Porsche 996 Suspension Options

[parmley]

Hello all,

I currently have a 996.1 with 100k miles on its standard suspension. Its time for a refresh and I would also like a sportier drive. Ideally a fast road set up which is relatively good on track. There appear to be many options from the standard M030 to the high end JRZ. Please share your experience with any of these options and comment if I have missed some.

I was going to go with the M030 kit as it genuine and design by Porsche but I feel it may not be low enough and stiff enough for the track day / sports cars feel I am after. Though I have not tried these.

(Lowers F, R (mm)) (Adjustment)

Options Shocks & Springs
- Porsche M030 (20,10) (None) £900 (Includes ARBs)
- Koni Sport (30, 30) (Rebound) £905
- Koni FSD Which springs? £?
- Bilstein B6 (None) Springs? £?
- Bilstein B8 (None) Springs? £?
- H&R Cup Kit (30, 30) (None) £1,200

Options Complete Coilover
- H&R Monotube (Height) £1,550
- KW V1 (Height) £1,396
- KW V3 (Fully) £1,940
- Ohlins DFV (?) £2,250
- Bilstein B16 PSS (Fully) £2,200
- JRZ RS1 (Fully) £2,600

The standard 996 shocks are based on Bilsteins so it seems in keeping to stay within the brand if possible.

Regards

Parmley

Edited by parmley on Friday 2nd January 19:32

[Richie200]

M030 with a good geo and all other suspension components in good order is a lovely car all-round. How this fairs on a track would depend on how committed you are. I think the most important factor in your decision making, is to be realistic in evaluating the conditions in which your car will be used i.e if you only do <10% of your total mileage on track then maybe going the full coilover route might get a bit tiresome for the 90% of the time you are not on track.

Edited by Richie200 on Friday 2nd January 21:54

[parmley]

It does sound like the M030 kit is the answer. I just wonder if newer equivalents could offer better performance all around as the M030 kit is based on the mid 90's Bilsteins so is quite behind the newer models (potentially).

A shorter B6 or B8 teamed with the springs and ARBs from the M030 kit I guess is what I am looking for. I wonder if the Koni sport kit is just this. A newer tech M030 offering better ride and handling.

[NNH]

I had a pretty good experience with M030 on my 2002 996, including a few track days, daily drive commuting and some very long road trips.

[s_mcneil]

I've just had the Ohlins DFV kit fitted to my 996GT3 and couldn't be happier. Previously had the KWV3 fitted to a C2 and I'm happier with the Ohlins.

Checked pricing and I paid 1400+VAT for the GT3 kit, the C2 kit sells for 1900+VAT... ?

Doing the man manths, once you factor in the cost of fitting and alignment etc the difference between a good coil-over kit and just lowering springs isn't worth the compromise in quality.

[lanan]

I fitted Bilstein B6 to my 996tt,...just before they released the Ohlins kit.
The B6 were ok, but wished the timing had been better to give me the Ohlins, which is quality.

[MrC986]

OP, I had a C2 with KWV3 both with a GT3 RS set up (on it when I bought it along with GT3 top mounts) & then a slighter milder fast road setup courtesy of CofG & a friend has just had M030 put on with a CofG fast road/track setup so I'm hoping to have a drive in his soon to compare. My original setup was like holding onto a terrier on acid as it tracked every camber change & was also set too low for my liking. I also found the ride a touch firm unless you were on it....I'll be interested to see which way you go with this as another friend is considering the same though will probably go with the M030 & a more stock fast road setup rather than the full corner weighting scenario.

[fioran0]

The only KW stuff that is based around a monotube design is the top of the line Competition 3 way adjustables. The others are all twin tube.
Thats enough by itself to see them bumped from any list I would be compiling. You pay your money however and you are free to take your own view.

[poppopbangbang]

I have Ohlins on my C4 and I can't rate them enough. Way better than anything else for similar money. Had Bilstein PSS9 on my C2 and the Ohlins are better all round - I made my own spherical top mounts for them though as the standard C2/C4 top mounts are rather flexible!

[ShakMan]

How do Ohlins compare to KWV3 on the track ? Are the Ohlins fully adjustable ?

I am new to Ohlins on Porsche but they seem to be a good product, and I know they have a very good reputation with other makes.

The problem with KWV3 from what others tell me is that the front springs are too hard and rear too soft. The setup works well at the Ring, but is not stiff enough at places like Silverstone / Spa.

I probably do mainly track driving on UK circuits so looking for more of a track set up with some reasonable road manners. It seems the Ohlins fit this bill but looking for feedback.

From memory the Ohlins are cheaper too, think around 1700 GBP. What is the best place to purchase ?

Edited by ShakMan on Saturday 3rd January 10:30

[parmley]

ShakMan said:

From memory the Ohlins are cheaper too, think around 1700 GBP. What is the best place to purchase ?

Edited by ShakMan on Saturday 3rd January 10:30

Ohlins appear to be more around £2,200 so more than the KW V3's

[parmley]

I will be speaking with a couple Porsche specialists and Centre Gravity this week to help me decide which way to go. I have already spoken to the specialist I use, they recommended either the M030 or the Bilstein B16 - PSS9/PSS10 if funds permit. This is based on a requirement of fast road, occasional track use.

The M030 kit seems like too easy of an option for me, I like to research and go off centre a bit with my purchases. I initially really wanted the JRZ kit as it seems to be rather special and not yet popular in the uk. Then when getting a quote for more than double other options I started looking at the cheaper end of the market.

Currently the Koni Sports are my favourite. I will report back in a few days.

Has anybody had the M030 kit fitted (parts, labour and alignment) any cheaper than £1400 inc VAT? This is the price stated on Autofarms website. Seems reasonable as many places state 5 hours labour plus £200 alignment and set up.

Edited by parmley on Saturday 3rd January 17:42

[parmley]

s_mcneil said:

I've just had the Ohlins DFV kit fitted to my 996GT3 and couldn't be happier. Previously had the KWV3 fitted to a C2 and I'm happier with the Ohlins.

Checked pricing and I paid 1400+VAT for the GT3 kit, the C2 kit sells for 1900+VAT... ?

Doing the man manths, once you factor in the cost of fitting and alignment etc the difference between a good coil-over kit and just lowering springs isn't worth the compromise in quality.

£1,680 inc VAT seems quite cheap for the Ohlins kit.

Where did you purchase it from if you don't mind me asking.

Edited by parmley on Saturday 3rd January 20:43

[jimmyslr]

parmley said:

I will be speaking with a couple Porsche specialists and Centre Gravity this week to help me decide which way to go. I have already spoken to the specialist I use, they recommended either the M030 or the Bilstein B16 - PSS9/PSS10 if funds permit. This is based on a requirement of fast road, occasional track use.

The M030 kit seems like too easy of an option for me, I like to research and go off centre a bit with my purchases. I initially really wanted the JRZ kit as it seems to be rather special and not yet popular in the uk. Then when getting a quote for more than double other options I started looking at the cheaper end of the market.

Currently the Koni Sports are my favourite. I will report back in a few days.

Has anybody had the M030 kit fitted (parts, labour and alignment) any cheaper than £1400 inc VAT? This is the price stated on Autofarms website. Seems reasonable as many places state 5 hours labour plus £200 alignment and set up.

Edited by parmley on Saturday 3rd January 17:42

I had JRZ kit in my 993rs. Can't say I was that excited about it to be honest and I certainly paid through the nose, including paying for a super duper set up with a race engineer... which had to be redone. Grrrr. Needed rebuilding after a few years at significant expense also. I'd skip it if I was you.

I've been very happy with nitrons, Penske and ohlins in other applications.

I have a friend or two with KWv3. They tracked it a huge amount and had no issues with it not suiting silverstone, brands etc. They were also driving it at top end of track day scene so not an issue of kW not suiting fast tracks/drivers.

[ShakMan]

parmley said:

Ohlins appear to be more around £2,200 so more than the KW V3's

No, Ohlins can be had for £1679 inc. VAT!

http://store.ohlinscoilovers.co.uk/ohlins-r-t-coil...

Where did you see the KWv3 price for £1939 ??

Thanks.

[s_mcneil]

That's the GT3 kit, check C2 kit prices. Doesn't really make sense but that's the price..

http://store.ohlinscoilovers.co.uk/ohlins-coilover...

Edited by s_mcneil on Sunday 4th January 11:48

[s_mcneil]

parmley said:

£1,680 inc VAT seems quite cheap for the Ohlins kit.

Where did you purchase it from if you don't mind me asking.

Edited by parmley on Saturday 3rd January 20:43

I bought direct from Chris at CentreGravity and then he fitted/set up. The price is the same from places like Design911. As mentioned in the post above the GT3 kit is substantially cheaper than the C2 kit, not sure about the logic in that.

[parmley]

ShakMan said:

No, Ohlins can be had for £1679 inc. VAT!

http://store.ohlinscoilovers.co.uk/ohlins-r-t-coil...

Where did you see the KWv3 price for £1939 ??

Thanks.

Motorsportworld do the KW's at that price.

http://www.motorsportworld.co.uk

[donski]

I am surprised that there has been no mention of Nitrons in this post

My 911 996 TT has NITRON 3-way (high-speed bump, low-speed bump, and rebound). Monoblock with external reservoir. They are currently set for Fast road but are easily adjustable to extreme track settings. They were fitted by Ray West at West Tune Thruxton.

Don

[LaSource]

donski said:

I am surprised that there has been no mention of Nitrons in this post

My 911 996 TT has NITRON 3-way (high-speed bump, low-speed bump, and rebound). Monoblock with external reservoir. They are currently set for Fast road but are easily adjustable to extreme track settings. They were fitted by Ray West at West Tune Thruxton.

Don

I have Nitron 3-ways with external reservoirs and dual springs on my 996 GT3.

As others have said, you also need to ensure you have the right geo and other handling items sorted. My car also has a fair amount of rake and therefore rides fairly low at the front. It has an aggressive geo on it and a recently renewed diff with Motorsport plates.

Notwithstanding the geo and ride height, it behaves very well on the road (no random camber sniffing, etc). The springs are much stiffer than OEM, however the dual springs soften road manners over milder undulations.

On track the setup is sublime! Huge amounts of grip (wet or dry), progressive behaviour, etc

However, 3 ways can be a bit OTT as you can easily get yourself in a twist with the various levels of adjustment.