Ride Quality - Upgrades 996 C2

[gottwins94]

I would like to upgrade the ride qualtiy of my 2003 996 C-2. Quiter tires and shocks.

Do not need better handleing, mostly street driving.

Bilsetin Shocks? which ones?

H & R?

JIC?

Tires?

Alan G

[Izzy]

Alan, when you say upgrading ride quality, you are looking for more softer ride (ala Buick) or more firmer/precise ride? Will make a big difference on spring rates and shock dampeners. One quick check is the air pressure on the tires, lower pressure more spongy ride, higher pressure more firm. Just have to watch out for uneven tire wear if you lower too much.

[GranburyChuck]

Alan,

Make sure you have the stock suspension to start with. I bought a 2000 C2 and it had Eibach lowering springs. Way to low for daily driving and pretty harsh considering my stock 18" tires. Check your option badge to see if you have M030 suspension. If not you should have the softest suspension Porsche makes for the car. If that is the case then one other option is the wheel size. I have 18s and they are okay for me until I hit some fairly rough roads. Then I would prefer a 17" wheel. As Izzy says make sure the tire pressure is right. Other than that your not going to get much softer than the stock suspension. Most all other options are for more extreme (harsh) suspension.

[KevinMac]

Well if softer is what you want, it's not an upgrade but a downgrade. Porsche tunes the suspension for handling, stability etc. So if you want a softer ride, lt ooks like another car is in order. A sports car is exactly that!

[CabC2]

Get Toyo tires. I have tried pirellis and michelin and... toyos. they are QUIETER and harder thus lasting longer. And, they are cheaper. I am sure that for racing purposes they might not fit the bill as well, but I do not race and car is a daily driver. So far I have 15k miles in the rear set and they have a way to go. I push the card relatively hard most of the time.

Edited March 26, 2008 by CabC2

[PeterC4]

I would like to upgrade the ride qualtiy of my 2003 996 C-2. Quiter tires and shocks.

Do not need better handleing, mostly street driving.

Bilsetin Shocks? which ones?

H & R?

JIC?

Tires?

Alan G

Previous to my 2004 C4S Cabriolet, I had a 2000 C4 Coupe with standard 17" Rims. The Cabriolet feels much more compliant and "softer" over bumps even with the 18" wheels. Maybe its me, but it certainly feels like the cabriolet spring rates are more flexible and lead to a smoother ride. I would check out cabriolet spring rates.

Edited March 31, 2008 by PeterC4

[sanjeev]

Hi all,

Ride quality is indeed a subjective term, but I believe the original poster may be referring to

the relative harshness or smoothness of the car in running over typical less-than-perfect

street surfaces under normal daily driving conditions.

Many of the posters have commented on spring rates alone - I'd like to add that damper design,

quality and characteristics have an even greater positive impact on BOTH ride quality (as defined above)

and handling characteristics. This is why folks that have upgraded to high quality, matched

spring/dampers (typically quality coilovers) find that ride quality & handling are simultaneously improved,

EVEN with higher spring rates! Within reason, higher spring rates can also improve ride quality by

helping to better control body/wheel motions, assuming that the dampers have enough rate to

control the sprung/unsprung weight (especially bigger wheel/tires fitments) and higher suspension

natural frequency.

I personally have upgraded suspensions to more than double the original spring rates, and had comments

on how smooth & comfortable the ride was. The damper curves, especially high-speed compression rates,

have a significant effect on impact harshness. High-quality dampers (Moton, JRZ, Ohlins, etc.) do this so

well, that frequently they can control triple+ the original spring rates, while still improving ride quality.

From the Panorama article on factory 996 spring and damper characteristics, I believe the stock

dampers are not the best for impact absorption (high-speed damping curve and/or blow-off characteristic?).

For the 2003 C2 with USA stock suspension, I personally feel there is inadequate low-speed rebound control

also, especially at the front (witness the light, floaty feeling as speeds approach or exceed 85mph).

996's respond well to a suspension upgrade. Even mid-priced units (PSS9/10s, KWs) should yield a

better ride, with improved handling as well. Historically, twin-tube designs (KW, Koni, JRZ RS) have a

more compliant ride quality than monotube designs (Bilstein, JIC, Porsche 996 stock rears), but this

is also heavily influenced by other factors (valving design, matched springs/damper tuning, amount

of lowering, etc.) No flames, please. I'm not commenting on the racetrack handling capability of

either design - Monotube designs are likely indeed better suited to racing applications.

Wheels and tires make a significant difference as well. For my taste, the 18" 225/285 wheel options are NOT

well-matched to the USA stock 996 C2 suspension, even with 5-spoke wheels. It definitely feels undersprung/underdamped

to me. Back-to-back drives in a similar 996 with M030 suspension revealed significantly better wheel control

(less residual osscillations after bumps) with the 18" option, which equates to better ride quality IMHO - go figure.

The stock 996 (02+) 17" ten-spokes (the ones pictured on the owners manual) feel better matched to

the USA base suspension, and are a high-quality, relatively light assembly, but very few 996s were ordered

this way, and used ones are hard to find (took me a while to do so).

Aftermarket forged rims would be nice also, to lower unsprung weight even more.

996s with their massive (285+) rear tires, and relatively low sound-proofing

transmit a lot of tire/road noise into the cabin. With proper tires in the 17" 255 sizing, it should help with

ride compliance and minimizing tire noise (perhaps use high-perf sport-touring tires, rather than

all-out max-performance tires). I've found Yoko Advan S4s to be a relatively quiet, comfortable tire for all-around

daily driving (I use ten-spoke 17s).

Hope this helps.

- Sanjeev

I would like to upgrade the ride qualtiy of my 2003 996 C-2. Quiter tires and shocks.

Do not need better handleing, mostly street driving.

Bilsetin Shocks? which ones?

H & R?

JIC?

Tires?

Alan G

Previous to my 2004 C4S Cabriolet, I had a 2000 C4 Coupe with standard 17" Rims. The Cabriolet feels much more compliant and "softer" over bumps even with the 18" wheels. Maybe its me, but it certainly feels like the cabriolet spring rates are more flexible and lead to a smoother ride. I would check out cabriolet spring rates.