I have the factory x74 suspension with GT3 sways f&r. Was a little stiff when I was in NJ, but here in Florida it is just fine.

 

I installed a new ROW M030 kit from Carnewal as well as some RSS bits to replace some worn 115k mile arms... more to come as needed.

im completely satisfied! Not too low, not too stiff. Im running 17” factory wheels and it handles well.

If I were to do it again? The extra money I spent on RSS stuff, since I dont track the car, i could have replaced ALL the arms etc and had some cash left over lol

live and learn. No regrets

 

Gonna go with koni sport dampers and eibach Springs and new sway bars.. Will replace worn bushings and other components as necessary. Looking forward to refreshing my 19 year old suspension!

 

Any update on the install?

 

Just dropped the car off today. Went with these
https://www.tirerack.com/suspension/...0&autoModClar=

And eibach sway bars. Gonna look at bushings etc and refresh what is needed. Hopefully have her out for a session after all the work is done. As I get faster I’ll probably do a deep sump and x51 baffles. It. Never. Ends.

 

Looking forward to hearing about it. I'm looking hard at the same package or the H&R street performance coilovers and new sway bars.

 

Picked up my car last night. So i ended up going with the koni yellow and eibach lowering springs. New oem motor mounts as well. Definitely improved driving characteristics. Shop set them up for mixed street DE so not super soft nor too harsh. I noticed considerably less/ no body roll on turning (street driving) and nose diving on braking and squatting on acceleration. Handles bumps a bit better with some better damping. My old shocks were toast with 49k miles on the car. Creaking noise is gone. If the ride quality ever deteriorates I’ll replace bushes but for now they said they were good.

 

Any ride height pics to compare to ROW M030?

 

About a 1 inch drop. I’ll get some pics and try to find some old ones to show the difference between old stock and new. I think M030 drops around .75 inches so this may be slightly more of a drop. Will post when I can

 

Did you experience less body roll and better turn in?
I just refreshed my ENTIRE suspension on my 2002 Cabriolet, but I'm not happy with the roll and lack of precision on turn in. Feels like the wheel doesnt even give enough force or feedback (I did end up going with Koni Advances for the shocks). considering switching out my springs for ROW m030s to give a more planted / on rails feel... or so i hope.

 

When you say "refreshed" was it a straight up replacment of the old parts?

If you want planted/on rails then yes, different springs and sway bars will help. You don't need everything though. If you want RoW M030 just get the springs and sway bars. Your Konis will work just fine with that setup.

 

It just cost me a ****load for the corner balance/alignment. I have to do it all again if I replace the springs with ROW M030.
My goal is not lowering. MY goal is tighter turn in and less roll. Am I better doing aftermarket sways (H&R or EIBACH) or ROW M030 SPRINGS (not with sways. Keeping stock sways)?

 

I agree on not lowering a 996 street car. Only 2 reasons I can see for lowering a street 911 car.

1) want to be a racer 'poser' with the lowered look that fills out the wheel wells and slams the car. Ya it does look good. but how good is it when you rip off the front lip, or gouge the oil sump(or worse) in a forgetful moment when incorrectly entering a parking lot or driveway entrance/exit... Up to you, its a personal choice.

2) You are a competitive racer on the track. And need want the most you can pull and the least amount of drag, for a competitive edge. Yup lower it for sure.

I mean, lets face it, our 911 are probably straight out the factory, set to USA/ROW specs, the best handling sports car in the world. Ya, might be able to argue a few other sports cars are right there with it, but few (if any) give us the 'feel of a 911.

IMO, for our 20+ year old cars, instead of going right to lower springs/coil overs for the road, maybe money is better spent on bringing our 20 yo cars back to oem specs.
All the arms/bushings/joints/struts/shocks/springs/tie rods/racks?/mounts/cvj/stops/etc... are tired at a 996's age.
Once all suspension is renewed correctly with quality parts, and a detailed correctly done alignment, then its time to access if you need more. Heavier Roll bars will control roll/turn in better, at the cost of some ride comfort, but not as much as stiff struts/coil overs with less suspension travel.

Now this is just my opinion. I've owned/driven so many different sports cars over the decades can't stress the point enough, our cars right out of the factory handle phenomenally well for the street and don't need anything more on the road. The Porsche engineers figured out this suspension compromise perfectly. If trying to fill out the wheel wheels, the right size wheel/tire with the right offset will go a long way towards that without lowering.

If one must lower their car, don't go more than ROW for the street. Can't even remember how many I've spoke with that have lowered their cars, maybe for years then decided to go back to stock ride height.

 

My car has the M030 and I’m doing a Ohlins R&T but keeping the M030 sways. My spec will be GT3 numbers which is arguably the best handling 996, with that said I rode in a 40th Anniversary with the ROW springs and it was very smooth. You cant go wrong when upgrading the sway, I’d look at Tarett’s sways if you want to add that rigidity.

 

+1 for getting everything else "right" before going with lowering springs etc.

I've recently fitted Ohlins R&T with self chosen custom spring rates (waaay softer than the nonsense Ohlins specified, including the softer option) to my otherwise stock (suspension wise) 65K mile 2002 C2. Whilst previously it didn't handle particularly well, and it's ride was "unyeilding", it was completely knock and rattle free. When I fitted the Ohlins I replaced the front and rear top mounts (with OE or OE manufactured parts) drop links (TRW) and front coffin arms Eibach adjustable). annoyingly what was previously a silent car then had a plethora of rattles and knocks, which I'm still working through several weeks later.
I put this down to the Ohlins being set (by me) considerably lower than the stock suspension, the majority of which the links, bushes and balljoints had been on there for 65k miles and 22 years, and objected to being asked to all of a sudden run some 35-40mm lower than it had the rest of its life ...

I've had to replace all four tuning forks and the rear coffin arms, and later this week I'll be fitting steering rack inner "drumsticks" (TRW) and steering rack outer tie rods (TRW) which will hopefully return the car/it's suspension to rude health and complete silence.

Despite the irritation of the various suspension components now rattling and knocking, the Ohlins have been absolutely transformational, and for the first time since buying the car some 14 months ago, it finally actually drives like a 911, but it also rides superbly, turns in like a go-kart and deals with poorly surfaced roads with real aplomb. It's also quieter and has less rolling resistance.