who is making a good set that is
pasm
compat?
also, any thoughts on h&r sway bars?
any sway bar or strut brace recomendation?
thanks folks
Good questions. I'd like to know too. The newer Porsches (including the
Cayman
) already have a form of triangular strut bar, but that hasn't stopped the aftermarket suppliers from offering theirs. Maybe if you wear a belt and suspenders too, another sway bar will help ease your mind.
Adjustable sway bars are good for people who like to continually fiddle with suspension setup. The
Cayman
swaybar downlinks do seem very thin compared to the thickness of the bar. If one modifies other suspension components, different sway bars may be in order as well.
As far as I know, the question of coil-overs for
PASM
cars is still unsettled. Ken posted a warning earlier suggesting that linear rate (rather than progressive rate) springs would be needed for
PASM
compliance, and that post made sense to me. But H&R offers progressive rate coil-overs that they say work with
PASM
. Several
Cayman
owners have those, and have report no problems, but the problem may show up later in the form of excessively worn shocks. I'm also not convinced that the
PASM
damping will work as intended with progressive rate springs. But I'm still open to further information on all of these questions.
Edited by - Jim Michaels on 08/15/2006 1:14:13 PM
I've heard from a friend at a large West Coast parts distributor that
Bilstein
will be coming out soon with PSS9 coilovers that will be guaranteed compatible with
PASM
using linear springs. They will be specific to the
Cayman S
, not just repurposed from the
Boxster
. If it were me, I'd wait for them.
Yes, people are offering strut braces, but they are totally unnecessary in Porsches since the
986
/996 cars were introduced. Not even the
GT3
cup and /
GT3
RS and RSR cars have them. Save your money on this item...
brad
Brad: That's good news. I'm a big fan of
Bilsteins
; had them on my RSA, along with H&R springs. It usually takes a while for what will become the best mods for a new model to develop. Patience is a virtue.
i currently have h&r springs. they ride like stock but i still have considerable body roll in turns. seems they just lowered the car without improving handling.
i heard kw? has some coil overs but i never heard of kw. ne one?
so strut braces are out? what about sway bars? is there a point? thanx guys
Yogi, I too have the H&R springs. At low to moderate speeds, there is reduced body roll/ At higher speeds, there is some roll, but much less than the stock springs.
I am not sure I understand 'coilovers that are compatible with
PASM
' statement; does that mean, a version of shocks that you can electronically connect to the ECU and alter compression/rebound as the stock units? Of course 'coilover' would also imply a threaded strut to be able to adjust spring length and ride height.
If that is the case, that would be really nice and probably come with a price. In terms of linear springs thatneed be utilized with stock
PASM
shocks, one guess would be that the computer algorithm that alter the shock veins is coded with linear progression and not variable, which is of course much easier to develop. But what would be the overall benefit of such a unit in general, excluding racing purposes. The stock
PASM
shocks are very good already, and if
Bilstein
comes up with a
PASM
replacement similar to PSS9s, which are single adjustables, I am failing to see the value, especially given the fact that they would cost over $3K.
A/R bars should not be considered in isolation. When modifying the chassis, it would be best to look at the overall objective and develop an integrated solution. It would be ill advised to say 'yes, H&R is a good brand, I had good experience, go buy that'. The H&R set has a smaller bar in the front and much bigger bard in the rear. The purpose is to give the
Cayman
less understeer tendencies. But what happens if you put on a spring set or coilovers that also tries to do the same? You suddenly have a very nervous car in your hands.
In terms of strut braces: when I looked at the front of the CS, I saw a full length and height firewall-type welded cross member. I could not see the whole thing, but if it is really what I think it is, a strut bar would be totally useless.
I used KW coilovers for many years, and I'd say they are one of the best in the market. It is fortunate that they just recently, in the last 3 yrs, selling and service in NA. In Europe they are very big and in my opinion they are far better than any street versions of
Bilsteins
. The variant 3 is the street version and is double adjustable at the same price of PSS9s, comes with life-time warranty too, at least used to, I am not sure if they still do that.
The information for the PSS9
Bilstein
systems is already available on
www.bilstein.de
. It is my understanding the the PSS9 system replaces the PASMcoil spring and strut/shock with it's own 'damptronic' version of PASM.
With regard to front strut bars, if you open the battery compartment plastic and underhood plastic in that area you will see that the triangular bracing that is present on some 996s (and I'm assuming 997's) is NOT there. I was surprised at this as well when I looked and expected to find it and didn't. In this case our
Caymans
may be in need of a strut tower brace or at a minimum it probably couldn't hurt.
Go take a look at your car and you'll see what I mean!
Yogi,
KW Variant 3 is best bet! (around 2.6 grand) If you want the best, MOTON or
OHLINS
or PENSKE, etc...expensive though, for race purpose!!!
<table style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="580">
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<td valign="top" align="center" cellpadding="3"><span class="normal-invers">Model[/quote]</td>
<td valign="top" align="center"><span class="normal-invers">Year of Constr
Type[/quote]</td>
<td valign="top" align="center"><span class="normal-invers">[/quote]</td>
<td align="center"><span class="normal-invers">Engine[/quote]</td>
<td align="center"><span class="normal-invers">Lowering (F/R)
mm
Inches[/quote]</td>
<td valign="top" align="center"><span class="normal-invers">MSRP
( $ )[/quote]</td>
<td></td>
<td valign="top" align="center"><span class="normal-invers">[/quote]</td>
<td align="left"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td height="5"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="8">
<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="400" bgcolor="#c2c2c2">
Coilover Variant 3
</td>
<td width="20" background="../../../../../images/shopgraphics/border_r_v3.gif" td=""></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr onmouseover="this.bgColor='#FFFFFF'" onmouseout="this.bgColor='#C2C2C2'" bgcolor="#c2c2c2">
<td valign="middle">Cayman S</td>
<td valign="middle">06+(987)</td>
<td></td>
<td valign="middle"></td>
<td valign="middle" align="center" width="100">30-60/30-60
1.2-2.3/1.2-2.3</td>
<td valign="middle" align="right">2650</td>
<td valign="middle" align="center" background="../../../../../images/shopgraphics/line.gif" height="20"></td>
<td valign="middle">
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td bgcolor="#c2c2c2" colspan="10">
<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0">
<tbody>
<tr bgcolor="#c2c2c2">
<td align="left">Spring rates (lbs/inch or Progressive Spring): Front=230 / Rear=400 </td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="#c2c2c2">
<td align="left">Part No: 35271016 </td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="#c2c2c2">
<td>Footnotes:</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="#c2c2c2">
<td valign="top">1 : Height adjustable on the front and rear axles (threaded strut housings)</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="#c2c2c2">
<td align="left" bgcolor="#c2c2c2" colspan="10">Download:</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
