Yogibara

Part 2 is here!!

PROJECT: Pepper FULL SUSPENSION REFRESH For my Porsche 911 - Part 2

FLT SIXX

Yogi. My 2002 cabriolet has almost the same mileage and I know it has had no suspension work in the past 8 years which means it has probably never had any. I have an inspection the previous owner got saying inner and outer tie rods need replaced but he never did it. I have those sitting on the bench waiting for the car's winter storage period. Now after watching your video I'm feeling like I should just do everything at once as you did. I know you haven't been shy about sharing your spending in the past - would you mind sharing a parts list / total bill for the refresh you did?

islaTurbine

Is there any chance that you could list the size of the special socket for tightening the shock nut as well as the various tightening torque figures that you used for all of the suspension pieces? I hate to ask as you've already done so much with these videos but it would be incredibly helpful to me as well as the rest of the 996 community.

Yogibara

Koni shocks use a different sized nut than what The oem shocks used. On top of that, the rear are different that the front.

The front shocks used a 22mm and rear used a 21mm. I didn’t have a 21 and was tired of buying these sockets so I used a crows foot and counter hold tool.

PM me and I’ll hook you up with the workshop manuals. It’ll have all the torque specs you’ll need.

barbancourt

This video brings back memories. You'll love it even more after an alignment.

islaTurbine

6 months later....

@Yogibara
Do you have any thoughts on things that you would have done differently, etc.?

I'm getting ready to dive into my full refresh including the Koni Special Actives.

Yogibara

Hey thanks for reaching out. The suspension is AWESOME. However, I probably have around 100-150 miles of drive time on them. Reason being, I'm rebuilding my engine. During the time I got to drive her, she was very responsive and turns were flat. Smooth highway ride and not jarring at all.

islaTurbine

Oh I had forgotten about your engine mishap. Sorry to hear about that. Hopefully you’ll have her all back in one shape soon!

Thanks again for the vids; they are very helpful.

islaTurbine

I'm about to blow some minds here but I just got off the phone with Koni North America and their technical service rep stated that the Special Active front strut piston rod/top mount torque is 92 ft-lbs (M14 thread with a lock nut) and the rear is 59 ft-lbs (M12 thread with a lock nut). I asked him to double check those numbers because they are way higher than what Porsche recommends for the factory Bilsteins (59 front and 43 rear). He reiterated that his numbers, found on the useless instructions that come with the Special Actives, are accurate.

Yogibara

Agreed on two parts. The instructions are absolutely useless and the torque specs given should be applied since the bolt and nut are a different size than OEM.

islaTurbine

It does make me wonder, though. Clearly the Koni threaded piston can handle the higher torque specification as it’s designed for it, but what about the other Porsche components that interface with it? The rubber shims, the plastic shims, the strut bearings, and even the concave washers. I’d think that the near-double increase in torque that’s recommended by Koni on the front struts would have some sort of negative implication on these pieces.