Lowering Question For The Board

[Jtilden]

I recently acquired a 99 C2 to serve as my daily driver and would like to lower it a bit. I do not intend to take it on the track so adjustability is not an issue. Of the options available, which one would you recommend AND WHY: H&R Springs or RoW M030 Sport Suspension. On some posts I have read where people have swapped out springs with no mention of anything else besides hardware (bushings etc.), whereas theM030 is a bit more involved. Again, track-like performance is not an issue; will I be satisfied spending $299 for the H&R as opposed to the $1k for the M030 kit? Thanks in advance for your replies.
Here is a pic of my car:

[LanceGT4]

Welcome to the ranks!
My '99 C4 daily driver has 97,000+ on it now. A previous owner put H&R springs on it at about 30,000 I think. As you can see from the photo, it worked pretty good! I don't get to carried away with high speedruns and I'm getting acceptable tire wear and handling. I watch for curbs and really steep driveways. You will need to treat normal parking curbs with a lot of respect
If I was a backroad speedster I would definetly go with an upgraded suspension. and a lot of DE!

Well, it looks like i can't upload a jpg right now. check my garage for a pic that doesn't really show how much its lowered
, and let us know what you decide.

[LanceGT4]

better luck today.

[Jtilden]

Originally Posted by LanceGT4

better luck today.

looking good...i went ahead and ordered the H&R springs, after seeing yours i am glad i did. what size rims are you running? (NEVER MIND: I looked in your garage after I posted this) I ordered these rims and tires from wheel dynamics as well.
I wont return from Iraq until 4 April...the anticipation is killing me.

[X51]

Did either of you put the H&R lowering springs on over your existing OEM shocks/struts, or do you have Bilstein HD shocks too?

I'm interested in the ride characteristics. I have the RoW M030 on my 2002C2, but would like a lower stance, but don't want to sacrifice handling or ride. I don't want it to "porpoise" like some setups I've had - progressive spring rates tend to do that at times.

Let me know your experiences.

Thanks.

[Wheel Dynamics]

Originally Posted by Jtilden

looking good...i went ahead and ordered the H&R springs, after seeing yours i am glad i did. what size rims are you running? (NEVER MIND: I looked in your garage after I posted this) I ordered these rims and tires from wheel dynamics as well.
I wont return from Iraq until 4 April...the anticipation is killing me.

Can't wait to see some photos on your car... please do share and send a photo to us too... info@wheeldynamis.com

Take care,

[LanceGT4]

Originally Posted by X51

Did either of you put the H&R lowering springs on over your existing OEM shocks/struts, or do you have Bilstein HD shocks too?

I'm interested in the ride characteristics. I have the RoW M030 on my 2002C2, but would like a lower stance, but don't want to sacrifice handling or ride. I don't want it to "porpoise" like some setups I've had - progressive spring rates tend to do that at times.

Let me know your experiences.

Thanks.

It looks like a previous owner put the H&R springs on in 2005. Over the stock shocks. I don't have any records of shock work in the papers that came with the car.

I am happy with the ride as a daily driver that gets pushed once in awhile.
It's in the garage since mid-November while I working saving for a transmission R&R:-( so I'm trying to remember the details of how it drives.

The shocks seems to have held up very well. Damping and rebound are right in the range i like for ride versus handling. My main worry is in to and out of steering changes. I either have some worn suspension parts (at almost 100,000 miles that's no suprise) or I have a lot to learn about getting a 996 in and out of corners right. Especially if it's not a smooth corner.

[peteweishaupt]

There's an H&R 996 install tutorial on rennlist.... I'm thinking of doing it. Claim is 30mm lower and they use the stock shocks....

[88carrera]

I am going to chime in here because I have both the US M030 (as ordered by the original purchaser) and the H&R spring set on my 2003 C2. The spring set went in over the US M030 shocks and lowered the car ca. 30mm (about 1.25in). The car looks and rides great. Very taut and responsive; however, not a soft cruiser. Perfect for me.

There is a down side to this setup that I did not completely recognize at first. It turns out that when the H&R spring set went on, it became impossible to adjust the rear wheel camber to factory specs. The best that can be done is to set it with a value still too negative. Why is that? Because neither the upper nor the lower rear control arms on the C2 996 are adjustable and when you try to bring the camber to factory specs, you run up against the limit and are still not where it should be.

If you are only going to track your car, no problem because you will want a lot of negative camber. However, I am not tracking this car and it became a big issue when, just before I was set to go on a fairly long trip, I discovered that the inside edges of the rear tires had worn to the cords while the outside edges looked just fine.

My solution: install adjustable rear upper control arms and the rear camber easily can be brought back into specs. They are not cheap, but are easy to install and in the long run they are much cheaper than constantly worrying about and then often replacing the rear tires because of excessive wear.

"Been here, done that." Just my $0.02 worth.

[Jtilden]

Originally Posted by 88carrera

I am going to chime in here because I have both the US M030 (as ordered by the original purchaser) and the H&R spring set on my 2003 C2. The spring set went in over the US M030 shocks and lowered the car ca. 30mm (about 1.25in). The car looks and rides great. Very taut and responsive; however, not a soft cruiser. Perfect for me.

There is a down side to this setup that I did not completely recognize at first. It turns out that when the H&R spring set went on, it became impossible to adjust the rear wheel camber to factory specs. The best that can be done is to set it with a value still too negative. Why is that? Because neither the upper nor the lower rear control arms on the C2 996 are adjustable and when you try to bring the camber to factory specs, you run up against the limit and are still not where it should be.

If you are only going to track your car, no problem because you will want a lot of negative camber. However, I am not tracking this car and it became a big issue when, just before I was set to go on a fairly long trip, I discovered that the inside edges of the rear tires had worn to the cords while the outside edges looked just fine.

My solution: install adjustable rear upper control arms and the rear camber easily can be brought back into specs. They are not cheap, but are easy to install and in the long run they are much cheaper than constantly worrying about and then often replacing the rear tires because of excessive wear.

"Been here, done that." Just my $0.02 worth.

thanks for the input, do you have a link? where can i source these from? thanks.

[88carrera]

You can pay anywhere from about $1000 to about $400 for adjustable upper rear control arms for the 996. I paid a little over $400 for a set of four from a seller on e-Bay. However, I do not see him posting anything now.

You can buy a set of four Agency brand arms for $625 now on e-Bay (Agency Power Porsche 996 TT & Carrera Rear Control Arms - eBay (item 110660156263 end time Apr-09-11 23:54:05 PDT)). They look the same as the ones I have, but mine are not anodized blue, just natural metallic color.

Good luck in what you do, but I would not just put on the H&R springs without taking into consideration the camber problem and the effect it will have on your tire wear.

[porsche735]

I also installed H&R springs on my 1999 (as well as my 2002). One issue I found was that the springs chattered/clunked mostly over speed bumps and the such. We thought it was some sort of clearance issue, but later found it to be the spring itself. The spring coils would hit each other and cause the clunking sound. We wrapped some clear tubing around the area and it went away.

Chris

[88carrera]

porsche 735, my 03 with the H&R springs is making the same "clunking" noises that you describe. Can you tell us where you placed the plastic to stop the noise and what kind it was? Any photos would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

[porsche735]

I used some of the clear PVC tubing about 1/4 down from the top until about the 1/2 way down. It is at my dad's house, otherwise I could get you a picture. If your's is clunking, you will see when you remove the wheel where it is abraiding between the coils.
Honestly, I am very surprised that H&R did not fix this in their test trials. We called them and they said they had never heard of that before. I had the same issue on both the 99 and the 02. I am not sure I believe them...
Good luck.

Chris

[88carrera]

Chris,
Many thanks for the information. I will look and see if there is rubbing and then apply your solution. Did you mean "Tygon" tubing, the soft clear plastic?
Jim

[porsche735]

Yeah, I didn't mean PVC, I just meant vinyl. The clear flexible stuff....

Good luck,
Chris