Light front end

I've done some reading on here and my car seems to exhibit the light front end feeling at speeds over 80-85mph Most of the threads are old so recommend the M030 upgrade as a fix but I'm not even sure if that's available for my yr 2k car anymore? I replaced the front fork arms with new ones a while back and polyurethane sway bar bushings. Apart from that the car is a stock convertible. What should I try? I don't want to spend loads of $$ or end up with rock hard suspension.

This same thing almost made me rething buying a 996 after my first test drive of one a couple years back, so I knnow what you are feeling. Start with an alignment. This is probably your least expensive fix and the thing that is likely the culprit, UNLESS you have worn shocks. If you have really old shocks, replace those with whatever you want as long as they are OE quality or better/stiffer. From there, crappy tires could be your culprit. You don't need to add weight to the frunk, or add a front spoiler, or any of the other goofy things you will read. The car did not come from the factory with that floaty feeling. Good luck.

Chris, how long have you had the 996? What is the year and what front bumper do you have?

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The reason I ask how long you have had it, is that if you are new to the 996, and the 911 in general, you will notice that the front end is light and all typically feel like they are floating. The steering wheel and front end feels "alive". It's an odd feeling where you think something is wrong. However, by design nothing is wrong with the feel of a 911, but the 996 is a 20 year old car, and suspension parts do eventually need to be replaced. Not to mention, alignment needs to be done and corners need to be balanced. I am assuming that when you say stock, you mean that you don't have an oem aero carerra wing on the back with a non aero front bumper (no front spoiler). So if you are running a stock carerra front bumper without a spoiler, and a stock rear engine lid, then you don't have an imbalance from aero. Then you need to look at if it's an alignment-balance issue or a shock-coil issue of just being worn out. Alignment/corner balance will cost you good money to get done, but will eliminate an issue if there is one. If it's your suspension, there are many aftermarket coilover systems you can use to replace your suspension or just replace with stock Oem parts. Don't know what a replacement stock suspension would be, but you are looking at between 2-3k for an aftermarket suspension that is adjustable as to ride height and stiffness. I have been running Bilstein PSS9s for 15 years (still performing just fine). Today it would be the PSS10 system. Ohlin has a great set of coilovers. Some of the folks here on RL swear by Feal. Keep in the back of your mind that if you go thru the alignment and corner balancing costs first, and then find you will need to replace the suspension, you will have those costs for a second time. Obviously, there is more to this with other suspension parts beyond coilovers, but I list a few things to think about. I suspect others will have more suggestions. Good news is once you refresh your suspension, your good for a good long time. Find a good Porsche Indy in the area. That can take a look and give you their thoughts as to what is needed. Who knows, your suspension may be in great shape and it's just the "standard" floating feeling of the 911. *as a side note, check that your tires are not over inflated, which means you are driving on a thin patch of rubber. This can certainly create a "floaty" feeling.

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I've had it a few years. Had an 88 Carrera before and it felt more stable than my 996 at higher speeds. Regular non wide bodywork Inc bumper, year 2000

Amount of gas in the tank also matters. Full tank, steering is heavier. Empty tank, it�s light. But I agree with alignment as a first step. Also make sure your rear spoiler is working, and I don�t remember if the front has a factory splitter or not. The older air cooled cars did, and that could affect high speed stability.

Had a theory about this on my way home from work tonight. My old Carrera had no rear spoiler at all, 996 has electronic of course. Over 70+ mph in my old Carrera the front hood being a wedge might get pushed down? In the 996 the rear spoiler deploys, pushing the rear, doesn't this lift the front? Is there any way to prevent the spoiler deploying on my 996 to see if this is true?

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I had a similar issue. My camber was off. Stock 996, no mods.

How noticeable was the improvement after the camber was adjusted?

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In past was loose over 80 mph. After adjustment, it was solid at about those speeds.

Probably the safe way to do this is drive on the highway at 80, slow back down to 45 and switch the rear spoiler off. Then back up to speed to see if that changes the handling... I don�t think rear spoiler has enough downforce at 80 to matter too much though. At 150, different story.

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Yeah, you probably need an suspension update. Back end may be sagging. Happens in a 20 year old car.

Unless your suspension is in perfect shape, I would remove aero influence from your mind. The aero on stock cars is fine, if you feel as though your handling is off - its likely a mechanical issue in your suspension / steering, mis-setting of suspension settings, bad tires, or, just something intrinsic to the handling of a 911 that you don't like. For what you describe, I would start with the springs and dampers, if they are original - they have lived a long life. If you want to drive the car regularly approaching triple digit speeds and have a ride that inspires ANY confidence, you should replace them, after replacing - get an alignment. And for that matter, if you're planning on driving that fast with any type of aggression, ie, not straight on a highway - then you should be going over each component in the suspension, steering and brakes for wear and replacing ANYTHING that requires it. You bought a car that's greatest dynamic attribute is its handling, you can reap the benefits of that choice by making sure your suspension / steering / brakes are in good order and if you like to drive the car aggressively, at speed, the car will reward you greatly - far more than the sum of the investment in my opinion.

The rear spoiler does not generate downforce. It spoils the air flow to reduce lift.

I'm going to work on the alignment first and try that. My shocks don't seem worn and it's not had an alignment since I bought it several years ago. I'll report back on how well it worked

Bringing this thread alive, if possible. 2002 996 Cabriolet. Already replaced EVERY SINGLE suspension component - arms, links, top mounts, struts, etc etc. The handling still doesn't feel right. In corners there's too much roll and it never takes a set. Even in a sweeper while accellerating and shifting, just the little loss in momentum shifting feels like it causes the car to become loose. Yes, I already replaced the motor mounts. On Koni FSD/Active struts and stock springs. Was thinking that ROW m030 springs could solve my issue? I dont really want to lower the car and cant use non-porsche springs that lower the car more due to my selection of shocks. Any thoughts? I already did an alignment and corner balance at a racing shop (which was really expensive) and would have to do it over again to install the springs-- but as a daily driver I want to feel confident while driving.... and I don't.

What are you running for wheels, tires & sizes? What's your tire pressures and alignment settings? How hard are you pushing the car when this is happening?

Alignment report attached. Pressure 38/42. Wheels are 18" OEM MY02 5-spokes. Tires are new General G-Max RS (they test well, similar to Firehawks). Not tracking the car at all. I'd call this 8/10ths pushing. Tires are 225/40 Front 18x8, 295/30 18x10.5. Front wheels have high quality 7mm spacers. The turn-in also doesn't feel right. Too low-effort. Body doesnt then take a quick enough set.

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Have you done anything with sway bars?

No. That was my other thought. Would avoid having to re-align. But my question is, would it really make the steering more sharp in those little interruptions like I mentioned above. In particular I've read the stock 996 have a high front end. Sway bars are currently stock. Thought adding thicker bars on both ends might help mitigate the roll and help turn in. This is a DD and will be mostly on city streets, so ideally not looking to compromise ride quality.

Never rode in a 996 with your suspension set up, so i don't know its characteristics. Didn't see an attachment with your alignment specs so it's tough to quantify what you have there. But the 996 comes with an overabundance of understeer. Add in too much camber, too much tire inflation or both and you have a car that is riding on a narrow patch of rubber that finds every nook and cranny on the road. Add in too stiff of a front end and too soft of a rear and you have an understeering mess. This is where adjustable coilovers come in handy when you can soften the front and stiffen the rear. This will improve turn in. Add in a set of tarret sway bars with stiffer rear setting than front, and it will help further. As an example, my 2002 C2 is set to GT3 specs running Bilstein PSS9s. At the rear i run the stiffest setting and the front at half stiff. Tarret sway bars in the rear at tightest setting and the front at the loosest. Turns on a dime. Fully planted. However, camber becomes extremely important on the street. The more negative camber up front, the more the car tracks every nook and cranny on the street. In addition, the more air pressure I run up front, the lighter the front end feels. But there are consequences to too much camber on the street, to much tire pressure and too stiff of a suspension up front versus the rear on a 996.

I would give lowering those pressure to like 33/36 a shot and see how it feels, its free and takes 2 minutes.

I can give that a try. At what pressures though will i introduce premature tire wear? I don't want to be going through rear tires at 7-10k

First thing I would do is take your front tire pressures down to 34 and your rears to 40 amd see how it feels. Then go to 32F and 38 rear and see how it feels. Dont know the tires nor how the rubber feels so I cant tell you how to get the most out of them. Don't forget to post your alignment specs. GIve us a side picture as well so we can see how the car is sitting on a flat surface with its set-up.

Unfortunately handling and grip don't work favorably with tire wear. However, having a good setup can at least help to a degree.

Dunno why you couldnt see my alignment report. Trying to upload again here. I can see it uploaded. Any other brand like H&R or Eibach that could work? As the Tarrets are mighty expensive. I just put in new struts so I'm not going to switch to Coilovers. Have put into this car way more than it's worth to fix issues, so I just cant bleed too much more. If I did Tarretts, aside from the expensive cost, would I need new drop links too? Highlights are: Left Front - Weight 663 Left Front - Camber -.5 (-.1) Caster - 8.3 Toe +2.5 Left Rear - Weight 1132 Camber -1.4 Toe +10 Right Front - Weight 591 Camber -.6 (-.3) Caster - 8.3 Toe +2.5 Right Rear - Weight 1075 Camber -1.4 Toe +10 Driver Weight 165 Fuel Load 3/8 Distribution: Front 36.26%, Rear %63.74 - Total 3455LBS Left 51.87& Right 48.13%

Side pic. I do think the rear does seem a little high, I think side effect of the Koni Actives.

Attached are 2 pictures below from service records from my Porsche dealership in 2007. I asked them to give me a snapshot of my oem suspension specs right before I went to bilstein coilovers. Your camber is within spec. Your toe is not. Sorry, they are crappy snapshots. I just took them as I was looking thru my records for specs. here are definitions.

This is the alignment i got at the tire shop. The car was WORSE with this, vs what I just sent

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This one looks to be within spec. But my cell phone could be playing tricks in me. Someone else may have better eyesight and a better conclusion. Take your tire pressures down a d see how it behaves.

Koni actives only increase ride height when the dampers they replaced were severely worn out and had lost their gas pressure (stock ones are also twin tube gas (low) pressurized). Have you had the polyurethane bump stops replaced too? They wear and worn ones have a significant impact on handling and how supported either end of the car feels when cornering. Don't fit lowering springs thinking it will solve your issue as it is not the stock springs that cause what you are experiencing. Was the car sitting on its wheels when the rear bottom damper bolts were tightened? It around have been. HTH.

Koni actives only increase ride height when the dampers they replaced were severely worn out and had lost their gas pressure (stock ones are also twin tube gas (low) pressurized). Have you had the polyurethane bump stops replaced too? They wear and worn ones have a significant impact on handling and how supported either end of the car feels when cornering. Don't fit lowering springs thinking it will solve your issue as it is not the stock springs that cause what you are experiencing. Was the car sitting on its wheels when the rear bottom damper bolts were tightened? It should have been. Measure front and rear ride height and compare to factory specs. Get it set to spec by making sure you run the right spring pads. HTH.

Lowered the pressured. Ended up for now with 34 front, 38 rear. The front end DID have more grip now, but I can tell its understeering in short tight higher speed sweepers and its my outside front wheel losing grip. In a straight, if I jerk the car side to side it just feels like its a little floppy jerking left and right. Not tight. In those sweepers, it feels like the steering doesn't quick get harder in effort at the max, kind of communicating where my limits are and that I'm gonna break. It's that floppiness that bothers me more than anything. That's what makes me wonder if it's changing the springs and lowering the center of gravity that might help more than sways?

So, I did replace the bump stops with new ones. I replaced EACH AND EVERY suspension-related part. The first shop told me after-the-fact that suspension was not tightened under load. I told this to a 2nd shop, which specifically is a Porsche racing mechanic, and they told me that some bolts had been loose and not done right. After the 2nd shop it got a lot less floppy, however, I'll repeat what I just put below. I just took it out after lowering the tire pressure to 38 year, 34 front. The front end DID have more grip now, but I can tell its understeering in short tight higher speed sweepers and its my outside front wheel losing grip. In a straight, if I jerk the car side to side it just feels like its a little floppy jerking left and right. Not tight. The steering lacks weight as it moves side to side. It doesnt get tight. Feels a little disconcerting (though maybe I'm just used to electric power steering in other cars where the effort is artificially maintained?!? I was driving electrics for the last 6 years, and had my Boxster 10+ years ago.) In those sweepers, it feels like the steering doesn't quite get harder in effort at the max, kind of communicating where my limits are and that I'm gonna break.

Im going ask a silly question do you know the history on your car was it ever involved in an accident that will cause numerous suspension issues if not straight a light front in a 996 can be dialed out or better would weigh down the front trunk and see if adding weight helps

Not a silly question. I've only owned the car for 7mos. It was claimed to have no accidents. I purchased it on consignment through an indy German mechanic who'd serviced the car for the last 2 owners. The CarFax is clean. I've not seen any indicators of an accident. When I removed the left rear headlight there is what looks like some slightly cracked metal (it looks like a thin welded on piece, not the body itself) that MAYBE could have buckled in some sort of rear accident but I'm not seeing any indications from any of the mechanics who've worked on it. I did remove the spare front tire/wheel from the frunk recently but that has not seemed to change anything. Not sure that adding gross weight for no reason should be a solution here.

It's hard to judge what you're feeling cause its hard to know how hard another dude pushes on the street. In my option, your setup is one for cruising, not pushing. The tire is skinny, not very sticky, carrying a lot of weight and under hard cornering, probably smoking the outside of the tire. Think about putting at least another half degree of camber in the front if you want to push hard on the street and have a setup that inspires confidence in my opinion, it would make a big difference. Try taking some chalk and marking the sidewall of the tire at the wear marker. Go for a drive and see how far you're leaning the tire on to the sidewall. If you're removing most of the chalk, you don't have enough camber for what you're trying to do. You can mess with pressure to try to improve but it's a band aid. Here's a pic for where to mark the tire.

Arcangely2k - I’m no track rat, but I’ve spent several years fiddling with two different 996’s and various parts combos, along with the associated suspension research. Some tires, springs and dampers are just horrible together. I think your spring rates are a mismatch for your Koni’s. I also think your toe numbers are way off. The ride height from the photo appears very high. I don’t think a rear sway change will do what you need with the current toe, ride height, rake. A quick check of your rear ride height: floor to center of arch should not be more than 26 1/2” or 670mm for a ballpark US stock spec. An RoW M030 spring set would probably suit your needs. Note: 996 understeer always more notable than Boxster or Cayman all the time.

A set of good coilovers and sway bars can fix most of the problems for street driving and canyon carving by providing flexibility in set up adjustability. In the grand scheme of things, they are probably alot cheaper than other options with alot less headaches once you realize that you can adjust them any way you want to accomplish what you want.

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Have had my '04 996 coupe for about 18 months. It had fairly new Bilstein B4s. I felt it had more body roll than I liked which made it a little unsettling (to me) in corners. I installed a set of Eibach swaybars, and the issue was resolved. Have since added H&R springs and will be upgrading tires and aligning soon.

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I think the wheel widths you cited are the same as stock GT3 wheels with the exception of the fronts, which are 235/40. The recommended GT3 inflation is 32 front and 38 rear for street driving. You will drop those pressures for track or autocross. I don't know what widths your rims are and can't comment on the tires. I find the Michelin PS4s are best for street and the ride quality has been the best of any tire I have tried over the last 17 years.

Has anyone else - such as a mechanic - driven your car to confirm its handling characteristics?

Thank you

Porsche race shop did the alignment/corner balance, said they liked how it drives. They race. It was SO MUCH BETTER than before, when I'd just aligned it at a generic tire shop. But, still not great.