Porsche 997 carrera S Cabriolet Front Shock Absorbers
Discussion
Are they rattling?
Mine were and Porsche replaced them, however the car was under warranty. Cost was around £2.5k if I had to pay, including labour and wheel alignment.
Most dealerships are offering labour at £75 + vat so worth trying them if you haven't got a preferred garage already.
Mine were and Porsche replaced them, however the car was under warranty. Cost was around £2.5k if I had to pay, including labour and wheel alignment.
Most dealerships are offering labour at £75 + vat so worth trying them if you haven't got a preferred garage already.
PC Reading have 5+ and 7+ yr old discounts running giving labour and parts savings. Check their site
www.porsche.co.uk/reading
www.porsche.co.uk/reading
Take your car to Chris at Center Gravity. If your front shocks are shot (more later) then it's quite likely that other suspension components will be tired or knackered and a full front suspension refresh will make a massive difference to how the car drives. Chris will be able to advise you what's worn, or out of spec, supply any parts required and optimise your suspension geo as everything goes back together.
Whilst we're talking about front shocks on tbe 997, they dont need to be corroded or leaking to be shot. When mine were removed recently and sent to Bilstein (who make the dampers for Porsche) for testing, it was discovered there was almost no low frequency compression damping on on the driver's side unit. This had a huge effect on how the car drove. Over motorway dips and crests, it was all over the road. Under initial braking, the car would pull side to side and prematurely lock up the driver's side (caused by the effective spring rates, whilst the suspension was moving into compression, being different, side to side). In short, the car was bloody dangerous, but there was no outside evidence the damper was shot.
My car (a 2010 Carrera S gen 2) has 'only' done 48,000 miles, so intergalactic miles aren't required for these units to fail. It probably started about 5000 miles ago too, as the car has been getting progressively worse.
The front dampers are now being replaced with Bilstein B4s. They are the original equipment damper on the car and are much less expensive direct from Bilstein.
Other items that were worn out on my car?
1) The steering rack -there was play in the pinion shaft bearings and the main bushes supporting the rack. This is currently at my favourite engineering shop being refurbished.
2) Track rod inner bearings ('rack ends'). The track rods are being replaced.
3) Track rod ends. Being replaced.
4) Driver's side top mount split. Being replaced.
5) Bump stops. Both perished and falling apart. Being replaced.
Edited to Add 6) Strut top (steering) bearings. Both full of water and corroded. Being replaced
The two most important things I've learnt from this exercise are a) it's amazing how knackered a relatively new Porsche can be and b) the value of having a job done properly. If I'd gone to a local garage or an OPC, most of the items discussed above wouldn't even have been found and I'd still have a dangerously unstable car.
Whilst we're talking about front shocks on tbe 997, they dont need to be corroded or leaking to be shot. When mine were removed recently and sent to Bilstein (who make the dampers for Porsche) for testing, it was discovered there was almost no low frequency compression damping on on the driver's side unit. This had a huge effect on how the car drove. Over motorway dips and crests, it was all over the road. Under initial braking, the car would pull side to side and prematurely lock up the driver's side (caused by the effective spring rates, whilst the suspension was moving into compression, being different, side to side). In short, the car was bloody dangerous, but there was no outside evidence the damper was shot.
My car (a 2010 Carrera S gen 2) has 'only' done 48,000 miles, so intergalactic miles aren't required for these units to fail. It probably started about 5000 miles ago too, as the car has been getting progressively worse.
The front dampers are now being replaced with Bilstein B4s. They are the original equipment damper on the car and are much less expensive direct from Bilstein.
Other items that were worn out on my car?
1) The steering rack -there was play in the pinion shaft bearings and the main bushes supporting the rack. This is currently at my favourite engineering shop being refurbished.
2) Track rod inner bearings ('rack ends'). The track rods are being replaced.
3) Track rod ends. Being replaced.
4) Driver's side top mount split. Being replaced.
5) Bump stops. Both perished and falling apart. Being replaced.
Edited to Add 6) Strut top (steering) bearings. Both full of water and corroded. Being replaced
The two most important things I've learnt from this exercise are a) it's amazing how knackered a relatively new Porsche can be and b) the value of having a job done properly. If I'd gone to a local garage or an OPC, most of the items discussed above wouldn't even have been found and I'd still have a dangerously unstable car.
Edited by Ian_UK1 on Sunday 7th December 11:17
Ian_UK1 said:
Take your car to Chris at Center Gravity. If your front shocks are shot (more later) then it's quite likely that other suspension components will be tired or knackered and a full front suspension refresh will make a massive difference to how the car drives. Chris will be able to advise you what's worn, or out of spec, supply any parts required and optimise your suspension geo as everything goes back together.
Whilst we're talking about front shocks on tbe 997, they dont need to be corroded or leaking to be shot. When mine were removed recently and sent to Bilstein (who make the dampers for Porsche) for testing, it was discovered there was almost no low frequency compression damping on on the driver's side unit. This had a huge effect on how the car drove. Over motorway dips and crests, it was all over the road. Under initial braking, the car would pull side to side and prematurely lock up the driver's side (caused by the effective spring rates, whilst the suspension was moving into compression, being different, side to side). In short, the car was bloody dangerous, but there was no outside evidence the damper was shot.
My car (a 2010 Carrera S gen 2) has 'only' done 48,000 miles, so intergalactic miles aren't required for these units to fail. It probably started about 5000 miles ago too, as the car has been getting progressively worse.
The front dampers are now being replaced with Bilstein B4s. They are the original equipment damper on the car and are much less expensive direct from Bilstein.
Other items that were worn out on my car?
1) The steering rack -there was play in the pinion shaft bearings and the main bushes supporting the rack. This is currently at my favourite engineering shop being refurbished.
2) Track rod inner bearings ('rack ends'). The track rods are being replaced.
3) Track rod ends. Being replaced.
4) Driver's side top mount split. Being replaced.
5) Bump stops. Both perished and falling apart. Being replaced.
Edited to Add 6) Strut top (steering) bearings. Both full of water and corroded. Being replaced
The two most important things I've learnt from this exercise are a) it's amazing how knackered a relatively new Porsche can be and b) the value of having a job done properly. If I'd gone to a local garage or an OPC, most of the items discussed above wouldn't even have been found and I'd still have a dangerously unstable car.
IanWhilst we're talking about front shocks on tbe 997, they dont need to be corroded or leaking to be shot. When mine were removed recently and sent to Bilstein (who make the dampers for Porsche) for testing, it was discovered there was almost no low frequency compression damping on on the driver's side unit. This had a huge effect on how the car drove. Over motorway dips and crests, it was all over the road. Under initial braking, the car would pull side to side and prematurely lock up the driver's side (caused by the effective spring rates, whilst the suspension was moving into compression, being different, side to side). In short, the car was bloody dangerous, but there was no outside evidence the damper was shot.
My car (a 2010 Carrera S gen 2) has 'only' done 48,000 miles, so intergalactic miles aren't required for these units to fail. It probably started about 5000 miles ago too, as the car has been getting progressively worse.
The front dampers are now being replaced with Bilstein B4s. They are the original equipment damper on the car and are much less expensive direct from Bilstein.
Other items that were worn out on my car?
1) The steering rack -there was play in the pinion shaft bearings and the main bushes supporting the rack. This is currently at my favourite engineering shop being refurbished.
2) Track rod inner bearings ('rack ends'). The track rods are being replaced.
3) Track rod ends. Being replaced.
4) Driver's side top mount split. Being replaced.
5) Bump stops. Both perished and falling apart. Being replaced.
Edited to Add 6) Strut top (steering) bearings. Both full of water and corroded. Being replaced
The two most important things I've learnt from this exercise are a) it's amazing how knackered a relatively new Porsche can be and b) the value of having a job done properly. If I'd gone to a local garage or an OPC, most of the items discussed above wouldn't even have been found and I'd still have a dangerously unstable car.
Edited by Ian_UK1 on Sunday 7th December 11:17
thank you very much, i will take your advice
Chris
In response to SkinnyP:
The Carrera S comes with PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management), which has a button infront of the gear shifter to activate. This stiffens and lowers the suspension. It's about a £2k option on the base Carrera model. Mine had a component issue that rattled and knocked over uneven roads/speed bumps when PASM was on. As with most main dealers, they won't try and fix the part like some specialists, they just swap out all parts until the problem goes away using diagnostics.
I wouldn't assume that a main dealer won't fix suspension components as well as Center of Gravity just because they're a specialist. Cheaper - maybe. Better - not so sure.
The 997 is still modern and the main dealers are more than prepared to maintain them. I've never had my car returned with the same issue or another issue.
The Carrera S comes with PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management), which has a button infront of the gear shifter to activate. This stiffens and lowers the suspension. It's about a £2k option on the base Carrera model. Mine had a component issue that rattled and knocked over uneven roads/speed bumps when PASM was on. As with most main dealers, they won't try and fix the part like some specialists, they just swap out all parts until the problem goes away using diagnostics.
I wouldn't assume that a main dealer won't fix suspension components as well as Center of Gravity just because they're a specialist. Cheaper - maybe. Better - not so sure.
The 997 is still modern and the main dealers are more than prepared to maintain them. I've never had my car returned with the same issue or another issue.
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