Testimonials

Posted by threeOh

Finally had the X74 installed on our '04 40th Anniversary. My wife and I did our normal 400 mile loop and here's some comments after 550 miles on the suspension. The drive consists of back roads through the center of Florida, highway and urban areas.

The best summary I can make is the car feels like it shed 300 pounds. For us, with the exception of ride height (which is more a function of the P96's front-end overhang than the ride height), this should be the stock P96 sport suspension.

Handling: Given that the limits of the car have increased to the point public roads can no longer surface any weaknesses, here's all I can say. Compared to the stock US sport suspension and alignment, the handling is vastly improved. Some noticeable changes: 1), the front end now feels like its part of the car. Fore and aft balance is much better. All floating is gone and at speeds up to 120 the car feels lighter but effortlessly glued to the road. 2), tracks and points much better. In curves there's no longer any waiting for the front-end to respond. 3), much more responsive to throttle, braking and throttle steering. 4), vastly improved composure in any curve we can find in Florida. 4), a much simpler car to drive. My wife said "less nervous and just feels like it knows exactly what you want it to do and does it". All nonessential body dynamics are gone. When you get on it or brake, the car responds, no lift, no hunkering down, it simply goes where you want it to go. On the highway its lovely: no float, tram-lining is way down, the car is no longer affected by side winds and there's no more constant attention to steering corrections. Champion did the install in their Motorsports group and bumped the tire pressures up to 35f/40r from our 32f/36r psi. At this point I'm in no mood to experiment.

Ride Quality: My wife says firmer but much better controlled. I say 95% of the time its less harsh (yes, less) that the stock suspension. There are absolutely no abrupt transitions or any feeling of the car being high strung. The control is smooth and any firmness is so well integrated its simply a joy to experience. The improved control and substantially reduced body dynamics make it a pleasure around town or on the highway. The bump stops do come sooner. I've intentionally bottomed it once on an abrupt bridge I know of. Its a harsh stop but so was stock. The car is at all times smooth and a pleasure to drive. We have no reservations about the X74's suitability for the street or any desire for improved ride characteristics. I have heard a comment about the X74 oscillating on certain road surfaces. This did happen once for maybe a half mile. Its subtle and a non-issue for me.

Ride height: After 550 miles, the car now sits at 25" front and 25.5" rear. That's a 1.1" drop at both ends. There was a GT3 sitting next to the car when I picked it up. Using a pack of cigarettes as a reference, the chin spoiler sits a tad lower than the GT3's spoiler. I expected problems. When bottoming the car nose down, no contact other than I could hear the rubber that sits behind the front tires rub a bit. Taken straight on, steep driveways are a problem. Using a little bit of common sense took care of this issue. Getting in and out of the car is the same. Looks was not one of my criteria. It was with Monica. Neither one of us can see any difference but the car now looks right. Having said that, the car feels and appears smaller. Combined with the lighter feel, this was an unexpected bonus.

Cost: Installed with an engine plate, $2,800. Given the results, the cost is irrelevant.

Source: Carnewal for parts, Champion Motorsports for the install. Both get nothing but high marks.

Posted by mb996

I just had the x74 installed on my '03 C2 about 1 month ago (also bought from Gert). I had the same reservations about the RoW M030 and decided to chance the X74.

I agree with orlando_deke - it is perfect. It transforms the car. There is virtually no body roll, no lift on aggressive acceleration, little to no understeer. It is that good. It is firm but not punishing. You notice the firmness on sharp transitions (say, driving over your garage lip). And yes more shock is transmitted to the cabin. But it is not harsh.

The parts are very beefy, the stock rollbars in particular looked pretty wimpy in comparison.

I have never driven a C2 with RoW M030 nor a GT3 so I can not make any comparisons there.

As far as measurements - the car height measured from the ground to the highest point of the fender (approx the center line of each axle) is between 25 3/8" to 25 1/2".

I don't understand the angst over the x74 as a "daily driver." Unless you are used to a Lexus there is no issue with firmness that I have found. I have had no problem going over speedbumps at a reasonable speed. In fact due to the increased firmness there is little risk of bottoming out. Of course you can't pull up in a parking space with a curb stop. But if you are reasonably careful I don't think there is an issue.

Another possible downside is you have to be more careful going over road debris (for me, about 3/4" less clearance than before).

Posted by orlando_deke

I have the X74 and absolutely love it. No issue with warranty as it is factory.
The ride hide is very GT3 like (25 1/4 - 25 1/2) and still not completely settled out.
I absolutely love it.
The car feels like it is on rails. The car was at the Orlando gathering this past weekend (02 Carrera Coupe - Silver).
You will not be dissapointed. Make sure you get the engine protection plate.

Posted by ZX7R

Go for the X74 setup - I love it.
The 030 setup just did not lower my car enough as far as I was concerned. When you look at the springs on the X74 kit and compare them with the 030 setup, they are way more progressive, thicker and much, much shorter in length. I assume that the damping rates for the X74 are higher as well to match the much shorter thicker springs.

In no way is it harsh or bone jarring. No problems as an every day setup and this setup suits the track fine without having to readjust the suspension. The X74 removes a lot of the understeer that is present on a stock car and the other thing I really noticed was the virtual ellimination of any body roll which really helps as the car is turned into a corner.

In fact before I purchased the X74 setup I was a little concerned due to not many people having this setup and I did not get a great deal of feedback from the forums in respect to the ride qualities of this setup.

Anyway I decided to go for it anyway as I wanted the lower ride height and in the end was very surprised at how compliant the ride is. Sure its a firmer ride but the improvement in handling is immediately apparent and I was impressed at how the damping setup with the X74 kit does not produce a harsh ride.

If you do not require the adjustability that other kits provide, you can't go wrong with the X74 package - basically its set and forget. I did not require the adjustability and the hassle of getting the car realigned every time after an adjustment on the suspension and as I wanted to take the car out on the track a couple a times in the year the X74 was a good choice for me.

Even my wife thinks the ride is smooth and when I am driving over reasonably good roads most first timers in my car do not really notice the firmer ride until I mention it and then they tend to say - "Oh yeh its firmer compared to my car". No one has shouted "Quick get me out of this car as my ass is aching already"

Posted by testdrv321

I just got my car back from the dealer. The X74 is awesome. I had the dealer install in and GT3 sway bars with TRG drop links in my '03 C2.
The car handles like its on rails.
It accelerates and stops better due to the improved weight transfer and the ride is suprisingly good, definitely no worse than the US 030 which I had previously. The car also looks much better sitting 40mm lower. Its about the same height my 99 was with H&R springs so I do have to be careful on driveways and the car wash is out of the question, but it is worth it in my opinion. There is only one downside... I won't get it onto the track till the spring :-(

Remeber that the US cars are all the same height, which is 10mm higher than ROW standard.
If the X74 is 30mm lower than ROW standard, that is 30+10=40 mm lower than US height.

The car with the excessive US ride height did a tremendous amount of lift and bow when accelerating and braking. This is all wasted motion and effort. When you accelerate or brake hard, the moment of the car is transfered more quickly to the tires resulting in a better ability to brake and accelerate. How much is another question. I must admit that it may be more felt that anything truly gained. Maybe under testing it would prove to stop 1 foot faster and 1/100 faster accel to 60. Without testing we will never know. Drive a US spec car with the stock suspension and you will feel what I did. It spends too much time moving the body around and it has to effect the accel/deccel.

I went with the GT3 bars because I wanted some adjustability to set up the under/over steer of the car. I am sure the car would handle excellent with the stock X74/sport bars, but I use the car for both track and auto-x and wanted some flexibility to adjust it. I considered coilovers, almost got the cup car parts, but figured that would simply be too much. Now I have a excellent suspension with a little adjustability to dial it the way I want it. This is the same reason that there are hundreds of people running the ROW030 with GT3 bars. A touch of adjustability without going overboard.