Hello Everyone!

I've been lurking the RL forums for about a year now and three weeks ago I picked up my first 911! (Arctic Silver 09 997.2 C2)

I've never modified any of my cars before but I can't help myself with my new toy so the time has come for some upgrades.

I'm going to:

1. Add Techart lowering springs
2. Add spacers (7mm & 15mm)
3. Paint (or powdercoat) my OEM 18'' Carrera IV wheels a gloss-gunmetal instead of buying new 19s and use the savings on a tune/sport chrono/ plenum/ ???
4. Paint my calipers red (I know, I know...)
5. I also need tires so I'll be doing that as well...

My questions are; in which order should I do these modifications, and where? I'd like to find a place in Orange County CA to be a one stop shop to keep labor costs and inconvenience as low as possible.

I appreciate any insight/ feedback in advance!

 

Here she is ��

 

I can't tell you where, but it would make the most sense to do springs/spacers/tires/alignment in one shot.

 

I figured as much, if there's a place in OC that has those kinds of parts on hand that would be ideal rather than ordering individually

 

Congratulations dasswerd. Great colour, although I am biased with a Arctic silver 997.1 C2.
My suggestion is to start with maintenance / refurbishment items first, such as tyres and and cosmetic items that may need cleaning or repair, before getting tackling mods.

In particular, you may want to confirm you don't scrape speed bumps and driveways that you regularly encounter before lowering the car. I am the first to admit the base C2 looks better with a little less air around the wheel arches, but as I lightly scrape the chin guard on my driveway I am reluctant to mess with the stock ride height.

There is considerable knowledge and great information here on RL to make the ownership/ driving/ DIY experience even more satisfying. Enjoy!

 

Be careful powder coating the wheels. I've heard that the heat process can change the structural integrity.

 

Congrats and welcome.
A few ideas:
If you were contemplating 19" wheels there are usually a lot of OEM wheels available in the classifieds on Rennlist, PCA website etc.. for about the same price it would cost you to get a good paint or powder coat done.

On the choice between paint and powder. I can't speak to the effect of powder coating on wheel integrity, but it is important to know that touching up powder coated wheels is much more difficult than with painted wheels. I know because I have powder on my Cayenne wheels and subsequently chose paint on my 911 and Panamera wheels.

Also I would suggest doing front and rear sway bars at the same time as the TechArt springs. It is a relatively straightforward job, but it will really take the suspension to a whole new level.

I posted details here when I did my TechArt springs. along with a few other DIY's/mods:
https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...l#post13515970

good luck and post lots of pictures as you progress.

 

I have been toying with painting/coating my exact same 18" wheels in black..... please post pics of them when you do.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

 

If you'll be keeping the same wheels, then first would be tires. That'll make a noticeable difference in performance and performance mods come first.

Not sure what the market is like on the wheels you currently have but if you can easily sell them I'd switch to 19" with a more aggressive offset, rather than use spacers. I was able to sell my OEM wheels easily right away so that made the switch to wheels with the correct offset much less expensive.

 

Ive never heard of any degradation of wheels from powdercoat. its the norm for all wheels in the world. What about the damage to the engine if you mod it ? Nonesense
Powdercoat is the way to go, paint will scrape off when you mount the tires.
For the 3.8, add bmc air filters, add the agency power muffler, xpipe system and add a good ecu software, like evomsit
H&R springs, spacers and get it aligned

 

As others have suggested, before you do anything deal with all deferred and upcoming maintanence. Then get tires. Then drive the car a few months. Then find someone who has made the suspension mods you are considering and drive their car first on the roads you will be driving yours. Then forget about 19" wheels and stay with 18s. Then find an inflatable spare tire that will work with your 18s and keep it in the car at all times. (You'll need a jack and an air pump as well.) A friend of mine with a new Boxster had a flat and the silly little can of goop was useless. Instead he had to wait three hours for the flatbed, then spend another three hours getting the car to the dealer, then spend another hour and a half getting home...all because he didn't have a spare tire.

Then give serious thought to the fact that the Porsche engineers considered many factors in designing the car for real world use (excluding the not having a spare). I also had a car I lowered, only to find I could no longer get in my own drive way. Measure twice and cut once.

 

^^

 

the car pictured is definitely too high, lowering will get about 3/4 inch. And make it look appropriate . So lower it, get a new house. And go from there.

 

Thank you everyone! I now need to find somewhere in Orange County that can take my car for a day or 2 and just make it happen

 

Congrats and welcome!

First mod should be replacing the amber side markers with clear ones.

If you like the TechArt springs, I suggest you look at the Eibachs as well, as they are pretty much the same but the Eibachs cost half as much. FYI the TechArt springs are made by Eibach.

If you are going with 19s and like the ones on my car (see avatar), we can work something out including the spacers and bolts (I have 15mm spacers front and back). Only issue is that you would have to wait approx 4 weeks until my new wheels arrive. Send me a PM if interested.