Spa / Sabine Schmidt / Shock Absorbers
Discussion
At Spa recently Sabine Scmidt of 'Ring fame was driving my 993RS. She described it's handling as 'like a boat yah'. In fact she first asked if it was an RS or normal 993! Resisting the temptation to slap her lightly and mention the war, I confirmed it's RennSport status.
She countered that the rear shocks or dampers needed replacing. The cars done 50K miles so is that likely/possible?
I'm not disbelieving her but many other trackday instructors + Don Palmer etc. have driven the car and not mentioned it.
She countered that the rear shocks or dampers needed replacing. The cars done 50K miles so is that likely/possible?
I'm not disbelieving her but many other trackday instructors + Don Palmer etc. have driven the car and not mentioned it.
50k could mean replacement, however more than likely it's just the softness of the rs at a circuit like Spa that raised the question from Sabine.
I was at Spa a few weeks ago in my 993GT2, to be honest felt too soft, but I'm running standard suspension which is the same as your RS.
However, went to the 'ring a day later and the car was superb, felt just right with the compliance.
Only answer is JRZ/PSS9 or the like to let you stiffen it up for circuits like Spa, and soften up for the 'ring.
I was at Spa a few weeks ago in my 993GT2, to be honest felt too soft, but I'm running standard suspension which is the same as your RS.
However, went to the 'ring a day later and the car was superb, felt just right with the compliance.
Only answer is JRZ/PSS9 or the like to let you stiffen it up for circuits like Spa, and soften up for the 'ring.
Dampers knackered after 50 k miles on a rs can be very typical.just get bilstein uk to service them,its not expensive.
Agree with jc,spa can make anything feel a little soft,when pushing it.And of course you would be happy that its a little forgiving for spa in the wet or the ring in the dry/wet.
I pump my jrz dampers up to max pressure of 20 bar for spa,this also helps the springs.
Agree with jc,spa can make anything feel a little soft,when pushing it.And of course you would be happy that its a little forgiving for spa in the wet or the ring in the dry/wet.
I pump my jrz dampers up to max pressure of 20 bar for spa,this also helps the springs.
The shocks will be seriously tired after 50,000 miles, in fact I replaced mine at 25,000 and noticed the difference.
The RS out of the box has relatively soft settings which will be shown up on the faster circuits like Spa, Silverstone, Croft, etc. You can drive around this to good effect without the aid of stiffer shocks or adjustable units like the JRZ (ask Burzel about the Brands Sprint last year) but it does take a bit of getting your head around.
The RS out of the box has relatively soft settings which will be shown up on the faster circuits like Spa, Silverstone, Croft, etc. You can drive around this to good effect without the aid of stiffer shocks or adjustable units like the JRZ (ask Burzel about the Brands Sprint last year) but it does take a bit of getting your head around.
aceparts_com said:
Mr 9M, how much would it cost for supply & fit a set of uprated (non adjustable methinks) springs and shocks to my turbo 4 love bug?
Cost me £700 for the Bilstein HDs and about £200 for fitting. Had to get geo done again of course which was additional
>> Edited by silver993tt on Friday 24th June 09:25
Dampners can be fitted by mere mortals but a proper alignment is then required. From memory I didn't need a spring compressor and the only special tools were sockets to remove the nuts on the ends of the dampner shafts. What's needed is a socket (or ring spanner) that allows access to the end of the shaft so that it can be held with a 6mm allen key. For the fronts I used a Draper oxygen sensor socket and for the rear I used either a ring spanner or a 15/16's spark plug socket that had flats on the end for a spanner.
There's a good set of instructions on p-car.com and if you buy your dampners from carnewal Gert will send instructions as well.
New dampners transformed my 993tt's handling making it more composed and sure footed and also improved the ride comfort. No way of hiding its 1500kg weight though!
There's a good set of instructions on p-car.com and if you buy your dampners from carnewal Gert will send instructions as well.
New dampners transformed my 993tt's handling making it more composed and sure footed and also improved the ride comfort. No way of hiding its 1500kg weight though!
The 993RS and RSCS are fitted as standard with 4 Bilstein dampers, indeed one on each corner.
These are not the same as the Bilstein HD for the 993, and AFAIK the rears can only be bought from Porsche.
In my opinion it is a false economy to have the dampers rebuilt IF you can afford to buy new, but I would certainly recommend having all 4 done or replaced at the same time.
One small point is that both the front struts and rear dampers have height adjustable collars which sieze up for fun. If you intend to refurbish you will need to buy new collars and will probably have to cut off the old collars, since they more often than not sieze on the threads of the damper when attempt is made to unscrew them. New dampers come with collars on from what I remember.
These are not the same as the Bilstein HD for the 993, and AFAIK the rears can only be bought from Porsche.
In my opinion it is a false economy to have the dampers rebuilt IF you can afford to buy new, but I would certainly recommend having all 4 done or replaced at the same time.
One small point is that both the front struts and rear dampers have height adjustable collars which sieze up for fun. If you intend to refurbish you will need to buy new collars and will probably have to cut off the old collars, since they more often than not sieze on the threads of the damper when attempt is made to unscrew them. New dampers come with collars on from what I remember.
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