987.2 suspension refresh

[Babw]

My 987.2 S is coming up to 85k miles and I'm considering doing a suspension overhaul, I do a few trackdays a year in it and looking for advice whether a full overhaul would be necessary at this kind of mileage?

I should say that I've never driven a low mileage 987 so unsure if mine is missing a beat or whether it's absolutely fine. Nothing appears sloppy but can't help but think at this mileage it could do with a refresh.

(Obviously I could put it on a ramp to check but my specialist is a couple of hours away so would prefer to pre-order the parts and drop it off to do the work).

It's a PASM car and I want to keep the daily comfort while tightening up the handling a bit for track so looking at Bilstein B4 Damptronic with Cayman R springs. I also have the DSC sport controller and a Wavetrac LSD already installed.

The list I have so far is -

Bilstein B4 Damptronic
Cayman R springs
Cayman R rear ARB
Front and rear shock mounts with front bearings
Tuning fork
GT3 outer and 997 inner coffin arms with rubber bushes
Control arms front + rear
Rear adjustable toe kit with locking plates

Anything else that should be added or anything that seems excessive?

Edited by Babw on Friday 21st May 19:56

[MiloD]

Watching with interest. Mine is same spec as yours but with only 35k mikes, feels pretty fresh. The problem I had is stock they ran way too high, so I added some H&R springs to the mix. The result has been superb for me, slightly firmer ride, still effective PASM and improved looks.
Will be really interested to hear others opinions, and to hear the result if you pull the trigger - that’s some serious upgrading... assume you plan on keeping her!

[T1547]

Also interested. Mine’s a 2011 987.2 CS with PASM with 48k and starting to think could do with some refreshing of suspension. Have been looking at both the B4 and B6 Damptronic shocks although hard to find very many opinions on the B6 (B4 is essentially OEM). Did you find the DSC Controller a worthwhile upgrade?

[Babw]

I probably will keep it for awhile, tried a 981 and didn’t like the steering feel. Wanted a PDK so couldn’t justify the GT4 so thought I’d get a well specced 987.2 S PDK with the added peace of mind of throwing a 25k car around a track than an 80k car. Have added the LSD, spare set of wheels with Cup 2, Giro discs, RS29s, GT3 MC + ducts, DSC sport and the BGB PDK cooler. Future will hopefully be a 3.8 Carrera S engine if this one gives any issues.

DSC controller works a treat, run one on another car where it’s also been very effective.

The miles are mostly motorway so the car really doesn’t show its age, I’ve always had a revelation moment when I’ve overhauled the suspension (my Z4M was done in 2019 and it’s only got 40k miles) but this is a car that gets used so logic says do what’s necessary but man maths says take the labour in one hit to do the lot.

Edited by Babw on Saturday 22 May 09:43

Edited by Babw on Saturday 22 May 09:44

[jayxx83]

Always good to do all at once I have found.

Are you not tempted to try a decent coilover kit at the same time? Would have thought it wouldn’t be much more than a set of those oem dampers.

[F6C]

Engine / gearbox mounts worth considering if you want the thing to feel really precise. Not exactly suspension, but does impact handling.

[TDT]

Babw said:

I probably will keep it for awhile, tried a 981 and didn’t like the steering feel. Wanted a PDK so couldn’t justify the GT4 so thought I’d get a well specced 987.2 S PDK with the added peace of mind of throwing a 25k car around a track than an 80k car. Have added the LSD, spare set of wheels with Cup 2, Giro discs, RS29s, GT3 MC + ducts, DSC sport and the BGB PDK cooler. Future will hopefully be a 3.8 Carrera S engine if this one gives any issues.

DSC controller works a treat, run one on another car where it’s also been very effective.

The miles are mostly motorway so the car really doesn’t show its age, I’ve always had a revelation moment when I’ve overhauled the suspension (my Z4M was done in 2019 and it’s only got 40k miles) but this is a car that gets used so logic says do what’s necessary but man maths says take the labour in one hit to do the lot.

Edited by Babw on Saturday 22 May 09:43

Edited by Babw on Saturday 22 May 09:44

Look forward to watching your journey. Love the approach.
Post up some pics of what you’ve done so far and then as you do more.

[Babw]

Thank you, it was never meant to be a “project” but I guess a benefit of having a slightly older model is the wider range of aftermarket or tried + tested upgrade parts. I’ll see if I can dig some photos out.

The engine and gearbox mounts are a very good point, I’ll look into those.

[gladiac]

Cool to hear the transformation of my old car continues

Babw said:

Future will hopefully be a 3.8 Carrera S engine if this one gives any issues.

The miles are mostly motorway so the car really doesn’t show its age,

Remember it was run under warranty (fortunately!) with all the previous owners including me and had quite a lot of work done: decoked; gearbox seal; high-pressure fuel pump; air-oil separator; coolant crossover pipes. I think the only suspension work I had done was the coffin arms but can't remember if front/rear/both, should be in the receipts.

As you said, a fairly easy life aside from that though - A-road commuter before me I believe which is where most of the miles came from and a good mix with me including some European trips.

[Babw]

Good to hear from you.

Cars still going strong and it’s a lot of fun! Hope the F type is the change that you hoped for.

[Babw]

Gearbox mounts wise I'm looking at these -

https://www.design911.co.uk/fu/prod141475/Performa...

Front engine mount -

https://www.design911.co.uk/fu/prod140862/Powerfle...


I'm looking for minimal increase in NVH and preferably none. I think the gearbox mounts used to be "DesignTek".

[Babw]

To update, following ordered -

GT3 outer coffin arms with 997 GT3 inner joints front + rear - rubber joints to keep compliance
Bilstein B4 PASM
Cayman R springs
Cayman R rear ARB
Rohler gearbox mounts
Powerflex front engine bush
Powerflex front arb bush
RSS rear toe adjust kit and locking plate
New trailing arms and control arms
New drop links
Track rods inner and outer
Bumps stops and dust covers

Should hopefully give a very fresh but still compliant suspension. Now the issue is getting someone without a silly lead time to fit everything.

I've only had Ninemeister work on the car, they're pretty good but wondering if anyone else in Cheshire, Shropshire, Midlands or South Wales that would be recommended for fitting + a good geometry?

I've spoken to Dave Griffiths in Shropshire, they appear to deal with more restorations and older cars or racing cars.

[Grantstown]

Suspensionsecrets, based in cheshire, were very positively mentioned in a recent thread.

Wouldn’t Neinmeister be up to setting up your car? They have the racing pedigree.

I’ve recently had a wavetrack lsd in my 911 also. Great upgrade to get.

[RiccardoG]

NOt used them myself (yet) but Chris at Centre Gravity always comes very well rated:

http://www.centregravity.co.uk/services/

[markiii]

Centre Gravity all day every day

[RiccardoG]

Ah... so I've been looking at getting my car in to Center Gravity. Lead time is late August at the moment.

Rules that out I think!

[Babw]

Spoken to Centre Gravity, very helpful but too long lead time. Ninemeister are a bit awkward to get to from train and I like to use a couple of specialist where I can to keep it honest.

The following looks to be the closest with happy customers -
Dave Griffiths Racing
JMH Automotive

[Grantstown]

Centre Gravity have deservedly earned a great reputation, which is fantastic for them.

There must be other superb places though that will do a great job for you also. If I was one of those I’d be looking to get a nice catchy name that people will remember.

[delays]

In a recent issue of Evo magazine, the writer with the 996 used Spires Tuning in Leamington Spa to set up the suspension he’d fitted (I believe it was KW he had fitted to the car).

Lots of interesting vehicles on their social media and the people running it seem to have a background in OEM chassis engineering.

[RubiksCube]

How much did that little lot cost?