Diego JP

Hey Guys,
So after lots of research I decided to buy set of Bilstein PSS10 B16 Coilovers. This was back in September and they where supposed to arrive within 2 - 4 weeks.
Since then every 8 weeks or so the shipping date has continued to be bumped further and further. In February I was told they would ship on the 28th of April and today after calling up Bilstein N.A they told be its now been bumped to the end of July.
At this point I would like to either find a set of lightly used Bilstein B16s or an alternative set up that works with PASM.

Any helpful tips???

Thanks Guys!

JG 996T

Interesting. Are they not making these components anymore? I've had the same issue with the Bilstein B8s that I ordered (and paid for) in January

TT Surgeon

Johnny DB

TT Surgeon, have you gotten your B8s?

512bb

Cancel the order, buy yourself Tractive Shocks and a DSC module. Nothing comes close!

strato58

$7400!

RajuPatel

512bb is right... next best would be OHLINS.. I have used B16s and boy are they a hard ride...

ShatterPoints

Have you run ohlins? I'm trying to figure out the best streetable coilover to put on.

JG 996T

My B8s w GMG springs and a few other items will be up for sale soon. (like new - 1500 miles)

IMI A

Are these definitely better than Bilstein? I can't believe that with all the money Bilstein have to spend on R&D compared to TPC/Tractive. Also whats the price difference?

JG 996T

$7400 for tractives w/o DSC (+1190).

$2500 Bilstein B8 w/o DSC (+1190)

I can't comment on the tractives, but B8s were damn good sport suspension.

Tom@TPC Racing

Yes, in the aspect of damping performance, much wider dynamic range, construction, reaction time to command, having custom spring selection, having zero friction axial spring bearings, includes fully articulating monoball front camber plates and monoball rear top plates.
No, in the aspect of Tractive coilovers are priced higher.


In this case it has nothing to do with R&D budget. It is of my opinion that the bigger company mentioned is much more focused on OEM supplier contracts than to cater to the relatively smaller-volume niche market. Also please keep in mind that that technology was originally developed for Porsche OEM on the first 997.1 models, so it as good as it was, it is now a 15-year old technology. I respect this technology as it opened the gate for what is available today!

Tractive is a company that is appropriately-sized and delighted to make custom coilovers(to our damping range specifications) for our niche market volume needs using their marveled and patented DDA valve technology. For those interested to know, Tractive does meet the standards and is an OEM supplier for shocks and struts, but the Tractive brand name is not as popular as the other company mentioned because Tractive is a younger company, and that the DDA valve's cost per unit is rightfully higher than aging technology counterparts for OEM application.


This question is difficult for me to answer because I in my opinion B4/B6/B8/B16 are "Big-box store" type products that are subjected to price variations, often well below the MSRP. Not that there's anything wrong with that, these are good product for their price range. Just can't put an exact price in for comparison.

Tractive being an ultra high performance level product that's customizable, a set of Tractive RT 997TT coilovers sell for around $7K.

As a side story, before 2014, that was before we partnered with Tractive, we were upgrading B16's by swapping to stiffer springs and by adding front and rear monoball top plates and spring hats. We did this because it was the only option for electronic coilovers back then. By doing so the price gap to what a set of Tractives cost today became closer. The upgrades definitely improved the performance of the aging technology but not to the level of Tractive.

I am not trying to disrespect any brand, the bottom line is each of the two brands mentioned offer a great products for different price ranges. I'd say the performance-per-dollar factor is pretty well equaled.

bondjockey

Tom, correct me if I am wrong but I understand the the Tractive solution is not plug and play for the Turbo as it is for the GT3. Can you specify the mods necessary to install Tractives on a 997TT?

Tom@TPC Racing

You are correct that the fitment is different between a GT3/GT2/RS and a Turbo/Turbo S/C4/C4S(the AWD cars)
When a set of Tractive coilovers are ordered for an AWD car we automatically provide the exact-fitting configuration for this car.
There's basically three differences in the fitment between a RWD and AWD 997, we have all three items covered. The three items are:

1. AWD requires an "Angled" front top plate. The angle is for providing clearance for the front drive axles.



2. The non-GT cars require sleeves for the front. Using sleeves to adapt GT/Cup/RSR spec front coilovers on 996/997 cars has been a common practice for aftermarket and racing industry for almost 20 years.



3. AWD cars require aftermarket adjustable front sway bars links. We offer Tarett Engineering front sway bar mounts as an option. Alternative C2-style adjustable front sway bar links can be used depending on what sway bar the car has.



We have all three items covered for AWD front fitment. Here's how they look on the car.
No difference in the rear for AWD and RWD.

bondjockey

Thanks Tom! I will keep adding to the piggy bank.