[sorbs]

Well, I bought in on the group purchase for the Hotchkis TVS stage 1. This forum is costing me (in a good way, thank you :bling: ). Cheaper than new tires!

Anyway, I'm wondering who else have done this mod and would like to get their impressions. I know HEMEE loves it and I am looking forward to eliminating the roll around corners.

Let me know what I'm in for and how much you paid to have it installed.

Thanks!

Sorbs

 

[sorbs]

Well, I bought in on the group purchase for the Hotchkis TVS stage 1. This forum is costing me (in a good way, thank you :bling: ). Cheaper than new tires!

Anyway, I'm wondering who else have done this mod and would like to get their impressions. I know HEMEE loves it and I am looking forward to eliminating the roll around corners.

Let me know what I'm in for and how much you paid to have it installed.

Thanks!

Sorbs

Since I didn't hear from anyone on this I might as well let myself know what my impressions are after installation.

Now I'm still on the OEM Contis...and they aren't bad. Yep, they hold the road in the rain (pouring today) and feel tight in the twistys.

Body roll is minimal now where before it felt like in tight corners getting rolled off three foot swells. Did I mention it was raining and I'm still using the stock Contis?

Now I live on a very winding road. Lots of S turns and hairpins on Salmon Falls which is east of Sacramento. If you ride street bikes it is a pretty famous trek. Anyway, since I bought my C the one complaint has been my tires...I stand corrected. Suspension first, tires second. Now that the suspension is fixed my tires aren't so bad. Believe me, I'm putting 20" wheels on with decent rubber but now I'm not in such a hurry.

Now the best part. Coming back from Big O, where the parts were installed, I picked up a tail. A 1999 silver M3 coupe. In the past I wouldn't have been able to keep him off my bumper. Today? Let's just say he couldn't get near me and on the straights he was toast. Did I mention it was raining?

Ride is not stiff. Not a lot different than stock. Cornering and steering wheel control is improved tremendously. Off the scale. The ESP rarely kicks in, even on wet roads.

This is a must have mod. This is the TVS stage 1 I received off the group buy from Tbryne (thank you!) and installation was $350 with an alignment. Total outlay is cheaper than new tires on stock rims. :banana: :banana: :banana:

 

[HEMEEE]

Yay sorbs, :arms: I feel the love! :smlove2:
Looks great too, so let's see some pics!! :flowers1:

 

[sorbs]

Yay sorbs, :arms: I feel the love! :smlove2:
Looks great too, so let's see some pics!! :flowers1:

It is pretty dark out here but I have a couple..tomorrow I will have b4 and after shots...as you know Linda this is awesome! :friday: no flames, I know it is dirty.

 

[Northern Rider]

Thanks for the great write-up, sorbs. Gobbled an M3 on the twisties! Good perspective on the TVS 1 suspension mod.

I can add a little insight to the tire aspect. My suspension is still stock. I did a day of track lapping last June on the Continentals. Despite the OEM tires, the body roll and the lack of steering precision, the car still got around quickly - mainly on good weight distribution, smooth transitions, good brakes and gobs of torque.

I went back to the same track in October - this time with 255/55/18 BFG KDW2's - a max performance summer tire. My times were improved significantly and the steering felt more precise.

The Hotchkiss sway bars seem to be a "must do" for those wanting better handling out of an already decent package.

 

[sorbs]

Thanks for the great write-up, sorbs. Gobbled an M3 on the twisties! Good perspective on the TVS 1 suspension mod.

I can add a little insight to the tire aspect. My suspension is still stock. I did a day of track lapping last June on the Continentals. Despite the OEM tires, the body roll and the lack of steering precision, the car still got around quickly - mainly on good weight distribution, smooth transitions, good brakes and gobs of torque.

I went back to the same track in October - this time with 255/55/18 BFG KDW2's - a max performance summer tire. My times were improved significantly and the steering felt more precise.

The Hotchkiss sway bars seem to be a "must do" for those wanting better handling out of an already decent package.

Nice track day at Mount Tremblant! Very nice write up.

I'm going to burn these Contis and look into the BFGs. Meister also made recommendation for replacement rubber.

 

[HEMEEE]

It is pretty dark out here but I have a couple..tomorrow I will have b4 and after shots...as you know Linda this is awesome! :friday: no flames, I know it is dirty.

Looks good so far sorbs, I'll be looking for the B4 and afters... but for the record, I like your dirty pics! :wink1: :newangel:

 

[fatchance]

I've always said this is a great set up for those who want to clean it up. Thanks for the write up. We've got a couple of lxforum members getting ready to do this install. I will PM and link your write up to them.

 

[HEMEEE]

Uh-oh, company's comin'!! Does that mean I have to clean up my dirty pics comment? :silly:

 

[Tmagnum]

Here's company!!! :wave: Hehehe

Thanks for the right up sorbs it's really very refreshing to know that I made the right decision.

I and another Magnum friend, OzzieGuy, both bought our TVS kits at the recent Hotchkis Open House and as Vinny would say; "We gotta deal we couldn't refuse". I haven't got the system installed yet as the shop that Hotchkis referred us to is waiting for a tech to come out and re-calibrate their allignment bay.

After reading your post I can't wait. Hopefully sometime next week. I'll post an update after the install.

 

[HEMEEE]

Here's company!!! :wave: Hehehe

Thanks for the right up sorbs it's really very refreshing to know that I made the right decision.

I and another Magnum friend, OzzieGuy, both bought our TVS kits at the recent Hotchkis Open House and as Vinny would say; "We gotta deal we couldn't refuse". I haven't got the system installed yet as the shop that Hotchkis referred us to is waiting for a tech to come out and re-calibrate their allignment bay.

After reading your post I can't wait. Hopefully sometime next week. I'll post an update after the install.

You're not company Tom, you're family... even if you don't visit much, ya don't write much, ya don't call... but hey, that's another story! Glad to hear you guys got the Hotchkis kits too, hopefully you'll both have them installed before the January meet. (Which reminds me, I still need to email you guys about the committee meeting on the 8th, but that too is another story :wink1: ) So just in case you didn't see it, I did a write-up as well and so did FastEd ... a little more reading to whet your appetite before the install and to go along with the next set of pics that sorbs is gonna post for us.

We'll look forward to your update!

 

[joey]

Guess I'll ask here.

My opinion of the stock 300c ride is a lot of road shock gets transmitted to the cabin. I feel like I am tossed out of my seat when driving over road imperfections/humps in the road. No other car I have ever driven feels this way.

I am looking for a modification that will get rid of this road shock.
I want a much better feel for the road, where the wheel will keep contact with the road when driving over bumps.
It feels like the wheels are bouncing over bumps, which gets mostly transmitted to the cabin.

Do any of these mods, Coils/Sway Bars fix the bouncy shock ridden ride?

 

[HEMEEE]

Guess I'll ask here.

My opinion of the stock 300c ride is a lot of road shock gets transmitted to the cabin. I feel like I am tossed out of my seat when driving over road imperfections/humps in the road. No other car I have ever driven feels this way.

I am looking for a modification that will get rid of this road shock.
I want a much better feel for the road, where the wheel will keep contact with the road when driving over bumps.
It feels like the wheels are bouncing over bumps, which gets mostly transmitted to the cabin.

Do any of these mods, Coils/Sway Bars fix the bouncy shock ridden ride?

Joey, firstly if you feel the wheels are losing contact with the road, be sure your tire pressure is not too high.
Barring that, most definitely yes... the TVS kit will help, especially the larger anti-sway bars, which will address wheel hop or lift, rear break-away, body roll, wandering and high speed instability.

(...and did I mention it looks great too?)

 

[sorbs]

Guess I'll ask here.

My opinion of the stock 300c ride is a lot of road shock gets transmitted to the cabin. I feel like I am tossed out of my seat when driving over road imperfections/humps in the road. No other car I have ever driven feels this way.

I am looking for a modification that will get rid of this road shock.
I want a much better feel for the road, where the wheel will keep contact with the road when driving over bumps.
It feels like the wheels are bouncing over bumps, which gets mostly transmitted to the cabin.

Do any of these mods, Coils/Sway Bars fix the bouncy shock ridden ride?

Hi joey, over railroad tracks or whoops in the road I would feel loose. Haven't been over tracks yet but there is a couple of whoops on a nice 80MPH straight on my way home that in the past made me feel not in total control. Not anymore! Also, I used to bottom out coming through this particular patch of road. Not anymore. It is like a new car and I didn't lose the supple ride quality either.

Something of note about this kit. The hood and trunk are now level. No more rake at the tail.

 

[Tmagnum]

Thanks HEMEEE, I got all misty eyed. With the group of LX's we've all come to meet it truley does feel like family.

I read your write up and again I truley feel comfortable with my choice and decision. I too had a lot of questions while at their open house and of course my biggest concern was losing the ride I enjoy now. After all the car does weigh 4300 friggin pounds. But they assured me, and by these two write ups, it's obviously true.

Pics coming as soon as the install is done, hopefully next week sometime.

 

[joey]

Thanks for the feedback Hemee and Sorbs. After posting my question, I did some forum searching/reading and have decided to first buy the sway bars and see how they feel. I will be ordering the sway bars today. Big-O tires says they will install them for $100.
But I don't have high hopes this will significantly reduce the jarring/bouncy ride, so my next step will probably have to be the KW Coilover Kit with dampers. I am not looking to lower the car, just trying to get a better handling car. If I do lower it, probably not more than 1/2" to 3/4". I got enough trouble scraping bottom today, and hitting curbs.

 

[Meister]

Since I didn't hear from anyone on this I might as well let myself know what my impressions are after installation...

Great read, sorbs! - both highly enjoyable and informative.

You've just prompted me to not wait for coilovers to install the Hotchkis anti-sways. I'll then be able to report on the individual differences each mod makes.

(That's my excuse; the real reason is I've got a date with some twisties that will no longer wait after reading your M3 account. )

 

[HEMEEE]

Great read, sorbs! - both highly enjoyable and informative.

You've just prompted me to not wait for coilovers to install the Hotchkis anti-sways. I'll then be able to report on the individual differences each mod makes.

(That's my excuse; the real reason is I've got a date with some twisties that will no longer wait after reading your M3 account. )

Sheeesh... been touting this since August, some of you are so hard to convince... prolly cuz I'm just a dumb ol' girl or sumthin' :nana:

Okay kidding (kinda), but it will be cool to have an analysis broken down by component, thanks Slick!

 

[sorbs]

Sheeesh... been touting this since August, some of you are so hard to convince... prolly cuz I'm just a dumb ol' girl or sumthin' :nana:

Okay kidding (kinda), but it will be cool to have an analysis broken down by component, thanks Slick!

I listened! Glad I did too. This is a must have upgrade. Not sure about the KWs since I won't be on a track riding this regularly but for around town I can't express what an upgrade this is. Completely different vehicle now. :banana: :banana: :banana:

Go here if you want to see a moving transition of the metamorphosis...with music! http://homepage.mac.com/sorbs/iMovieTheater53.html you'll need QuickTime to view it.

 

[lmhoward]

I'm sold since august Hemee, but my Sweetee is NOT. Perhaps a stealth installation is the way to go. While I dream of going all the way, TVS 1 is what would satisify my driving desires. Let me say the group buys are testing my mettle. I'm getting weaker all the time. Supporting vendors, look for me in the near future. It will be easier to justify a little routine suspension maintainence (sic) over headers, don't you think?