I would constantly read about how when you start modding you can't stop, well it's officially true....first came the 3M and K40 then came the exhaust and now I can't decide if I should get the EVOMSit tune or the Bilstein PSS10's. I'm only doing one right now, the TT definetly needs some tuning in the handling department but all I hear is how crazy the car becomes with the ecu tune......decisions decisions.......all advice is much appreciated.

 

as much as I love my evomsit tune I'd have to say do the suspension first. just make sure the next mod afterrwards is the tune! Dont forget to add sway bars into the equation also.

 

Valentino, I am very happy I did the PSS10. still haven't done an ECU but honestly, with the roads/traffic/cops we have around here it's diffcult to almost impossible to use the car in it's stock form.

It's only my opinion but I think addressing the suspension allows for you to "use" it more than the tune would.

Took a 300 mile round trip drive on Sat. up the Taconic and some great back roads upstate and had a blast.

If i keep the car I will definitely do a tune but happy with the decision I made.

 

my car would require me to wear a kidney belt if I did the suspension. The roads are just crappy. Our highways seem to hold up ok, so I went with everything but the suspension. Plus, my car wont creak as much. Every car i did the suspension on creaked like mad.
I don't track the car, so it really depends on what you are going to do with it. I remember before I had a family, I would spend all week detailing my car and then I would spend 2 mins destroying it on the track. Boy those were the days

 

My car already creaks a bit so that's not gonna be an issue, but I must say I'm leaning towards the suspension mod first for a few reasons, some of what E55AMG stated and also the fact that the TT does feel a little loose/jumpy/ponderous around turns at speed.

 

It is light on the nose, just give it more gas

Cargraphic fixed this by increasing tire size upfront, I guess the slightly wider tires helped out. Sport setting is plenty stiff, the front end lift isn't a suspension issue IMO.

 

I would get the suspension dialed in first. The 997 Turbo's nose tends to get light under hard acceleration. To be honest, the car has a lot of power already. It should be enough to hold you over while you work on the suspension. By doing it this way, the "infrastructure" of the chassis will be set up to handle the extra power. If you go the way of coil overs and chassis bracing, you'll have more than enough chassis rigidity to handle any kind of power you throw at her.

 

+1. In fact I would (humbly of course ) question any tuner who recommends more power in the Turbo before the suspension is firmed up.

There are 2 inherent problems with the Turbo.

1. First the springs are too soft. This is the cause of the dive (braking), squat (nose up with acceleration), and overall Lexus like ponderous character.

2. Second, the alignment as set up from the factory causes very poor turn-in response and extreme understeer. If you drive a GT2 or any RWD 997 this should become immediately clear. This is when you go into a corner and the car just wants to point straight.

So 2 very simple steps would guarantee to TRANSFORM the way your car feels: After market coilover like Bilstein or KW, etc., and a re-alignment to have more front camber.

BTW, the Cargraphic's solution of increasing front tire width has nothing to do with the loose character of the car. It is to reduce understeer -- number 2 above. Most of us accomplish the same by increasing front negative camber and some of us introduce minimum FRONT toe out.

 

Btw, once you install an after-market coilover, the car will feel much more aggressive, subjectively faster and more agile, & you might not feel as much the need for more power.

In my case, before I installed the Bilstein, 2 things I used to do that in retrospect were signs of a stock suspension setup that is not right: Over-inflate the tires (a telltale sign that the car is too soft) and Sport mode always on -- for that extra stimulation against the Lexus like handling.
I don't even routinely engage Sport mode anymore.

 

once you have your suspension tuned properly you will be able to truely drive your cae, then you may not need any other modifications to it at all.
Modding is not a virus, your an adult, you stop when you want

 

Suspension first. Mine still is not completely dialed in yet however, that will change hopefully soon.

 

You dont need any more power especially for NY, unless you like convincing cops that they shouldn't impound your car

I'd go with the suspension and also absolutely throw in the adjustable rear toe-links. If you had to choose sways or toe links then do toe links.

It will save your tires, especially if you track the car. If its a weekend warrior then you can skip the toe-links if you dont drive it much and just get the sways to stiffen it up more.

But be careful I've busted a few front drop links already so you may need to get adjustable ones depending on how low you get the car set.

 

What you do all depends on what you want .The personal reasons may range from wanting to break track records to wanting to stare at art in ones garage.

I did my modifications in sections . I began with the engine first and I found that if I pick five items at a time I could negotiate eveything from parts to labor consolidating time and expense .

Suspension , aerokit and wheels came two months later.

Then came an engine upgrade to 700 .

Then came the interior.

Last came brakes and an overall final sweep of each area.

My idea was to have the car completely done on day one if possible so that each mile was at peak performance. In my case it took 19 months mostly because some of the upgrades weren't out yet or because I wasn't sure. When n doubt .. say no . That's always my rule of thumb .

It does sound like you have doubts ..maybe you aren't ready . Only you can decide. Good luck.

 

tastefully agree to disagree... only way to get rid of the modding bug is to downgrade your ride... ie - I went from a heavily modded 3series to a MazdaSpeed3. I would have spent thousands on that car, and it wouldn't have changed the fact that it was a FWD car with a 2.3L I-4.

Regarding your question, go with suspension. Even if you don't track your car, do you really think you need 700HP? And if you think the suspension is soft now, imagine with that many more ponies lifting the front end up... Plus the lowered ride height looks a lot better.

Good luck.

 

Suspension should be first on your list. Once it's set up right, the car just feels right. If you are going to upgrade the power output on your car, getting the susepnsion setup properly is a good idea.