I have read pretty much every post about suspension and am probably more confused than when I started. I have a 96 993TT (11k) with the stock suspension, I think the suspension is fine but several people on this board thinks that after ten years I should change them regardless of miles. Now here is my question, what suspension should I use (this is where I'm probably more confused than when I started).

Here are some of my requirements:
1. I don't track the car
2. it’s a weekend cruiser
3. Looking to lower the car a bit

When I got the car I wanted to keep it stock, but with the suspension I hear that I should upgrade to something else. What are your thoughts on set-up, cost and who should do the install (I use PowerTech in NJ and Jack Daniel Porsche in NJ for service).

Thanks in advance
AGC

 

if you think your suspension is fine, then save your $ and leave it alone. i have the original stock suspension, and i am fine with that (my car is a daily driver that does not see the track). i asked my mechanic if i needed new suspension, and he said "not for what you do with the car." i asked him how long would the stock suspension hold out and he said that the way i drive it would last for as long as i have the car...

 

Go with the Row stock setup, can get parts from Gert.

 

AGC,

mborkow is correct... your car is getting driven approx 1000 miles/year. I'm not sure that there is much reward for you to invest ~$3000 in suspension parts, labor, corner balance, & alignment. If the car isn't "weird" on bumps in mid-corner, and isn't wallowing on high-speed lane changes, I'd invest that money in the Rufus mid-cap mutual fund. Send me the money, no pesky paperwork.

 

If you are happy with the feel and drive of the car then why change....hmmmm unless you want to see if that bit more will improve the already wonderful car you own...........unless you use the car to drive fast roads with lots of curves or you track her occasionally....then other than lowering the car for asthetic reasons is there any point.......My car, not a TT like yours was 10 years old and had 90K miles on her and seemed to drive fine....well maybe sometimes through fast sweepers I felt something unsettleing........all the advice was, you need new suspension....I am going to do DEs next year so decided that I would go ahead and do the upgarde...after talking with ViperBob (we are thinking of you VB) I decided to go the whole hog and go for PSS9's........wow everybody was right, not only did I get a vast improment in looks (lowered to low!!) but handling is so much improved it is difficult to get in words what it feels like..........my advice .... for what it is worth is find a fellow RLer in your area .... preferable one with a TT that has a suspension upgrade and see if they will let you drive a few miles on a twisty road....then drive yours over the same road.......see if the difference is worth the $$$$...........me...I get great fun out of varying the suspension set ups week to week (its so easy on the PSS9)......

 

My stock suspension was shot at 10k miles, leaking oil. Personally I'd say the feel of the stock suspension sucks, totally feels disconnected, not sports car like at all. The best thing to do would be to try out some other people’s cars and see how you like the feel of the different types of suspension setups. IMO it’s a must do upgrade on the 993’s.

 

it is posts like that one that make me want to upgrade suspension as well...but i can't fix something that ain't broke...to be completely honest, i was pretty disappointed when my mechanic told me i would never wear out my suspension doing what i do (highway driving usually under 90 mpnh)...maybe after the next 100k miles they'll start to leak ;-)

 

lots of track time?

 

Face it, it's broke.

 

It was done by the previous owner, seems that leaks are quite common. He replaced the two rear shock due to leaks. But left the original fronts on. Stupid, but a good excuse to replace the whole suspention at 14k miles with PSS9's & TRG sways.

 

lol :-) i practically begged my mechanic to tell me they were shot...but he said they aren't leaking yet and the car still corners/handles fine (this is not a track car, but used to go up and down 101 and 280 between mt view and sf). i never thought i would meet a mechanic as honest as tony (no offense to any mechanics out there :-O )!

 

My shocks were shot.....Tire wear was uneven and it had a slight vibration at 90mph. Once I removed my shocks and could move the struts and shocks up and down with 1 hand I knew they were shot. At the time of the suspension MOD the car had 36K original miles.

I still don't understand why Porsche used MONROE as the mfg instead of staying with Bilstein.

 

If you feel as if the suspension moola is burning a hole in your pocket and/or really want to drop the car to a lower height , I would get the Bilstein HD's with the threaded bodies. Otherwise, stick with what you have.

Class dismissed.

 

I would bet you that your shocks are shot. I didn't really believe the hype that the monroes only last 30k etc. until I changed out my suspension. My stock monroes were so shot that I could, without much effort, compress the shock myself. Once compressed, there was not rebound. That, my friend, is what they mean by shot.

 

Due solely to some uneven tire wear and mileage (40K) I just put Bilstein HD"s and H & R springs on my non-track car. The difference was remarkable. In addition to getting a great ride height the shocks seem to take out all the "hop" going around a rough curve, if that makes sense. Hopefully the alignment and suspension will give me good milage on the new SO3a's. My wrench says barring a failure these shocks should out wear me.