Suspension set up

[David Koppel]

Dear All

I am planning to upgrade or replace my existing standard suspension/shocks. What is the best set up to go for? I use the car on a daily basis and want to have the most comfortable ride or at least the best set up to deal with our crap roads, without sacrificing the feel of the car, (it has a standard set up at the moment). I have no plans for track days but who knows! It would seem that the choices are all to do with the shock absorbers and springs as the fitting costs + alignment would be the same whatever.

Standard set up Approx £800

Bilstein HD €800

Bilstein B8 + Koni Approx £750

Bilstein B12 Koni + Springs £925

Bilstein PSS9 + Springs £1695

I guess there are any number of other combinations, what would be the best set up for road use. Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks

David
993 2s

 

[968er]

Bilstein HD's with H&R springs

 

[Guest]

I went for the last option on your list & I'm delighted. Car doesn't feel harder, but more progressive, seems less unsettled by bumps, but very stable at speed & on corners. Height adjustability is great, and you have the option to stiffen everything up if you want to go on the track.

Roddy

 

[Pickled Piper]

Have a look at the suspension upgrade section above.

I had M030 springs and anti roll bars together with Bilstein HD dampers fitted. Thi st ransformed the car. The car is a toy for weekend and fun use with a handfull of track days. I would highly recommend it. I do find the ride firm and a little tiresome on long journeys when compared to my 5 Series BMW.

You will find the suspension and ride is vastly improved simply by fitting new dampers and suspesnion bushes. Most 993s are about ten years old and the original dampers are past their best. The bushes have hardened and deformed due to age, irrespective of the mileage covered. You really need to have a ride in a car of the spec you are considering and make up your own mind. You'll get all sorts of recommendations on here but remember what some peoples consider comfortable and well controlled, others consider harsh and uncomfortable.

pp

 

[angry]

I"LL 2nd the Bilstien Hd&H+R Springs,had them on for 2 years now and i thing they are less crashy(not a word ,i know)than the old standard ones and the car handles 100% better.
Dan

 

[delta]

I went with the Bilstien H+R set up but I also put the thicker H+R anti roll bars on, the most important thing however is to get the geometry set up right which if done properly costs £300 approx.
Don't be fooled by £80 alignment as you might as well not bother.
Mines been done for over a year and several trackdays on it still feels inspiring.
I did it in 3 stages over a couple of weeks to prove to myself the benefit of each stage i.e shocks and springs then ARB's then alignment each part played a big improvement but I was surprised how big a part the set up played.

 

[Andy B Aces High]

ORIGINAL: Pickled Piper

Have a look at the suspension upgrade section above.

I had M030 springs and anti roll bars together with Bilstein HD dampers fitted. Thi st ransformed the car. The car is a toy for weekend and fun use with a handfull of track days. I would highly recommend it. I do find the ride firm and a little tiresome on long journeys when compared to my 5 Series BMW.

You will find the suspension and ride is vastly improved simply by fitting new dampers and suspesnion bushes. Most 993s are about ten years old and the original dampers are past their best. The bushes have hardened and deformed due to age, irrespective of the mileage covered. You really need to have a ride in a car of the spec you are considering and make up your own mind. You'll get all sorts of recommendations on here but remember what some peoples consider comfortable and well controlled, others consider harsh and uncomfortable.

pp

Are the M030 springs 30mm lower than a standard Carrera (not S model) ? There seems to be a lot of companies offering a minus 30mm lowering kit.

I started a similar post to this and the feed back I was getting on there is that 30mm lower is extreme and would require other suspension mods (ie RS parts). The Bilstein HD shocks + H&R springs seems to be resonably priced mod how much lower than standard is this set up ?

 

[Robert Greaves]

I have a 993S and went for the M030 with Bilstein HD new stab bars and droplinks from Carnewal plus I fitted the front protection bar - it totally transformed the handling of the car as it had virtually no damping under the old standard suspension. I used the car daily both before and after the conversion and I've always found it fine - although i have now put the car away for weekend use only and bought a 335d coupe for every day use. Must say that the suspension mod was the best money spent on the car. Regards lowering the car - M030 with Bilstein HD lowers the car further but not had a problem - just need to be a bit careful - plus it looks superb.

 

[Pickled Piper]

Robert,

If you are in the West Midlands, you may also want to consider Chris Franklin at centergravity. He is based in Atherstone.

Google to find out more about his work and reputation. It is not without reason that he has a long waiting list.

pp

 

[geolab]

Hello Robert,
The 993 rear suspension is a multi-link set up that acts mechanically as a pseudo all wheel steering suspension.
Under load in turns, the rear wheels tend mechanically to turn in the same direction as the fronts (micrometrically), to prevent oversteer.
This is achieved through control arms that need to be adjusted when doing a geo
Adjustment is done through two porsche propriatary tools.
The procedure is called rear Kinematic toe adjustment.
Very Rarely an independent porsche shop have these tools.
My advice is to have the geo done at a porsche dealer, and shop over the phone for the cheapest quote. varies from 250 to 500 here in France.
I would not hesitate to ask to speak with the Porsche head mechanic and ask about kinematic toe for your car.
The way I do it is at the dealer, and then I refine the front geo myself on a normal geo machine that a friend let me use.

 

[Steve Bramhall]

Robert,

I went to Protyre and I used the services of Peter Cambridge of PCA Dynamics for some tech advice. He presented at the club night. I honestly say the car is great now and for 100 + VAT I think great value for money. Very good kit and the car was set up to how I wanted it to feel.

Steve