996 Turbo - Suspension upgrade

996 Turbo - Suspension upgrade

Author
Discussion

stubbsy996

Original Poster:

782 posts

213 months

Tuesday 14th January 2014
quotequote all
Been contemplating a coilover kit as my possible next upgrade!
Bilstein and KW seem to be mentioned quite a lot.

Be interested to hear feedback from anyone who as fitted either of these sytems, or any other systems for that matter.

Also does anyone have any idea what the cost would be, (i.e. labour hours), at a reputable indy for fitting this type of suspension kit if I sourced it myself? (Bilsteins seem to pop up from time to time on ebay, but usually from US suppliers).

When fitting a suspension upgrade kit are there any other parts which will normally need to be replaced, i.e. bushes?

Presumably a 4 wheel alignment will be needed if the kit lowers the suspension?

IMI A

9,410 posts

201 months

Tuesday 14th January 2014
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I'd go with an oem x73 kit. I thought it was pretty good to be honest and not too harsh for road use and also good for odd track day

d41d8cd9

57 posts

143 months

Tuesday 14th January 2014
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What's the purpose of the upgrade?

And yes, an alignment will be needed if the suspension is touched, even if the existing ride height is retained.

_gez_

1,013 posts

194 months

Wednesday 15th January 2014
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I've got the PSS9 kit on mine and it is definitely a big improvement over stock. Without a proper geo though it will be all for nought so take it to someone who knows how to set it up.

sportsandclassic

3,774 posts

218 months

Wednesday 15th January 2014
quotequote all
Hi,

The Bilstein kits are very good but just a little too soft for hard track useage in my opinion. You could probably get it valved and sprung differently.

Perfect for everyday and light track use.

It WILL need a four wheel alignment and all the ride heights/corner weights setting.

Rough cost would be 7 hours labour for removal and refitting. Then £260 for wheel alignment/corner weight.

You may require some additional items like top suspension mounts and lower suspension arms depending on condition.

Mike

Moosh

1,122 posts

221 months

Wednesday 15th January 2014
quotequote all
sportsandclassic said:
Hi,

The Bilstein kits are very good but just a little too soft for hard track useage in my opinion. You could probably get it valved and sprung differently.

Perfect for everyday and light track use.

It WILL need a four wheel alignment and all the ride heights/corner weights setting.

Rough cost would be 7 hours labour for removal and refitting. Then £260 for wheel alignment/corner weight.

You may require some additional items like top suspension mounts and lower suspension arms depending on condition.

Mike

Hi Mike
How does the x73 kit compare to the Bilstein kits. Interested for use mainly on B roads
thanks

sportsandclassic

3,774 posts

218 months

Wednesday 15th January 2014
quotequote all
Moosh said:
sportsandclassic said:
Hi,

The Bilstein kits are very good but just a little too soft for hard track useage in my opinion. You could probably get it valved and sprung differently.

Perfect for everyday and light track use.

It WILL need a four wheel alignment and all the ride heights/corner weights setting.

Rough cost would be 7 hours labour for removal and refitting. Then £260 for wheel alignment/corner weight.

You may require some additional items like top suspension mounts and lower suspension arms depending on condition.

Mike

Hi Mike
How does the x73 kit compare to the Bilstein kits. Interested for use mainly on B roads
thanks
Hi, I have only driven a handful of turbos with the factory upgrade kit on and I know they are a very expensive upgrade and to me just feel very firm on the road with the Bilstein PSS9/10 kits you can alter the compression and rebound rate with one rotary dial and the adjustments are mapped together to suit. Quite a clever compromise and much easier to setup for the end user. Also much easier to adjust than my KW club sport kit as I have to adjust part of it from the bottom of the damper with a thin pin/rod.

In my opinion the Bilstein kit is the way forward for the turbo that is being used for light track work and decent road driving, you can also have the dampers serviced and rebuilt as required.

Mike

acf69

407 posts

171 months

Wednesday 15th January 2014
quotequote all
I have a KW3 set up on my car. The original owner was definitely a track orientated owner and it was very low ( you could not see the tops of the tyres at the front). The handling is great, but dialled down this low meant it was had quite hard a ride and even the camber of the road outside my drive dragged the front splitter. I had it re geo'ed in the summer and cranked up a bit, it is far from a monster truck look now, but is much more drivable as it can manage speed bumps better. I can't compare to the original set up, but having driven quite a few cars over the years it is definitely the most planted car I have driven never mind owned

stubbsy996

Original Poster:

782 posts

213 months

Wednesday 15th January 2014
quotequote all
stubbsy996 said:
Been contemplating a coilover kit as my possible next upgrade!
Bilstein and KW seem to be mentioned quite a lot.

Be interested to hear feedback from anyone who as fitted either of these sytems, or any other systems for that matter.

Also does anyone have any idea what the cost would be, (i.e. labour hours), at a reputable indy for fitting this type of suspension kit if I sourced it myself? (Bilsteins seem to pop up from time to time on ebay, but usually from US suppliers).

When fitting a suspension upgrade kit are there any other parts which will normally need to be replaced, i.e. bushes?

Presumably a 4 wheel alignment will be needed if the kit lowers the suspension?
Thanks for all the responses so far!
I should have mentioned car is/will only be used on the road as I have no foreseeable intention of tracking (but you never know) smile

slodge

512 posts

162 months

Wednesday 15th January 2014
quotequote all
Hi

I had KW v3 suspension fitted to my old 996 Turbo S along with a full rebush. Made the world of difference compared to stock suspension which was pretty tired with all that torque being laid down over the years. Can't compare to Bilstein, but the kit I had made the car much more engaging and fun on the road. Seriously flat aswell through the corners. Being v3 it can be set up lots of different ways so you'd need to make sure to get someone who knows what they are doing on the geo etc. Only downside was as above I had ride height set quite low and removed a few splitters...

Go for it, I think a suspension refresh is one of the best things you can do to an older Porsche.

Cheers

Slodge

stubbsy996

Original Poster:

782 posts

213 months

Wednesday 25th February 2015
quotequote all
Well I finally took the plunge and ordered the Bilstein PSS10 coilover kit from Gert at Carnewal in Belgium!
Cost, with a good current exchange rate of €1.3+ to £1, worked out just over £1,900 including delivery, which is a lot cheaper than you can source the kit in the UK.
Car goes into Autostrasse on Friday for fitting and set up. I'll probably ask them to set it up on it's softest setting with minimum lowering and then see how I get on, as I'm not planning on tracking the car.
Watch this space and I'll post as to whether there's any improvement on the standard set up.

chriscoates81

482 posts

132 months

Wednesday 25th February 2015
quotequote all
slodge said:
Hi

I had KW v3 suspension fitted to my old 996 Turbo S along with a full rebush. Made the world of difference compared to stock suspension which was pretty tired with all that torque being laid down over the years. Can't compare to Bilstein, but the kit I had made the car much more engaging and fun on the road. Seriously flat aswell through the corners. Being v3 it can be set up lots of different ways so you'd need to make sure to get someone who knows what they are doing on the geo etc. Only downside was as above I had ride height set quite low and removed a few splitters...

Go for it, I think a suspension refresh is one of the best things you can do to an older Porsche.

Cheers

Slodge
Ive been eying up the v1 system. I dont need that much adjustment but id like to be able to drop it a little bit. Would you say the quality is pretty good?

IMIA

9,410 posts

201 months

Wednesday 25th February 2015
quotequote all
stubbsy996 said:
Well I finally took the plunge and ordered the Bilstein PSS10 coilover kit from Gert at Carnewal in Belgium!
Cost, with a good current exchange rate of €1.3+ to £1, worked out just over £1,900 including delivery, which is a lot cheaper than you can source the kit in the UK.
Car goes into Autostrasse on Friday for fitting and set up. I'll probably ask them to set it up on it's softest setting with minimum lowering and then see how I get on, as I'm not planning on tracking the car.
Watch this space and I'll post as to whether there's any improvement on the standard set up.
Great let us know how you get on. Also how much is fitting?

ZX10R NIN

27,603 posts

125 months

Thursday 26th February 2015
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I can recommend the BC Coilovers I had the RM Series they were great with the adjustable camber etc

Martian O

2,734 posts

162 months

Friday 27th February 2015
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stubbsy996 said:
...Car goes into Autostrasse on Friday for fitting and set up....
Good guys at Autostrasse but I don't think they have the equipment for a geo', do they send it elsewhere?