LJpete

My first 996 had PSS9's which handled like a dream and was also very comfortable. My best friend has a 996 with x74 and it is quite a bit stiffer than my old car. Handling was about the same at higher speeds but in autocross, my car was dramatically more balanced than his. Of course if you are comparing apples to apples, my old car also had GT3 Control arms with quite a bit of negative camber and GT3 Sways and wider front tires than his did. His car understeers at the limit and this is due to his alignment (more street tune) and his skinny front tires (comparatively to my car).

At any rate, if the car will serve double duty, I would go with the PSS9/10, GT3 swaybars and add bit of negative camber through plates or control arms as it will handle very nicely and still not beat you up driving it for extended amounts of time. The X74 on the other hand can be a bit harsh for rides of 30 mins or more (depending on roads etc...). I have a sensitive back so overly stiff cars can get to me. If you can find some people in your area with either suspension, try getting a ride in their cars to see if it's better suited for your purposes?

SH || NC

Since my C4S will be street driven nearly 100% of the time, and I desire the ride and height adjustability mentioned before, I went with the PSS10s from Gert @ Carnewal.

Jon996

I think you will like them. I went from the stock C4S suspension to PSS10s last year. I am clearly not an expert in suspensions, but found the dampening of the PSS10s to make the ride much less jarring than stock (easier on my back) at any setting from soft to stiff. After playing with the settings, I am now on running front 5 back 7. Even full stiff (10) was very acceptable on our rough roads.!

Just FYI, my ride height at fender went from 27.0 Front 26.5 Rear to 25.5 F/R. No problems hitting the stops on any bumps yet, but you do need to be a little more careful with the front spoiler.

zroadhouse

Any update on your PSS10s? My car goes to the shop tomorrow to investigate the twang/thrust-bearing issue in the coilovers.

SH || NC

Install scheduled for Friday. I'm printing out out excerpts from the threads here for good measure.

chefc4s

i made the switch from stock to pss9 on my 2002 C4S and the difference was dramatic. i am really happy with handling and really stoked with ride height. i am no susp. expert, but i wouldnt call the system crap. its the way porsche should have done it the first time.

ArneeA

check your spring pre-loading...
check if they used the spring perch bushing from factory setup...

zroadhouse

The car is in the shop now. I'm pretty sure they didn't use the factory spring perch bushing (because I have them in a bag with some other "extra" suspension bits leftover from the PO's PSS10 install). I suspect that the thrust bearings (I think this is different than the perch bushing) are either missing or installed incorrectly. The techs said that this was pretty common on the cars they see. The front diff showed some very slight seepage during my PPI, so I thought I'd have both issues resolved at the same time.

After that whole thread on tools, I still haven't used anything on my car but my credit card. At some point soon I'll buy a jack and stands so I can get the wheels off and access the brakes and suspension myself.

SH || NC

Sounds like you are on the right track. Whats the plan for the front diff? Drain; new gasket; fill?

New Thanks for the update; keep them coming.

SH || NC

Sounds like you are on the right track. Whats the plan for the front diff? Drain; new gasket; fill?

Thanks for the update; keep them coming.

Jon996

Hey, when you do get a jack and stands, start a thread on how to get the car onto the jack stands. Need to liven things up a bit!

zroadhouse

I think so. I'll let the tech at the indy guide me here. I didn't get a real good look at it because the car was only up on stands and not on the lift. There was some seepage around the where the driver's side axle enters the diff. The PPI inspector didn't seem to think that it was a big deal, but I want to be proactive about getting it fixed. I only dropped the car off a few hours ago, and they haven't called me back yet.

zroadhouse

Ah yes. I watched them do it at the indy. They raised the car using the front passenger side lift point and the entire front end came up. They then placed the stands under the front frame and were able to pull both wheels off in no time. The techs love how stiff the chassis is on a 996. Kept talking about how superior it was to those older P-cars.

zroadhouse

Just got off the phone with TPWS and yes, they are going to replace the gasket and add some lube. For the PSS10s, the are replacing the front strut mounts and bearing rings. I should have the car back by the weekend.

Jon996

Just one last bit of advice. For a while, be extra careful pulling into driveways, and when parking. That front spoiler is going to get a little lower by the time you're done.