mnmasotto

Fellow P-Car lovers Help!
I want to lower my 2006 C2 with 19" Carrera Classics about 1" at the most! I cannot decide between new springs or coil-overs. The cost differential is substantial but not a deal breaker. I am interested in the ride quality of both options and any recommendations. I do not want any lower than 1" drop. I recently put coilovers on my Acura TL and was amazed at the difference. However, the stock suspension on my P-Car is significantly better than the stock suspension on my Acura.
Thanks for the feedback!

brad@tirerack.com

Both the H&R springs and cup kit start at an average of 1.2" drops, so their isn't much difference in ride height unless you want to go to the track. If you just want to lower the car a bit and drive normally, go with the springs. Coilovers are nice because you can dial in ride heights and the shock is taylored to the springrate, but more expensive.

RonCT

Easiest solution - don't lower the car. The only reason I'd consider touching the stock suspension is for increased performance at 10/10ths on the track. Even then, the stock suspensions on the 997/997s are very capable. I've never heard of improving ride quality with lower springs or coil overs...

Porsche_Smile

i second that..... your ride quality will not improve with a drop...... just performance will increase......

RonCT

Perhaps my sarcasm was too subtle. I meant to imply that there's no reason to lower a suspension unless perhaps you have demanding track needs. On the street, you cannot come close to utilizing the capacity of the stock suspension and what you will do is worsen the ride, start chewing up body parts on bad roads / driveways, etc.

jrgordonsenior

Don't listen to those East Coast guys. They're stuck with ****ty roads and awful winter conditions. I'd be a pessimistic and sarcastic too if I had to look at my P-car sitting in the garage every day waiting for the ice to thaw........

Are you aware Bilstein is coming out with a PASM compatible PSS9 coil over allegedly very soon. Desiginated "Damptronic" # B-16, the only info I could find at Bilsteiin was here:
http://www.bilstein.com/mistore/prod...pany_id=100484
http://automechanika.messefrankfurt....in+Tuning+GmbH

I would imagine the H & R kit is similar since they usually buy their shocks from Bilstein, while Bilstein buys their springs from H & R.

It's a tough question and one Ive too been contemplating. The lowering springs were awful on the 996's, but they had much softer shocks. The few people who have them here have spoken positively about them.....

RonCT

If you can believe it, here it is the 2nd week of January and I'm out driving every day in my 997S. Today it was sunny and 45 degrees. Should continue through Friday

H&R makes a set, and Champion has H&R make their own custom set. Then I believe there's RUF too...

nkhalidi

This is hilarious, though I guess technically I'm an east coast guy.

I have H&R springs only, and the ride is only marginally stiffer in PASM normal and PASM sport modes. Do a search and you'll find some good threads with lots of info. I also posted before and after track pics awhile ago.

Deanski

Those Bilsteins are really sweet! I'm looking at these as well. These are the PSS9's for PASM and yes called Damptonics.

I know Farnbacher/Loles sells these, but so many Porsche performance shops and track race teams have purchased these, they are in limited supply.

Then you have CROSS coilovers which are the one of the best track/street coilovers for serious drivers.

Springs, H&R is the way to go if you choose just springs.

So far, those that did just springs on PASM cars like them. Only downside if you have an Aerokit as I do, it's scrape city! I'd have to be very careful on steep driveways if lowered, but I just cannot stand how high the car looks now.

Then you could also go with the euro suspension which also is low.

Those are your choices for the most part. You have to ask yourself, if you intend to track at a later date, then the more high-end coil-overs is your choice. If strictly street, then H&R springs.

Regards,
Deanski

ngregson

Below I pasted my previous report on my PSS9's (back in Oct)..decided to go with coilovers vs lowering springs as i didn't want to risk mismatched springs/dampers (had standard suspension). Love the PSS9s..only lowered it my about an inch...looks great, rides great, handles great (PS my avatar still shows the car before lowering)

Nigel



So I had the PSS9 coilovers and Fabspeed mufflers fitted to my C2 today by Performance Automotive of Malvern PA. I haven't had a chance to give the car a full workout yet as it was dark and pouring with rain when I picked it up, but initial impressions are very good.

The PSS9's seem to be amazing. First off, the car looks great lowered an inch or so (I'll post picks this weekend), but more incedible is the ride/handling. Both the ride and handling have improved considerably (vs the old base suspension)..........I thought it was supposed to be a tradeoff between one or the other! The car feels much more hunkered down and hugs the road better. The steering feels weightier but still very precise and communicative. The ride feels "heavier" and smothers the bumps better. Part of this is probably the excellent set up job by Performance Automotive (who are known locally for setting up Porsche track/race cars). I was a bit worried at first that the ride would be too hard, but the suspension is set at 5F 5R and feels great.

The Fabspeed exhaust is also great. beacuse of the rain I wasn't able to open the windows and really hear it, but I really like the new rumble at idle and when I hit the throttle. I'll have to test it out more full tomorrow. I know that many people have the Fabspeed so no new info on that count. I also fitted the 'S' quad tips........not because I'm pretending to be a 'S' but because I really like the way they look (better then all other tips I've seen including PSE), and I also wanted something to look different after fitting a "sports exhaust". They seem to stick out a bit further than the factory fitted 'S' tips, but look great. With the lowering and the new tips, my car now looks (to quote Pete from Performance Automotive) like a BMF (Bad Motherf%$^#r)

All in all a very good investment. It's always a bit worrying when installing mods that you might not like some aspect of the car as much as before the mod, but in these two cases I have no regrets!

ngregson

Here is a pic of the car with PSS9's...not the greatest pic, but you get the sense..

oalvarez

^nice looking car, but then again, i'm biased

Porsche_Smile

gotta love the pss9

Chris C.

I have H&R springs on my 987, and as others have reported they are great

I wouldn't have lowered the car if it had PASM as the 10mm makes a difference (as all the 997s do) but if you have the stock suspended C2 you know my SUV ride height issue

If you go to the expense of swapping sprintgs, make sure you also swap the shocks for Bilstein HDs or equivalent shocks made for shorter spring travel. No a lot of incremental cost...