Originally Posted by Brig993

Drove the car home last night two hours from Butzi Gear in CT down the Merritt through the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn all kinds of road surfaces, highways, etc....Its transformed! This is the way I thought the car should have been when I first got it. The turn in is so crisp, the ride is firm but so controlled and comfortable plus the float I experienced at highway speeds is gone and the ride height is properly dialed in. Also did new Michelin PS2 tires all round plus an annual service. Overall, I highly recommend this set up compared to stock, I'm sure a lot had to do with my car being on original suspension but I only had 28k miles. Also Dave @ Butzi Gear in Milford CT is a wizard with these cars, he sent constant updates, photos of the work, saved all the old parts and even did a short test drive with us picking up the car at 10pm last night. Right before we were about to leave he said wait one sec... and proceeded to take out his torque wrench to check all 20 lugs...this is a professional who cares about his customers and their cars above all.

Originally Posted by butzigear

Quite honestly, I am OCD. I torque the wheels on every car that I work on before & after test drives and just before the car leaves the shop in my client’'s hands. Much like all of the work that is done at my shop, giving that extra attention and effort doesn'’t cost me a thing and I can sleep at night knowing that I did it right. Not to mention retorquing wheels after driving a car after recently removing and reinstalling the wheels should be standard practice. 👍🏽

Originally Posted by HBdirtbag

So i'm having an issue, the car stays aligned for a few days, then starts pulling to the right. I've had it realigned twice by my shop, and it keeps happening. Not sure if there's some worn bushings that can be causing this. Anyone have any thoughts?

Originally Posted by Evolution

Eric (eracer) PM'd me asking the same thing, so I'll repurpose the thoughts I replied back to him with.

In a nutshell, it's the best street system I've experienced - and I still haven't even had a thorough going-through yet. I dropped it back off at the shop last week for alignment and tires; I wanted to give it some miles so everything could seat before aligning. The snow last week killed deliveries so the tires didn't arrive until yesterday. So I had the car back for about a week after the install and used it as a runner around town and met up with a few friends last Sunday for a drive - and that was the first time I actually got into it a bit for an extended backroad session. Also tinkered a bit with the dampening, but not much (tried 13 Front/13 Rear, 8/8, 9/9 before dropping it back off).

First observation - Not a single creak, thud, weird noise, or any unnatural tendencies. I've had coilovers before that knock around (H&R RSS for example) after install while they make themselves at home on the car (and after that in some cases). The Ohlins plugged in and performed flawlessly from the second they were installed. A good first sign, if you ask me. My tech texted me when he was assembling the dampers to tell me they're the nicest units he's seen. Takeaway: quality, quality, quality. The dampers are so beautiful it's a shame to hide them under the car!

Second observation - At 13/13, the dampening was too soft for me, but it gave me an introduction to the DFV experience. The car literally floats over undulations. It tracks straight and maintains 100% connection to the road, but literally soaks up irregularities - in fact, it gives your more control as you aren't scattered by spotty surfaces. Chickens comes to mind, as weird as that sounds; when the birds keep their heads stationary while their bodies move. In accordance to marketing and testimonials, it's the real deal (unsurprising though... we are dealing with Ohlins here). Even at that soft setting, it's not floaty or undersprung. The firmer settings have tightened and speeded everything up, but have not compromised compliance. Takeaway: DFV is legit - it doesn't bang over potholes but still manages to communicate 100% to the driver, so it gives a very noticeable incremental sense of total control. Can't wait to find the evolve right settings for different use/road profiles.

Third observation - Generally speaking, after 100 miles or so I acclimated myself to the suspension and pulled the dampening from 13/13 down to the 8/9 range. I remember one very specific moment driving on a windy back road, on my way home from the gym, thinking to myself "this feels remarkably stock - did I just spend $4k for an adjustable-but-not-much-different-from-OEM-aside-from-lowering suspension?" And then I realized I was mindlessly cruising about 15 MPH faster than typical. Squeezing through sweepers like butter, it was outrageous. Takeaway: building on second observation... these babies = complete composure and elevated tolerance, enhanced the the car in a very organic way.

Fourth observation - Last Sunday I met up with one of my closest friends who in the upper echelon of a local Porsche store and our mutual friend who recently picked up a 991.2 GT3 (Touring, and it really is beautiful). The first thing I had my dealer friend do was take my car for a rip. I value his opinion because of his immense experience with Porsche (and everything else out there, literally) and we've been extremely close friends for over 10 years - we call it like we see it with each other. He came back genuinely enthralled with the car. In addition to the Ohlins, I also recently had SOUL Performance installed a catted X-Pipe (they could be a game-changer in the 996TT exhaust game, by the way, it's motorsport sound through and through) - between that and the suspension, his reaction was that it felt alive. A GT3-Turbo love-child (at least on the street). He was blown away by the car, and has had several stock and modified 996TT's. Secondly, the GT3 driver had to work a little too hard to keep up (although we weren't totally irresponsible on the drive). Takeaway: I'm not clouded by my own rose-colored-lenses and the car has proven to impress unbiased observers.

Fifth observation - I did not do sway bars. I will in the future. I'm pragmatic and acknowledge that they will tighten up the torsion to match the dampening, but I'm going to wait a bit and just savor the coilovers as a monumental incremental add to the experience on their own. I have no doubt that sways will increase the initial bite and general tautness of the ride quality. Takeaway, building on the prior observations, the suspension is so impactful and tuned from Ohlins in a way that feels totally natural on the car, I'm really content at the moment. The car feels unmodified but enhanced. 100% OEM+ (my goal).

Sixth observation - In my mind, for my road-only use of the car, it's clear that going with a suspension of this level transforms the car. I feel like these DFVs are a well-kept secret in that regard - they aren't $10K JRZ/Moton/etc but also aren't overkill for street use.

A little insight into my enthusiast philosophy: I love real car-guy cars. Mechanical, historic, pedigreed, and generally immersive. I also want something drivable and robust, so I like technology that supports engineering (not ergonomics like touchscreens or synthesized and artificial elements (like piped-in exhaust sounds). Lastly, the CARB and other global emissions requirements that have forced manufacturers to move to turbocharging, in my opinion have lost the je ne sais quoi that made these cars so special. Now they feel clinical, sterile, and effective rather than connected, visceral, and alive. To that end, and to suit my purposes I've regarded the 996TT as the sweet-spot of modern engineering and old-school performance for quite some time, and that opinion has galvanized as time marches on and technology in the new 911s (and basically all new cars) renders them 100% unexciting or pedigreed to me.

The "old-school label" is subjective, and we often use it to rationalize weaknesses in performance, chalking them up to "character" and instead ranking the overall experience as the value proposition, and therefore reason to own. One of the old-school, antiquated weaknesses of 996TTs is their suspension. Not totally thrilling stock (not bad though, let's be real here!), but generally tired and outdated after 16+ years (and WAY too high). Engineering has evolved, enter: Ohlins DFV. The car is literally perfect in my mind now. It's a classic example of 911 evolution, true to form (water-cooled, headlights, et al), that's on the cusp of being old(ish) - so in my mind, it has the character but none of the drawbacks. I was fortunate to find my car here, owned by similarly minded enthusiasts (most recently cbracerx) who aligned on the OEM+ philosophy. So my car has an FVD tune, GT2 intercoolers, diverter valves, short shifter, Soul exhaust, OEM GT2 twists. Just some essentials the enhance the car in its original vision. It's as fast as anything out there, engaging (but not abusive) puttering around town, smaller than new cars, and a 100% real, visceral 911. Takeaway: The Ohlins will absolutely pay for themselves because there is nothing that I would trade this car for. Cars will only be added, and some may come and go, but this one stays. Current garage-mates are a 550 Maranello and 599 GTB, both of which offer more of an event, but neither of which is more satisfying. I'm in love with the car and look at it in its current state as a perfect street 911 that will continue to give-back for the rest of time.

Long winded, but it was about time I articulated some initial impressions. Long, long, long story short - they galvanized the car as a modern classic. I have more respect for it than ever and am over the moon with having such a perfect pedigreed Porsche package. It's just another one of those cool 911's that are timeless and downright enjoyable to own and use.

-Joe

Originally Posted by Zookie

I have had PSS9's on my car for 12 years and put 250Km Street/Track/Winter mileage on them. I haven't had any issues and even though i dont feel it, i believe they are "Tired" by now or maybe just in my mind
Thinking of switching them out for Ohlins or the PSS10's but from my understanding Ohlins are more Track Orientated than Bilstein and require a Rebuild at a certain interval?
where as no mention of Service on the PSS9/10's and i haven't had the need either.
Can anyone give some insight? Thoughts?