I have had my "new'" 993 for less than 2 months. I bought a bone-stock 97 C2 with the intention of using it as a daily driver and keeping it stock. However, after lurking on RL for the last few weeks, I feel a strange urge coming over me. While a stock 993 is a very enjoyable drive, I think I would like to enhance the experience more. DEs are probably in the future but not hardcore track days (yet).

Possible mods:

Engine - pretty expensive and I'm not interested in raw speed. Besides I can get a speeding ticket (and already have) just as easily with the standard power.

Fixed wing and splitters - makes the car look nice but I probably won't push the car hard enough to get any real benefit except not having to listen to the stock one go up and down.

Wheels and tires - a possibility

Suspension - the one I am leaning toward. I have read the various posts about PSS9s, Bilstein HDs, ROW M0030, etc and it sounds like they would significantly improve the handing of an already great handling car. How much should I expect to spend?

I have to pace myself financially if I start down this road. Are there other mods I should consider first?

Thanks
Dan

 

Dan,
As a new owner, take advise from someone you could run into at a track.....an instructor (me ). Unless you have plenty of seat time in a 911 or any other car as it applies to track time, suspension mods are a waste of your money. Only replace it as a saftey issue. It is WAY more important that you spend your money on track time. I used to "spank" the fields I ran with, on wore out suspension, only being passed by faster cars, because I know how to drive. Having said that, if the change is for safety, go with the ROW setu, it will be more than enough for you to get to know the car. Which is where I'm going with this. Learn the car's baseline before "mod" ing it up. Tires will be a worthwhile investment and a second set of rims. The wing and splitters DO come in handy beleive it or not (certain restrictions apply).
If nothing elese, just be safe with the car, and it'll be a blast

Oh and welcome to Renn

 

You might consider blocking rennlist from your internet browser.

Otherwise you might as well and accept the financial impact that is to come.

Searching the archives will provide you with a wealth of knowledge. Investing on improving your own driving abilities by going to a few DE's is always recommended. You will quickly learn if you are pushing your car's limits as-is, or if you need to improve more than your car does. (when I first started, I let an instructor drive my car and I did not feel entitled to make any modifications until I was approximating his lap times).

If you really want to speed up the recommendations, post some pics of your car. Odds are, you will receive quite a few modification recommendations (most likely focused on your suspension).

Welcome aboard!

 

Thanks for the welcome and the feedback. I figured I was probably putting the cart before the horse but the enthusiasm on RL is infectious. I know I really should improve my driving skills, which is why I decided to participate in some DEs in the future. I'm really not a DIY, but all of those mod posts really appealed to the tinkerer/engineer in me. I think I will save my money and put off any mods for now..... except maybe wheels and tires. I've hesitated posting any pictures of my car because it is just a "plain" stock C2.

Dan

 

Dan, we all love to see all the pictures of all the cars, stock or otherwise. There is no "gotta keep up with the Joneses" attitude here about mods...

BTW, there is no such thing as a "plain" 993... they are all special.

Welcome to the board!

 

It is infectious isn't it? Don't let it suck you into the big money modss......start slow
In all seriousness, you'll see what I mean about the driving skill before spending a ton of $$ on suspension mods. I wasn't trying to bust your chops, just .....if you don't know what it is you are doing, how do you know what to change?
This is an amazing site, learn and enjoy. Most are here to help each other and we want to see you succeed and enjoy the car. There'll be plenty of time to "blow" your cash......all in do time grasshoppa.

Now post some pics of our sibling!!

 

most mods won't do much for the cars performance, unless you the driver, have experience driving at full tilt. I changed out my suspension from stock to M030 (US) and later M030 (RoW)...it didn't make any significant difference over stock, sorry to report. Once I had some seat time, I could really feel the car...

I am getting faster now...but it;s really the seat time that is helping the most. A world class guitarist can make a $100 guitar sound sweet, a hack player can make a $2000 Martin guitar sound like crap...so there you go.

On lowering the car...the M030 (RoW) is cheap and pretty sweet. I have tracked this set up and it hooked up.

And finally, the biggest bang for the buck is some sticky tires, < 100 DOT wear rating. These tires will mask lots of slop on the part of the driver...I know this from 1st hand experience In the final analysis, just have fun...it's yout life, your ride too!

 

If you have the original shocks on the car get them off asap. I guarantee they are worn out. Switching to something "fresh" will make safer and it will ride and handle much better.
The Bilstein HD's or ROW M030 shocks are a good option if you want the car to be more on the comfortable side of the performance spectrum. PSS9's or H&R coilovers if you want to be more performance oreinted and don't care much about ride comfort.

 

Greg/Chris

You both mentioned safety issues. My car only has 32K miles so I am pretty sure the shocks are the originals. The mechanic who performed the PPI certainly didn't say anything about them. The ride seems pretty solid to my untrained butt, but then I haven't really pushed my car. Should I be switching out my shocks for safety concerns? Should I be considering other pieces if they are in there already? I still don't plan to race my car, but I am sure participating in DEs will take my car beyond anything I do in day to day driving.

Dan

 

Dan -

I had two mechanics tell me that the shocks were fine. I ended up still changing my suspension at 27K miles. When I did, I found that two shocks were blown (fluid actually seeping from them). In my book, suspensions mods are the best mods for these cars. Here is the boneyard:

 

Dan,
The safety issue is that the car is not in an optimal state or equal to the way it left the factory. My factory shocks with around 12k miles on them were gone. You could push the shock shaft into the shock body by hand. In effect there were just riding on the springs. If you are doing the shocks you would also do the springs.

 

Spending your money on track time instead of suspension, wheels, mufflers, etc., truely is a most excellent idea...assuming that the reason for spending the money is so you can get faster lap times. However, many people who only do occassional track days, want to improve the looks and sound of their car more or as much as decrease lap times. If you do modify the car for mostly cosmetic/sound purposes and then decide to do track time...ceratinly nothing has been hurt...you may not be able to fully appreciate the extent of the improvement of some of your mods...but that's ok too. My $0.02

 

Bottom line is you're infected, and you will do all of the above eventually. The real question is which one first.

Cosmetics are always a fun one, but were it me, I'd wait on that since the car is still new to you. Live with her for a while and don't be swayed with others' beautiful 993s. Look at them all and you will eventually "learn" which look you truly appreciate most. If I may cite myself as an example, on initial purchase, I had my "wish list" of mods, some of which were cosmetic. But as I drove her more and did events, I grew to love the simple beauty (the "cleanliness" and purity as it were) of the original NB lines sans tail, spoilers, etc., and instead turned toward more functional mods.

So since you asked, I would recommend a suspension upgrade as that will affect the way the car feels every time you drive it ...street or track. Not that it will make you faster as only seat time and good instruction can do that. But suspension is the most "tangible" of mods, and the best bang-for-buck IMHO, especially considering all 993s are getting on in years. Of course track time is the only thing that will make your car "go faster" (and safer, too), but lets face it, you'll do the track thing eventually anyway. Get the suspension first and start enjoying the car EVERYtime you pull out of the driveway. Good luck deciding!

Edward

 

So should I be changing out my original shocks and springs for safety reasons - seriously, not as a flimsy excuse to upgrade my suspesion?

Edward,
I think your comments are pretty close to my original thoughts. I bought my previous car, a BMW 323i, new and ordered it with the Sports package: lowered, stiffer, bigger wheels and tires. I think that option contributed greatly to my enjoyment of that car, especially driving those 2 lane twisty up and down roads in the Ozarks when I lived in Arkansas. Of course I didn't worry about whether I had the right line through every curve since I usually had to stay on my side of the road so I wasn't really pushing it that hard. Of course I didn't have any choice when I bought the C2 used. Hence the idea for suspension mods. However, the stock setup on my p-car is way better than my Bimmer ever was so the mods might be overkill if I never track it.

I think I will post pictures eventually, but I will have to clean her up first - too busy driving it. I made the mistake of taking the car to a high pressure car wash after I drove back to get the bugs off and got water/moisture in the back-up lights. Looks like hand washing from now on.

Dan

 

Dan - I'll add to the mix here...get the suspension done. Your car will drive more predictably and give better feedback when you get rid of that OEM crap. My experience was pretty much like Jeff describes his. My shocks were toast! Afterwards, my track time was better spent, with the car becoming an extension rather than a battle of wills.

BTW - where in Tx are you? Howdy from Austin!!