anyone with PSS9 can chime in? difference between PSS9 and regular MR suspension? thanks

 

1. Height adjustable.
2. Adjustable dampening levels.
3. Lighter weight than OEM.
4. Uses OEM strut and shock mounts.
5. Less body roll.

 

ive got the Pss9's on my 03 evo8 & a friend of mine has a 9 MR, between driving on the track (Streets of Willow) & local roads id say.............

the softer spring rate of the MR struts is more compliant over irregularities than the pss9's so a pothole on one wheel is less noticable/upsetting to the car unfortunatly less spring rate also means more body lean & less response/feedback

at the limit the Pss9's have a more neutral feel as opposed to the understeer bias of the OEM MR struts (tire pressure aside)

using the valving on the pss9's, you can get close to the comfort of the MR struts, but the car will be more bouncy over very large bumps, probably due to the ratio of a higher spring rate with less valving. the ability to stiffen up the dampening & rebound makes the PSS9's much more responsive to small inputs & corrections than the MR Struts which really shines at the track

overall id say the Pss9's are a great Street coilover, the inability to adjust height seperatly from rebound can be a pain come cornerbalancing time, but it seems the helper springs keep preload in check so the ride can be either suprisingly BMW/Porsche like for street/freeway cruising & with a few clicks they become a noticable upgrade over stock GSR & MR Struts with enough adjustment left to make them more than stiff enough

personally im very happy with them as an upgrade over my 03 GSR's stock struts as they blow the OEM suspension away in every aspect & i feel confident in saying that they are an upgrade over the MR struts in every aspect except maybe comfort & compliance to road irregularities

edit... the lack of camber plates for the front can be a pain as it seems the shaft or nut Dia is diffrent for the pss9's opposed to other coilover manufacturers..... personally id like to get some as i wouldnt mind a bit more camber, ive heard the plates can be modified to work, but im unfamiliar with whats reuired, perhaps someone else can chime in here?

 

Charlie
would you say at the softest setting on the PSS9 still less compliant than MR bilsteins?

 

I would, but both them will feel worlds better then stock EVO8. The PSS9's are very Porsche/BMW like in feel. I like them better, because of the stiffer spring rates and height adjustablilty, but the MR Bilsteins with a good spring is tough to beat for the price.


- Andrew

 

if you set the Pss9's to the the softest setting they have less dampening than the MR struts, but with a higher springrate so over small bumps/expansion joints it is actually softer than the MR. but due to the higher spring rate with less dampening, if you hit a large bump or rolling section of freeway that is capable of moving the whole car, the car will bounce or pogo slightly longer compared to the MR Struts

 

A little off topic, but ... Andrew, does GTWORX/Racecomp Engineering, or anyone you know, have any experience with the Ralliart/Bilstein coilover offered by Mitsubishi? The ~$3800 set I'm talking about. Just curious as you guys seem to have tons of experience with many different brands/types of suspension. And this is one setup I never hear anything about. Thanks

 

Not first hand unfortunately, but from what I've heard they are fantastic. Stiffer then the PSS9's but with a very similar feel.

I'd love to get my hands on them, but for $3800 I wish they'd be double adjustable.


- Andrew

 

quick question, are the pss9 fronts monotube?

 

yes

 

i'm not going to be as eloquent as charlieg on the topic, but i've had my pss9's on for almost a week now.

up front, you will notice that the high-speed damping on these is far superior to the stockers. small ridges and seams that i used to tense up before hitting are no longer noticeable.

i have noticed some of the pogo-ing or lunging that charlie describes on the larger bumps. i was able to dial some of that out by going a bit softer on the rear damping.

overall, they've been a HUGE improvement over the stock 05 suspension as far as ride goes. i still need to get the alignment done, so i will withhold from any handling comments.

i would recommend these for a street car. in a heartbeat.

--r

 

Congrats on your purchase solomrus, I would love to check out how they feel in person since I'm in the neighborhood ...

 

I have MR suspension with eibach springs and I was impressed with how well the car handled at Dallas MSR this weekend... but I'm not professional racer and I also had a set of RT-615s at 255 width.

Edit, prior suspension was stock shocks with hotchkis springs.

 

i just drove the ralliart evo ix that our local dealer has, was the car that was at SEMA this past year etc..

it has the ralliart suspension and it rode excellent. I really enjoyed it... i will get a chance to autocross the car shortly, but on the street with the 18" wheels and tires I absolutely loved it.

cheers

cb