Recently acquired a 2009 997 TT and it came with the Damptronic B16 coil overs. Clearly a solid product from a solid company but I am not so sure it's right for me. Let me explain. I believe the history of this particular car was going to be a track device more than a daily. That is not the way I will use however. It will not be my daily driver as that's an Alpina B7, but I certainly do not need the 997TT to be set up as a hardcore track machine. The car was too low when I took possession so I raised it about and inch front and back. Not being a suspension expert I was hoping that might soften things up but after learning more about it, that's clearly not the case. It looks better but still rides extremely stiff and chattery which I am certain is how it is designed. My question to the experts is what if anything can I do to ease things? I read somewhere I believe buried in another B16 thread that there was two different versions of the B16 Damptronic. A sport and a comfort. If that's is true, I am trying to see what the part number is stamped on mine. If this is how they are and there is no adjustment, I may be looking to revert back to a stock setup and make a swap with someone. Any advice/guidance is much appreciated and thanks in advance. Oh one last thing, this setup is less than a year old.

 

I bought the comfort version on monday and received the sport version.
i called the bilstein hotline and they say the comfort version is not produced anymore.
the difference are the springs.
the dampers seem to be the same.
so right now, i try to get the comfort springs in exchange.
they will write back asap.
hope that helps a little bit.

greetings from Germany,
rainer

 

Where in TX are you? I might be interested in your B16 if you choose to unload it. However, it works with PASM so you might get good results out of adding the TPC Racing DSC controller.

 

2nd on the DSC unit. Completely changes the car. You still will have a stiffer suspension, but it really changes the dynamic of how the shock reacts to bumps and undulations. In all my years of doing car work, this single piece was the most significant impact on a car's suspension ever.

Ed

 

I just received the b16 comfort. They no longer make a pasm version with comfort... only sport. I wonder if I buy the sport version with pasm and swap the springs then I could have the best of both worlds. I'm going to contact bilstein tomorrow. I don't want to lose my DSC.

 

For the original poster - is yours sport with pasm ? I just took off my original OEM setup for B16 Comfort without pasm. I really want pasm and didn't know until my shop made the executive decision to make the swap eventhough there was no pasm. If I can find out that the sport with pasm is compatible with the comfort springs then I could be a trade partner for my OEM setup.

 

In my opinion..... from having both the original springs and then installed a set of B16's PASM, the slow ride quality is not much different. Yes, there is a difference when you press the <suspension> button on the dash but thats about it.

As for the B16's, for high speed handling this set up is much better. I track my Turbo regularly. And when I made the upgrade from 8 years old and 42k mile old shocks the Bilsteins were noticeably better. When I added the DSC controller, it made it a bit nicer but..... thats another $1100.

I would suggest that you bring the car to a suspension tuner to set up the car to your needs. Keep the B16's. But if you chose to remove them, go back to new OEM shocks.

 

I hesitate to say much because what's extremely stiff for one person might not be for another (it's subjective), but this doesn't sound right if all first owner did was install Bilstein. The B16 Damptronic, even the sport version, is NOT extremely stiff based on most owners' experience I've read over the years. For me, it's actually stiff soft (much softer than GT3 stock for example) and I had to do other things to stiffen the suspension to make it more ideal for canyon driving etc.

I am thinking it's possible the first owner has done other things (stiff links, stiff sway bar set to stiffest position) besides the Bilstein. Even more likely so if he has been to the track, where IMHO the Bilstein alone would not be enough for him. I would look (or get a tuner to look if you are not familiar) and see what other components have been installed and remove those first. Also what tires are on the car now and what cold pressure are you using front and rear?

Also - agreed with what @Calspeed posted above - Damptronic shouldn't be that stiff. Hope this helps.