Hello All,

I've been a long-time lurker but finally decided to make a post after seeing some discussion about ways to make the 997 handle a bit better. I have a 2006 C2S and recently had the Eibach adjustable sway bars installed in combination with their springs.

My initial thoughts are "holy hell I wish I did this sooner!" I drive my car quite a bit and do a fair amount of canyon and track driving so this was a definite necessity for me. This is also my first Porsche after being a life-long Porsche fan but not my first sports car by a long shot. I hadn't driven a 911 before but I was surprised at how soft it was in stock form. I guess that's where the GT3 comes into play, but throwing it into corners faired a good amount of body roll and movement, something I guess I didn't expect from a Porsche. Even with PASM turned on, I felt it still could use some stiffening.

Once I installed the sway bars, my break-in location was Buttonwillow Racetrack and I could immediately tell how much better the car felt. The body roll was reduced to almost nothing (made me realize the tires are the next weak link) and the driving dynamics were far more precise. It was such a joy to drive, especially as my confidence kept building (my first time on that track and tracking this car) I just kept pushing and giving it more. I had the rear bar on the middle setting, however I felt it could go to notch 3 for a bit more stiffening.

As far as road driving is concerned, the car still handles really great. Between the springs and sway bars, the ride quality is a bit stiffer but it feels far more poised and ready for anything. The responsiveness is welcoming and I think this is how the car should have felt from the beginning.

Another notable perk to going this direction is Eibach's products don't come with a Porsche tax like most others do. I am finding out now that I am in the Porsche world, almost everything related to the name Porsche usually comes at a pretty steep price, so it was pretty refreshing to obtain products at a realistic price point.

I hope to post more in this group as I spend more time here and will try to respond to any questions I can in a timely manner.

 

Hmmmn...I notice that you were able to use the stock links. I've been thinking about doing this in addition to their springs, which I'm in the process of installing. You may have pushed me over the edge as I track mine 10-12 days a year.

 

PS Did you do the front as well? (Pics appear to be of rear only.) If so, I assume they are also adjustable? Do you have the Eibach item numbers handy by chance? (Yea, I'm lazy.) Thanks.

 

I had the Eibach Pro-kit springs on my car for a couple years now with PASM. I really enjoy them for all the reasons you mentioned, but like you, I did still notice some rear end wiggle at the track. I also go to Buttonwillow too! About 6 months ago I purchased the 3 way adjustable 25mm rear sway bar by Eibach and it made a really nice difference for me. The rear end feels way more planted and flat through the corners and s-turns. Stiffening up the rear sway bar will give you more oversteer character. 911s tend to push more when stock, so adding the stiffer rear sway bar helps with turn in and less understeer.

I have a C4S so stock rear sway bar is closer to 19-20mm and the 25mm Eibach bar thickness is the same recommended for GT3 or GT2 stock. Was a very nice price point considering it is almost identical to the GT2 oem part which was $200 more. With this bar I had to use GT2 Bushings which look to be drilled out bushings in order to work with the 25mm bar thickness. The Bushings were $50 at a discount considering regular oem bushings are half that price. I also purchased new oem droplinks just to keep things fresh back there.

REAR ANTI-ROLL Kit (Rear Sway Bar Only) 7217.312 Rear Sway Bar is Tubular and 3 Way-Adjustable. 25mm
GT2 rear sway bar bushings required in order to fit fatter rear 25mm sway bar. Part # 997-333-792-95

 

REAR ANTI-ROLL Kit (Rear Sway Bar Only) 7217.312 Rear Sway Bar is Tubular and 3 Way-Adjustable. 25mm
GT2 rear sway bar bushings required in order to fit fatter rear 25mm sway bar. Part # 997-333-792-95[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the information and commentary, qikqbn. Question: any reason why you did not opt to do the front sway as well?

 

Oh, to hell with it...I just ordered front and rear through CARiD. Seemed like a damn good price.

 

Hey Fellas,

The part number for the kit (front and rear) is E40-72-007-05-11. MAP price is $649. We also have adjustable end links that can be added. This kit was designed and manufactured at our plant here in California.

Specs:

Front bar is 26mm, solid and 2-way adjustable.

Rear bar is 25mm,tubular and 3-way adjustable.

Shoot me a line if you have any specific questions. I've been hanging out in the 997 GT3 forum lately, but I am still around

Ryan

 

Thanks for the info, Ryan. Somebody from Eibach...it may very well have been you...posted some time ago on another thread the "spring rates" (torque rates?) associated with each of the adjustment locations on the respective Eibach bars, front and rear, as well as those of the stock roll bars (which of course was only a single rate for each). That was very helpful...I printed it for future reference. I wish that kind of information was made readily available by the manufacturers for similar aftermarket products.

 

Front Bar Specs Oem:

Carrera 2 - 23.6 x 3.5 mm
Carrera 4 - 22.5 x 3.5 mm
Carrera 2S - 24.0 x 3.8 mm
Carrera 4S - 23.6 x 3.5 mm

Rear Bar Specs Oem

C2 - 18.5 mm x 2.5 mm
C4 coupe - 21.7 mm
C2S - 19.6 mm x 2.6 mm
C4S Targa and Cabrio - 20.8 mm


The C4S I have came OEM with actually a thinner front bar than C2S to help with better turn in and also because of extra weight up front from the front transfer case and axles.
Even with that, compared to my Cayman S, my 911 still pushed in tight hairpin corners. Especially in corners like turn 2 at Buttonwillow called "Off ramp". You just have to be very patient with the throttle on corner entry till the apex and then throttle it after the apex.
So I wanted to dial out understeer and dial in a bit more oversteer character. Plus my rear end wiggle was still quiet noticeable on track and blasting through the canyons. So the rear sway bar only for my application was just what I was looking for.
My C4S now turns in noticeably sharper and much less rear end wiggle. I have my bar set to the "middle" adjustable hole.

With that said, my thinking was/is, that if I decide to also add the thicker front sway bar kit later, then I wonder if, although overall stiffness anti/roll flatness is improved, I wonder if that stiffer front end bar would actually dial back in some of that understeer push I was trying to get rid of with just doing the stiffer rear bar.....does that make sense?? that's a crazy sentence..

Now there is no denying Eibach knows their stuff and puts great kits together. The C2S does have a lighter front end and less hardware up front than C4S, so you will have to experiment, but I don't think you can go wrong with Eibach's sway bars. They make great products. If you are curious, maybe just install rear sway bar 1st. Take it for a canyon test drive and then install the front bar to see how it changes the handling. One thing that is nice is that sway bars are generally an easy install. less than an hour

 

Thanks again, qikqbn. Makes sense to ME.

 

Gee, the car in the OP's message (his first ever) plugging Eibach products sure looks a lot like your car after the installation of an aero kit that you mentioned you were going to be doing in the thread I referenced earlier. Right down to the wheels and after market lights. Surely that is mere coincidence.

 

That is my old car. I moved on to a GT3 last year.

https://rennlist.com/forums/997-gt2-...-in-socal.html

You can look Nick up on FB, where he's very active in the 997 group. He's local and we used his Colorado for R&D too.

I don't need to create a fake account to get a review on a new product.

 

Sure is one hell of a coincidence.

 

 

I loved my S but the GT3 is absolutely amazing in every away. I still see Nick around town in my old car and do have some regrets, though. Glad he's putting it to good use.