The ride quality is considerably better and I was shocked to find that running lowering springs for only 4 months has caused the rear shocks to leak. I dumped the springs because the rear end of the car was bouncy with any suspension compression like in hard turns. This would cause the rear end to feel very unstable. This was being caused by the under dampening of the stock shocks paired with the lower ride height and stiffer spring rates. I installed an Eibach rear sway bar to remedy this issue and it did keep the rear end more planted and less wobbly. But the ride quality was still less desirable. This was only a band aide.

I chose the H&Rs because I did not want to be slammed and wanted a better than stock handling. The adjustable shock setups were very appealing, but I found no need for adjustable dampening or the additional cost. With the H&Rs I was happy to find that the shocks were the same type of Bilstein shocks as the stock GT2 and GT3s use. This also means they are re-buildable. I had always suspected it, but was not sure. I will test the setup thoroughly and report back my thoughts. One thing that I would suggest to anyone doing a suspension upgrade keeping the stock upper shock mounts is replace the front shock mount bearings. When I installed my lowering springs mine were making noise on bumpy surfaces. I inspected them and they looked okay, but had lots of dirt. I cleaned them and did not find any pitting on the bearings so I greased them and re-installed. This quieted them down for a week. This time I just bought new ones for $50 each. Now the suspension is as quiet as can be. So far I am happy, but I will put some miles on it and report back.

 

funny thing with those upper bearings..The only thing I can think of is that when they coat (galvo/zinc) that is makes the base metal softer and the race the ***** roll in is just trashed. I feel that most guys on the street would not know if you changed the setting on the shocks. now spring rates and sways... For sure they would feel that.

 

Good to see. I am currently in the market for coilovers and am between H&R and KW right now. I don't think I need the adjustability either. How would you say the ride compares to stock? Any bounce?

 

which model H&R coils did you go with? I know they have a few for the 996...

 

Better body roll control minus the harshness. A great compromise between stock and a fully adjustable setup. I am running the street performance setup. Too soft for Competitve track events, but much better than stock shocks and lowering springs. Don't get me wrong, you could track and do well, but not compared to the guys running the JICs and motons.

 

+1 exactly. It's tough to get a good compromise. I like the H&R's.

 

I just did the same thing. I went from h&r springs an stok struts to KW V1's

Can't be happier. I too didn't wanna mess about with all the adjustments. I chose these over h&r because the price was the same and I hear better reviews on kw stuff over h&r

 

I would also like to add that the front strut bearings I replace are updated design. The ones that came on our car come apart and let dirt in. The new ones are one sealed piece. FYI. So the old design is inherently flawed.

 

Thanks for the review/advice.

 

I'm local to you, I hope to see you around. A couple of questions:

1. Which springs did you have on there? Do you have photos of your car with the rideheight on springs alone?
2. What shock/strut combos did you find for this car? I cant seem to find much.
3. Do you have the part number for the front shock mount bearings?
4. where did you have the work done?

Thanks.

 

I'm local to you, I hope to see you around. A couple of questions:

1. Which springs did you have on there? Do you have photos of your car with the rideheight on springs alone?- I will post some later.
2. What shock/strut combos did you find for this car? I cant seem to find much.- the only ones I found were bilsteins, but at ~$1800 for all four, H&R coilovers are a better deal.
3. Do you have the part number for the front shock mount bearings? - will dig them up later.
4. where did you have the work done?- I did the work myself.

 

Congrats very good upgrade

 

+1 on part numbers for the bearings.

 

Strut bearings and part numbers can be found here.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/smart/more_info.cgi?pn=996-343-501-00-M100&catalog_description=Shock%20Bearing%20Plate%2 52

 

thanks... it says quantity required for a 996tt is "1". Shouldnt there be one for each of the front strut mounts, so a total of 2?


do you have a spring compressor? About to do the job this weekend (or sometime soon). Wanna help me out? I can pay you back in ice cold beverages, good food and strippers!