drcollie

This may be an unpopular answer but here's my take on it: - Change out the car rather than trying workarounds in your 991.2. A little backstory...

I too, found my 2014 991.1 to be increasingly uncomfortable through the 6 years I owned it. Probably due to aging more than anything. My wife even complained about the harshness of the ride on Sunday trips to wineries, etc. Then I got an invite from Ferrari of Washington to come test drive the new Roma for half an hour. Wow...what a car. Very fast, very capable, and extremely composed and smooth in a way my 991 could never hope to be. I was smitten with it, thinking it the best car i ever drove (and it was). Great seats, good sight lines, it had everything, including a $ 230K starting price tag (with no options) and about a 1 year waiting period to get one. I was really close to ordering one, fantastic car. Then my wife said "I really enjoy the convertible part"....hmmmmm.....now I shift to Portofinos, basically similar, a little less quick. As I struggled with the price of Ferraris, a pal of mine said "There's a 992 S Cab all set up the way you like it at one of the local dealers" and he sent me photos of it. It was perfectly optioned.

I went there and took it out - my first drive in a 992 S and I was sold in two miles. This car had all that speed and moves of the Roma at $ 75,000 less. The 992 is a different platform altogether. I assume you haven't tried one? It's far more comfortable, less prone to responding to road irregularities and quieter. At the same time is much faster, and sticks like glue (mine has PDCC / RWS / PASM / SPORT CHRONO). I assume you have not tried a 992? Before you modify your car further, I'd recommend you go try one. The cabin is roomier and the car is lighter in feel and far more refined than a 991. Will only cost you a test drive to find out.

BTW, my wife says the 992 is much, much nicer in ride quality as well .

edirtaynine

totally agree with you that switching cars, especially to something like the LC, would immediately solve OP's problem. But i think most of us here because its a 991 forum, are just trying to offer potential solutions that allow OP to keep the 991. As for the wheel/tire change, i personally think it does make a huge noticeable difference. When i had my oem 20" wheels with pirellis, dropping the tire pressures to comfort settings made a noticeable difference. Then when i switched to 19s, it made even more of a noticeable improvement in ride quality even though i lowered the car on H&R springs at the same time. H&R springs are pretty rough too and imo, for me to still see a ride improvement with 19" wheels and michelins on H&R's versus 20" wheels and pirellis w/comfort settings, i think thats a valid solution. Also imo, the upfront cost of swapping wheels/tires is more than the cost of springs but i think you can get most of your money back reselling wheels/tires than just the springs due to the high cost of labor for spring installations. So approx $2500 upfront for a different wheel/tire set up that you can still sell for about $1800 if you dont like it, versus $300-400 for springs plus $500 labor each install/uninstall that you resell for only $200... thats like a potential $700 cost versus $1200 cost. just my opinion though. if OP does switch cars, the LC500 is an awesome car for sure! I considered the LC before my 911, but felt it was too "GT cruiser" and wanted more of a sports car experience which the 911 definitely was more of to me.

you're a good man. its awesome to see people offer to help out the community!

stout

I go back and forth on this, as I feel the calls to change to something else (particularly some of the cars mentioned) discount the OP's early point and one I agree with: The 991.2 is a fantastic all-around car—perfect in every way for his use but one: ride quality.

I can't believe I'm going to recommend this, but I might suggest a set of TechArt springs—as the progressive coils that annoy me by causing some porpoising 3-5% of the time softened my Carrera up 60-70% of the time.

991.2 Carrera Cabrio or Targa 4 might be a bit softer/better, particularly on 19s. Interesting comments on 992, and could be another good approach if the OP likes the car otherwise—though I find the rear ride on 21s to be degraded somewhat (not overall ride, but in the way the car deals with short/sharp impacts) against the 991.2—as it the 991.2 rounds off the tip of the triangles where the 992 doesn't do quite as much. With that said, ride is pretty personal in my experience—and I suspect a dealer would be very happy to get a 991.2 in from lease early in the current environment. Perhaps a 992 is the move, and perhaps a standard 992 Carrera on the standard 19s and 20s?

subwoofer

The 911 is not a good choice for someone with chronic back pain. Low car and fairly stiff ride. Seats are narrow and can be tight for bigger people. I am almost 60 and don't have a bad back. I find it easier to get in my 911 than my previous 981 Boxster. I have 18-way seats in my manual 991.2 4s. The 18-ways are fine for my 6 ft, 175 lbs frame. I fit fine and comfort is good. Noise is terrible with summer tires. Personally I don't see the point of subjecting oneself to torture just to drive a car. Until you take that corner at double the speed limit...haha...Winter tires in 19 inch size that I use five months of the year are a blessing in pothole-infested country which is northern New England. Soft ride.
But maybe the OP should consider another car. There is only so much one can do to make a small sports car as comfy as a sedan or SUV.

b1st

Thanks for the great discussions. This is why I can never leave the rennlist/Porsche community.

LC500 had been recommended to me by a few friends before. But I can't get over the styling (I'm still in my 30s and the car screams old man to me) and it's a bit slow. I haven't driven it yet tho - perhaps that will change my mind.

I test drove a 991.2 w normal PASM w 20s last week when I picked up my new Cayenne S at the dealer. I'd test driven it many times before but when you have chronic pain issues every day is different and it's hard to do apples-to-apples. But this time I really concentrated on how the car felt compared to mine and the difference was actually quite significant. I think the key difference is the suspension travel itself. No matter how soft/progressive/smart the suspension system is in the end the deceleration force is bound by the travel distance. And I could feel that extra 10mm quite clearly. I also felt higher ground. Another difference between the PASM model and mine are the seats: mine has 18 way leather w ventilation, the PASM model had base 4-way. The 4-way material felt softer than mine. I also believe that the sport plus seats have a bit more aggressive lumbar (protrudes into the lower back more) than the 4/14-ways. I also heard that ventilated seats give up a bit of padding material to make up for the ventilation system and therefore are a bit harder. Overall I felt that if I drove this PASM 991.2 and installed DSC I think I'd be satisfied w the ride quality. If I got a base model w 19s that'd be even better.

But then I'd be paying top dollar for 1-3 year used car of last generation in this market. The reason I got a 2019 when 2020s were available was because I didn't like how the 992s looked. Now that I've been seeing many on the road my sentiment has changed. I still don't like them in white but I like them in darker colors. I had test driven several 992s before, and again hard to do apples-to-apples, but I think virtually everything I'd read said that 992s are more comfy than 991s. So... I think what I'll do is sell my 991.2 and custom order a 992 base w 19/20s and 4-way non-leather (do another test drive in a 992 of course). A plus is that it'll be a low cost build, may even be an even trade w my current car. And I know the base 992 is almost as fast as the 991.2 S. Meanwhile if I find a nice used R8 or California T, I'll entertain them.

Valvefloat991

I don't think P4Ss are available in the 19-inch sizes, at least not with the Porsche N ratings.