Bilstein PSS10 and H & R Sway Bars installed on Porsche 997 Turbo Cab. by G Rides
 

We just finished this project yesterday for 6Speed Member insp185, thank you very much for trusting G Rides with this project, we really appreciate it. I also want to thank Cannga for all his diligence and supplying us with great information. We worked to set up insp185's Bilsteins like Cannga has regarding ride heights and alignment settings. After putting some miles on this set-up, I will concur with Cannga's review of the PSS10's, very nice set-up for the street and should inspire more confidence at Driving Events. I also want to thank every other 6Speed Member who has posted very useful information regarding this set-up, lots of great information and enthusiasts here.

I will probably have to make a couple of posts to get all the pictures and information on here. If you have any questions please let me know.

Stock Ride Height:

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...uspension1.jpg

PSS10 Kit

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...oBilstein1.jpg


Front disassembly

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...oBilstein2.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...oBilstein3.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...oBilstein4.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...oBilstein5.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...oBilstein6.jpg

Front PSS10 with the Bilstein and OEM Parts needed

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...oBilstein7.jpg

Front PSS10 assembly order

Just shock

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...oBilstein8.jpg

shock with "The OEM Washer"

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...oBilstein9.jpg

with Bilstein supplied washer 1 of 2

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Bilstein10.jpg

with Bilstein supplied spring seat

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Bilstein11.jpg

with OEM bearing/seat

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Bilstein12.jpg

with OEM top hat/mount

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Bilstein13.jpg

with Bilstein supplied washer 2 of 2

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Bilstein14.jpg

with Bilstein supplied nut

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Bilstein15.jpg

Assembled

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Bilstein16.jpg


Reassembly starts with Bilstein PSS10

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Bilstein17.jpg

This is a PASM Equipped car, where the factory front wires run out the top of the strut, the PSS10 front PASM Wire runs out the bottom of the Strut and this is how we wired it. Basically ran it with pre-existing wiring using lots of zip-ties so it's neat and good and secure, length worked out to be just right running this route into the bonnet/trunk and reconnecting the PASM.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Bilstein37.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Bilstein18.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Bilstein19.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Bilstein20.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Bilstein21.jpg


To change front sway bar the cross member needs to be lowered.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...RSwayBars1.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...RSwayBars2.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...RSwayBars3.jpg


Stock Front Sway Bar (back) with H & R (front)

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...RSwayBars4.jpg


Stock Front Sway Bar (right) with H & R (left)

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...RSwayBars5.jpg


H & R front installed, drop link set at Medium.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...RSwayBars6.jpg



Going to a second post for the back of the car and alignment.

great job Gary! everything looks in order. As a suggestion, I would recommend that the front sways be set to full soft. This will take care of the understeer.

Stock rear

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Bilstein25.jpg


Gain access to rear top mounts

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Bilstein22.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Bilstein23.jpg


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Bilstein24.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Bilstein26.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Bilstein27.jpg


OEM parts needed for assembly of rear PSS10, top hat/mount and another "Washer"

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Bilstein28.jpg


Rear PSS10 with OEM Washer

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Bilstein29.jpg


Bilstein Spring Seat

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Bilstein30.jpg


Base of OEM Spring Hat/Mount with Bilstein Supplied Rubber Washer

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Bilstein31.jpg


Rear PSS10 assembled

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Bilstein32.jpg


Rear PSS10 installed

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Bilstein35.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Bilstein34.jpg


Rear Stock Sway Bar (Back) Rear H & R (Front)

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...RSwayBars7.jpg


Installing the rear is much easier than the front, just don't over torque the bolts, they only need about 17 ftlbs. Rear Sway Drop Link set in Medium Position.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...RSwayBars8.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...RSwayBars9.jpg


Mark your eccentric bolts so you have a reference point for alignment later.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Bilstein33.jpg


Four Wheel computer alignment set to "Cannga" Specs.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Alignment1.jpg


Protect those HRE's

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Alignment2.jpg

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Alignment3.jpg



Stock Ride Height. Please note we did not set out to just lower the car. When the ride heights were set, the front remained close to stock and the rear was only lowered 10mm, this was done to match the specs of others who are very happy with the PSS10's. The main goal of this project was to achieve a more performance oriented ride with improved handling and road feel.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...uspension1.jpg


Bilstein PSS10 Ride Height

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...Bilstein36.jpg

Now THAT is how it is done!

Nice job!

bob

Gary,

I am going to lower my 2008 turbo cab next week. Is those sway bars necessary?

Thanks,
Danny

Excellent write up...
i would like to ask the following...What is the difference between bilstein damptronic and pss10?

Thank you, we appreciated your input before we proceeded with the project.



Thank you bob, very kind of you.



The Sway Bars are not necessary, the PSS10 will work with the stock Bars, however the new Bars do seem to be a very nice compliment to the system.


Thank you, Damptronic and PSS10 are the same.

Thanks for the info. Gary.

Gary - so you got the car aligned right away? The springs will need to settle which can take up to a month or so depending on how much the car is driven. For mine, I waited till I have driven the car for approx 200 miles before I got it aligned to GT2 specs.

Before I got it aligned, I re-checked the height and they were all over the place. Had to even out the fronts and rears since the springs settle in different rates.

Thank you for the info NeilM. The car was aligned after a few miles were put on it, for the sake of trying to preserve the life of a brand new set of rear Pirelli's (the rear camber after PSS10 install, at desired ride height, prior to alignment was over -2.0). The Ride Heights will be re-checked after more miles have been added, since the alignment was done at our desired ride height, I believe if there is more settling, bringing the car back to desired ride height should bring alignment back as well, if the alignment looks off after ride height adjustment that could be re-adjusted again as well.

Once again,great article...But finally how much did you lower the car?And how much lowering do you suggest for pss10?Are gt2 specs ok with pss10?

aligning the TT to GT2 specs makes it handle more aggressively. Personally, I really like it. Works very well on the track as well.

As for height, my car is pretty low....maybe -28mm from stock. I lower it a tad more for track.

Thanks again. We used the Porsche Ride Height Measuring Points, which Cannga has done an excellent job of illustrating in his thread here, post #'s 187 thru 189.

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...-turbo-13.html

From those points we were at 124 mm - 123.5 mm front stock already (I checked this multiple times as Porsche Spec Showed that stock should be 132mm) and wanted 123 mm after PSS10 install so front ride height really didn't change.

Rear stock we were at 153 mm - 152 mm and set at 143 mm after PSS10 install.


Our alignment settings were similar to factory GT2 or GT3. The biggest deviation from Stock Turbo settings seems to be the increased front Camber from about -0.4 to -1.12 (GT2/GT3 is around -1.30)

Front:
Toe -0.02
Camber -1.12
Caster +7.5

Rear:
Toe +0 10
Camber -1.39


Again have to thank Cannga for the great info.


Edit: as for Ride Height recommendation, the PSS10 have about a 15 mm - 20 mm range which they recommend adjusting in. We are towards the high end of that range which provides a great street ride and ability to deal with steeper driveways and the like. The great thing is it's tunable system to your needs and desires.

Hi Gary, you are very welcome. Your customer should be very happy to have such a meticulous installation like this.
Of note, why is everyone now showing the washer? :p

BTW: That is one hell of a great looking Cab! Love that wheel on the cab -- really a perfect match. I like my coupe, but every time I see a cab my heart skips a beat or two. LOL

Stock 997.1 Turbo is shamefully soft and Lexus like in its original form. I was ready to sell my car had the Bilstein installation not solved the issue (called my Porsche manager and everything). I am just glad we all are discovering what this car could do given a proper suspension. Lastly, credit goes to the "pioneers" ahead of me and every contributor of course.

Skandalis: There are two versions of the Bilstein B16; one is called Damptronic and the other is called PSS10. The Damptronic is the version that 99.9% of people use and is compatible with PASM. The PSS10 has a knob at the bottom that allows you to set bump and rebound damping -- no one that I know has used this on the Turbo.

Champion set-up works very well for track and street use....handling is very sharp and responsive. Some understeer on low speed (second gear) turns...mainly due either late braking, too early/hard on the gas, or cold tires.

I have my 09 997TT set-up with Champion Custom wound H&R lowering springs, Champion H&R Front and Rear adjustable sway bars, Werks1 Bump Steer kit, Werks1 front shock tower brace, Werks 1 Carbon Fiber Chin Spoiler, custom Satin Black RS171 19” Champion Wheels. Its pretty impressive...the Engine management with custom dyno tuning and mapping yeilding 565HP & 550TQ, and Tubi Race Exhaust helps as well.