, the product exists in marketing land only, they don't even track test them as part of product R&D. They void your warranty for track use, the adjustments dont do a damn thing- there are really only two settings - soft / firm. all those "clicks" in between don't make any real difference. There is no rebound adjustment, which IMO is extremely important to have on a sports car.
You do not hear of any pro or semi pro (or even joe blow) cars setting lap records on PSS9/10's
Try calling for tech support and talk to an engineer - it won't happen, they don't exist. And pleas don't mention track use!

Just set a pair of KW's next to a set of PSS9/PSS10 and that should sum it all up for you. It's like setting a casio next to a rolex.

If you want a 100% experienced, bonafide last word, talk to Tom at Lucent Motors. He has done numerous KW / HR / PSS9/10 installs on pcars of all types and will give you the straight dirt. http://www.lucentmotors.com/ and he's also a long time member here on the six.

Please reasearch before buying PSS9/10's - For about the same $$, you will get a significantly better coilover system with KW V3's.

I suppose the only downside of KW's is they have no PASM integration, so if you have an S you'll have to weight whether you want to keep that or not. IMHO, you'll still end up with a much better riding pcar with the KW's vs a PSS10/PASM integrated setup.

I'd like to add in closing, that either the PSS9/10 or KWv3 will be a good upgrade to the factory suspension, so whatever you end up doing it will be better than doing nothing. But again, please do your homework if you care about best bang for the buck.

JMHO