Lowest spring/shock combo? Coilovers the only solution to remove fender gap?

I'm having a little trouble figuring out if the X73 spring/shock is lower than say, a set of H&Rs with Konis. And it seems nobody really takes straight on pics before and after, it's always from angles. The only reason I mention Koni over Bilstein B8 is I've read the Bilsteins will actually raise the car back up some despite being a lowering shock because of the pressure? I've seen people mention that a few times and it seems like they're just regurgitating info but, I'd like to hear what those that have had them noticed, It also seems like there's people getting varying heights for X73 spring/shocks, which doesn't make sense to me...unless people just don't know how to measure lol. I want the fender gap gone, or mostly gone with the stock 18s. I will NEVER touch the coilovers once they're on nor will I ever track it, so it seems a bit like overkill to buy PSS10s, KWs, or Ohlins for fender gap. I'm not putting garbage coil overs on either as I don't want to be stiff bounce central lol....but it may seem like coil overs are the only option to get rid of a reasonable amount of fender gap? I've read 25" fender height is a solid height and it gets rid of most/all of the fender gap, I think currently my 40 Jahre is sitting at 26 1/2 to 26 3/4 iirc, so 25" would be fine around here...but is the only way to get there with coilovers? What about the H&R Cup Kits? Are they just basically rebranded shocks with H&R springs? Seems they lower a little more than just their springs, but haven't really read up much on them for the 996.

I have some champion springs and b4s used. It was about 1.5" drop and lo.wer then my gt3 set up coilovers. Not sure u can go lower. Pic with the old 19s.

I put H&R street coilovers on my 40 Jahre. They were reasonably priced and I'm super happy with the ride - seems like a nice upgrade over my (probably worn out) X73 suspension. You can adjust the ride height to whatever you want. I believe the X73 had a different ride height for North America vs. rest of world.

Yeah, I think you're thinking of the ROW30 being different in the US than every where else. The Euro ROW30 was lower than the american ROW30, but I think the X73 was the same everywhere. And it's kind of confusing as a result, cause most of the people that upgrade speak of 30mm lower, but they were european, so is that 30mm lower from where they currently are (which is already 10mm lower than US).. or is that 30mm from american height? No really clear answer... @De Jeeper Is that picture with just the springs?

B8�s won�t �raise it back up�� I�m not sure where you heard that. I can�t give an exact # on the drop, but it�s around 30mm all around.

If you want to erase the fender gap, then get coilovers. Just because you aren�t going to change ride heights doesn�t mean coilovers are overkill. Not sure why you think that is true. The coilovers will improve handling and allow for the exact setup you want without having to guess about what height the different available springs will give you. It�s a no brainer for what your stated purpose is.

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Yes its how i bought my car. It hss the correct length bilsteins too and i also put new bumpstops and bellows on.

Using just springs to lower the car will cause the shocks to travel lower than where they were used to, and most likely bottom out on average/size bumps. Also, traveling lower than where they used to will cause seals to move beyond their comfort zone (i.e., areas on the shock cylinder not explored/worn before), and increase the risk of internal leaking and hence, damping level. Definitely coilovers are the best for lowering.

Or shorter shocks under the strut springs, which is what my used set up has.

my car before and after top pick is when I bought her bottom is after raising it an inch a quarter all around on the same suspension JIC/Cross coil overs it’s still LOW but I can deal with for now

Coilovers will allow you to adjust the height as well as dial in the suspension for softer or stiffer ride. For street or track. You can also get a set of spacers and push the wheels out. If you are running the Carrera 5 spoke 8x18 and 10x18 you can easily run 15mm spacers. You can play with the look with the spacers and lowering to fill up the wheel wells. Good news is that you have a lot of options with coilovers for the street.

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I read here on RL a few people were talking about the rear ends of their cars going up after just replacing shocks. Could be lots of variables there, worn out shocks, sagging springs, etc. But it's been noted to happen even on shocks that aren't allegedly worn out. But it's more prevalent in the bimmer crowd than anywhere I've noticed: You Tube I figured that was probably the situation. There's so much ambiguity on shock/spring combos for these cars mostly because of people with ROW30, US ROW30, X73 and coming and going from those set-ups that it's just hard to get a definitive answer. I was thinking coil-overs are overkill simply because of all the adjustability they have, I wouldn't use ANY of it once I get the ride height. I'm a "do it correctly once and set it forget it" kind of guy. So I know I'll never tinker and play with all the available settings, which is why I think it's overkill to have all the adjustment available and not use it. There used to be a company that did custom lowering springs for any application...a buddy of mine used it on his car back in the early 2000s...you picked your spring rate and amount you wanted lowered and they would send you a set of springs. Which is exactly what I would be after since I would never utilize the adjustments. Granted, they were literally twice what spring were that were off the shelf, but that was a nice option. He doesn't remember the company unfortunately, and google doesn't give any results either. I definitely would also be buying lowering shocks if I went the spring route...I dunno why ANYBODY would just do springs. Just leave the OEM intact, save on the labor (minimally, but still marginally less), and get new stuff.... What seems to be the typical amount of spacers people use with the Carrera 5 spoke wheels to fill up the fender? Or is that more personal preference? I've pretty much narrowed down to KWV1 or PSS10...I'm not gonna deal with experimenting with "this coil over is a great bang for the buck" as I've learned rarely ever is there an outlier in the suspension world. It's either garbage or it's not.

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I am lowered on Feal 441 coilovers with 15mm spacers at each corner. Handles extremely well and stance is nice.

You won't really find the "dumped" look you're searching for with springs. I had B8 and H&R and visually the car looked like it raised after adding the B8s vs just H&R springs on stock shocks. I moved to KW V3s after because I found them to be too soft on the track and not the height I wanted. There's a few budget coilovers that have good feedback on RL. Feal seems to be the most popular with adjustability and H&R street seem to be a great set it and forget it option for street use.

I have always run the oem Carrera 5 spoke (8x18, 10x18) wheels on my 996.2. I set the car up years ago running Bilstein PSS9s (before PSS10s were available) using GT3 specs, where I ran 7mm spacers. Then I went to 15. It looks like there is enough room to run 18mm up front and probably 18s in the rear due to my camber, so I am thinking hard about it. Imho, the cars have a better looking stance when using spacers or using after market wheels when the wheels fill up the wheel wells. Just looks more planted. Same can be said with lowering the car. The coilovers give you option to adjust the height and stiffness to your liking. What you gotta be aware of is that there are three different mindsets for coilovers. (1) pure street guy who wants better handling, better ride than Oem, height and stiffness adjustability, but doesn't plan on tracking the car. (2) street and track guy that wants the same, but more stiffness, adjustability and durability, (3) and the track guy that will never drive on the street, or if he does, doesn't mind chipping a tooth. The majority of 996 owners are in #1 above. Check into feal coilovers. I never used them nor felt them live, but many of the street guys swear by them. Obviously there are many others to look at as well. Add: as a side note, I love my Bilstein PSS9s. They have been durable as he'll, adjustable and have had absolutely no problems. So you won't go wrong with the PSS10s which gives you 1 more notch of adjustability over the 9s. I am going to run them one more year and then replace them after 15 years and 37k miles including a lot of track days. Just don't know with what yet.

After going outside and measuring, it seems 40mm is the sweet spot for not "dumped" or tucked, but the tire edge just below the fender well. That puts the fenderwell around 25 inches away from the ground. Found a company "Eaton Detroit Springs" that does custom springs for custom applications. But it seems most of their clientele is about raising and lowering and not really performance. Shot them a request for a quote just out of curiosity. Curious if 40-50mm is too much even for some B8s as that might be a little too much lowering for even those? It's looking like coilovers are seeming more and more like the only way to acheive that.....cost isn't really the issue, but it's more like paying for a bunch of features I'm not going to be using is my hiccup. Thanks for all the comments by the way...it's shedding a bit of light on my specific situation.

I wont want a lot of money for my used set up if u want to talk about it pm me. Ill even send it to u for the cost of shipping and u can pay me if u like the height or send it back.

You�re not going to get a 50mm drop from Bilstein B8�s� and if you do, they won�t perform properly. They�re designed to be paired with H&R sport springs (for the proper chassis - C2, C4/C4s/Turbo, or cabrio/targa). This combo is designed to work together & will give you approximately 30mm drop. My suggestion would be to go to a chassis/suspension specialist if you�re looking for a 50mm/2� drop (basically slammed on the pavement)� Good Luck👍

@dporto Is that the combo you had in your car? If so, how did you like it?

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I've helped a lot of buddies install coilovers on their JDMs, BMWs, VWs, etc. and I have owned a few cars upgraded to coilovers, and I have never met anyone who regretted installing a quality coilover designed specifically for their car, regardless of whether they ever touched the adjustments after initial install. You will see huge improvements, especially with your desired drop. It's cheap or improper coilovers that cause regret. Honestly, any kind of improper/corners cut lowering tends to cause regret. It sounds like your in for doing this right, though, which is good.

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OP, we gave you the answer to the question you asked. Why are you still researching custom springs? You�re just wasting your time.

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Yes, I installed them as well - along with Tarrett mono-ball top mounts, H&R adjustable sways (3 hole), 15mm ECS spacers & adjustable drop links. I was replacing a worn out stock (Bilstein B4�s) spring shock combo. It was a big improvement, both from a feel/handling perspective as well as a look/stance perspective. I drove the car with them for 3 1/2 years/15k mi. before replacing them with KW V3�s (that I happened to get a smoking deal (slightly used) on. The V3�s are truly another level in all respects being 3 way adjustable co�s (as they should be for the price differential). I hope this is helpful�

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Very helpful, thank you. I ordered that kit for my car -- will do the install in April. I may PM you to pick your brain on the some of the other components you mentioned. I like coilovers (have them in one of my other cars) and agree from the perspective of really being able to dial in ride and ride height (what the OP is shooting for), that COs are the way to go. That said -- I had read such positive things about the B8/H&R pkg. in the 996, and FCP Euro was running such a great deal on the kit for Black Friday, that I just decided to bite the bullet and go that route for now. I also ordered the 15mm ECS spacer kit as well. Thanks again.

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For the $ you can�t touch it (I don�t think)

I tinker a lot with stance to get it looking exactly how I want. 28mm spacer in the front and 21mm in the rear for me. Also on Tarrett front camber plates.

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Stance looks good brother.

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It was something I was doing/looking at before all the responses and just thinking out loud�and nobody answered if the stroke would be too short for B6/B8s. I just looked and Bilstein says the B8 is good for �up to 50mm� �For most drivers fixed-damping suspensions like as the BILSTEIN B12 Pro-Kit are perfect. It offers lowering up to 40 mm and is a fit and forget non-adjustable solution with perfectly matched damper and spring pairs. We also offer the BILSTEIN B12 Sportline for people looking to go a little lower, B12 Sportline provides a max lowering of 50 mm.� So it appears yeah, you can drop 40mm with springs and B8 shocks�

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We already told you coilovers is what you need. If you had asked about simply lowering your car that�s one thing, but you said you want to get rid of fender gap. To do that effectively (and simply) guessing on springs and shocks are not the best option. As far as whether you can drop 40mm with springs and B8 struts, there�s more to it than just �measuring the drop�. There are other considerations like rake and damping that can make a huge difference. You already see that with your attempts to find out if the stroke matches..

BTW, apologies if I sound harsh in my responses. It�s not intentional. Just want to help you get set up to meet your goals!

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No biggie. I appreciate the direct response. I was more thinking out loud than anything. I only brought up that spring/shock part because while Bilstein offers kits that the shock can go that low, and the shock is capable of going that low, and 40-50mm is within it's paramters for damping, why it's not an option for this car specifically other than the fact there's no turning back if it's too low?

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Of course it�s an option. It�s probably not the best option, however.

Here's mine riding on H&R Street Performance coilovers and 7mm front, 14mm rear spacers. My rear fender is 25.5" from the ground with the aftermarket 19's... I have since gone with Tarrett adjustable rear toe links to get the alignment into spec and have about 1 deg negative camber. I like the ride on the H&R coilovers but I don't track my car, so I would say the ride is softer, even with H&R sway bars front & rear. Only downside I have found with the H&R's is that they should be sprayed with Boeshield T-9 or similar product to prevent rust. I don't drive my car in the winter but they are still in pretty bad shape whereas the KW V1 (inox) on my Audi are fine even with daily driving through the winter.