New to forum and looking for advice

Hello everybody! From what I have read so far, this looks like a great forum. I have had a 996 coupe since 1999 and I have enjoyed the car immensly. I have kept the car completely stock but now have an itch to customize/personalize it. Probably part of a mid-life crisis. I worked on motorcyle engines in high-school and restored a few cars while in college so I am not completely ignorant but this was 18 years ago so I don't have any current knowledge. Here are the modifications I am planning and the associated questions: 1) Engine - I am planning to install the Fabspeed exhaust system and airbox upgrade. From what I have read so far I am fairly comfortable with this decision. I am also contemplating the Fabspeed DME piggy back computer. Does anyone have an opinion on whether this is worth the money and effort? 2) Suspension/wheels - I bought the car with the Porsche sport suspension option. I would like to improve the suspension, lower the car and give it a slightly wider stance using wheel spacers. I plan to change my 18" turbo-look wheels to 18" Kinesis Supercup/RS wheels. Does this sound good? 3) Body enhancements - I plan to install the GT3 aero kit but I am not crazy about the rear spoiler. A really like the 996 Turbo rear spoiler and a company called M.A. Shaw makes a 996 Turbo spoiler for the 996 coupe. Firstly, does anyone have any experience with this product or company? Secondly, I know this is personal preference but I would like some opinions on using a 996 Turbo rear spoiler with a GT3 aero kit. Would this be considered "tacky"? I apologize for the long post and would appreciate any feedback. I look forward to being active on this forum. Dima

Dima, I can speak to your suspension/wheels question. Attached is a photo of my 99 996 with H&R Sport Coilovers adjusted to lower the car about 1.5 inches in front and 1 inch in the back. This is a great change as long as you don't mind a stiffer ride. Others seem happy with the ROW M030 OEM suspension which sits a bit higher and rides a little better I am told. I have Kenisis K28s. 8.5/10.5 x 18. As you can see, they fill the wheel wells just about perfectly. I'd be glad to get you the offsets if you decide to purchase the supercups. Hope this helps. Jim

Sorry about that. Here you go.

Jim, You have a great looking 996! The wheels look just right and from what little I have read the H&R sport coilovers seem like the way to go. Thanks for offering up the offsets but I think I am going to a 18x11 in the back with 285 tires so I think my rear offset would differ. Thanks overall for the info. Dima

Dima, I am all for lowering but keep this in mind... with the aerokit the front spoiler will decrease your ground clearance by almost 1". ROW030 will likely still be able to be driven on the street if you are careful at driveways and other big dips. The coilovers are great but I doubt you can go as low as Jim did with the aerokit and drive on the street. The nice thing about coilovers is that you can change them for the track. IMHO Loren (99 996 AS/BS Aerokit)

Good point Loren. My car is really set up more for the track than the street and with an aerokit it would be too low for everyday use. I would still strongly suggest adjustable coilovers just because you can adjust the height although I'm not sure it would be practical to change it for track days. Dima, I think Bilstein is coming out with fully adjustable coilovers that you may want to look at before buying the H&Rs. The H&R Sports are only adjustable for height. Good luck.

"but I think I am going to a 18x11 in the back" Didn't think you could put 11s on the rear of a narrow body. "I am all for lowering but keep this in mind... with the aerokit the front spoiler will decrease your ground clearance by almost 1". ROW030 will likely still be able to be driven on the street if you are careful at driveways and other big dips. The coilovers are great but I doubt you can go as low as Jim did with the aerokit and drive on the street. The nice thing about coilovers is that you can change them for the track." All this is true. However, both Jim and I have gone substantially lower than the highest setting available on the H&Rs. The H&Rs highest setting is only 10 mm front and rear lower than the ROW. Like others have said though, you have no adjustability on the ROW and I'll add you can't use GT3 adjustable sway bars (to make the car more neutral) without the coilovers. Further, the ROW does not allow for nearly the range of alignment settings the coilovers do. Personally, I've got mine set up with GT3 alignment specs which you cannot do with ROW. I too have the H&R coilovers and love them.

Actually I have 8.5/11x18 BBS mag track wheels on my 996 now and they fit fine. Ben, your car is looking great.

Thanks Jim. Did you have to have your fenders rolled? And if you have PSM, did you have it recalibrated? Edit: nevermind re: PSM, yours is a 99 (pre-PSM).

There is plenty of room for 11s without rolling the fenders. I may have to because I have a little less offset than I should.

Dima: I had a Fabspeed exhaust in my 00C2 cab, loved it, it is loud though, Joe is a great guy to work with. I just installed a unichip in my 996tt, the great thing about the unichip is you can reprogram it for another car should you decide to sell yours, in my opinion, the best way to go. I hope you have good roads where you are with the car lowered and the aero kit, I hope there are no potholes, Philly area roads are pretty bad. I think the offset is a great idea, I pulled the ewheels of the turbo and did the same thing. Good luck.

Everyone, Thanks for all of the good information. I think that I am going to forgo the aero kit so that I can get the most out of lowering the car. The 996 already has some challenges with driveways, bumps and such. I would rather get the suspension right than make the car look a bit more aggressive. I also really liked how the wheels filled out the wells on Jim's car. Regarding exhuast systems, I am also contemplating the Fabspeed headers. Will they give me a good bang for the buck or should I stick to muffler, airbox, and chipping? Dima

Sounds like you intend to pass on the aerokit, but I'll offer a comment anyway. The 996 aerokit is from the GT3 car, and it was designed to increase down force - not just for looks. To that end, I would have some reservations about mixing and matching components from different cars - e.g. the turbo rear wing with the GT3 bodywork. There may be no problem at all with this, but you may be setting yourself up for unexpected results in terms of the car's areodynamics.

Steve, In general, you're right about the aerodynamics and extra down force but I had read in a few places that the GT3 aero kit didn't add any significant benefit in this area. I haven't researched it in depth do I could be completely wrong on this. Dima