2010 Cayman S suspension refresh
Discussion
In the new year I want to look at the suspension on my 987.2 CS, I've been considering it for a while now. I have a rattle/clank from the rear right of the car which sounds like the suspension so would want to get that sorted and at the same time would like to tighten up the handling without compromising ride quality (I'm on passive dampers and 18 inch wheels).
I considered shocks/springs but I feel that changing anything like that would stiffen the car too much for me to enjoy on the bumpy roads where I live, I considered changing wheels but don't like the look of 17s on the car and 19 inch wheels which are lighter than the present 18s are quite pricey.
What I'm looking at really then is refreshing the existing components such as bushes etc to improve handling (assuming the rattle from the back isn't a broken spring, in which case I may look at replacing them too). Which components would give the best improvements for handling without compromising ride quality?
I considered shocks/springs but I feel that changing anything like that would stiffen the car too much for me to enjoy on the bumpy roads where I live, I considered changing wheels but don't like the look of 17s on the car and 19 inch wheels which are lighter than the present 18s are quite pricey.
What I'm looking at really then is refreshing the existing components such as bushes etc to improve handling (assuming the rattle from the back isn't a broken spring, in which case I may look at replacing them too). Which components would give the best improvements for handling without compromising ride quality?
Would also be interested in opinions on this.
Presuming you're on passive set-up OP, or PASM?
Have you looked at wheel alignment by one of the reputable specialists such as Centre Gravity, Parr etc? Others seem to have had very positive results from this and as part of the process they would give your suspension a thorough look over and advise if anything is required to bring it up to standard.
Presuming you're on passive set-up OP, or PASM?
Have you looked at wheel alignment by one of the reputable specialists such as Centre Gravity, Parr etc? Others seem to have had very positive results from this and as part of the process they would give your suspension a thorough look over and advise if anything is required to bring it up to standard.
The car has done 44k miles, this has come about from me considering what I can do to improve the car while it's in for the clunking to be sorted out. I do like how the car drives right now but while the opportunity is there I'm thinking I could upgrade or refresh tired components with new ones. It may not be worth it of course, but my budget is flexible and if I drove only on completely smooth roads I may just have coilovers installed - sadly not the case in Berkshire 
khushy said:
Having mine done next year - complete OEM refresh - had 2 quotes of exactly £4k
2010 Spyder + 118,000 miles
Love the original suspension so not wanting to go aftermarket
Is that absolutely all the components being refreshed? I have considered Cayman R/Spyder dampers and springs but have heard they are a bit harder on the road than the standard S setup.2010 Spyder + 118,000 miles
Love the original suspension so not wanting to go aftermarket
Coil overs won’t give you a worse ride. If anything they will be far better. I removed my oem passive suspension with 15,500 miles on them.
They were fine but oem including r / Spyder dampers only come together above 50-60 mph. Below this the ride feels stiff but mainly like riding the dampers as the springs aren’t strong enough.
A decent set of coils, KW or Ohlins transforms
The car into what you would expect of the chassis. Plush low mid and High speed ride. Less roll and more overall composure. Don’t lower more than 20mm mind.
They were fine but oem including r / Spyder dampers only come together above 50-60 mph. Below this the ride feels stiff but mainly like riding the dampers as the springs aren’t strong enough.
A decent set of coils, KW or Ohlins transforms
The car into what you would expect of the chassis. Plush low mid and High speed ride. Less roll and more overall composure. Don’t lower more than 20mm mind.
jayxx83 said:
Coil overs won’t give you a worse ride. If anything they will be far better. I removed my oem passive suspension with 15,500 miles on them.
They were fine but oem including r / Spyder dampers only come together above 50-60 mph. Below this the ride feels stiff but mainly like riding the dampers as the springs aren’t strong enough.
A decent set of coils, KW or Ohlins transforms
The car into what you would expect of the chassis. Plush low mid and High speed ride. Less roll and more overall composure. Don’t lower more than 20mm mind.
That sounds perfect, I had considered the KW variant 1 coilovers so I'm tempted to look into that now. Can you lower them 20mm?They were fine but oem including r / Spyder dampers only come together above 50-60 mph. Below this the ride feels stiff but mainly like riding the dampers as the springs aren’t strong enough.
A decent set of coils, KW or Ohlins transforms
The car into what you would expect of the chassis. Plush low mid and High speed ride. Less roll and more overall composure. Don’t lower more than 20mm mind.
A1VDY said:
Coffin arms will cause the noise if worn, it's a very common fault.
Poly bushed ones will provide a permanent solution.
This is interesting as I had one replaced last year because it was broken. I'll look into poly bushed ones cheersPoly bushed ones will provide a permanent solution.
Edited by A1VDY on Tuesday 31st December 19:29
I highly,, highly recommend Koni FSD or special active if they are available for the 987.
Digressive platform damping like Ohlins but designed for normal ride heights.
They are superb (and to clarify I've experience a lot of different suspension setups, Bilstein, ohlins, etc on various cars).
For a road car, they are excellent.
Digressive platform damping like Ohlins but designed for normal ride heights.
They are superb (and to clarify I've experience a lot of different suspension setups, Bilstein, ohlins, etc on various cars).
For a road car, they are excellent.
A1VDY said:
Coffin arms will cause the noise if worn, it's a very common fault.
Poly bushed ones will provide a permanent solution.
No they won't as the ball joint will still wear out. Poly bushed ones will provide a permanent solution.
Edited by A1VDY on Tuesday 31st December 19:29
I have also seen the tuning fork arm snap when 'upgraded' with a polybush at one end only.
edc said:
A1VDY said:
Coffin arms will cause the noise if worn, it's a very common fault.
Poly bushed ones will provide a permanent solution.
No they won't as the ball joint will still wear out. Poly bushed ones will provide a permanent solution.
Edited by A1VDY on Tuesday 31st December 19:29
I have also seen the tuning fork arm snap when 'upgraded' with a polybush at one end only.
Im not sure of the type of grease the joint swivels in but it's a very marfac type stuff.
A1VDY said:
edc said:
A1VDY said:
Coffin arms will cause the noise if worn, it's a very common fault.
Poly bushed ones will provide a permanent solution.
No they won't as the ball joint will still wear out. Poly bushed ones will provide a permanent solution.
Edited by A1VDY on Tuesday 31st December 19:29
I have also seen the tuning fork arm snap when 'upgraded' with a polybush at one end only.
Im not sure of the type of grease the joint swivels in but it's a very heavy marfac type stuff.
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