Suspension Advice Request.

[CMeSpeed]

Greetings and thanks for answering my lame question.
I have a stock 1997, 993 with 91K miles. I roll on Bridgestone RE poles. I think I want to tighten up the suspension a bit. In the turns at high speeds the car seems to want to dance around a bit. It’s not real dramatic so I don’t know if this is normal. I don’t really want to sacrifice to must ride comfort but can accept a little.

Would I gain much by?
1. Adding a “cambermeister” type strut on top of the shock towers.
2. Swapping out the stock shocks with adjustable Brillstein’s.
3. Anything you would suggest would be much appreciated.

[Don Plumley]

Your stock shocks are likely shot, and they were not very good to begin with (Monroe POS).

Bilstein HD is a good call for street driving. If you do a lot of DE time, I'd jump into JIC Cross - a few dollars more than Bilstein PSS9 but has better adjustability and includes camberplates and monoballs.

Strut bar is probably not that big of a deal, but I really like the one that Steve Wong makes (www.911chips.com) - disclaimer: My car is the one in the picture.

Stiffer roll bars are good too - probably the M030 bars.

[Bill Verburg]

Originally Posted by Don Plumley

Your stock shocks are likely shot, and they were not very good to begin with (Monroe POS).

Bilstein HD is a good call for street driving. If you do a lot of DE time, I'd jump into JIC Cross - a few dollars more than Bilstein PSS9 but has better adjustability and includes camberplates and monoballs.

Strut bar is probably not that big of a deal, but I really like the one that Steve Wong makes (www.911chips.com) - disclaimer: My car is the one in the picture.

Stiffer roll bars are good too - probably the M030 bars.

+1

[CMeSpeed]

Thanks Gentlemen.
Your time and advice was greatly appreciated.

[CMeSpeed]

One more question if you please. If I replace my shocks with the Bilstein HD recommended will I need to change the springs as well?

Are there other parts I should consider replacing at the same time?

Should I have my garage replace them or can I do this myself?

Are the adjustments on these shocks easy to change?
Thanks so much for your help.

[Don Plumley]

There are no adjustments on Bilstein HD's.

M030 springs can bring your car down from SUV height (stock) to something more reasonable (ROW). Eibach or H&R springs do the same, and stiffen stuff up. Once you change shocks and springs, then the replacement PSS9, JIC or H&R sets start making sense.

You should inspect all the suspension parts carefully - ball joints especially - when you replace.

It's a pretty easy DIY, as long as you have a spring compressor if you are not doing the set. There is a great write up here.

But you will need a better than average alignment shop to set up the car once you replace all the goodies. Not a DIY at all.

[CMeSpeed]

Hey Don,
Thanks so much for your quick response, it was greatly appreciated. I hate anything spring related so your advice suggests I buy the parts and have my shop do the install.

Did I miss something? The Bilstein HD are not adjustable? I don't want to sacrifice the smooth ride I now experience as this is my only form of transport. I just want to keep the car from dancing around when I'm driving like I stole it in our local Nor. Cal Mountains. Will these shocks cause my back to complain?

To recap I need to buy 4 shocks & springs and have the shop evaluate the joints?

Thanks again buddy. You don't know how valuable your advice has been.

[Bill Verburg]

If you buy fully threaded Bilsteins they are adjustable for ride height via the threaded collers.

The PSS9 and JIC etc. all have more adjustability as far as spring rates and damping characteristics. These are not wanted or needed on a dd.

The HD Bilsteins will provide a nice ride when used w/ compatible springs like RoW M030, Eibach etc.

[CMeSpeed]

Thanks Bill,
You guys are the greatest.

[Don Plumley]

Originally Posted by CMeSpeed

Did I miss something? The Bilstein HD are not adjustable? I don't want to sacrifice the smooth ride I now experience as this is my only form of transport.

Just to be more clear about adjustability:

1) The threaded bodies are for setting ride height and corner balance. Nothing to do with ride "quality". As Bill said, HD's are a good choice for daily driving and I wouldn't think too stiff.

2) Shock rebound (or stiffness): HD's don't adjust in this way as Bill said. A theoretical benefit of PSS9 or JIC is you can make them full soft for the street and then crank them down for the track. However, most of what you "feel" in terms of stiffness is primarily the spring, then the the rate of dampening of the jolt and the rate of rebound (car bouncing up and down) is controlled by the shock (Bill - jump in here if you have a better explanation).

I'd consider M030 springs to get ride height down to a reasonable level, but without losing daily driver smoothness. What do you think Bill?

[Bill Verburg]

Originally Posted by Don Plumley

I'd consider M030 springs to get ride height down to a reasonable level, but without losing daily driver smoothness. What do you think Bill?

The RoW M030 springs and fully threaded Bilstein HD seem to be the standard supension upgrade for a dd.
Here are the ride heights for the most common factory spring sets

Suspension Specs(factory) RoW std	 All US	   RoW M030 & CS/C4S	 RS M002/M003

Front	                 154+/-10	 174+/-10	 144+/-10	    124+/-10

rear	                 147+/-10	 157+/-10	 127+/-10	    107+/-10

max l/r diff 5mm				

note US M030 is no shorter than stock US