I was told that the European 997's are slightly lower than our U.S. bound 997's. Ive been wanting to lower the car just a little (more so in the back), but am hesitant to install aftermarket parts.
My Questions...

1. Does anyone know if The OEM springs are lower in Europe, and how can you get them.

2. Are aftermarket springs such as TA, or H&R a poor quality way of achieving what i want. or are the springs a nice compliment to the stock suspension.

 

The OEM European springs, also known as Rest of World (RoW) springs are lower by 1-2cm than the U.S. springs depending on "S" or non "S" models. I purchased a matched set for the front and rear from Suncoast in Florida. Very helpful people!

I performed the install myself on my 05 C2 so this is from my experience:
The European springs are shorter and slightly thicker than U.S. OEM springs. The issue with the European springs being shorter, on the assembly the springs remain loose in the struts when the strut caps are installed. Also the provided shorter European rubber bump stop that slips on the U.S. strut shaft fits loose which tells me the European struts have a larger diameter. These may be minor issues, however I am very particular... so I decided against the install, revert back to stock and buy a new C4S.

I have also read that installing firmer springs (typical with any lowering spring) may lead to premature blowouts of the OEM struts.

p.s.
If you do any suspension install, just make sure you have the proper tools so you don't get injured from stored spring energy or the car falling on you.

Good Luck!

 

Thanks for the detailed reply, i appriciate your time.

 

Also 666666,

There may be a simple minor adjustment (-.75mm approx.) you can make to lower the rear of your car like I did to my C2. Slide under the car or look through your wheel at the rear strut. On the strut just below the stock OEM spring you will see an aluminum ring that supports the spring. If you see a groove just below that spring support then you can make the lowering adjustment. If that groove is not present that means the car was already set up in the lower condition. That groove is for a snap-ring that holds the spring support. My 05 C2 had the lower groove available for the adjustment, my 08 C4S the groove is not visible. It is possible that the "S" cars use the lower setting.

To make the adjustment, raise and support the rear of the vehicle, remove the rear wheels/s, and let the suspension fully extend. Use a spring compression tool and compress the spring enough so you can lift the aluminum support off the snap-ring. Next, move the snap-ring down to its new lower location. Slide down the spring support onto the newly located snap-ring and carefully use the compressor to let the spring extend into the spring support. Replace the wheel/s, lower the car off the jack and enjoy the smaller wheel gap!

Also, you may want to consider a 4-wheel alignment.

Hope this info helps.

 

thanks alot for the info im gonna try that out as soon as i get the car back.