996 C2 suspension upgrade?
 

I recently upgraded my 2002 C2 996 with GT3 wheels, 8.5 front and 11 inch rear.i am considering replacing the shocks since one the mount rubber bushing is rotted. I see a lot of upgrade possibilities but don’t want to spend more than 2k on parts. I hear about H&R and Billstein PSS10. Any recommendations would be appreciated.thank you !

PSS10 is closer to $3k in parts, so you may need to explore other options to meet your budget.

http://www.rennline.com/Bilstein-B16.../BIL48-186322/

I have the H&R Club Sport RSS Coilovers and am very happy. They meet your budget.

Each time I have a track day, I am more satisfied with their performance. Not too harsh, but very flat cornering.

They are height adjustable, but not damping force adjustable. If you are not planning on any track days, the Street performance models maybe a better fit.

What about the ohlins?

I've read nothing but great things about the Ohlins. I have the PSS10 and they are great. Ohlins are in the same price ballpark as the Bilsteins.

You could always go with the M030 ROW Porsche factory kit. Lowers car a few cm and will be a big handling improvement over stock. Cost was around $1100 a few years ago.

Öhlins are $2700. ROW M030 (includes sways) $1550 shipped. Add Porsche X74 top mounts total $2000. H&R Street (with added sways) $2000 shipped. H&R Clubsport are near same price as Street. Might also budget for top mounts. The coil overs will get you lower than M030. The H&R Street will go lowest and may be a touch less hard than the Clubsports, depending on your roads and driving. Plenty of real good options for the $2k price point, so good hunting!

I was looking at the H&R street too. Do either of of the H&R setups come with the top mounts?

You didn't say anything about what you plan to do with the car, or what the environment is you'll be using it in. The only metric you listed was price, so all the responses are just going to be people quoting prices for products, with a preferential leaning towards what they have already spent their own money on to suit their own preference :corn: It won't have anything to do with what is best for you.

Are you driving this car on the street? Autocross? DE? Racecar? All of the above? Smooth roads or potholes? Do you like a stiff or compliant ride? What's your driving style? What tires are you using? Do you need adjustability, and if so, on what components? Is ground clearance a concern? Is a particular ride height important for looks?

Good luck!

I changed out my M030 low mi for PSS10s and the upgrade is worth every penny. While I really liked the overall ride and feel of the M030 I wanted a Euro or GT3 ride height. For the small money diff Euro M030 vs PSS10s I can say PSS10s totally worth it.

Got to factory spec of PSS10s with Euro GT3 ride height, and the adjustability of the PSS10s are amazing and easy to do.

Both come with top mounts. If you can swing it, I would recommend the Tarett Camber Plates. I love the H&R damping force set-up, but do miss the feeling of the Tarett Camber Plates (spherical bearing and very precise steering feel).

Great point above, the more detailed you can be on how you will use it (stance preference, track, street, etc.) will significantly help!

Thanks to all for the informative feedback
 

My main goal is better handling in corners on smooth street roads. May eventually do some DE autocross classes but do not intend to track it. So that may barrow down my choices to consider.what is the main difference between struts and coil over kits? Thanks again, Michael T.

Find some loose change in your couch and opt for the ohlins. do some shopping around and you can find them for around $2400... still need top mounts and end links though. I used some OEM Porsche ones to keep the ride comfortable and it is still quite sharp handling, with pleasant ride. Surprisingly, my wife thinks the car rides better now than with the factory comfort suspension.

I had a full set of KW's on my audi that lasted about 3 yrs and all four were leaking fluid. I have a set of HSD's from ebay which costs half the price of the KW's and they are not leaking fluid, feel great on the road and have given me no problems. Just MY experience(not emotion) on expensive vs not so expensive.