99C2 - 17" to 18" Wheels + H&R Springs - Before & After Pics

Hi Guys Just thought I'd share a little work that I had done to the P this week. The car is is a 99C2 - 31,000 miles. I've had the stock 17" turbo twist look wheels replaced with factory 18s and new tires and H&R lowering springs (along with alignment). I never really noticed how high the car sat on the original set up. The before and after pics really show the difference. I had the work done at Ruf Autocenter in Dallas. Hans took care of getting the wheels, tires and springs and everything was done in a day and half. The car seems to ride better than on the stock springs, but it could be due to the new tires as well. All in all, I'm very happy with the new look.

Very nice. Thanks for the before and after shots.

How much were the springs?

you def upgraded

Jim, Very nice! The wheels look better and the ride height is awesome. Thanks for the pics.

That's exactly what I did about 15 months back: 18 inch turbo twists (solids not hollow) and H&R lowering springs. You'll love the tighter handling! For street driving IMO a very nice and cost optimal set-up. I went in the mean with 5-spokes (due to weight) and a GT3 suspension (to have a better shock - spring combo). However, that's mainly as I wanted to improve on track performance.

Looks great. You stayed with the stock dampers? I've put H&Rs with Neuspeed-Bilstein adjustable dampers on a couple VWs before and loved it. Anyway, you've almost got a new car now, just watch those damn speed bumps. "I don't know who invented speed bumps, but I'm pretty sure he wasn't German."

Nice improvement...hoping to do a suspension swap as soon as it arrives.

Thanks guys The springs are H&R Sport and I left the stock dampers in place. The springs were $345 + 6 hours labor to install. Probably could have bought them cheaper myself, but I didn't have time to do all the legwork. I have noticed better handling on the street - the steering seems tighter. The only issue I've noticed is a clicking sound when I hit rough pavement or potholes. I'm waiting a couple of weeks to see if this goes away when everything settles in. The hardest part of this entire change was finding factory 18s to replace the 17s.

Looks great. Lowering the Targa is on my list for this spring. Did you go with the H&R "OE Sport Springs" or the "Sport Springs"? The OE version lowers the car .25-.75" vs. 1.5-2.0" and are not quite as firm, according to the H&R website. Did you consider adding spacers? Cheers

Looks great!

Hi PGH I can't say for certain which springs I have. My invoice just states "sport springs for 996". I would say that the car is at least 1" lower than the original set up and they are not quite as firm. I did not consider spacers - Not sure I need them. I have photos from different angles that I will upload later. How are things up in the "Frozen North" eh? I grew up north of Barrie, but couldn't take the winter any longer....

Thanks Jim. The Frozen North? .... frozen this winter. We live in the Toronto area but have a cottage/ski chalet in Huntsville and we're up most w/ends. This Sat./Sunday we got almost two feet of snow up there. My usual 2-hour drive back yesterday took 5 hours due to heavy snow, crappy driving conditions and road closures due to accidents Here's a photo of the end of our driveway I took a while ago ... it's grown since then! ... but the skiing has been great and as you know, the Muskokas are a terrific summer playground. Look forward to your pics. Cheers ... Peter

Hi Peter - the snow photos bring back some awful memories of life in the snow belt - not going there anymore... Here are all the pictures - I'll try to post them so they before and after shots line up. I changed the brightness a little to show the tire/wheel well gap, so the pictures look a little washed out.

very nice! BTW, your grass is dead.

she looks so pretty ! I love the clean purist 911 lines. I am doing a suspension upgrade on my coupe(H&R / bilstein dampers) so its good to see the before and after... thanks for posting.

The mod looks great Jim You lost the 4x4 look which seems appropriate now that you're in the sunny south .... we've had -15F to -20F temps in Huntsville lately so you made a wise decision to move to Texas. Thanks for the pics.

Thanks ArneeA - "dead" grasss in Texas winter is my escape from chasing the lawnmower around every 4 days in the Texas summer.

You're welcome for the pictures. Glad to try to help. This forum is fantastic.