987.1 S Suspension Options - Page 1 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

I have just replaced all the brakes, major service,4 wheel alignment and PS4's all round so next on my list is a suspension refresh, but I am not sure what to go for, I don't want to drop the car too much and make it look too modified, but equally I would like to reduce the gap in the arches. H&R, Eibach and OEM R Springs are what I have been looking at. Whilst I am at it, I also want to change the shocks, either Bilstein B4,B6 or B8 shocks, but undecided. A few questions..... Has anyone got any real world experience in any of the spring or damper options? Also anyone know the Porsche part numbers for the OEM R springs ? Any other upgrades whilst I am at it ?

I had H&R springs fitted to my OEM shocks which gave a perfect ride height which I’d describe as OEM+ ( or how it should have come from the factory). Also added H&R 7mm front / 15mm rear spacers for aesthetic purposes. Car drove superbly on the lowered springs, no scraping speed bumps or crashing about - very satisfying mod. Quick pic;

@Riskins do you have a picture of your car side on before/after the springs/spacers please? <thread highjack as I also have a 987.1 S>

I Have recently done a full suspension / brake refresh also replaced all 4 shocks for Bilstein standard - used VOGTLAND lowering springs (final drop was 22mm with 3mm standard shock spacers) - all new top mounts etc - discs and pads all round - some poly bushes also. very pleased with the aesthetic look in terms of lowering - handling and ride much improved over standard - especially with new shocks / top mounts

RobB_ said: @Riskins do you have a picture of your car side on before/after the springs/spacers please? <thread highjack as I also have a 987.1 S> Top pre lowering and spacers, as you can see a huge improvement aesthetically aside from handling benefits. Edited by Riskins on Tuesday 21st June 20:48

Agreed, looks great

Just popped the Cayman r springs and b8's on mine, they are nice and smooth with the hardness a slight increase over standard. Still good for a daily, no problem at all. R springs PN's Issued on my s manual 987 343 531 40 504 (front) 987 333 531 96 504 (rear) PDK has a different rear PN iirc. No spacers and maxed out neg camber at front. HTH, Dunc. Edited by dunc_sx on Saturday 25th June 07:57

+ 1 as per Duncs car, just had the same done Went round in circles weighing up all sorts of lower or higher price options, but seeing as its really only going to be a road car I think I have got the best compromise. Handles sweet looks great, and only on very rough surfaces do you notice much of a negative difference. Thanks to Porshacare for setting up!!

If the budget allows. I can highly recommend ohlins road and track with 50/70 front to rear springs. These utterly transform the standard pogo stick like ride and you don’t need to be going 50-60 mph to make the car feel good. You can run them nice and soft for that magic carpet ride. Make sure your top mounts and control arms are still good. When you want to feel connected to the road, dial them up and it’s welded to the floor without any harshness at all. Set it up on the corner scales and -20mm max and it’s epic for carving B roads. Edited by jayxx83 on Saturday 25th June 18:01

Ok so I think I am ready to start ordering up the springs and shocks, however is there any other components I should think about replacing whilst I am at it, car is now on 90k so probably needs a bit of a refresh everywhere ?

Eibach springs on standard shocks for now,new front top mounts(old ones were absolutely rotten) new droplinks allround-old droplinks certainly put up a fight, got very good at getting them out by the time I did the fourth one!

Can PASM be retro fitted at an affordable price? My 987.1 rides beautifully on the road, ride height is as it should be and the sport setting makes a huge difference on track. I replaced one front unit that was weeping and was pleasantly surprised at the reasonable cost. It wouldn’t surprise me if all cars were hard wired and needed just the hardware, just a thought…

I'd say opinions are split on PASM. Have it on my car and one previous 987. For me it's too soft in normal mode and lacks body control, and over damped in Sport mode. I've got a DSC box to tweak the settings, but in the end the quality of the damping isn't great whatever you do. I'll be looking to get some decent dampers installed eventually. May go for Bilstein B16 to retain PASM functionality. They aren't the best of the options, but they are still a good bit better than the standard dampers. I think for a non-PASM car, B8s plus R springs are the way to go unless you want to get really involved and spendy. Ohlins etc will give a better result done right, but that route is a fair bit more expensive and needs more expertise re post-install setup.

Having experimented with different suspension and knowing people who have changed set ups with TVR’s over the years, I know it is a can of worms. On any car, it needs back-to-back trials with different set ups, which in the real world, is impossible for us laypeople . As individuals we go by other peoples experiences, hopefully read into them and make our own choice which may not be the best option! As for PASM, I don’t find it too soft for the road, and in fact find the ride for normal driving, (which let’s face it in this country is always going to be slower and more restrictive than we want) absolutely fine and in fact very good compared to other sports cars I have driven. On sport setting. I have done several Track Days and find the car as a package, bloody fantastic on track and can’t imagine how that could be improved without going balls out track car. as a factory supplied option I think it does the job very well. Not saying that your controller couldn’t tweak it slightly better but the changes in my opinion wouldn’t be enough for me to invest or want to play around with. Happy to put up a track video if anyone is interested. The brilliant thing about cars is like a Meccano set, everything can be unbolted, different options, tried, and if necessary retried or put back to how it was!