996 Suspension Upgrade Suggestions

I am looking at upgrading my 2002 996 suspension this winter. I am considering the Bilstein PSS9 coilovers but have read that they lower the car too much for street use. My car is used for DE, Auto-X and as a daily driver so I am not too concered about the rigid ride but am concered about ripping off bumpers and breaking bolts because off dragging. I am also considering the H&R coilover setup. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks Brian

The PSS9's have adjustable ride height, so you can adjust the ride height at your leisure. If you want a "stock" solution, look at Porsches X74 kit for the 996. It will also probably provide improvement you are looking for.

As Ray said, pss9's are ride height adjustable - which is a good selling point. I went with JIC's because their reputation is more track oriented. Both are good solutions.

Another one for PSS9's.....

Stay away from H&R is you want to keep your back. I suggest KW Variant 3, stiffer than Pss9s, but Pss9s are good too, just not as stiff.

what is the difference between the X74 kit and the M030??

I bought and still use PSS9s. If I had to do it over again I'd get KW Variante 3, based solely on my experience with them on the BMW E36/8 M Coupe. It seems to be a much tighter, more track-oriented setup. That said, I don't feel strongly enough to switch. The PSS9s are solid for a street/track setup, and I had a great time with them at VIR. Certainly a worthwhile upgrade, but I can't assert as strongly that they're the BEST upgrade. FWIW I use my car about 1/3 to/from/at the track, 1/3 weekenders, and 1/3 daily driver. YMMV. More to the point: ride height concerns should be a total non-issue unless you have a preposterous driveway or plan on going off-road. The only reason not to get them is if you're concerned that they're not stiff enough.

so for street use would you rec. the pss9 or would the Kw work pretty well...?

PSS9 is pretty much the best setup out there for street cars.

Would you consider the KW too stiff for a daily driver?

I'm quite happy with the X73 I installed. The car is much more "planted", stiffer than stock and not unbearable as the daily driver. If I recall correctly, the X73/74 is 10mm lower than M030 and 40mm from stock. For me at the end of the day... Porsche researched and designed parts, the price (got a good deal) was the same as aftermarket, and no tuning headaches. The adjustibility of coilovers is nice. Been there... To do it right though, spend the time and money to corner balance the car. Visual or measured height adjustment doesn't even come close to placing even load on the springs.

I would not consider the KW to be too stiff for street use - that is, it is acceptable, but is no doubt very firm. That said, I have a high threshold for comfort in a sports car. That said if it's something you're concerned about you're probably better off with the PSS9s which are great on the street and don't give up very much (when tightened up) for the track. If I had never driven the KW car I'd be quite content. (Note, again, that the KWs were on a BMW, not a 996.) Unless you track your car quite a lot I don't think you can go wrong with the PSS9s - they are proven in this application, meet a wide range of needs (height and stiffness), and I think are a bit cheaper as well.

US M030/ROW-standard is 10mm (+/- 10mm) lower than stock US. ROW M030 is 20mm (+/- 10mm) front and 10mm (+/- 10mm) lower rear than US standard. My car lowered exactly 1" in front and 3/4" in rear with a ROW M030. The X73 is for a Turbo. The X74 is for a Carrera/C4/C4S. The X74 is supposed to lower a car 40mm (+/-10mm) front and 30mm (+/-10mm) rear from US-standard height or slightly lower than the stock ride height of a GT3. The US M030/ROW-standard, ROW M030 and X74 all use the same sway bars. All will have a similar feel, but the ROW M030 and X74 are about 25% stiffer springs and shocks to set the car perfectly neutral (with the right alignment). They will feel harsher on bumps than the US-M030, but I have noticed that the ride softened a lot over the first 6 months. It still on the stiff side and very noticeable on the street. The ROW M030 suspension comes in a single box with springs, shocks, bump stops and sway bar bushings. You re-use your original upper spring/strut mounts. The X74 comes in a single box with complete coilover assemblies pre-assembles with new spring/strut mounts. ROW M030 runs about $1000 and the X74 will run about $2500. My $.02 from having a ROW m030 on my car for almost a year is I could not live with an X74 due to the lowered ride height. It basically depends on the streets you drive on. My car already scraps the front bumper a lot and with this amount lowering, I couldn't drive up road crests or over speed bumps in the parking lots around town if I went any lower. BTW, it takes about a month for the suspension to fully settle after it is installed. Don't rush out to get it aligned when you first get the suspenion aligned unless the shop will re-adjust it a month later for free. My front only dropped 1/4" when it was first installed. It dropped another 3/4" across the next month.

FYI.....X74 is NOT for the C4S as it gets the X73 just like the TT.

My understanding is that US M030 is same ride height as stock US suspension. The ROW 030 kit also includes front and rear sway bars.

Kevin, that is correct as well. I should have mentioned that in my post.