So,

time is coming to most exciting part of modding - suspension.I am pretty sure what I want from sway bar and links perspective, but for springs, shocks, coilovers there are a lot of choices.

what are best current choices for a non-PASM C2 car? I plan to run auto-x, DE and keep it as a daily driver so ideally it has to be wide adjustable from pretty soft on a street to firm enough for autosport. Sounds silly enough for a generic question, right?

I am trying to figure out first if it would worth to proceed gradually with this - change springs first, then coilovers, or jump right away into complete kit. Car is at stock right now. Only limit is - I would prefer to remain under $5K budget if possible. Going over that pushes me out of comfort zone. Also, I would prefer not to lower car for more than an inch as it has to be able to run MA streets and speed bumps.

Any opinions would be appreciated. Just trying to keep it fun for you, and hopefully will learn something useful for myself in the process.

 

So, preliminary, I see those options:

Eibach Pro-Kit Spring Set - $323

Bilstein PSS9 Coil-Over Kit - $2764
Bilstein PSS10 Coil-Over Kit - $3100
H&R Street-Perf. Coil-Over - $1850

Bilstein Rear Sport Shock Porsche 997 05-06 - $173
Koni Front 28 Series Racing Shock Porsche 997-05-07 - $1634

So, budget oriented logic tells me to go with Eibach springs and coilover set - either
H&R or PSS9. PSS9 is almost by good $1K pricier than H&R. Is it truly justified?

But if I will have to do springs - that means it would be logical to do struts as well perhaps, no? Or do most folks just keep stock ones?

 

Most street/track CO's are well under 5K. Moton just came out with a more street friendly CO solution. I have also heard great things about JRZ and KW. I have Bilstein Damptronics on mine!

Jason

 

You have some things in your favor and some against. Good news is that you don't have PASM, so you're not (implicitly) limited to Damptronics. Searching through the forum will give you insight in to equivalently priced options that are likely superior in their fundamental implementation because they don't include the PASM-support mechanism.
The less good news is that you live in MA, where the roads make lowering and firming the suspension a bit more challenging. I'd be thoughtful about not being too aggressive on that front. If, as noted, Moton has a new set of street-worthy products, that would surely be interesting but many brands of street/track offerings are likely not compatible with your roads.
Finally, for the reasons above and basic quality issues, I'd not spend time buying and transitioning through the just-springs option. Go directly to new coilovers. Do not pass GO.

 

I would go with a full coil over suspension.

Bilstein, JRZ, KW are all great choices.

 

So, do you exclude H&R for any specific reason? Or are they, essentially, just not on par with PSS9?

I am very concerned on how low car will go with PSS9 and Eibach. Right now on bare stock I cannot drive my kid to new school as they have very steep angle on drive-out. Such a bummer... This long front on 997 really makes life harder than it should be.

PS. does anybody have a link to coil-over step by step install manual? I may find some torque guidelines from workshop manual but it does not seem to have detailed section for suspension assembly for some reason.

 

Just a sec - are you suggesting leaving stock springs in place and just getting PSS9?

PS. Ok, PSS9 kit does replace stock springs/struts altogether, right? Sorry for dumb question, did not look yet into all that deeply enough.

 

No, I don't exclude H&R, from what I know they are fine as well.

If you are worried about the low front end, get the cargraphic airlift kit for CO's.

 

I just see - PSS10 - $3K, PSS9 - $2.7K, H&R - $1.8K

So naturally it pops the question - what gives? From pictures on web site all that stuff looks identically enough.

also would be great to learn what is the difference between PSS9 and PSS10. If there is any.

 

From what I understand, PSS10 is just and updated version of the PSS9. Also I think the 9 and 10 mean that they have 9 settings and 10 settings respectively. I believe the PSS9's are actually discontinued for most cars that have PSS10's available. I am not positive on this though....

Although all CO's tend to look the same, they are not created equal. You cannot go wrong with Bilstein. I am actually a little weary of H&R and their springs. I have seen a lot of H&R springs really sag over time. I am not sure if this is an issue with the CO spring design.

Take a serious look at the new sport Motons, Bilstein, KW, and JRZ. I dont think you could go wrong with any of these.

Jason

 

I agree with Jason, it is what is inside that counts. Valving of the CO/shock is very important.

 

One of the other 6speed members (p0rsch3) went with the KWv3's and is very happy - you might want to look him up.

And you might want to post the same question in the 996 section: the 997 Carrera non-S has (for the most part) the same suspension as the last version of the 996 (no PASM) so you will likely find more people who have upgraded non-PASM suspension on that area of 6Speed. Worth a try anyway.

 

get the bilsteins pss9/pss10

best bang for the buck

 

I had PSS9's and switched over to JIC's. The JIC's are 14 way dampening adjustable which means there are 15 different dampening settings from slightly stiffer than stock, to super stiff. You can go from street to track use on these coilovers. The Pss9's are good too, but the JIC's are more race material and are a bit stiffer than the PSS9's. The H&R's are so cheap because they are only height adjustable, and you cannot adjust the stiffness of the shock, so whatever they're valved at is what you're stuck with. You should PM Dan @ vividracing and he can answer your questions as he deals with a lot of these suspensions with customers as well as first hand.

 

Does anybody know or can give a link to more or less comprehensive write-up with pictures of coil-overs install process, with list of suggested tools, tricks, etc. ?

Ideally it should be something like this -
http://www.nclh.org/car/coilover_howto/

I would hate to start this job without reading any know-how first.