I did search for 993 buyers guide, wonder why that thread didn't show? Thanks for all the great responses. I have a line on a really nice low-miles 97, and another 95 that's almost as nice. From the sound of it, I'd almost prefer the 95 and the added bonus that it's cheaper.

 

There has to be someone in here who knows if there really is a difference in the rear suspension on the 95's and what exactly is needed to imrprove if necessary. Chris

 

"I'd almost prefer the 95 and the added bonus that it's cheaper"
OBDII really changes the equation...such a shame our cars had to be saddled with that bogus software.

 

There was a TSB in '95 that restated the aligment settings due to excessive tire wear. As always, Porsche had too much toe, which combined with the camber wore the tire pretty quick. While a couple of the suspension arms are a differnet part number (last number for revision) I have seen no visible differences of any alignment setting ranges or problems that would make a '95 in ANY way less desirable than a '96. Actually suppliers show the different component revisions as interchangable.

 

thats almost exactly what will be in mine when it's done, I have all the pieces

• OBD1 3.8RS (ROW) check
• G50/30 mit custom gears check
• '95 993 coupe mit RS aero package check

 

The rear suspension parts that were changed for 1996 were:

Left A Arm (993.331.041.02)
Right A Arm (993.331.042.02)
L&R Kinematic links (993.331.045.03)
L&R Camber Links (993.331.047.03)
L&R Subframe Arches (993.331.131.06)

I don't know the nature of the changes..

 

The thing to note Dan is that the '95 parts have been superceded by the ones from '96. So there is no way that a component (including the subframe) could be changed individually (control arm, toe arm,etc) and if there was a geometry change. If that were true, you would have to change other mating parts, and potentially the parts on the other side of the car. This is not true, so the parts have to be virtually identical and no reason to potentially change one for another.

Good to see you on the board BTW.

 

REar suspension is the same.

 

If you find the right car (color, options, condition, price, etc.), I'd say forget about the year.
Best of luck,

chuck

 

I agree with others on this topic. Find the best 993 with the most desirable options/color in the best condition possible. Of course, within your budget

If equipped with LSD, 1995 993's have (from what I understand) the ZF diff versus the GKN of the 96-98. Also, slide-on second gear layshafts of the 1995 apeal to me along with a studded diff sidecover.

I will go on to say these differences were NOT the reason I ended up with a 1995, just found the car that I liked that met my criteria.

Drive all you can, and you'll start to feel the differences between the good and the not so good.

 

Thanks Eric, for correcting me. I meant what you said and still remain fairly ignorant as to the true differences.

 

Let's just put it this way, my ideal car is not red, green or white and does not have a black or gray interior. A yellow car is the exception and would look great with a black interior. It has limited-slip (required), reasonable miles and ALL records. Everything after that is a bonus. If it's not already at euro-height I'll change that immediately (and fix any alignment issues then). I'll also add an exhaust, my favorite wheels and a 3.8RS biplane wing. Then I'm done...yeah right. I do like to tweak my cars so a 95 might be a plus. I'm in an emissions town, but it's nowhere near as restrictive as kali.

 

picky picky

 

That's very interesting! And perfectly logical. If the tech bulletin doesn't specify changing ALL the components at once, then I can't believe there are any geometry differences. I'll need to look for that at allparts.

If anyone's interested, here's a recent discussion where this issue came up. As noted therein, Reiser at PCA recommends updating '95 suspension parts to '96 parts, but gives no support or reasoning other than "geometry differences." This is unpersuasive (to say the least) and as a result, nobody does this $3k update AFAIK.
https://rennlist.com/forums/993-forum/252070-best-year-993-a.html

Gregg- Is this just a guess or do you know something we don't?

 

On the rear suspension difference, that "update" or "'95 fault" issue has been floated around for some time now and there is NO one, not a single Pro Tuner that I have talked to, that has ever given this so-called difference any credence. And thanks to Viper Bob for further elaborating here. I have no idea which orifice Reiser is speaking from

Edward