| I love cars and am always looking to mod my cars to make them better or just a little different than when they came down the line. I just can’t leave them alone, no matter how hard I try. With my suspension, I was looking to firm it up a little on my ‘01S and make a fantastic handling car handle just a little bit better. I have some unique demands on the car. I track the car a few days a year at the Streets of Willow. It is certainly not a dedicated track car so a track setup was out. Besides, my wife would never go for such a harsh setup since she occasionally rides with me. Another major consideration is the roads I drive. I am in Southern California, and the freeways are pretty bad in some areas.
Not knowing too much about the geometry of suspensions, I figured I would start with the sport setup from the factory. I figured they might know a thing or two since they built the car in the first place. There are two suspensions I was considering, The USA M030 and ROW (Rest of World) 030. The differences are slight with the main difference being the ride height. The ROW sitting approximately a ½” lower than the stock suspension. I did enough research to know the trade-offs. Lower height meant a lower center of gravity translating to better handling. The downside is the parking stops and driveways that I would have to remember. After weighing it all out, I opted to go all-in and try the ROW 030. I purchased the kit including 4 struts, both sway bars and all the bushings and hardware. I had a shop install it as well as give it a 4-wheel alignment. He was very thorough and asked me what I used the car for. He set the car up for what he called “Aggressive Street.” This was a good balance for street with some track days sprinkled in, according to the installer.
I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but I certainly knew what I was looking for. I expected this suspension to provide better turn-in, decreased body roll and give the car a little firmer feel overall.
When I picked up the car, I could tell it was a little lower than before. I did measure wheel well height before the swap. It dropped about ¼” but just as I had heard, it has dropped almost ½” after a few thousand miles.
Now to the performance… As soon as I drove out of the parking lot after the install, I took some hard, quick turns down the street to make sure the car was all in one piece. It was. I then hit turned it loose on a vacant parking lot. Holy cow, what a difference! As good as the standard suspension is, the ROW030 is that much better. It firms up the car beautifully, but it’s not too firm. It has some moments of harshness over some of the roughest patches of concrete here in SoCal, but soaks up most of them very nicely.
The biggest change with this suspension is the almost non-existent body roll. The ability for the car to change directions quickly goes from fantastic to incredible. Where it really shines is on the track. The larger sway bars and lower center of gravity can really be felt in the corners. The car sticks much better than before. I have a few friends that have Boxsters and they were very impressed with the difference in the feel of the car when tossed from side to side in a frenzy.
I really like it on the track as well. The front doesn’t dip as much as it used to and the car is much flatter around the sharp hairpins. I feel much more confident in the car and it feels like it’s never going to give up grip. I know some of that has to do with the tires but the car feels very stable transitioning from sharp right to hard lefts.
If you are looking to firm up your Boxster’s suspension, lower it a touch (but not too much) and provide better turn-in and feel, you can’t go wrong with this suspension. I am extremely please that I did and would do it again tomorrow.
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