Ohlins v Bilstein v Cayman R on 987.1S?

There are quite a few suspension threads, so apologies if this feels like a re-tread, but I wanted to grab the benefit of everyone's most up to date experience and pose my own unique question: The stock shocks on my '06 Boxster S are tired at 52K miles, and I'm looking to replace them. I have done and probably will do some track time, but the car is mostly used for relatively gentle street driving. I don't really want a track oriented setup that compromises street livability. I've heard that the PSS9s are flinty around town and that the Ohlins might do a better job. Any experience with both? I've also driven the Cayman R and really like the setup on that car. I also value the OEM tuning, since one of the things I really love about the Boxster is its phenomenal balance. Problem is that it appears to be pricier than the PSS9 and not much less then the Ohlins--and will it last any longer than the original OEM struts did? Is there anything else I should consider? Just putting stock units back on? TIA.

Cayman R setup is nice but its not adjustable. For the same money you can get coilovers with height and compression/rebound adjustability. I've had Cayman base, R, PSS9 and currently Sachs coilovers on my 987.2 . I like Sachs the most out of them. From what I read, Ohlins are better suited for dedicated track use, but I could be wrong.

I have personal experience with Ohlin R&T's on my 2007 Cayman S . I use the original spring setup of 400 lb/in f and 458 lb/in r spring rate, which is a higher rate than PSS9's use. For the track, this spring rate is a little light, but for around town and daily driving, it's excellent. Autocross is right in the middle between daily and track use. Some autocrossers suggest 350 lbs/in f and 515 lbs/in r spring rate based on a formula derived from harmonics and wt of the car. Swift makes a great spring and the Ohlin valving is wide enough to accommodate this different spring rates. The DFV (dual flow valving) technology works well on country back roads and flat autocross tracks. The R suspension is great as well, but as stated by olegd, no adjustability. With stiffer spring rates from the coilover, you need better valving to control the rebound/compression, which is exactly what Ohlins have done. It's not a race shock, but rather a really good moderate upgrade that so far (4 years of use) has not failed.

Ohlins in general ride very nice. We run them on all of our track cars. My personal Cayman has our Ohlins Track Package with 400/500 rates and everyone that rides in my car says, "It rides nicer than stock!" Porsche OHLINS ROAD & TRACK COILOVER SUSPENSION This is what you want for a dual purpose car. Perfect for track days yet retains compliance on the street. In many cases these ride better than OE suspension even though we run higher spring rates. So you get to have your cake and eat it too. The Öhlins Road & Track suspension gives our... www.arcflashllc.com I ran Bilsteins on my last rally car and they work really well, however they don't ride as well as Ohlins with the same level of performance. The R setup is great too.

Thanks for everyone's input. I decided to go with the Ohlins ; put them in yesterday and am very pleased with the ride/handling in the very short time since. Can't wait to see what they feel like on the track.

Great decision on the Ohlins . I'm sure you will figure on the right adjustments of the compression/rebound to suit your needs. This is important if you have light weight wheels/ tires for the track as that weight changes the adjustable setting for you.

How would you compare the Cayman R setup vs the Ohlins? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I would say that more than 50% of Ohlins use is for daily use. That market seems to suite the R&T aspect of the DFV shock body and the compression/rebound ratio of 45/55%. They do respond to being cranked up by running at 2 clicks from full stiff f and 4 in the rear. The big surprise is that the shock body as not had any leakage after 3 1/2 years and 25k miles. You also have the ability to raise or lower your cars f and r ride height. Then add the corner balance, swaybars down links and your are setup. So, the takeaway is an adjustable coilover with enough spring rate for track use, but not too much to rattle your teeth on back country roads. Joshua@arcflash even beefs up the springs and valve for his special Ohlins . His newest rendition is 500 lbs/in f and 700 lbs/in r. Pretty impressive using the same DFV shock body. What that means is if you know what your direction is regarding this mod, like daily driveability stick with 400 lbs/in f and 458 lbs/in, but if you want to add more track time, give the more aggressive spring rate a try. I did not buy my Ohlins from Josh, but he certainly helped figure out how to use them.