Bernie930

Are you sure Victor?
They still have the same 996 part number on the cups, there is an adjustable threaded unit avail. from the RSR.
Bernie

Bernie930

Sorry I didn't read the whole post from the start, If you are looking for more camber, as long as it's not more than around 2deg. you can use gt3 camber plates that have been rotated. (Might need some machined spacers). Whole lot cheaper than lower control arms. BTW the cost for one 997 gt3 cup lower control arm complete is around $800.- ea., cheap compared to the street version.
Bernie

utkinpol

I am getting this done on my '06 997 C2. 997 LCAs are costly but you do not need them. You can get 996 parts installed. The 997 arms are 1,100.88 ea and they are dimensionally identical to the 996 arms which are 315.00 ea, the 997 arms are nicely pressure cast pieces and are smooth on the surface of the cast part and look very nice. The 996 arms, also pressure cast, but a rough surface finish as compared to the 997 arms. They will be under you car and you'll never know the difference.
So I am getting 996 arms, inner rubber bushing blocks, shims, hardware and the little "arm mount" for the litronic (level sensor) for $750.00. Plus 3-4 hours of labor I guess.

10 GT3

First 997s have different front control arms; but can use 996 GT3 control arms in the rear. 997 front arms are longer. You could try to usee 996 GT3 arms in front, but you will need more shims. Make sure you get all the parts:

2 inner halves (same for both sides)
2 outer halves (unique per side due to track arm mount)
4 washers/spacers (2 per control arm for center bolts)
4 nuts (2 per control arm for center bolts)
Leveling headlight shim (1mm, without it you lose self leveling headlights with bi-xenons)
shims of various thickness for camber adjustment

You can get a pair of 997 GT3 control arms with the self leveling shim for $795 from Tagart Engineering. You will need about a 10mm shim pack per side to get over -2 degrees camber. Mount the control arms RSR style: right arm on the left and left arm on the right. Mount the track arms in the offset holes. Otherwise, you will find your caster is out of spec and your tires rub your fender liners. The track arms may also bind up if the control arms are spaced out too far. They are not hard to install. With 2 floor jacks, both sides could easily be done in an hour. You just need to eye how much to turn the tie rod ends out to get the toe close. It will be way off and you could easily feather your tires badly in a just couple of miles if you don't adjust. When I did mine, I had to take 3-4 full turns out of each tie rod. You will need a full alignment after doing this upgrade. Be sure to factor the alignment in your cost.

There are pluses and minuses to doing this over camber plates. Camber plates will be cheaper, but not much. You also can't use gT3 camber plates with regular S or PASM struts. You will need aftermarket plates like Weltmeister (about $500). The down side to camber plates alone is the more you move them in, the less tire clearance you get on the inside. If you get inner rubbing, going with 5mm wheel spacers should take care of it. You won't have any clearance issues with the lower control arms if installed properly and you gain 1 advantage. With the longer control (due to the shims), you gain front track...as much as 2".

eclou

excellent informative post thanks!

ahmeltzer

I'm considereing Tarett GT3 lower control arms for the front end of my '06 Cayman S. I participate in DE events and run Hoosier tires on my car. I have some questions about your recommendations for these control arms.

What are the advantages of mounting the arms "RSR style" vs. right arm on right and left arm on left. How do you "eye" the toe after installing the arms? What is the maximum negative camber you can attain without spacing the arms out "too far"?

I have a pair of Tarett camber plats that were previously used on a Boxster. They fit the Cayman. Would you use the camber plates with the GT3 control arms?

Thanks for your help.

Alan C.

You might want to go over to the Planet-9 site and do a search/post for more information on the Cayman S. Several on that list have made the conversion to GT3 LCAs.

TrackDays247.com

Wow, great information here - I'll use a bit of it to pass on.
Planet 9 is a good reference site; they live and breathe these cars and have quite a few hardcore Cayman guys there -

jurnes

Get your shims from Tarret Engineering in San Diego, about 1/2 the cost of the OEM shims

10 GT3

Wow, I haven't looked at this thread for a long time. You basically have to run the control arms RSR style if you run a big shim pack. The primary issue is rubbing. With the control arms run traditional style in the center or offset hole, they will rub the fender liners when turning with just a 10mm shim pack. Caster gets to be pretty high, > 8 degrees. This isn't necessarily a bad thing as you get more camber gain in the corner. The unfortunate part is rubbing through your fender liners. Flipping them and using the offset hole pulls them back far enough to keep from rubbing while pulling caster back in spec. Unless the car was set really low, you will need to run them RSR style to get any decent camber out of them.

I am not sure why you would want to run camber plates with GT3 control arms unless you are looking at getting a lot of camber, > 3 degrees. The GT3 stock suspension has adjustable upper mounts that can be turned around to add 2 degrees of negative camber. Those cars come from the factory with able to obtain up to 5 degrees negative camber with just rotating the hats and adding shims. Normally for these cars, you just add shims and when you get out to 12-13mm if you still can't get enough camber, you just flip the mounts around and start measuring your shims again. If you want to use camber plates to adjust camber instead of shims, you might as well not buy GT3 control arms. A GT3 control arm with no shims is exactly the same length as a stock Carrera/Turbo control arm.

TrackDays247.com

David over on the 996 section got a set of the RSS LCAs and directed me to this post which is where he got the idea.
This is what we carry now:

dan212

Ed is correct.

You can use the 996 GT3 control arms which are much cheaper. I did the same upgrade on my old 997/4S and used 996/GT3 parts for the project