Booked for Center Gravity

[Mark Elder]

I've finally bitten the bullet organized to get my car a birthday present. I've driven her for over 40K miles in the last 6 years and she's definitely not as "planted" on the road as when I acquired her at 27K miles.

So in early October I'm off to Center Gravity. I've had a long chat with Chris Franklin on the phone and that was great for determining what's best to do or not do (obviously a lot of it to be determined when Chris discovers what state it's in).

Essentially I'm going to get it back to pretty much "as factory" except for moving to Bilstein B6 Sport dampers (also known as HD) - Same ride height as it should be when new, but with a little Franklin tweaking for Scottish roads.

Just wondering if anyone thinks there is a more appropriate damper or would advise any particular settings?

I don't want the car any lower than it is, just because I do a fair amount of driving on and off ferries etc. Although some recent reading I have done reckons that my car may already be lower than "factory" because the original dampers sink over time so that car gets lower of its own accord.

 

[38F3E1]

Some dampers (Bilstein for example) are gas pressured and give some springing assist and this can be lost over time so the car can lower slightly. I have heard it said that the springs themselves can sag over time but I remain to be convinced on that one unless mega miles on the car.

There is a whole lot of stuff that can become tired with all the bushings on a 993 (strut top mounts etc) so going back to 'as factory' can be a big undertaking. My opinion is that dampers on their own are only a partial solution. As for ride height then standard or M030 (same as M033) is a good height for a car driven regularly on UK roads. Anything lower and you are compromising the suspension.

Some people like HD and some do not. I think they over damp the car on anything but smooth roads. My perfect spec for a road car is M030 springs and ARBs plus original equipment Porsche dampers at M030 height but I suspect you will get as many opinions as people you ask. If I was going a full sporty route there is a lot to be said for a full Porsche 993 RS setup including the special front hubs for the ride height but that is an expensive route to go.

Ian.

 

[stephenh]

For what its worth I replaced front suspension bushes & dampers all round on my C2S in 2011 @ 107,000miles. Had the car set up at Neinmeister, and what a difference. I have used Bilstein in the past & also found them over damped, so I fitted Koni FSD's but keeping the original M033 springs. I thought at first the damping was too soft but was very comfortable on bumpy B roads. I then did a track day at Oulton Park last November & found the set up very good, compliant enough to stop excessive roll but well planted. Obviously the 'Frequency Sensitive Damping' does indeed work. I also fitted a set to my wifes Golf with equally impressive results.
Nothing worse than a suspension that's too hard, which becomes so tiring especially on todays roads.

 

[clyde]

As Ian says it's very much horses for courses on this one Mark.

I had Bilstien HDs put on my C4 a couple of years ago with lowered H&R springs and find that suits my driving style fine. It is certainly much stiffer than before and I've got to watch some of the more evil speed bumps but even on fairly crap roads it's not in the least tiring, even over quite long distances on A and B roads.

I had all the top mounts replaced as the rubber in one was quite badly perished and I figured the others wouldn't be far behind.

The bushes can wear causing problems with the alignment drifting off as too much movement is allowed in the suspension componants so I also replaced all the suspension bushes with Powerflex polyurethane ones.

I've always been led to believe that it is the springs that compress slightly over time lowering the height. Not in 993s specifically but any car.

 

[Trap125]

I've just bought Bilstein HD's with H&R springs along with thicker anti roll bars - essentially the M030 set up but with H&R springs (kit from Gert Carnewal).

I've also got new front and rear top mounts as one of the fronts is looking a little perished so I decided to replace them all.

I did a fair bit of research before buying and I reckon the Bilsteins should be a good choice. I should get it all fitted in the next couple of weeks. It would be interesting to get a bit of a comparison with yours sometime. Maybe there will be a meet/run soon? Good luck, hope it goes well at C of G.

Ossie

 

[nfearn]

Mark

I have no experience of the Bilsteins so cannot comment on them, but I did fit a set of Koni FSDs on my car and then had the geometry set up by Chris at C of G. I am delighted with the results of this, even though it did take a while to get the car dialled in in terms of front wheel toe (I have posted the story concerning this a while ago - the problem was the rubber steering dampers in the trackrods).

My suggestion would be to talk to Chris about his experiences with my car and his experiences with FSDs and Bilsteins and then make a choice depending on what your handling/driving priorities are.

For my money, having done about 12K miles on the new Konis, I recommend them highly. They give sufficient compliance to be very usable on typical UK B-roads at all speeds without causing any of the problems associated with over-stiff suspension such as "bouncing" on peaks and troughs or the car being thrown off line due to the suspension being unable to cope with a changing surface. They are also excellent for normal driving on all road surfaces.

Happy to chat about this too. PM me to arrange a time to discuss.

rgds
Nick

 

[Mark Elder]

Thanks Nick - PM sent