H&R coilover modifications

I've got the H&R coilovers on the 996 which are not adjustable for dampening. Anybody know if, when it comes time to replace the dampers, they can be replaced with an adjustable Koni or Bilstein? Thx...

Scott, If they are inserts, you can replace them with anything as long as they fit the sleeves properly. Without seeing them, I would only be able to guess that you could. Chad

I'm pretty sure that they can not be modified by inserting different shocks within the housings (unless you got very creative somehow). I do know that the shocks are made by Bilstein and can be revalved for different settings by Bilstein if you want. Not sure if that helps at all.

I see that H&R now has a PSS9-like adjustable coilover. I'm wondering if they simply used the normal coilover bodies and had adjustable dampers made for them.

H&R makes two types of coilovers for the 996. The standard and the RSS clubsport setup. They do make a PCS coilover with adjustable shocks but not for the 996. Check www.hrsprings.com

Yeah, I checked there...not much info though.

By the looks of the H&R they don't look like that they are made with a seperate body and insert. It looks like one piece and that you would have to have the whole assembly taken apart to change any of the valving. It just my 0.02

are you expecting the dampers won't last? you have probably 50K of aggressive driving with the coilovers, maybe 20~30K if you track more/lots but YMMV. the dampers are made by bilstein and come with a lifetime warranty. you might as well change the whole setup when the dampers start to go. arguably you would be better off with a fresh new set of coils to go with the new dampers as the coils may start to show signs of wear as well. love my h&R coilovers. they give the car a firm, planted feel. maybe after getting more track time under my belt i would go with a fully adjustable setup (separate compression and rebound adjustment).

Wrong. They aren't made by Bilstein (although they may have in the past). H&R makes their own dampers in Germany. As for the warranty, good luck dealing with H&R. They're not very responsive to their customers. I had a damper pretty much blow up, and I'm still waiting for the warranty repair/replacement (it's been a few weeks and I haven't heard back from Tire Rack yet - their still waiting to hear back from H&R). H&R charges between $150 and $250 to rebuild ONE damper. PLUS you need to pay for insured shipping to Germany. Next time I'm going to get a suspension that can be serviced locally. I'm not impressed with H&R's customer service.

And how do you know this? Actually, Bilstein DOESN'T make these shocks, and they WON'T service them for liability reasons. I already called them and tried to do that. If they don't say Bilstein, they won't rebuild them or service them in any way.

well, you know what? i CALLED bilstein and they confirmed they make the dampers for H&R and H&R makes the coils for their kits. i called them up 'cuz h&r didn't have the lock wrenches so i got them from bilstein. i talked to a bilstein tech and he confirmed this. you may have been takling to the H&R warranty people so you got your info from people programmed to cover their a$$es i also have heard that H&R support is PATHETIC! kinda got me scared but if they go, i will get them waranteed and get a different brand anyway

yup, i don't blame them. you bought an H&R product not a bilstein product. what do you expect? i don't have it in writing but the bilstein tech said that they made the h&r dampers. that is all i can give ya. sorry about your situation though

Well, when I called Bilstein, I got a different story. They USED to make the dampers for H&R, but not anymore. PLUS, they were unwilling to work on my dampers.

If they go, they had better ALL go, 'cause they'll only repair the one(s) that fail (or so they say - as I still haven't received mine back yet). I ended up getting a whole new H&R coilover kit from TireRack - they gave me a 'good will' discount. I would have gone with the PSS9, but they're still a bit pricey. I do hate to send any $$$ H&R's way though.... Once I get the old kit repaired, I'm selling it on eBay.

yup, again i don't blame them. you definitely need to have them serviced by h&r. they get your dampers and ship them to the bilstein facility in germany (only a guess). it's like diffenenet suppliers for porsche (vw, audi, mercedes, einmann mufflers, bilstein shocks, etc...) the MAF i had replaced is made be mercedes benz, even has a logo on it! do i go to the mercedes dealer service to have it fixed? hmmm..... nope. i called about a month ago when i got my lock ring wrenches. sounds like they changed their story.

I only called Bilstein 'cause I had heard that they manufactured them. I wasn't expecting them to do it for free! I had heard that their facility in San Diego could rebuild them. They quoted me $75 each damper, and then said that if they were H&R, they couldn't work on them. At $75 each, I would have GLADLY paid them to rebuild ALL four.

that does suck! sorry man. that is the same facility i called.

Yeah, I thought it was ridiculous. But I will probably buy Bilstein products next time around. I mean, I really like the H&R stuff, but customer service is just as important as product performance. I wish Porsche would use better suspension products in the first place. Their stock stuff is nowhere near track-ready.

maybe the added expense of the pss9s is worth the peace of mind. you can get them from vivid racing, or from eli at pelican parts for around 2K (both board sponsors).