thanks foxy s2k

another think i always think about.. those who want a stiffer suspension only need them while turning. so why do you need them so stiff on straight aways? u dont. so another option would be getting stiffer sway bars. this way wont make it stiff on straight roads like everyday highway driving. but when you need a little stiffer feel around a corner. the sway bars will keep them front compression as much

 

Depends on what you want though. If you never visit a track or autoX, or if you do but don't care much about pushing the envelope, then you really should not "upgrade" your suspension at all. The stock stuff is awesome for road tyres and road conditions. But maybe some just want to lower the car for looks, do corner weighing, or just like the feel of stiffer stuff. PSS9's would be the best all round bet as someone said, as they are said to ride better (smoother) than stock and presumably perform better, but never seen any data to prove that.

 

You're comparing the S to a 5 series? You definitely picked the wrong car...

I'm not sure how the later models are but my 06 has a really nice ride on highways. It's the local roads tend to be the problem.

 

This reminds me of a comment my friend made. He drives an 03 E46 M3 and we swapped cars one afternoon. He gets out and says "This makes my car feel soft and cuddly". Personally, I love it as a daily driver....but everybody has their own preferences.

 

No, you're not at all wrong. There is a county road not far from here that illustrates the situation perfectly. There are a series of very long, high speed (80 mph) sweepers, and at points in every turn, there are little wrinkles in the pavement that run across the road. When you take the turns at speed in a car like a Jag, X-1/9, or even a Lexus, you'll feel the bumps through the steering (except in the case of the Lexus ), but it won't upset the car at all. Even if you are sliding a little, or drifting, the little bumps don't upset the car. Do the same thing in an S2000, or better yet a Camaro, and the little bumps become the limiting factor. With my AP1 (or our old 9C1 Camaro), the back tires will slide sideways a few feet every time they hit one of the bumps. Hahaha, it's actually fun, a total hoot, but a more supple suspension would (and does) deliver more grip over the irregularities.

If all else were equal (and they never are), then softer springs would always be preferred. However, the springs have to support the weight of the car, and also have to be stiff enough to avoid bottoming over the biggest bumps that are anticipated. ROLL STIFFNESS is somewhat independent of spring stiffness, because you can adjust roll stiffness with anti-sway bars. Softer springs allow the tires to retain better contact with the road, and do not necessarily result in more body roll when cornering.

Shocks come into play during transitions. IOW, they do nothing when the suspension is not moving. They must be stiff enough to control oscillation, and beyond that, they also affect things like turn-in, as well as all the other transitional states.

Anti-sway bars *primarily* affect roll stiffness, but they also reduce the wheel independence, making the ride stiffer under some (common) conditions.

Static and dynamic alignment come in to play as well.

The point I'm trying to make here is that suspension design and tuning isn't trivial, and everything interacts. When you change one compromise, there are side effects. For example ...

My AP1 is harsh, but not "bouncy." If it "bounces," it's because I've hit a big bump, so hard that I've bottomed the suspension. This delivers a heavy jolt, jars the car, hurts my back, upsets me for being so dumb as to have hit the bump, and most definately makes the car "bounce." If I put softer shocks on the car, or softer springs, this would happen more often rather than less often. Now I don't know whether the OP is bottoming out or just doesn't like the firm ride of the car, but if he's bottoming out, the mods he's considering would only make it worse.

I absolutely CANNOT run Knoi Yellows on the front of my car, because they don't have enough compression damping for the spring rates I'm running, given the weight of the supercharger, aftercooler, and mounting bracket. The OEM Showa coil-overs are JUST barely stiff enough to keep me off the bump stops most of the time, and anything softer just wouldn't work (without my going to stiffer springs, increasing the ride height, or both).

I'm not against retuning the suspension or modifying the car to make it suit one's desires, a fact that my car should make pretty obvious, but rather just that I think mods need to be focused, and that there are limits to what is possible.

FWIW, our XJ-40 cornered as flat or flatter than the S2000, and had a MUCH smoother ride than any BMW. OK, that's a very heavy car at 4,040 lbs, but then our old Fiat 128, at under 2,000 lbs, also had a MUCH smoother ride than the S2000, and on really rough roads, it was also MUCH smoother than any BMW. It's not just weight/mass that makes for a supple ride. The amount of avialable suspension travel is also a critical factor (and in short supply with the S2000).

 

His car IS "soft and cuddly."

It's still a great handling car though.

The S2000 brings a pretty unique set of qualities to the table, and was never intended to appeal to everyone.

 

Yeah, they sure are different beasts. Love them both for different reasons!

 

PSS9 Definetly. The day I had these coilovers installed I noticed a smoother ride and better handling. Go figure.

 

lol @ comparing a 5 series to an S2000

 

+2 on PSS9s as the solution