RoW M030 Sport Suspension Install

[Stefan]

When you align the car (or get it aligned), don't foget to make sure they align it to the new specs. They should have the specs in their computer but they have to know that your car is ROW Sport (which is different even than just ROW).

[tornik550]

I just finished the putting on ROW M030 setup on my car. I did it by myself. I have never done any suspension work before. I was stupid and did not read this thread prior to starting.

Here are some additions that I have:

1- Life is much easier if you use a spring compressor. Compress the springs as much as possible, it makes life better. Spend time compressing the springs correctly- it will pay off.

2- I did not remove the brakes and I had no problems. I payed a lot of attention to whether the lines were being stretched and I did not seem to have any problems.

I am kind of embarrassed to say how long it took me but it took about 6 hours for the fronts, 3 hours for left rear and 20 minutes for the right rear. I thought about things before I started with the right rear and it obviously went much quicker.

Steve

[ydoganis]

I just finished the putting on ROW M030 setup on my car. I did it by myself. I have never done any suspension work before. I was stupid and did not read this thread prior to starting.

Here are some additions that I have:

1- Life is much easier if you use a spring compressor. Compress the springs as much as possible, it makes life better. Spend time compressing the springs correctly- it will pay off.

2- I did not remove the brakes and I had no problems. I payed a lot of attention to whether the lines were being stretched and I did not seem to have any problems.

I am kind of embarrassed to say how long it took me but it took about 6 hours for the fronts, 3 hours for left rear and 20 minutes for the right rear. I thought about things before I started with the right rear and it obviously went much quicker.

Steve

Steve, enjoy the new feel and congrads on getting through this by yourself.

The hardest part for me was torquing the bolt on top of the piston rod (front) while countering the piston rod with pliers, so reading the diy and getting the right tools for the job definitely pays.

[9962997]

Looking into getting bilstein sport shocks to install with my h&r springs? Anybody try this combination or have anysuggestions for shocks?

Edited May 12, 2008 by 9962997

[mark_sando]

Looking into getting bilstein sport shocks to install with my h&r springs? Anybody try this combination or have anysuggestions for shocks?

I am thinking about lowering with H&R sport springs, but I read on other sites that you should not lower due to risk of hitting the oil pan/lower engine block. Have any of you had any issues? Did you add an engine protection pan?

Thanks!

[guyspat]

I was going to go the HR spring route for that sweet lower look and hopefully better handling. However, in end I took the advice on this site and went the RoW M030 kit (shocks, springs and bars). I really liked that the package was completely integrated and engineered by Porsche. I rationalized the purchase with my wife by making the very valid preventive maintenance argument since my car has 35k. Suncoast Porsche got me the full kit for my '03 996C2 super fast and the handling and look is very sweet.

IMHO

[gaspasser19]

I elected not to do this myself since I have a C4 and DON'T own a lift. However, if you are interested in having this done and live anywhere near Baltimore, MD, call GT Performance in Edgewood. I bought my ROW M030 kit from Sunset for $1065 shipped and they installed it and aligned the car for less than $700. Truly a great deal and a really great improvement over initial ride quality. My car had 60K miles so wear on the original suspension may have played a part. All in all, a good investment.

[PorschePRH]

I am just going through this now, and if you have the Bose system, you need to know this:

Step 1 of the rear shock removal is much more complicated. That rear panel covering the tops of the shocks is tricky to figure out. You have to remove the bezels around the stereo subs on the left and the right to expose the torx-30 screws.

Once you remove the screw on both sides, you can slide the panel forward and disconnect the electrical connector by squeezing both sides of the connector.

Then you have to remove the holding brackets on both sides and then the very thick sound insulation that is under the panel to get to the shocks.

I thought I was going crazy when I read the instructions because it just says to remove the panel and that there are no clips. So whatever you do, don't pull really hard to remove this panel if you have the Bose. Fortunately, I didn't break anything when I did this.

Also, on the rear shocks, I would not bother putting the spring compressors on until you get the shocks out of the car (assuming you need parts from the shocks). The shocks come out just fine by tapping them out gently with a rubber mallet down at the bottom of the shock where you would never hurt it.

And no need to mark the location of the bolts on the top of the rear shocks, because they have to play like the front shocks. They will go where they belong whether you like it or not.

Hope this helps someone...

Edited March 3, 2009 by PorschePRH

[jam996]

I will be starting the reassembly tomorrow, I am not very familiar with the terms,

so can someone specify me the torque value for the front strut :

1- 3 bolts on top into body

2- 18mm sway bar bolt and 14mm into sway bar

thank you

Edited August 5, 2009 by jam996

[mrpcar]

Anyone know the torque spec. for the 13mm strut bolts that holds the strut to the body? And is that the same as the 15mm rear strut?

I found the camber settings to have moved, I guess I didn't torque it down enough.

P.S. I finally figured out how to the front ones on a C4 fairly quick. Each side takes me about 30 minutes.

Edited August 6, 2009 by mrpcar

[Loren]

Anyone know the torque spec. for the 13mm strut bolts that holds the strut to the body? And is that the same as the 15mm rear strut?

I found the camber settings to have moved, I guess I didn't torque it down enough.

P.S. I finally figured out how to the front ones on a C4 fairly quick. Each side takes me about 30 minutes.

Should be 24 and 34 ftlb. respectively.

[msracing]

How can i get more camber from the front struts.. i had installed a set of Champion lowering sport springs that lowered the car by 1.5' all around and just had the car aligned

all we were able to get from the front Camber was .9 neg.deg. and for the rear we could only manage to bring in the camber to 2.3 neg deg. if we brought in the rear more we had problem with the the rear toe.

i wanted to get 1.5neg camber in the front and 2.neg in the rear all this mostly so i can track the car.

its a 2003 c2

great site... Regards

Manny Sanchez

2003 c2

speads DSR

wowgreen.net/manny

Edited August 14, 2009 by msracing

[jwkriz]

I just finished the M030 ROW install on my 2001 C2, working alone. I followed drpaulmarsh's excellent procedure, but was curious about the need for pry bars and help from a friend or two... until I got to the last step, inserting the new rear strut. I found I had to simulataneously press down on the wheel hub, while lifting up on the strut to get the bottom mount in place. 'Debated how to do this, when I remembered my son's old door jamb chin-up bar - a few twists, and the mount went right in! :clapping:

[rennwerkes]

I just finished doing the fronts on my 02 996 and strongly suggest removing the calipers. This will allow the shock greater freedom to move around. Otherwise you'll end up stretching the brake lines and slightly bending the brake line mounts.

[erppa]

Anyone know the torque spec. for the 13mm strut bolts that holds the strut to the body? And is that the same as the 15mm rear strut?

I found the camber settings to have moved, I guess I didn't torque it down enough.

P.S. I finally figured out how to the front ones on a C4 fairly quick. Each side takes me about 30 minutes.

What is the trick to remove them fast?

[2300cc]

I am also curious about what the rick is to remove them quickly on a C4 as I am getting ready to do this install myself. Thanks.

Anyone know the torque spec. for the 13mm strut bolts that holds the strut to the body? And is that the same as the 15mm rear strut?

I found the camber settings to have moved, I guess I didn't torque it down enough.

P.S. I finally figured out how to the front ones on a C4 fairly quick. Each side takes me about 30 minutes.

What is the trick to remove them fast?

[Loren]

There is no "fast trick" - the right tools and hoist will go as fast as possible. But you will still need to do an alignment afterward.

[francars]

On the front struts - how do you get the strut out of the wheel well? I tried pushing the arm down, compressed the spring slightly and still stuck on the wheel well almost close to the fender line but don't want to push harder has I don't want to scrape the fender? Am I doing something wrong here?

BTW - I did not remove the calipers

[2300cc]

I'm preparing to do this job on my car and I have the suspension kit which I ordered form suncoast. it is for a 2003 C4, the M030 struts do not have spring perches are the aluminum ones on the car supposed to be resued? Thanks.

[Optical TDI]

Does PSM need to be recalibrated and does anything need to be done to the steering rack? If so, how is the PSM done? I assume the alignment will take care of the rest.

[Loren]

Best to check the steering angle sensor after any suspension work. Easily done with Durametric, a PS2, or PIWIS tester.

[coleta]

Anybody know what type of spring compressor is being used in this DIY? It's nice. Or can someone recommend one, maybe post pics of tool? Thanks

[jamesanderson84]

I am considering doing the swap to the RoW M030.

Are there any other parts of the suspension that make sense to swap out at the same time?

My 2000 C4 has about 72K miles on what I believe is the original suspension.

I'd rather not strip the suspension out twice - so would prefer to change anything that is likely to be marginal at the same time.

Thanks in advance.

[Loren]

I am considering doing the swap to the RoW M030.

Are there any other parts of the suspension that make sense to swap out at the same time?

My 2000 C4 has about 72K miles on what I believe is the original suspension.

I'd rather not strip the suspension out twice - so would prefer to change anything that is likely to be marginal at the same time.

Thanks in advance.

When you buy the kit you get any changed parts including swaybars.

[02tx996cab]

I just completed installation of the M030 RoW suspension (plus new rear dogbones and engine protection plate) on my 2002 996 C2 Cab. The collective wisdom in this thread gave me the confidence to tackle this myself--my sincere thanks to all who've contributed before me.

A few tips for anyone doing this on their Cab:

1. Access to the upper mounting points for the rear shocks is via the compartment where the soft top folds away (behind the rear seats). The instructions in the "Cabrio Top Hydraulic Fluid Step by Step" thread () are excellent for showing how to gain access to them. The nuts are under some black foam, conveniently pre-slitted at all the right places to make access to them a breeze.

2. You definitely want to mark the upper rear mounting point locations before loosening the nuts, since two of them on each side also secure the aluminum braces for what appears to be the rollover protection system (see the second picture in step 5 of the above-referenced article). These braces will likely shift when the nuts are undone.

3. I found that I needed an assortment of 15mm sockets (regular and deep), a short extention and a universal fitting to get onto all three upper rear nuts securely. Each nut had its own special combination of these items to get the job done right.

4. When I pulled out the first front strut I found that the bump stop, which is supposed to be reused, was shot and needed replacing. Ditto for the one on the other side. Lesson learned--visually inspect these items before beginning work, and buy new ones if you need them...I didn't, and none were available locally so I ordered two of them "next day air" for what turned out to be very little more than what the local dealer wanted for just one.

5. Replacing the front stabilizer is an exercise in disassembling lots of bits to get access to actually do the replacement. The rear is simple, 15 minutes tops.

To answer Coleta's question in post #47...the spring compressor appears to be a Sears one. That's where I purchased mine, which looks identical to that shown in the DIY procedure. It worked very well.

Overall the whole job probably took me 10-12 hours, which was all done solo and using jackstands. It was my first time tackling any of this kind of work (on any car), and I took things very slowly and carefully. Others' estimates of around 4-6 hours are definitely doable for someone with experience.

Edited August 14, 2011 by 02tx996cab