Ryan Pinkston

I've decide to do lowering springs without replacing anything major and need to know what the minor parts (bushings etc) are that I should replace during the spring install.

dporto

It's difficult to tell before you get in there. A better description of your car would help, but without actually dismantling your suspension it's still a shot in the dark.

trendy996

Your strut mounts for sure. Those are known to go out and when they do it's just annoying to know you didn't do it while you were in there.

dporto

So, now that I'm actually at a computer, a list of things you may want to consider:

#1 - Car age/miles... Has any suspension work ever been done?
#2 - Shocks/Struts - Are you planning on using stock shocks/struts with the lowering springs? Depending on the mileage on them, you may want to re-think this. Once you change out the springs, you're not going to want to go back and change out the stock (B4) shocks and struts if/when they fail due to the extra load from the shortened springs - you'll be better off with sport shocks/struts that are designed for sport springs.
#3 - Top mounts - You definitely want to check these as they tend to crack/fail over time. You may also want to think about adjustable camber plates as it will make it easier to align with the lowered stance.
#4 - Lower control arms (front) - The ball joint in the "coffin arm" tends to dry out and creak and groan - if your front end is noisy, there's a good chance that this is the culprit. These are fairly inexpensive and make a difference if your current ones are beginning to fail.
#5 - Sway bar bushings and drop links - These are easy to check and replace if need be.
#6 - Tie rod ends... self explanatory. Unless you have play in your steering these are probably fine.

The thing about the suspension on these cars, is that there are no "little bits" that don't interact with everything else - Even the little bits make a difference. Certainly there are things that wear faster than others, but the problem is that as soon as you fix/replace one thing you realize that there's a deficiency somewhere else...slippery slope! Good luck

OKB

with a lower spring you get the corresponding bump stop collar

Fracture

depending on the mileage you may want to replace everything associated with
shock / strut assembly

it's fairly easy to sell the used assembly afterwards

Jason @ Paragon Products

Bump Rubbers & Dust Covers

http://www.paragon-products.com/Rubb...343.301.02.htm

http://www.paragon-products.com/Stru...343.505.00.htm

dporto

You can most likely re-use the stock bump stops, but they're cheap so it's probably a good idea to get new ones anyway!

Ryan Pinkston

Thanks everyone! I have an '02 C2 with 91k. I honestly don't know what has been done to the suspension, but it feels tight to me. I bought it from a Porsche dealer that bought it from a guy that babied it for almost 10 years. They said he didn't spare anything when it came to caring for the car, but they didn't mention the suspension specifically.

suprmedic

I'm in this process right now- bought H&R springs, drop links, tie rods, Bilstein shocks but did not buy strut mounts. Long story- but car is now waiting for the strut mounts to be delivered to put everything back together as when the shop took everything apart they were coming apart.

dkraige

I'd do all the things that require removing/disassembling the strut assembly, so you don't have to do that labor again anytime soon. So that would be:

-Upper strut mount
-Strut bearing
-Bump stop
-Dust boot
-Dampers if they are questionable

With the exception of the dampers, these are all cheap parts.

Other pieces (control arms, swaybar parts, tie-rods and ends) can be checked while you're in there, and if you find them to be shot, you can order them and replace them at a later date without having the re-do any labor other than jacking it up and taking the wheels off.

Good luck!