NiteCrawlr

Curious to see if anyone else is tinkering around with GTS suspension modifications and their experiences. My stock GTS had SPASM on Pirelli P zeros 235/35/20 fronts and 265/35/20 rears. The car from the factory was exemplary as a DD but I changed one thing which lead to another and another...

Started off with improving the sound: I got the Kline exhaust + OAP and then Kline headers. The car had a decent amount of more power after that and I noticed a general lack of traction with brisk acceleration at lower gears and instability at high speeds especially in the rear end. I upgraded the tires to stock GT4 sized Michelin PS4S (245/35/20 fronts and 295/30/20 rear) on the same wheels . I immediately noticed an improvement especially in terms of traction. I probably could have stopped there but always thought the GTS 4.0L engine, especially when paired with the exhaust mods, was pretty special and the suspension while very comfortable during normal commuting seemed to lag behind the rest of the car. I wanted a ride that was more focused, firm, turned in easier with less roll, and feeling the front and rear were more connected to each other and planted at high speed. I had already put too much in to the GTS to trade into a GT3/4 and with the market the way it is I didn't want to pay an ADM.

I consulted with a reputable shop (Modern Aircooled in Houston -- strongly recommended they are FANTASTIC) after doing some research on my own and decided to install the Arcflash tier 1 track pack Ohlins Road and Track (458/572 spring rate):

https://www.arcflashllc.com/collecti...ver-suspension

Installation of the Ohlins required me disabling PASM which surprisingly requires this kit:

https://www.arcflashllc.com/collecti...ncellation-kit

The shop also wisely recommended that I place rear toe links and tie rods up front after lowering the car an additional 10-20mm:

https://roadsportsupply.com/301-rear...t-981-982-718/
https://roadsportsupply.com/371-fron...2-gt4-991-all/

I left the control arms and swaybars alone for now at their recommendation.

As an aside, I also installed a numeric shifter with cables (2mm stiffer spring) at the same time as the above and think this is probably the most under-rated and overlooked mod for our cars. Shifts are now super short and so easy to fire through it really makes shifting and thus driving that much more fun. Thanks to John Gaydos at Soul for his excellent recommendation!

https://soulpp.com/product/porsche-7...ission-bundle/

I have to say after all these mods (exhaust, headers, shifter, tires, suspension) I really love the way the car feels and I am glad I put the money into mods rather than just selling and buying another car like I have done in the past. I think the combination of tires and suspension made the most difference in the driving experience and if I could only choose one set of mods those would probably be it (although the Kline setup is a close second). I have been on a couple of spirited backroad drives, a good amount of routine city driving, and 1/2 a track day. The car is now lower but still doesn't scrape at all because there isn't as much rebound. It is stiffer but at the same time feels more comfortable in regular driving (with certain Ohlins settings) because of how it now goes over bumps due to the much improved damping. Most importantly the car feels more agile, more planted with little to no roll, has more traction, is sharper and more poised through corners, and the rear end feels stable and buttoned down and synchronous with the front.

I am far from a suspension guru but wanted to see if anyone else was modifying there GTS suspension and had any positive (or negative) experiences.

Nick_CT

That's great information for fellow GTS owners. I've had my BGTS for a year now and have been really enjoying it. I've got the same needs as you I suppose, first off is the sound. The stock system with valves open sound pretty good as OEMs go I think. I'm torn between the Kline + OAP, or just keeping the rear section stock and getting Akrapovic OAPs. The price difference is quite a lot so might want to try just the Akrapovic first and see how that works.

I also had my eye on the Numeric shifter. The stock shifter, whilst a little longer, is really nice to use. I guess it's hard to make a decision without experiencing any of these mods beforehand. Your Ohlins setup sounds really solid. Nice work. Did you get a remap after doing the full Kline exhaust system?

NiteCrawlr

Can’t go wrong with either of those exhaust mods. I think the SS Kline exhuast + OAP is a great value if your car is a keeper. Although it you sell I hear you can get a lot of that back. Numeric shift feels completely different from stock and I was pleasantly surprised.

My softronics tune is going on this week

RoadrunnerGTS

The GTS SPASM suspension is pretty good. I wont be messing with the suspension for a while. Its a good balance for a street orientated sports car.

I went GT4 shifter on mine. I was concerned that the Numeric would be too hardcore. I wish Porsche offered the GT4 shifter as a factory option for the GTS. I see it comes standard on the Boxter 25 edition.

I have just Soul valved muffler x-pipe on mine. Sound really good vs OEM, however in hindsight I think just the newly release Soul Resonated OAPs + OEM muffler would have been a good option too.

slilley

Let us know what you think of the Softronics tune! I'm this close to ordering it as well, but still on the fence.

AdamIsAdam

OAP pipes and valve controller are a huge improvement. I suggest trying that first as it probably will suffice for most people.

I picked up a used GT4 shifter and installed it. I like it, especially at $100. I would still consider the Numeric. Maybe I'll find someone at parade next week who has one that I can try first.

Suspension is on my radar, but not for a while. But tires... That may happen much sooner.

Thanks for sharing. But... PLEASE POST PICS! GOTTA SEE THE LOWERED STANCE.

Southbama

Do you have photos to post of the tires on the stock wheels?

Alpha Ice

I'm very anxious to upgrade my tires as well, I finally got a post delivery alignment...boy do they cobble these things together lol. -2 camber on my driver rear, -1 on my passenger rear, front driver was -1 camber and -.5 camber on the passenger side. My toe was also messed up too. I almost should have kept the toe out so I had an excuse to upgrade to PS4S sooner! I think I'll go 255/35/20 and 285/30/20 when I switch tires. I'm hoping when that happens I can downsize to some 19s, but we'll see what comes of it. I've also been anxious to get coilovers, but I'd prefer not to mess up the stock ride too much...so the DSC is somewhat appealing. I just know that I can get a better ride and proper settings from the Ohlins...albeit at almost 3x the price when you add in the spasm defeater...plus another several hundred bucks for proper alignment too.

Thanks for making the thread Nite, I'm hoping to check back and see what others have done and are suggesting from their experiences.

NiteCrawlr

You are probably right the numeric shifter is pretty hardcore. It definitely requires more of an active effort to engage the gear. It's a lot of fun when you get into the rhythm of shifting, more deliberate/less vague, and much shorter which is why I enjoy it. I bet the GT4 shifter improves on an already great stock formula whereas the numeric feels like a completely different product.

OAPs will open up the sound quite a bit (which you may or may not like depending on how you use the car)!

NiteCrawlr

You are right you have to do the tires first or else upgrading the suspension doesn't make much sense. Bet you will be very happy with that change alone it is definitely a difference you can feel as soon as you start driving. Like I said I probably could have stopped there and been happy but I would have kept wondering and I am glad I ventured on.

I'll try to get some pics but honestly, it looks like any other black Cayman which is the look I was going for. Nothing fancy at all and blends in with traffic.

NiteCrawlr

No problem Alpha. The shop I worked with actually recommended DSC with stiffer springs for me initially because they weren't sure what I would think of the ride on coilovers. They recommended getting the DSC + springs and letting them adjust the parameters and height and then if I liked the stiffer settings and reduced height to then think about upgrading to the coilovers. I thought SPASM with sport button pressed was kind of soft so I knew I would probably be OK and went straight to coilovers, but they seemed to be pretty keen on the DSC so I am sure it is a quality product that is definitely more cost effective. Let us know if you get it and what you think and also the tires. I can just say the ride is super sweet and sharp on the Ohlins.

AdamIsAdam

@NiteCrawlr looking forward to profile pics for ride height. As for SPASM being soft, well, you clearly ain't subjected to NY roads. I think you said you're in TX. I lived there for a time. Count your blessings on your roads vs ours.

NiteCrawlr

You are right roads aren’t too bad where I drive. Maybe soft isn’t the best word. No sports car from Porsche is soft especially a SPASM based one. The damping is just such that you feel the bumps more and there is more travel when going over road imperfections. You don’t glide over them. You don’t glide over them with Ohlins either, but they don’t seem to wear on you as much because there is less up and down when you go over them and you also get the handling benefits of having a stiffer and lower car with no little to no roll in corners.

dichael

Idk where y’all are driving / have driven, but most non-toll roads are pretty bad.

AdamIsAdam

You really need to experience the crap they call roads here in NY. Cars routinely blow out tires and bend rims, sometimes two at a time here. The potholes are the worst I've ever seen them. Some are nearly a foot deep! It's downright dangerous to drive on a sunny day; on a dark rainy night you are just driving blind and hoping you get lucky.