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Got the car up on jacks and, with a family friend, we got the front strut inserts changed and new spax lowering springs fitted. The Koni struts were called K2 and had a large threaded adjuster collar with a part number stamped on it which started 951. I thought these were aftermarket struts and so the inserts should have fitted without bother but not so. The struts had a non-cartridge damper so I had to drill the base of the strut to accept the new damper holding screw although it was not necessary to cut down the strut body. Were Koni's ever standard fit on S2's? Perhaps from the Turbo SE??
Anyway, after eventually getting both sides rebuilt and back on the car, it was time to do the easy bit and fit the rear dampers. Only to be completely stumped by siezed solid bottom bolts! Hmmph!

Also noticed a bad case of plate lift on the rear calipers. Can the plates be eased back with the calipers on the car?
 
Hurrah, local garage comes good again and I now have new suspension all round AND the brakes passed the roller test with flying colours. So, with new tyres/Suspension, good brakes and the engine fettled its time for the geometry check and then off to a circuit for a full shakedown.
 
Took the car for a 40 mile shakedown run on favourite twisty A roads around home. What a revelation! OK, sure, it is not as fast or lairy as my 996 but the communication from the chassis is intoxicating and, at real world speeds, the mid-range torque gives a very effortless feel to the drive. My main impression as I neared home?.....I just wanted to carry on driving the thing! I am VERY impressed and very pleased I took the plunge. It's just such a 'nice' car to drive.
 
Interesting, as a lot of 944 owners wonder what to move on to. With 996 prices falling at a frightening rate over the last couple of years it's an obvious contender, how would you compare the two?
 
Well, firstly I think 996 prices now probably represent the greatest value for money I have ever seen. I have written about the comparison of 996 to 944 earlier in the thread but I would re-iterate that to any one thinking about adding a 996 to their stable or even moving onto from 944 ownership then just do it. They are truly fantastic cars.
I bought my 996 cab 6 1/2 years ago (trading up from a 3.2 Carrera). It is an original R reg 3.4 litre model. It had 55,000 on the clock when I bought it and I have added 30,000. The car is equally at home commuting, posing in the sun, thrashing around a track or gobbling continents at 3 figure speeds for hour after hour. It just takes all this in its stride. The ownership experience has been generally very rewarding with the only pain in the backside being the corrosion and consumption of suspension items like bushes and drop links. Part of this may be due to the fact the car lived in Scotland for its early years so probably had more than its fair share of road salt.
The paintwork and interior are like new. The main expense for me has been depreciation. It cost me 38K 6 years ago and I would be lucky to get 16K for it now. Buying my car now would give the owner the benefit of a well looked after car with non of the large depreciation cost. Thats why I think it is such tremendous value now. There's a guy posting on the 996 thread at the moment who has just done this and is quite obssesive about describing the cars condition. Probably a good extra source of info for interested parties. Is there anything specific you want to know about?
 
Fitting the new rear shock absorbers almost levelled out the rear wheel ride heights...but not quite. On the suspension geometry check I have just had done, the rear wheels were fine. The fronts needed a bit of adjustment of camber and toe. Will probably need to get this repeated since the previously neutral steering now pulls very slightly left. Sticking with the 8J front wheels since our racer fraternity confirmed that is an accepted mod.
 
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