9-3 suspension

[Markh]

Just looking into improving the drive of my 1999 9-3 SE, am I right in assuming that Koni's are the best option to sharpen up the drive of my car, still on original shocks at 135k

[aeropilot]

Koni's on their own without doing anything else wouldn't be a good move, would be better just replacing with new OEM dampers.

Bear in mind that at that mileage the rubber bushes in the suspension maybe past their best as well, unless, they have been replaced already?

If you fit Koni's you really need to fit matched springs with them too, they won't work so well with tired and original springs.

If it's sharpeness you won't without compromising your ride quality, I'd be tempted to fit new standard OEM dampers, renew bushes if neccessary, and then fit the Abbott Racing Viggen Rescue kit instead, which will drastically improve the steering response and feel.

[Prof Beard]

I have a 22mm anti-roll bar on the back of my Aero. It has made a drammatic improvement to the handling, and has much reduced torque
steer.

[900T-R]

Yep - uprated rear anti-roll bar and upgraded wishbone bushing (the lower suspension arm of the strut constists of two separate 'legs' held together by a rubber 'donut' )/steering rack clamp (the rack is bolted to the firewall using a stamped sheetmetal bracket ) as included in Abbott's VRK (but available in similar form from other sources, too) are pretty much essential on these.

Apart from that, personally I'd do uprated shocks (look for monotube designs designed as upgraded OEM< raplacements from Koni/Bilstein et al rather than 100-way adjustable racing shocks) before springs to get better body control without any negative effects.

Edited by 900T-R on Wednesday 9th April 09:39