AeroSmith

Howdy y'all!

After 17 years of pre-GM SAAB turbos I just picked up my first Porsche, an Arctic Silver 2003 Carrera Coupe six speed with PSM, Xenons, premium stereo and disk changer. I've dinged up way too many wheels in my time and so I stuck with the stock 17" Carrera wheels.

I've been wanting a 911 since I was a kid so this is a real dream come true for me.

At 900 miles I am absolutely in love with the car. It is everything I always wanted my SAABs to be and so much more. It's a daily driver and long distance touring car for me, though I work from home. I like to have fun on the back roads and twisty blue highways and I like to rocket on the Interstates. But this car won't ever be a track car. For me it's perfect in every way and I don't want to make any major changes to any of the stock systems.

But, I always swore by Bilstein shocks on my SAABs and even have a set on our beater '94 Nissan pickup. I really like they way they firm up a car's ride without making it harsh. I also like the fact that they're heavy duty and seem to last forever.

I was looking at the Bilsteins for the 996 on the Carnewal.com site (p/n VN7-4612 B6 Sport for the fronts and p/n BE5-2993 B6 Sport for the rears). Has any one here tried these on their 996? How do you like them as compared to the stock shocks? Any problems with fit? Any other thoughts?

Many thanks! I'm really enjoying this fantastic board.

mooty

if you don't track it and must have bilstieins, you should look into PSS9's. i have them on my C4S, it changes the balance of the whole car. if you think your C2 handles well, wait unitl you have PSS9.

however, if you don't track, the stock shox are pretty nice. wait until the wear out. or maybe goto Euro m030 or X73 (or is it X74, can't remember). however, these may not be bilstein shox.

TT Gasman

You already have Bilsteins, the stock shocks on a 996 are Bilstein.
If you're not tracking it, leave the suspension stock IMO or consider RoW M030. Bilstein HDs would be a good replacement when the stock units wear out.

stiles_s

Are you *sure* the stock shocks are Bilstein? I know the X74 shocks are Bilsteins, but my local Porsche shop, who is pretty knowledgeable, says the stock and 030 shocks are Monroes (of all things).

TT Gasman

100% sure. Monroes were used on the 993 series. 996's use Bilstein shocks, I know because my std shocks and my 030 shocks are stamped "Bilstein".

AeroSmith

SWEET! I knew I liked everything about this Porsche.

Alon

All 996s have shocks made by Bilstein but they are not equal. For the 996 C2, for example, there are 4:
1- North American 996 non-sport
2- North American 996 Sport (030)
3- Rest Of World 996 Sport (ROW 030)
4- X74 (the only Bilstein that uses Bilstein specs as opposed to "Porsche" specs.
I have confirmed with Bilstein North America that X74 shocks are absolutely identical to the aftermarket Bilstein Sport Shock.

For the C2, the front shocks have a lower spring seat or perch (the part that the bottom coil of the spring sits on) that is welded on. The rear shocks have a spring seat/perch that is a metal collar that slips over the body and is held at a specific height by a strong circlip that fits onto a groove in the shock body. I have had Bilstein shocks on other cars (Audis) where I had additional grooves cut into the body of the shock. This allowed me to have height adjustability without going to coilovers (for various reasons at the time). I wonder if we could do something similar for the front shocks. I wouldn't recommend it for stock shocks because the piston rods are not designed for extreme lowering and will "bottom out" but the aftermarket or X74 Bilsteins are designed with a much shorter piston rod and allow for and are designed for lowered springs. Any thoughts from anyone on this?

Gert

That is not true.
The X74 shocks have a higher damping rate and the shaft is a lot shorter than the Bilstein Sport shocks. The housing and the color are the same though.

Yes, I have both in stock so it was easy to compare.

Alon

I am not saying that they are identical to the Porsche Sport Shocks, I am saying that they are identical to the Bilstein Sport Shocks if purchased aftermarket. In other words, they are very different to any other OEM Porsche shock and are identical to Bilstein part numbers VN7-4613 and BE5-2994. It just so happens that Bilstein calls them Sport Shocks (versus their Heavy Duty shocks). Does that explain what I meant?

AeroSmith

OK, so are the Bilstein Sport shocks that I see on the Carnewal site different than my stock shocks? If so, how?

Alon

They are quite different in design and performance. Some differences include:
1- compression stiffness
2- rebound capability or rate
3- They are inverted and monotube high pressure gas
4- They are yellow

911mike99

Thining of getteing bilstein Sport shocks. How hard will these be to install?

Hardback

this thread is from 2003.. may want to start a new one. plenty of guys have done the swap. Do a search of pss9 pss10 install.

quickxotica

Holy thread revival! Almost older than my car.

911mike99

I did do a search. This is what I got