Sway bar question

[Mike in CA]

First, great site Loren. Congrats. :clapping: It's been added to my favorites list!

I'm seriously considering a further suspension upgrade to the PSS-9 coilover kit with the adjustable GT3 sway bars. I'm willing to trade some practicality on the street for a lower and firmer ride and more control on the track (autocross). Do you know the difference in diameter between the ROW M030 bars and the adjustable GT3 bars? Are there any good arguments for NOT going to the GT3 bars with the coilovers?

Thanks.

[Loren]

Thanks Mike!

The RoW M030 swaybars are:

Front: 23.6 mm

Rear: 19.6 mm

The GT3 (old GT3 not MY04)

Front: 26.7 mm

Rear: 20.8 mm

Just remember that the coilovers lower the car (from stock) about 1 inch. That is the at the highest setting. So if that is okay for your driving then there is no other problem I am aware of. You can always go down from there but not up (higher).

p.s. Ready for that 3rd radiator yet? :unsure:

[Mike in CA]

Thanks Loren. I was curious if the GT3 bars were that much bigger than my ROW ones and you've answered that question. A couple of follow up items:

When Gert lists the adjustable GT3 sway bars on his site, is he referring to the "old" GT3 bars or the new '04 bars? Do you know? Guess I could ask him.

Also, as I understand it, unlike the H&R coilover kit which starts 30mm lower than stock in front, the Bilstein PSS-9 lowers the car from 0-35mm front and from 0-30 mm rear, relative to the European standard suspension which is 10mm lower than our standard setup. So at it's minimum setting the PSS-9 would be only 10mm lower than U.S. stock front and rear, which is actually higher than my ROW M030. That's what I got from the Carnewal site. Am I missing something?

I think the radiator will have to wait until after the suspension kit which will have to wait until I recover from the expense of the Michelin Sport Cups and Carrera take-offs I just got for autocrossing. Had a little success this past weekend and I've got the racing bug pretty bad :eek:

[Loren]

When Gert lists the adjustable GT3 sway bars on his site, is he referring to the "old" GT3 bars or the new '04 bars?

They are the older GT3 swaybars... but I don't have part numbers for the new ones yet so they could be they same.

Also, as I understand it, unlike the H&R coilover kit which starts 30mm lower than stock in front, the Bilstein PSS-9 lowers the car from 0-35mm front and from 0-30 mm rear, relative to the European standard suspension which is 10mm lower than our standard setup. So at it's minimum setting the PSS-9 would be only 10mm lower than U.S. stock front and rear, which is actually higher than my ROW M030. That's what I got from the Carnewal site. Am I missing something?

My misunderstanding, I read "coilovers" in the last line and assumed H&R coilovers... my bad. You are correct on the PSS-9 starting at RoW Standard height. So you will likely go at least to RoW M030 height (20 mm front and 10 mm rear).

Yeah, no hurry on the radiator... i was just teasing :jump:

[KarlS]

Mike,

Check with Gert and see if he provides new drop links with the GT3 bars. If not, you will need to get them from The Racer's Group or someplace similar. I don't think the GT3 bars will work with the stock drop links, at least they didn't on my 99 C2.

The biggest advantage to the GT3 bars is not that they are that much stiffer but that they are adjustable. On my Cup car we generally start at full stiff in the front and full soft in the back and then adjust one end or the other depending on the track conditions and how the car is handling. It's an easy way to dial-in oversteer or dial-out understeer for those auto-x events, too.

Karl

[Mike in CA]

Thanks for the heads up, Karl. I WAS aware that that the GT3 bars required different drop links for the front. Are they required at the rear as well? Gert says he can modify OEM links to work at a cost of 250euro and he also mentioned TRG and S-Car-go as sources for the links. Do you remember where you got them and what you paid?

[dj996]

Mike did you get an extended warranty yet, I'm still on the fence.

Good luck on the coil-overs, should really handle like it's on rails.

[Mike in CA]

Mike did you get an extended warranty yet, I'm still on the fence.

Doug,

I think I'm gonna pass on the warranty. I didn't take it as a good sign when I called the company who sells the warranty through my Porsche dealer for information, and never got a return call. The RMS failure issue was kind of put to bed when my dealer told me Porsche would stand behind that problem beyond the warranty period. Also, the warranty company's fine print states that the contract is void if car is used for competitive "racing". With all the stories about warranty companies going broke, I just don't have a good feeling about it, even though I also hear some folks have had good experiences. It may be stupid, but I think I'm going to chance it ;)

[cyclocross]

Thanks for the heads up, Karl. I WAS aware that that the GT3 bars required different drop links for the front. Are they required at the rear as well? Gert says he can modify OEM links to work at a cost of 250euro and he also mentioned TRG and S-Car-go as sources for the links. Do you remember where you got them and what you paid?

Hi, all. I realize that this is an older thread but I've searched through at least 19 pages on the subject and have not seen a good answer to my (and others') question.

Specifically, can a GT3 rear sway bar be installed on a 2002 996 C2 and use the stock links? If the stock links will not work do they have to be lengthened or shortened?

Thank you for your help.