fc-racer

After many years of lusting after a particular 993 Turbo, I have finally purchased it tonight. I have driven this particular car several times and autocrossed it many times. I feel I have a bond with this car because I was always successful in racing it and it was the first twin turbo I ever drove.

It is a 1996, midnight blue/light gray with sport seats. Options are minimal from what I know of, but it has a GT2/Bilstein suspension. You can feel that the front suspension is really not designed for the heavy AWD system and it tends to pogo a bit. The car sits VERY low, the top of the tires are in line with the fenders.

The car has 23,800km on it or 15k miles. But those km were really tough ones as the previous owner tracked the car heavily. I personally don't mind that because I know he did the maintenance and also, that's what Porsches are meant for anyways.

I am good friends with the PO, so I think I am pretty safe in buying the car. I paid C$90,000 for it or around US$68k. He was trading the car in for a GT3 and I traded my C2 Turbo in to get this.

For anyone looking for a C2 Turbo, there will be a deal of the century when Weissach puts it in their showroom after detailing, etc. If you want a fully sorted C2 Turbo with RUF suspension and a new LW clutch/flywheel, call Asgar quickly because my old car will sell very quickly.

I also want to add that Asgar at Weissach was an absolute joy to deal with. He was upfront and straight about the entire deal and he truly did what was in my best interests throughout the deal. I think it's rare to find guys like him in the auto business and I for one, appreciate his ethics and morals.

Get ready for me to bombard you with questions as I freak out about every noise and oddity I find in the car over the next few weeks I pick the car up either tomorrow or tuesday.

Take care,
Farzaan
96 993TT

OldGuy

Farzaan, cognrats!
wouldnt life be easier if we all had people
like asgar to deal with when trading cars.
Business would be so much easier!
Geeze I am happy for you.
Good luck!

John H. in DC Area

Outstanding, Farzaan, congratulations!!! I remember when you helped me get my 944 Turbo mods dialed in years ago on the old Porschelist, the precursor to Rennlist. You know the drill ... post pics ASAP!!!

fc-racer

Some initial pics. Really tired right now, changed out the track pads (Ferrodo 3000 I think) and did some other minor work. The Ferrodo's are amazing pads, but they squeal like crazy. I am going to try them again sometime with the anti-squel shims and see if it can quiet them down enough for street use. The suspension looks to be Bilstein with Eibach ERS springs. There are camber plates up front and it def feels like there is a metal upper mount in the rear too.

John H. in DC Area

Sweet. The ultra-low ride height looks very aggressive. How about some clear side markers?

viperbob

Awesome look. It is always hard though to let your old car go... Maybe you should keep both of them.

The pogoing is something that happens with the power of the turbo, and the AWD system. Most people do not notice, even on the track. The PSS9s even have this effect since the springs are little on the soft side in the front (250 Inch / lb). You really need to get over 450 inch / lb to get away from this. Unfortunately the PSS9s are not capable of dampening this level of spring... You obviously have a lot of track experience to pick up on this...

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

Farzaan:

Nice Car!

"Pogo'ing" can be caused by many things;

1) Too stiff springs for the shocks

2) Incorrect bump to rebound valving ratio and/or values

3) Worn out shocks

4) Too much tire pressure

I'd need to know your spring rates to be able to help.

If those are the RSR/GT-2 Bilsteins, they are not valved well for street use and there are far better options, nowadays. When we use these on street cars, they get revalved to our spec and some other internal changes are made to maintain travel at street ride heights.

Depending on what you do and how hard you drive your car, I'd recommend either the PSS-9's or the Moton Clubsports with a custom spring package.

Enjoy!...

fc-racer

Hi Steve,

I was able to read the spring rate for the fronts through the wheel spokes, but was not able to read the rear. The fronts are 6" tall, 2.25" ID and 600lbs/in!!! That seems very high to me considering my front heavy racecar uses 500lbs/in on a similar motion ratio mac strut.

This suspension was purchased quite some time ago, but the PO never used it on the street, I think it was the only "race" suspension available to consumers at the time.

What are the rates for the PSS9 and what do you recommend? I am also finding the metal mounts to be too much for street use. I am heading out to Portland Raceway on March 13th, maybe I should stop by your shop?

fc-racer

Steve, some additional questions. What do you recommend for 90% street, 10% track, but when I do go on the track, I want to do well. I don't mind a soft setup, as long as the valving matches the spring. I loved the 944 Turbo S setup and used to do well even against highly sprung race setups, although it was tough to recover if I made any major mistakes with the soft setup.

On the 964 Turbo, I installed the RUF setup which I was VERY happy with. I am thinking of doing the same for this car or PSS9 or ???

How do you feel about metal shock mounts up front (camber plates) and the rear (upper mounts)? I think mine transmit way too much harshness from the street and I suspect one of the camber plate spherical bearings is worn because it transmits quite a bit of harshness.

Thanks for your help. I can't wait for my first track day in this car!!!

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

Hi Farzaan:

600 lb/in is too much for any street car,....that's one reason why the front is bouncing. Racing 993's do use a 600-800 lb/in front spring, but that with big fat slicks, and wide splitters,...

I too, find monoballs a bit too much for street usage but these are personal, subjective opinions. One makes those decisions based on the percentage of regular street driving to track events. These items do not last forever and need replacement from time to time, depending on the environment.

I'll be at the track on March 13th.

PSS-9 spring rates sound kinda goofy, but they do work quite well for the intended, designed "mission"; street and track events. These are: 250m/225t and 400m/685t. M=main and t= tender springs.

If it were my own car, I'd install a set of PSS-9's with the OEM rubber mounts and RS/GT-2 swaybars. Its VERY streetable for what you want to do and with some adjustments, it works VERY well on the track.

DJF1

congrats on the new car! It looks great! Is there an event on March 13th? I'd love to come down and hook up with you guys and see the track!

STLPCA

Danny - you've got a PM & email.

viperbob

Steve,

A spring bounces, while a shock dampens the motion. Bouncing on the front end I have found to be more symptomatic of a too high a spring rate for the particular damper. I run 800 lb front springs and 1000/ lb rears with monballs. Very rarely does it feel too much as the Moton dampers smooth the spring ocillations beautifully. I now get no more pogoing effect from the undersprung PSS9s in front during track events.

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

Bob;

You are correct but,.....there is FAR more to this than simply springs,...

Too much compression damping does the very same thing as does too much rebound which will not let the shock fully extend before the next bump.

Sometimes, it really takes some experience to "read" what goes on and spring/shock interactions can offer a "red herring" and mask what is truly happening.

You didn't say where your Motons are adjusted at, but they can match up with the spring rates you are running with the proper settings. Optimal adjustments would normally be completed at the track.