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For my first road trip I went to the Porsche Swap Event in Carlisle PA with the 997 GTS. I got a re-alignment with the new wheels and I can tell you the car drives perfect now.
Its still a bit light in feel upfront but the car tracks so much better. My tire guy said the back right wheel was off, which was the cause of that 'wandering' wheel feel I had before. But I took it on a 300 mile test going to and back from the Porsche Swap meet to really bond with the car. @nwGTS my guy ended up doing a slight 1. toe up front, which is a bit more then you suggested but I figure its all a manner of tuning feel on the car until you find the setup you like. I'll go with this on a bit and then try the 0 degree you suggested.
Thoughts:
Overall the car felt so much more planted but definitely you feel more bumps/imperfections in the road compared to say my Cayman GTS 981 which has a more compliant ride while having PSAM also. I'm factoring the shorter wheelbase of the 997 vs the 981 Cayman as another reason as well. I'm really interested in buying the DCS Controller to see how it controls imperfect roads - which I saw a bunch driving in PA.
PA roads are HORRIBLE. I feel for anyone that lives in PA. Going on 78 West was crazy, two lane highway, with tons of trucks and road construction going on. Lots of patches of new road over old, and of course the 18-wheelers only want to drive on the perfect patched lane, leaving the cars to overtake them by going on the 'rougher' lane. I did this of course.
The 997 GTS has power, but its definitely felt on the higher RPM. To be honest when I first drove the 997 GTS, I didn't really feel it had 408 hp. My Cayman GTS 981 has 340, and I felt they were on par. I also have a Audi RS car that has over 450 HP and you feel the hp in that car. But on the highways I realized the power is in the upper RPMs especially when I want to pass other cars quickly in a higher gear. Lots of power and never feels like you have to downshift to get access to that power.
Looking forward to more drives and seat time behind the wheel. Some more pix from the Swap event:
So checking out tire rack real quick I found out that those Oz Ultraleggera were on sale, in black, so I bought them immediately. The stars were aligning. I also ordered the same tires at those specs (245/35 and 325/30 19's) from my local tire guy. I also ordered new black center lock caps from SunCoast but they were back ordered till may, so I went ahead and just used my previous center locks with the new wheels. I got to say I love the new look. What you guys think?
Offset looks great but that wheel gap tire to fenders? Any thought of lowering springs or coilovers to pull it all together? For your reference, picture attached of one of the rear wheels on my GTS lowered with H&R springs.
The roads in PA are atrocious. Straight trash. They are by far the worst roads I've driven on and I've driven through, just in the last year, NJ,DE,MD,VA, W.VA, KY, Tenn, AL, TX, LA, Miss, FL, GA, SC, & NC. And the kicker is 8 years ago we raised the gas tax to the highest in the nation just to fix them. And not damn one has been fixed. When I want to take a ride I cross the bridge and head into Jersey.
It's one of the reasons I decided not to go on Saturday. Porsche should build a Safari 911 just for us PA guys.
But enough about that. Your car does look like it sits a little high in the rear in that one picture. It almost looks like you have cab springs.
Offset looks great but that wheel gap tire to fenders? Any thought of lowering springs or coilovers to pull it all together? For your reference, picture attached of one of the rear wheels on my GTS lowered with H&R springs.
I was gonna say the same thing - car needs some lowering! Perception when fitting wheels with more offset is that even though ride height is the same, it looks like it sits taller because of the more aggressive wheel fitment.
I was thinking of going with some springs as a future mod, I'm not adversed to lowering a car and have done it with my other cars.....but I already scrapped the speedster lip (the one just done) and worried going lower is going to really go crazy on the lip. I may have to go back to the OEM lip if I do lower the car.
I was thinking of going with some springs as a future mod, I'm not adversed to lowering a car and have done it with my other cars.....but I already scrapped the speedster lip (the one just done) and worried going lower is going to really go crazy on the lip. I may have to go back to the OEM lip if I do lower the car.
Correct. It's about a 1 1/4" drop with the H&R's. Many like the Eibach's and the Techarts better. My understanding is that those two are the same springs. Just different branding. A little less of a drop at an inch even. 1/4" doesn't sound like much of a difference but it's visible. I've had both H&R's and Eibachs.
Going to go with Eibach springs but they are all out of stock. Waiting for them to come back in. Seems for a 997 RWD carrera you need one with the SKU 7217.140, they have one on Eibach but its for AWD cars SKU 7222.140. And they seem to have ones for Cabriolet vs Coupes as well. So confusing.
Also ordered the DCS Controller but that's on back-order as well. Interesting.
Plan is to go put on the DCS Controller first, see how that is on stock setup and then put it on springs to see how much it changes things. Till then I'm on stock.
Get the Bilstien Damptronic coilovers hooked up to DCS controller.
Thats what I have & the ride is magnificent even lowered to the max & with Hoosiers!
Just went to a local PCA meet and a fellow 997.2 owner was thinking of getting the Bilstien Damptronic coilovers. He has DSC controller now and likes it. I wish I got the DSC controller already - damn supply chain.
This is a great forum. As I mentioned I'm waiting for some Eibach sprints and the DCS controller - both are backed up for months with the supply chain. But thanks to this forum I got both.
Thanks to member 9 1 1 who had an extra box of Eibach springs for my car (his was not wide body). And thanks to LA 911 GTS who had an extra DCS controller for the 997.2. Both were great to work with and great examples of the community we have here.
So the Eibach I have to bring it to my shop to install but the DCS Controller I installed today.
WOW - this thing is no joke. It works, it simply just works. I put it in normal and sport and I believe sport has the more compliant ride in my car. Either way while the 997 GTS was a bit rough on uneven roads, I can now see it handle all types of roads with aplomb. I noticed it right away as I was driving. This is simply a no brainer for anyone with a Porsche 997.
WOW - this thing is no joke. It works, it simply just works. I put it in normal and sport and I believe sport has the more compliant ride in my car. Either way while the 997 GTS was a bit rough on uneven roads, I can now see it handle all types of roads with aplomb. I noticed it right away as I was driving. This is simply a no brainer for anyone with a Porsche 997.
Congrats on the car! It's awesome that you found one in your own neighborhood. The DSC box is legit and glad you got your suspension under control. I felt the same way when I installed one my 997.2 C2S. They have a great positive impact on the feeling of control.
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'09 Carrera 2S, '08 Boxster LE (orange), '91 Acura NSX, Tesla Model 3 Performance, Fiesta ST
Jeff Ritter
Mgr. High Performance Division, Essex Parts Services Essex Designed AP Racing Radi-CAL Competition Brake Kits & 2-piece J Hook Discs Ferodo Racing Brake Pads Spiegler Stainless Steel Brake Lines
704-824-6030 jeff.ritter@essexparts.com
Hey, I notice your GTS sits high. Mine is stock PASM (not SPASM, which is .4 inches lower than PASM).
With the exact same wheels and tires, mine appears to sit at least an inch, maybe more, lower than yours in the rear:
Not sure why.
I don't mind mine's ride height, it works for me on real roads. I rarely, if ever, scrape my OEM GTS spoiler, but either avoid or cross any radical grade changes at a 45 deg angle.
BTW, my car has 24K miles on the odo- and had been at this same height since I bought it 15K miles ago.
Good luck with your mods.
I think the OZ wheels and DSC box transformed my own GTS into a far better car in both performance and appearance.
Remarkable improvements for the money.
Hoping I don't end up selling mine.
Last edited by Liste-Renn; 06-04-2022 at 02:01 AM.
Hey Warren, nice build thread! Thx for the message. I think silver Forgeline GA1Rs would look perfect! Mine are spec’d to fill the wheel well a lot better, as recommended by Alex Ross at Sharkwerks. They’re wide body fitment and I haven’t been curious enough to see if they might fit my 7.2 GT3 in the rear, otherwise I’d keep them!
I also picked up a set of TechArt lowering springs for my 4GTS Cabrio but never installed them. Alex had them special ordered for my trim so they may not fit a GTS but then you may not get as low (which might be a good thing for your taste!). I know you already got a set of Eibachs so let me know if mine would interest you and I can inquire from Alex as well.
that floaty feeling was something I couldn’t get used to in my 2 years of ownership, even though it was AWD and I had DSC, too. I think I just needed a more performance oriented car and I’m just ecstatic that I made the financially irresponsible decision to switch to a GT3 in this stupid crazy market lol.
keen to continue following this thread and hope we can meet up for some local meets and drives!
Offset looks great but that wheel gap tire to fenders? Any thought of lowering springs or coilovers to pull it all together? For your reference, picture attached of one of the rear wheels on my GTS lowered with H&R springs.
05-01-2022, 04:42 PM
