For me, I have some clear roads where I can take the car up to speed without overly worrying about tickets. So I went with the exhaust and ECU first. It's a real thrill everytime I stomp on it. I just wouldn't get that with a suspension and my driving habits. The stock suspension works fine for my purposes so it's all about what you personally want out of the experience. If you're more or less a "normal" driver, I think if you do the suspension first, you will want the ECU upgrade asap especially to go with your suspension, whereas if you do the ECU first, it will satisfy you for a while.

 

I agree suspension 1st it seems to have enough power for me right now ,i want to ease into the power upgrades i did wheels and tires for round 1 and having suspension and exhaust and cold air intake done right now for round 2 next for round 3 for me probably some interior goodies then ecu last ,good luck.

 

Cann, spot on.....this is exactly how I feel and even with Sport mode on the issues with the handling are still present. Are the Damptronics enough? Are sways also needed? drop links? I don't plan on ever tracking the car, I just want a sharper more stable TT.

 

I did engine mods first and if I was to do it again, I would definitely do suspension first as well.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by nyamg

Can, spot on.....this is exactly how I feel and even with Sport mode on the issues with the handling are still present. Are the Damptronics enough? Are sways also needed? drop links? I don't plan on ever tracking the car, I just want a sharper more stable TT.

I have suffered as well and know all the "symptoms" . Anyway <link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CCANPHA%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5 Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <wontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]-->I guess that thread in my signature has too much random rambling to be useful anymore LOL. To answer your questions: To decide what needs to be done, you probably want to know which part of Turbo’s handling bothers you the most. IMHO the Turbo as set up from the factory has 4 problems:
1. Soft spring (squat, dive, ponderous)
2. Understeer (car keeps pointing straight as you enter corner)
3. Lazy steering (try jiggling steering wheel back & forth on freeway, the car lags – GT2 vastly superior)
4. Poor turn in response (the rear doesn’t “rotate” well in corner)
Problem 1 is taken care of by after-market coilover. 2-4 could be dealt with by alignment changes.
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To correct the above problems, I would suggest the following approach (This is surely not the only way, or the one “correct” way; it’s just my opinion so modify as necessary.):
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Step One;
Hardware change: Replace coilover with something stiffer – I use Bilstein Damptronic (OEM supplier for stock 997).
Hardware change: Replace stock sway with something stiffer – I use GMG – and set it in the middle setting front and rear. http://www.gmgracing.com/porsche_suspension.shtml
Alignment change: Increase front camber to about minus 1.2 degree (this takes care of the understeer).
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Drive this car for a couple months. Then if you like to do more:
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Step Two:
Hardware change: Replace stock drop link with Tarett drop link. http://www.tarett.com/items/996-997-products/list.htm
Alignment change: Very slight toe out of minus 2 minutes (this takes care of the lazy steering and poor turn-in response).
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Keep in mind my bias is that I use the car as a daily driver, don’t track, & despite of much “talking,” my goal is to make the least number of changes possible. The reason is that any change that makes the car stiffer or "sportier" will most likely take away from its usefulness as a daily driver.
I’ve found the sway bar effect to be very subtle: A little tightening of steering and chassis. What it does cause is stiffer ride, especially in the hard setting of the rear sway.
Not everyone uses Tarett drop link. I do because it makes the car feel less "rubbery/springy" to me. It enhances the effect of the sway bar, but does make the car stiffer. With Tarett, I would use the soft setting of the rear GMG sway.
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With all these changes, I now consider the Turbo to be an un-matched daily driver: Comfortable enough in LA traffic, yet extremely aggressive & agile when situations call for. I recently took a test drive of a number of exotic cars (Ferrari F430, Lambo Gallardo, Corvette, Ford GT, Viper) and the modified Turbo yields very little to any of these fantastic cars & in fact IMO a modded Turbo would rank at or near the top in the following critical parameters: chassis/road feedback and steering response. (Where does it rank first? PCCB brake, torrential power and torque – although must admit Lambo V10 is at least as amazing and more natural, sitting position & outward visibility – no other car comes remotely close. Just my 2 cents YMMV.)