Ride height and M030 spring questions

[Andrew Howell]

My 2001 Boxster S appears to have the standard suspension installed and I'd like to upgrade to some M030 parts but when I measure my ride height, my car seems much lower than I expected.  I used the factory measuring points and specs listed here:

http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-racing-forum/66183-ride-height.html

 

The front of my car appears to be about 120mm from the ground and the rear is around 133mm and my car is on the 18" turbo twist wheels.  According to the specs from the link above, the standard suspension should be closer to 150mm.

 

I have confirmed that the struts are the standard (not sport) part numbers (986.343.041.20 for the front and 986.333.051.20 for the rear) but the front springs have a blue and white marking on them, which I'm having a hard time identifying.  They appear to be this model from Pelican: https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_Info/98634353118504.htm?pn=986-343-531-18-504-OEM&SVSVSI=785&DID=6869

 

My questions are: 

-Why is my ride height so low compared to the factory specs?

-What are the springs installed on my car?  Are they the standard or sport springs?

-Can I use these springs with the M030 US struts?  

 

[Loren]

What size wheels are you running?

Are you measuring from the chassis points as shown in the factory workbook pages that were posted?

[Andrew Howell]

Hi Loren,

 

I'm running the 18" turbo twist wheels.  Yes, I'm measuring from the points listed in the factory workbook pages that I linked.  

[Loren]

Blue/white marking are stock springs.

 

For factory Sport Suspension you will need new springs, stuts, and swaybars.

RoW Sport Suspension Package for 3.2S 6 speed - Carnewal

WWW.CARNEWAL.COM

 

[Andrew Howell]

Thank you for the reply, Loren.  That makes sense but the low ride height was confusing me.  I wonder why the car appears to be so low on the stock springs?  Perhaps I'm making an error when measuring.  I'll try and get a pic of my measuring points in the next few days just to confirm.  

 

I have a set of US M030 struts and the front US M030 sway bar that I was thinking/hoping to use.  I was considering leaving the standard rear sway bar installed.  The car is mostly used for autocross so I'm thinking a softer rear sway bar might help with some extra rear grip, which can be an issue on tight courses.  

 

Is it critical to get the US M030 springs to use with the US M030 struts or would it be okay to run these standard springs?  Especially since the car seems to be so low already.  I imagine the US M030 springs are a bit stiffer but I want to avoid lowering the car much more than it already is if I can.  Would the stock springs be too soft for the US M030 struts?  I don't want to make the car bottom out too much or cause excessive wear to the strut.  Just trying to explore all my options.  

Edited December 30, 2025 by Andrew Howell
typo

[Loren]

Chances are your 20 plus year springs have softened and are already sagging a bit.

Springs, swaybars and struts are a matched set - I would not mix them as you could produce unstable handling. Especially if you track the car. RoW 030 is fine for street and most track driving - you just have to be careful of large speed bumps on the street.

PSS-9 (adjustable) Coilovers can supply suspension tuning and even lower for track days - but you would definitely want to raise it up for street.

 

[Andrew Howell]

I'm surprised that the springs would sag that much over time but perhaps you are right, it's the only explanation that makes sense.  Just to confirm that I'm not making an error in my measurements, I've attached a pic of the front measuring point on my car.  It shows that the head of the bolt is right about 4.75 inches from the ground, or around 120mm.  Can you confirm that I'm measuring the height correctly or not?

 

I'll try and source some US M030 springs to go with the struts but I wasn't having a ton of luck finding them online.  Thanks again, Loren.  I really appreciate your input!  

[Loren]

Remember the new ride height will be 10 mm lower than the stock height - plus the springs, struts and swaybars will all be firmer than the stock items.

As I said before another option PSS-9 (adjustable) Coilovers - likely easier to find as either OEM or aftermarket.

[Andrew Howell]

The factory specs say that my car should be around 150mm tall with the current springs but you can see from the picture that its sitting at 120mm right now.  So maybe a fresh set of US M030 springs will actually raise my car by 10-20mm?  I hope so.  I don't want it to be any lower.  

 

The PSS-9 are out of my price range and would also push my car out of the factory optioned class with PCA.  I did just find some US M030 springs so I'll update the thread in a few weeks when I get them installed and we will see how the ride height changes.  Again, thanks for the input!