suspension advice

[Edes300]

Hello, I was looking for some advice.  I have a 2003 911 c2 that I have owned for 4 years now with 113,000 miles and I am planning to keep it for another 3 years.  I wanted to redo the suspension with new struts and mild lowering springs but not to aggressive that ride would suffer.  Some of the roads where I live aren't the best.  I was looking at 2 packages and wanted some advice on what would be better.

1. Bilstein B8 with H@R springs

2. Koni sport damper set and eibach springs

 

The Koni's are on sale and a little bit cheaper but I think this is a closeout.  Both sets lower about one inch.

 

Greatly appreciate any help.

[dporto]

I can't comment on the Koni's, as I have a C4 and they don't make a package for it. I've got Bilstein B8's with H&R sport springs. So much better than stock in both looks and handling! The ride is slightly harsher than stock (stiffer less roll also) but nod "bad" IMO. Obviously, my idea of good or bad may differ sharply from yours. In my case, my stock suspension was (as I learned after installing new components) pretty much shot. Even though the car still handled "great" (IMO at the time), it had quite a few rattles, squeaks and clunks. Though it was a little stiffer after the change, all the other stuff was gone (there are other  components that cause noises as well - notably lower control arms, both coffins and wishbones) and even though it's "stiff" it soaks up bumps better than the worn out stock shocks/struts. Good Luck

[JTT]

Another B8/H&R lowering springs happy customer here.  deport pretty much summed it up.  Slightly firmer, less body roll, but not at all harsh.  Our roads suck too, and it's very good.  

[Edes300]

thanks for the advice I was leaning towards the bilsteins.  I have used them in my bmw before and they worked well.  The previous owner did replace the lower control arms but I'll reinspect everything and may need to replace some of those components at the same time.

 

[JTT]

You "may" need adjustable upper control arms or toe arms in the rear.  Lowering adds in negative camber, some have issues, others don't seem too.  I ended up adding both myself, as I was wearing inside edge of rear tires badly.  Thought it was due to the excess camber (which definitely added to it), but rear toe settings I feel were mostly at fault.  A little extra toe in at the rear seemed to make all the difference.  Nice part about the link is they are all solid spherical bearing, so really tightened up the feel without any additional NVH.

[356to966]

Several years ago, I faced the same dilemma as you;  to lower the car one inch and still have a ride that copes with local roads that are anything but smooth. At that time I thought all the choices of lowering springs all came with higher spring rates. Thinking that the Eibachs were maybe closer to the stock rates than others, I installed them in combination with Bilstien dampers. Because our car is C2  Cab with Tip it’s heavier in the rear than possibly yours is. At least at that time, Eibachs came as a one size fits all so I got more drop in the rear than I wanted. 
I next tried keeping the Eibach/Bilstein arrangement on the front and stock springs/Koni at the rear. The reasoning was that the Koni”s being low pressure units rather than the high pressure Bilsteins they wouldn’t assist the springs. That sort of worked. Some drop on the rear and little over one inch on the front.
I lived with this imperfect set up for a couple of years and then replaced the whole mismatched mess with KW Variant 3 coil-overs.

[DRA]

Bilstein PSS10. Height and compliance both adjustable as you like. Incredible difference with my 996 4S @ 130k miles.

[JTT]

I have a friend with PSS10s.  It would seem that "adjustable height", is a bit limited.  10mm in front, 5 mm in rear, at least according to this information seemingly from the Bilstein manual

 

PSS9/10 ride height limitations revisited - 6SpeedOnline - Porsche Forum and Luxury Car Resource

WWW.6SPEEDONLINE.COM

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996 Turbo / GT2 - PSS9/10 ride height limitations revisited - I've got a set of RUF PSS9s sitting at home in the box and I've been toying with the idea of putting them back on the car but wanted to make sure I set them at the correct height for optimum performance as designed. I've been doing some...

 

[RJ'sGottaDrive]

My C2 has been put to bed for the winter and as I dream of projects for the coming Spring, refreshing the suspension is one of them.

Can someone provide part numbers and/or a vendor for the Bilstein B8 with H@R springs some folks here seem to like?

Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
 

[JTT]

I got mine from Jason over at Warehouse 33.  Drop him an email if you don't see them on the website, he often has access to items not listed on the site.  Offers a discount to Rennlist members and likely RennTech too.

[RJ'sGottaDrive]

Thanks JTT