996 Carrera suspension upgrade and refresh

Hi All, My 996 c2 is still on its original M030 suspension and is starting to get tired and the dampers feel quite brittle, so i am looking at doing a full overhaul. I know it has been asked before but i want a more upto date opinion on what my best option is. The car will be used on the road 95% of the time but i may do one or two track days a year. I drive/have owned various sports cars etc and am fine with a slightly firm ride but hate a crashy ride. I am toying with Koni sport dampers and H&R springs as a lower cost option or Bilstein PS110 coilovers (Do these come with top mounts?) as a slightly pricier option. I don't feel i would get the use out of some KW/Ohlins despite them being a firm favourite. The rest of the suspension would be OEM/OEM standard arms etc as it is still mainly a road car for me. Any opinions or experiences? I have been in a car with the Bilsteins and liked the ride and feel of those. Thanks in advance.

I'm in a similar boat at the moment and was looking at the Ohlins......until about a month ago when they announced a recall via suppliers and said don't drive car as it's safety critical.....and said nothing since :lol: I'm still uncertain on where I'm going next so will keep an eye on this thread :thumb:

Just away to put the Koni sport dampers on mine combined with Vogtland springs. All in I was £900 for the lot, the springs were BNIB 2nd hand mind you. I have tired M030 on at the moment. I was looking at coilovers but I really dont think they warrant the extra money if its mainly road driving your doing unless your really particular about your ride height. I looked at a lot of options, if you dont need to go any lower than M030 then consider the Koni special active. The Ohlins has a recommended redress period which is quite short IIRC so you spend £2k+ but have to spend a fair chunk again every so often. Not sure its worth it. No doubt they are one of the best if not the best but for road driving but its a big outlay. Depends on how many miles you do a year as well.

Some interesting posts so far here, I'm in the same position with my car nearing 96K. My car doesn't have any creaks/knocks etc or any of the symptoms that people normally report with worn out suspension. Is there anywhere or anyone who could take a look and recommend what actually needs changing in the South East?

Thanks for the post, i want to go a bit lower so will go for the Koni Sport i think unless I can make a compelling argument for the coilovers. Center gravity are abit of a drive from the SE but worth the trip by all accounts. Keep the opinions coming!!

+1 for a trip to see the gents at Centre Gravity. Lovely guys with a wealth of Porsche knowledge and experience. They usually run health check clinics in January - worth looking into as it's good value for what you get.

That sounds interesting any idea of what they do / charge for the health check tests?

Take a look at this recent thread for more on this topic: http://911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=142316 . Might be helpful. Agree Centre Gravity are best to ask for any specific requirements you have. Think they are now closed until 4 Jan. Mine was booked in for mid-Jan but delaying now due to Tier 4 sadly.

I fitted PB coilovers. Very supple and very good quality. I went for rubber top mounts to cut down on noise and very impressed. I've spent a lot more for a lot less in the past.

As you've already found, there's lots of options and opinions too. One person's "too firm" is fine for someone else. My own observations on reading the posts of others that have followed the coilover route is that frequently they are not the panacea to delivering optimised suspension heaven on both road and track. It appears they need overhauling more often than you might think, adding to the projected costs involved. ( Though I defer to anyone that actually has them as I don't have direct experience except for a set I had on my Lotus Elise, which I was constantly fiddling with and never really happy) I am however, very happy with my Bilstein B8's and H&R spring setup. But, there is only one other person I have encountered on the forum that has the same and agrees that they are a very good compromise for fast road use. Someone on here recently fitted Koni special active and H&R. They gave the impression that they again weren't the solution they were hoping for. Maybe tout for rides in modified forum members cars? If you live near Brighton on the South Coast then more than happy to take you out in mine. Cheers

Also, can recommend 9excellence in Horley, Surrey. No affiliation, but had good experiences of competent, professionally skilled work at reasonable prices.

This is going to seem a very simple question...but why do people want to lower their cars to me my standard C2 Carrera seems pretty low what advantages / disadvantages does making it even lower bring?

Most people think a tastefully lowered car looks better, and like for like a lower car will roll less in the corners, giving a better drive due to a lower centre of gravity. Obviously this comes at the price of practicality and ride quality, but it's all on a sliding scale.

I am in the process of completing a total suspension overhaul to my 2002 C2 and have, after speaking to Centre Gravity, gone for eibach springs -30mm and Koni special active dampers although these are still on back order arriving in January ..... if the dover lorry park ever gets sorted! The feedback from CG when i asked if i should go for the Koni sport instead was to wait for the special actives to come back into stock as they were the best option for a 996 without going to coil overs....... its all subjective but its got to be better than the worn out C@#p i had to cut out in places! :dont know:

Interesting, I'm certainly not going to doubt CofG's expertise but when I was looking I couldn't find any information to confirm that the special active dampers were suitable for lowering springs :?: I have a set of Koni sport dampers to fit, to go with my Eibach springs