Hendrik964

Hi Guys,

This is my first post.
I stay in South Africa and have my own business that sells heat exchangers to the motorsport and transport industries.
I bought a 1990 C2 USA with 130 000 km about 18 months ago. The car seems to be original. I have only done about 3000 km since. I have had it on the track twice. I plan on doing more Porsche club time trials, but first need to sort out some issues with the suspension.

I only noticed earlier this year that the car was much lower at the back righthand side. On closer inspection I found out that the shock had a large dent in (see photo). There are no damage to the shock tower. I suspect that there might also be a problem with the spring. I want to replace all the shocks with Bilstein Sport and maybe green H&R springs, but are worried about the ride height as the green springs drop 40 mm. There are a lot of speed bumps where I stay and I do not want to damage the car underneath. I do want better handling for the track, but do not want it that low for everyday use. Can anyone give me advice on what to do?

Bye,
Hendrik

ianellison

I fitted Bilstein HD (Sport in US) and Eibach springs. Eibachs lower approx 30mm rear and 30 to 40mm front about 10mm less than H&R's.

ianellison

Piccy of result.

Hendrik964

Hi Ian,

Thanks for the reply.
Your car looks nice.
Is the spring rate the same as the green or red H&R springs?
What is the ride quality like?
Have you had it on the track?

Thanks,
Hendrik

kgorman

I used H&R Green and Bilstien as well, the car was lowered nicely and fine for speed bumps/street driving in general, and good to get started on the track. Do a search for the exact spring rate, but if I remember correctly it is somewhere in the 200lb range. I have since changed out to Cross setup for a more track oriented config.

donoman

Hi there, my car is lowered all the way using the adjustable perches on the Bilstein HD's with H&R RED springs, which I think is even lower than greens. I have not bottomed out yet, even in parking lots.

Hendrik964

Hi Donovan,

Didn't you fit Green springs originally? What is the ride quality like? I have a Sparco Pro 2000 seat and it has no suspension. So I do not want to go too stiff on the springs. I had to install it in order that I can fit with a helmet on.

Thanks,
Hendrik

springer3

I kept the factory springs when I installed Bilsteins. I set to the low end of the factory ride height tolerance. For street use it is hard to fault.

I grew up in Pretoria, BTY.

hawk911

got HR turbos and Bilstein HD on my '92, and LOVE IT. Can you say LOVE IT? Best $1200 mod on the car yet. I don't bottom out at all, and it's still very streetable.

parsecnc4

I am curious to find out how much were you able to lower using factory springs via Bilsteins' perch adjustment. The factory perches can only move the ride height ~10mm and seems to be used primarily for corner balancing.

PorscheZen

I echo what Hawk911 says as well..
I run Bilstien HD's and H&R Greens. The ride heights are adjustable (when I got the corners weighed/aligned) and work very well for me. The ride quality is superior on the street and does quite well on the track. My overall impression of Bilstein's is that they are high quality.
I have not been disipointed by them at all.
I would think with that with that many miles on your car, the change/upgrade would be dramatic, impressive.

Good luck.

hawk911

just a side note: when I changed the shocks, the original had 78K on them, and I could compress the fronts with 2 fingers, the there was NO rebound.

donoman

Hi there, I never went Green... always red. I think the Red's are quite livable on the street but I would probably have been happier with the greens. The reds are a bit stiff here in San Francisco, especially since I upgraded to 17" wheels with low profile tires.

Best,
Donovan

hawk911

Donovan, I think the roads make all the difference, because I'm running 17s and LP tires too. No such concerns from me on ride comfort.

Hendrik964

Donovan, thanks for the advice. That is the impression I got from all the threads that I have read: the Greens is better for road use and an improvement over the originals for track use. The Reds seem to be more track biased and can be a bit uncomforable for road use.