Considering a Change - 996 to 987
10-15-2016, 06:46 AM
#16
Instructor
Congrats on the new car.
How are you liking the PSS9s on the street/track? This is likely the next upgrade on my 2012 Cayman S, so would like to get your thoughts on this set-up compared to stock suspension.
How are you liking the PSS9s on the street/track? This is likely the next upgrade on my 2012 Cayman S, so would like to get your thoughts on this set-up compared to stock suspension.
10-17-2016, 11:31 AM
#17
Instructor
Thread Starter
So I actually never drove the car on stock suspension. I assumed the stock dampers could be a bit tired, and I've never thought that US-spec ride height looked right on Porsches in general. All just excuses to do what I wanted - install some cool upgrades!
As far as my impressions of the PSS9s - for street driving they are excellent. Absolutely no harshness, no crashing over bumps or potholes. Everything on the road is clearly felt, but just "rounded off". The front end does bounce a bit, but that can be adjusted out (when I get around to it). The only negative is that the car is quite a bit lower and I have to be really careful to avoid scraping the nose. But that can adjusted as well. On the street the damping characteristics are pretty similar to the ROW M030 setup on my old 996.
For track driving I'm also very happy. For example, the climbing esses at VIR can throw off some cars with poor body control. Even in my old 996, I needed to be very careful with my speed in this section, as the front and rear axles weren't naturally in sync. In the Cayman with the Billys, the car is super stable, and handles transitions with much less drama, allowing me to maintain a ton more speed.
Of course, the PSS9s are just the first step in a process that will included front and rear sway bars, front lower control arms, toe links, etc. And in the end, I will probably make a great car much worse to drive...
As far as my impressions of the PSS9s - for street driving they are excellent. Absolutely no harshness, no crashing over bumps or potholes. Everything on the road is clearly felt, but just "rounded off". The front end does bounce a bit, but that can be adjusted out (when I get around to it). The only negative is that the car is quite a bit lower and I have to be really careful to avoid scraping the nose. But that can adjusted as well. On the street the damping characteristics are pretty similar to the ROW M030 setup on my old 996.
For track driving I'm also very happy. For example, the climbing esses at VIR can throw off some cars with poor body control. Even in my old 996, I needed to be very careful with my speed in this section, as the front and rear axles weren't naturally in sync. In the Cayman with the Billys, the car is super stable, and handles transitions with much less drama, allowing me to maintain a ton more speed.
Of course, the PSS9s are just the first step in a process that will included front and rear sway bars, front lower control arms, toe links, etc. And in the end, I will probably make a great car much worse to drive...
10-22-2016, 05:31 PM
#19
Interesting thread--and congrats on the new car, mjdavis. My current street/track ride is a 2009 CS MT, set up with Bilstein PSS9s like yours. It also has Tarrett front and rear sway bars and some sort of camber plates the PO installed. For street, I set the PSS9s to full soft. For track, full hard. The sways are set in the next to stiffest setting in front and full stiff at the rear. The car has virtually no understeer with this setup, and can be induced to oversteer quite nicely. On track I run OZ Allegeritas and Nitto NT01s. Brake pads are Perfromance Friction 08s front and rear.
I'm also a bit further down the slippery slope than you are, at least judging from your last post. My car has an OS Giken LSD, ipd plenum and GT3 throttle body, Numeric shift cables, Billy Boat exhaust, and a GT3 brake master cylinder.
My latest mod addresses the fact that on the 09 and later Porsches, you cannot completely defeat the PSM, which, among other things, causes the rear brakes to overheat at the track. I have installed a switch to disable the yaw sensor. (I'll let everyone fill in the dire legal/safety warnings about this on their own.) This turns the car into exactly what I want--a nanny-free car that still has ABS.
Terry
I'm also a bit further down the slippery slope than you are, at least judging from your last post. My car has an OS Giken LSD, ipd plenum and GT3 throttle body, Numeric shift cables, Billy Boat exhaust, and a GT3 brake master cylinder.
My latest mod addresses the fact that on the 09 and later Porsches, you cannot completely defeat the PSM, which, among other things, causes the rear brakes to overheat at the track. I have installed a switch to disable the yaw sensor. (I'll let everyone fill in the dire legal/safety warnings about this on their own.) This turns the car into exactly what I want--a nanny-free car that still has ABS.
Terry