Should I upgrade or not ???

OK, I've had my car just over 5 months now and overall I'm very happy... However about a month ago it statred creaking like an old ship and after searching this site it sounds like the bush's in the coffin arms are worn, so I plan to replace them with the powerflex items next week. My question is how much do the worn bush's effect the handling as I dont think it is as good as I would expect when pushing the car, it feels a little unstable at speed when cornering compared to my beemer ? I was thinking of upgrading or replacing the dampers and springs and any advice would be apreciated. The car is used semi-daily by my wife and may get the occasional trackday but more likely to be a spireted drive at the weekends :thumb: I notice Porschshop do OEM upgrade kit for around £600, are these any good ? Cheers, Andy.

Your car should be stable and planted like a go cart A Beemer in comparison should feel like a bus You have somthing(s) wrong Check Tyres for uneven wear.You must correct this first. Pollys will help front and rear. Plus any other worn outs changed Geo after shocks are confirmed as fit Don't start lowering until it starts to feel right. When you have got it right you will be amazed at just what your car can do in and out of a corner. I wouldn't go chucking a suspension kit at the car that may not fix anything at all Try to have a drive in a sorted Carrera one that is set up correctly Down 10 mm was not enough for me 30 is just fine. I would fit Bilstien 10s if I could afford the 1800 notes!

This is interesting as I find that mine occasionally creaks from the front at low speed (<20mph) and is less than convincing at higher speeds. The front end somehow feels a little loose and it will try and follow every bump and undulation in the surface often requiring correction. It doesn't instill confidence in me at all..... Dare I say it that I've even felt a little disappointed in my first two weeks of 996 ownership. Mine is going back to where it came from to be sorted.

When I say unstable at speed it seems to wollow a bit, suspension feels a bit spongy, I'm not thinking of upgrading to get the car lower, just want it stiffer. My Beemer is M sport so it has the uprated suspension and run flat tyres, it always feels like its on rails, I think it is actually better than my kit car that is set up for the track but the Porsche does not fill me with cofidence. I will replace the bush's with poly items and ahve a look around the dampers and see has that goes.

http://www.centergravity.co.uk/ Give Chris a call, or better yet just drop in. He is always happy to talk and you'll get the benefit of seeing him at work. Had my lower control arms re-bushed a while back and it solved the creaking noise.

Are you sure it is the bushes? I believe the ball joint is the most likely culprit on the 'coffin arms' which isn't a DIY replacement.

The lower suspension arms are the creaking culprit, the bushes and ball joints can be changed but it may be cost effective to change the arm . As to your handling traits , try driving with a full tank of fuel and some weight in the front. If this improves your handling then you probably have a saggy back end , the springs and dampers get tired after 11 years. leaving the ride heights wrong . Chris at centre gravity is the best port of call , read his feedback , everyone that drives out of his place feels like they have a new car

This is the 1st time I have read that the ball joints can also cause the creaking noise ? Has anyone tried replacing just the bush's and if so did it eliminate the noise and improve the handling ? The car does feel a little better with more fuel in the tank but still not as I would expect. Are there any checks I can make apart from visual for the dampers ? Cheers, Andy