mightytaco

Hey all,

My car's suspension, after 150,000 km's, is shot and feels floaty. I don't track it, just want it to feel like a 911 again. I didn't really notice until I drove a friend's 2000 911 last weekend (his suspension was stock, but his car only had 20,000 km's).

Anyhow, I've decided to try price out a replacement suspension and have narrowed down the following 3 alternatives:

1) H&R Springs and Bilstein Shocks. $299 USD for springs and $699 USD for shocks. Total is about $1000 USD and install is ____ ? (Anyone know how much it costs for shocks and springs installation?)

2) Euro M030. ~1250 USD , 800 USD for installation.

3) PSS9's ~ 2200 USD for parts and 800 USD for installation.

I'm thinking option 1 for the price/value factor since I'll never track the car, but does anyone know how much it costs to install shocks/springs? Is this something I can do myself (without risk of killing myself)?

Thanks in advance.
MT

Dale Gribble

I wouldn't recommend installing them yourself if your not mechanically enclined. Labour is something like 1 hr per corner i believe. I'm not sure what your shop charges for labour but you're probably looking at 4hrs, plus some alignment and what not (someone correct me if i'm wrong).

As for which option to go with, PSS9's will have somewhat harsher ride but you do get adjustable ride height and dampning, which is cool because i think my 996 looks like a damned suv right now. If you don't want to kill you're ride quality or don't care about lowering, you can go with option 1 of course (or throw on some lowering springs as well ).

I'm not familiar with the M030 option so i won't comment on it. What come in the package, do u kno?

Dale Gribble

hey.i just noticed you're in toronto, where abouts are you located?
also..how's ur engine running with a 150,000 kms on it..i don't think i've ever seen a p-car with that many k on it.

teflon_jones

Installation on the suspension will run you $400-500 US including alignment/corner balancing. If you want to do it yourself, here's the instructions (I got these from somebody else):

The Front is the hard part. Jack up the car and remove the wheel. You may nee a spring compressor to remove the old spring but not the new ones.

1. Remove the shorud on the trunk with a torx screwdriver. t-20
2. Loosen the 18mm sway bar bolt that is in strut and remove
3. Loosen and remove the nuts that connect abs wires and brake line so you can move the arm more up and down. You might have to take out the caliper off the hub.
4. remove the 3 13mm bolts from the top of the trunk that holds the strut to the body.
5. Push down the arm and the strut will be in the wheel well.
6. this is the hard part push down the strut and pull it towards you to pull out of the wheel well. Becareful not to hit your fender`. You might need to remove the 18 mm blot that conects the cross arm in the front to the main A arm so the arm has more movement. I did not need to.
7. once cleared you can slide out the strut from the spindle assembly and prepare the new one.
8. Remove the 21mm nut on top of the strut. Becareful I used a impact air wrench and push your weight down so the spring dosenot pop up in your face. The stock spring are not that strong so you can do this. Pay attention to how it comes appart. Put all the necessary parts on the new strut( bumpstop washer housing) and assemeble back wards. The new springs are shorter so the assemble may not have any tension.
9. If your car has Xenon lights remove the little sensor nuts that is hook up to the A arm. This is in the driver side.

Rear easy
1. Remove the long 18mm bolt connecting the strut to the arm.
2. Disconnect both sides of the sway bar. 17mm open end and 15mm nut
the bar should swing easy on the mounts.
3.Use pry bar, screwdriver to force the shock of its mount.
4. Go in the car remove the pannel behind the rear seat. It has no clips.
5. Remove the 3 15mm nuts to drop the strut. Once the strut is droped you can prepare the new one. It is similar to preparing the front. Use the new bump stops. The nut on top is 18MM.
6. install the strut back in the housing and don't tighten yet.
7. place a jack under the shock to compress it so you can put it on the arm. It kind of hard. You need to be a little strong. Once on the arm the bolt wont align. Use a screw driver to lift up the shock just a little on the arm so you can push the bolt through. Once through assemble every thing back.

Remember you need jack stands, and impact wrench. I use air tools so I could do it faster. I imagine a first timer need about 4-5 hours. The sway bar were done already. The rear is easy, the front is kind of a pain. You have to unbolt a lot to get the bar out. I imagine the bars take at least 1 hour for the front and 15 minutes for the back.

mightytaco

Hi Dead-Eye,

Sorry for the (very delayed) response--I didn't notice the questions until now. I'm currently in downtown T.O. The P-car is running well (fingers crossed) considering the mileage. I did some serious thinking before buying it and so far, no major problems. I had to change out the clutch and the flywheel, but other than that, the car is running well. I'm hoping the engine is good for 400,000 km's... (that's what the 993 guys told me a 993 engine will last, i'm hoping the same is true for a 996).

Thanks for the instructions, Teflon--I'm going to order the parts, soon, but have been going back and forth on the H&R lowerin + HD shocks vs PSS9 vs. X74... decisions, decision!

Alon

You'd love the H&R/Bilstein combo. I'm running that in my car along with GT3 sway bars. I'm in Toronto so let me know if you ever want to check it out. I can help with the install as well.

Dale Gribble

^ Alon, do you know a shop that sells the GT3 sways in toronto?

Alon

Hey Dead-Eye, you have a P.M. from me...

peachboy

How low does the H&R gets the car compare to the X-74 ???
Can you post any picture of the whell/fender relation ?

Cheers...gotta love the temperature today....

peachboy

Whell is French for Wheel...sould remove my mitts when typing !!!!!

Alon

The H&R/Bilstein combo is almost identical to the height of the X74. I don;t have any pictures of my car yet but let me know next time you're in Toronto or I'll try to take some pictures this coming weekend. It is too damn cold here today!

redduck996

I've heard alot of people weren't happy with their m030.. Would anyone like to explain why? Is it not as stiff as the x74?
I'm in the same boat but would substitute your opt3 with the x74 option. The pss9 is to expensive and I dont care for the adjustability..

vove

Do it yourself with a buddys help. Its a straight forward installation with a help of a lift of course. Gives you a chance to bond with the car and see how it works. What the mechanics charge for the installation is a ripoff, adding another 1000.00 bucks to that mod and dont forget the alignment.

Alon

If you are capable and you have a place to do it, self-install is not as hard as most people think.

I still think that dollar for dollar, the H&R/Bilstein combo can not be beat.

teflon_jones

Here's some pics of my C4 after lowering with H&R springs. It dropped about 1.25" front and rear.