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YOUR RESEARCH996 Safari Parts List
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Almost all of them have been replaced in the last 20k miles.
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Just bought a 996 C4S. It's one of several Porsches I own, so it gets to be my fun project car. Unfortunately, I've yet to own an air-cooled Porsche. But I'm pretty excited about this one.
I've decided to do a very mild safari build. The car will be in a very snowy, northern climate, so the goal is to add ground clearance and fit some off-road / snow tires. Ideally, all the work done with no body modifications. Bottom line is I am going to DD the car, and want to be able to get home from work if we get smashed with a snowstorm. Or get to work if I'm in a position where I have to drive it.
My list below is based on the Elephant Safari Kit. The goal is to look similar to the Elephant Racing 996 (video below), without the safari bar or the rock sliders, where the builder states the car is lifted roughly 3". The parts listed with "OEM" will be prioritized for replacement if required. Almost all of them have been replaced in the last 20k miles.
Parts List:
(Front)
Adjustable Coilovers -
seeking recommendations (MCS? Ohlin? Koni? Bilstein?)
Adjustable Drop Links - Elephant
Lower Control Arms - OEM or GT3
(what are the benefits to GT3?)
Inner Tie Rod Ends - OEM
Lift/Right Strut Camber Plate Bushings - OEM
Outer Tie Rod Ends - OEM
Caster Control Arm - OEM
Front Sway Bar Rubber Bushings - OEM
(Rear)
Adjustable Coilovers -
seeking recommendations (MCS? Ohlin? Koni? Bilstein?)
Rear Adjustable Drop Links - Elephant
Safari Solid Subframe Bushings - Elephant
Drop Link Kit for MCS Coilovers - Elephant
(will I need these if I don't get MCS coilovers?)
Toe Control Arm (Track Rod) - OEM
Outer Lower Control Arms - OEM or GT3
(what are the benefits to GT3?)
Rear Sway Bar Rubber Bushings - OEM or GT3
(what are the benefits to GT3?)
Caster Control Arm - OEM
Rear Upper Control Arm (Wishbone) Bushings - OEM
Rear Shock Upper Mounts - OEM
Rear Swaybar - OEM or GT3
(what are the benefits to GT3?)
I'm going to do the work myself and am not going to take it somewhere for a turnkey build. I have the following questions:
What am I missing?
Does anyone other than Elephant sell a subframe spacer kit? Are (reference: Elephant video below)
Do I need a coilover spacer kit? If so, where do I get one / which? (reference: Ideal Media video below)
There's talk about moving the radiators forward (reference: Elephant video below). Is there a tutorial anywhere on here?
Elephant Video:
https://youtu.be/GDRbowlDVgo
Ideal Video:
https://youtu.be/a9upxhFPs9k
My promise to the 996 Forum on Rennlist is that I will catalog the build process for future 996 Safari builders.
GT3 allow for Camber & Castor adjustment
Adjustable tow control arms are required for very low drops.
I would assume it would also be required for a 3" lift
.
Adjustability
Thanks for the links above.
Looking forward to seeing your project progress!
Kelly Moss did this City Safari 991. Seems similar to what you're going for. Looks like they went with MCS adjustable coilovers.
https://www.kellymoss.com/galleries/...id-991-turbo-s
&
https://www.vonnen.com/builds/
I couldn't watch that after the opening slo-mo. Whatever they did, the result was not a practical vehicle. If you watch it you'll see the tires slamming into the fender edges; there is nowhere near enough clearance. Maybe they did good suspension stuff and just stuck too much tire under there. Dunno, don't care. Just please don't use that as your ideal setup for actual daily driving.
I'm no engineer, but I have seen non-mechanical engineering solutions that have failed over the years.
I'd be hesitant to actually drive the Ideal Media "Safari" offroad in desolate areas.
The parts they used were not as bad as these:
But using what looked to me to be several spacers stacked just didn't look safe to me.
I think it would be an incredibly fun "all weather" car to drive around town. With more height and suspension travel it may end up being the perfect daily driver. Certainly will be an attention getter.
Plenty of these builds already done with various generations of 911s that you can study the what's, how's and why's. Elephant seems to be in the center of it with parts. What i have heard from my indy who build one for a client is that more power is essential to push around all the extra weight. Especially if you are going to play in mud fields. The 996 turbo may be a better platform. Sure, street only would not require as much power
I built the car above.
I worked primarily with Ira at Tarret for the suspension, and learned quite a bit along the way. Suffice to say, I think your list above is short with being so reliant on the OEM parts.
To do a 3" lift, you'll need full adjustability to account for the whacky places your suspension will go:
Coilovers with taller bodies for the lift ($4k)
adjustable control arms F/R ($2k)
adjustable thrust arms ($750)
adjustable toe links ($500)
adjustable camber plates ($500)
Here's what I would also say:
You can safely get 1.5" or so of additional height from just shocks, and another .5" or so with a
slightly
taller radius tire, putting them on the tallest settings and have the right spring rates/shock combo. That'll easily save you thousands without going to the full "safari" spec.
Here's another thing I will say - I spent months on this project, and I didn't love the experience I had in attempting to work with Elephant. Sure, they've got the video above and try to sell you an out of the box kit - but I never once felt they actually listened to what I needed, rather than just giving me a long overpriced list of parts. I had a much better experience working through Tarret, and we worked through the actual problem, and didn't just throw a kitchen sink of parts at it.
Now that I've said that, and take it from a long list of parts and labor, I'd advise to just go the nominal coilover route for a mild lift.
You realize this car only has some average coilovers, right? I've seen it in person and looked around it when I had my Safari car at Monterrey car week and they were there. Your entire list is unecessary if that's what you want to accomplish.
Hopefully this detail can save you months of effort and $15-20k.
This is the answer that I was looking for. A slight lift, with enough clearance to mount some grippy snow tires and little / no concern for driving in the snow. Maybe "safari" is too far a term for what I really want to achieve.
One question though - on a C4S - what size tires could I fit after a 1.5-2" lift?
Thanks! Will keep the forum updated.
Yes. I'm not a huge fan of that channel, just wanted to get the example out there. The parts list came from Elephant Racing, which you addressed earlier.
Your reply above was very informative / what I was looking for. A mild lift and ability to fit all-terrain tires. Now looking to determine what tires fit.
It really depends on your offset of the wheels, there's no out of the box number. 1" taller than factory with a not too aggressive offset is doable.
1" taller than factory and flush with the fenders... then it depends on your ride height. You can probably get by with 1.5" taller than stock diameter tire and a stock-ish fitment in terms of fender spacing.
If you're on non-996 TT brakes you can also get by with 16" wheels (I did on my 997.2 with some minor shaving of the caliper).
There are a lot of things you can do - but must be willing to experiment and know that you'll waste some $ along the way in trial and error.
Therefore, try the most nominal route - small lift, slightly larger tires - see how you like it before going all out.
I like the idea of going with suspension and big tires to see how that goes. Might actually do this when i find the right car. Now gotta look at coil-overs that allow a high ride height.
This is awesome information! I'm looking for a 2" lift, from your experience are coilovers and a subframe drop kit (like one from Elephant racing or Eurowise) enough? Or do I still need control arms, adjustable caster arms or anything? Not needing to go too wild but don't want to skip out on what I should do.
Actually, yes. Don�t listen to anyone who says you don�t need everything.
I finished the build about 18 months ago and am actually in the process of preparing the car for sale.
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