bostonaudi
Go Kart Champion
- Location
- Charleston, SC
- Car(s)
- 1995 BMW M3
Yeah, the fronts at 600 are a bit much, ordered a pair of 450's a while ago and was planning on putting the front 600's on the back. I think the Koni's are tired from those big springs and may just replace it all. What spring rates are supplied with the ISC's? Are the fronts complete struts with sway mount? If they are good $950 is a no brainer.
I thought I read the OP and his friend were contemplating getting into club racing, my suggestion was the GTI probably wasn't the best avenue to get there. For a $2k budget though some fun parts can be found for DE days for the dub. I'd also suggest the Eibach R1's. Single adjustable true monotube shocks handmade in California with linear springs. They are excellent quality and served me well. Folks have posted the newer mk6 Bilsteins also drive and handle really well. For about $1500 you can score a Koni/GC coilover setup with their excellent camber plates. GC by far has the best plates on the market for a MK5 dub.
Some opinions on single adjustable dampers that do both rebound and compression - if you don't plan on straying too far from the supplied spring rates they are fine. I find that yes, they can and do alter handling with higher compression/rebound settings, but if the desire is to eventually run higher rate springs they can work against you. Once you get enough rebound, compression is too high and rather than take a bump, the wheel launches over it, losing traction, so better off with true dual or multi adjustable, obviously another universe of cost. The RSS's aren't adjustable at all and were meant for track duty at their setting. I like Koni yellows at their price point *because* they only adjust rebound, if you want more resistance to roll you run a higher spring (within its limit as you said), turn up the rebound and don't end up with such a bouncy car because the compression stays fixed. My Eibach R1's worked nicely on my mk5, with higher settings on the rear the higher compression settings really helped the car rotate, but I had to stay near the supplied spring rates otherwise too much compression once rebound was dialed in. The Eibach R2's are separate rebound/compression, for a tad more than $2k would be my first choice doing it again.
Lol the time old sentiments from the Beamer guys towards Porsche! I hear it all the time as I run with both crowds. The Porsche guys say the same towards anything else not Porsche, and they dump on anything that isn't a 911. Personally I love both makes, they are great cars. Porsche engineers do love to engineer, so even a basic 944 is not so trivial. A well built spec 944 is as reliable as any E30, which is really the more fair comparison. 968's make very nice track cars. 944 turbos are beast track cars, after having owned one for 7 yrs and completely rebuilding it I'd agree it's too expensive and somewhat finicky if modified from stock. One issue with 944's now is simply age, if you are going to run a 944 it's a good idea to go through everything, or find one that already has. Once there, they are good cars. One thing that is not an issue are all the weak body and suspension mounts the E36 seems to have, obviously fixable but you have to deal with it. Comparisons on speed boil down to $ spent, you can bolt Chevy V8's into all these cars now rather easily! A base 944 isn't going to set track records, but there is lots of club racing support that Volkswagen simply doesn't have.
http://www.944spec.org/944SPEC/
Was looking at maintenance comparisons for e30 vs 944 on Pelican Parts, for brake rotors and parts the 944 is marginally more expensive, and yes the 944 has to have its timing belt done more often, but the 944 starts out as a sports car whereas an e30 has to undergo quite a transformation to be a track car. E30's are bitching cars when set up though, I'm always amazed at the grip they can generate.
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