And lo, it was done. And all was good. Very, very good.

I now proclaim the suspension upgrade for my C2S (Cab) complete. I've taken a minimalist approach (for now) going only with Damptronics and sway (H&R) bars. By the way, I don't know whether it's because I chose H&R (versus GMG) or it's an 'S' and not a 'TT', but the bars I received had no adjustments in the front, and only three settings in the rear. In some respects, it simplifies life in that there are fewer setting combinatorics to play with, but I would have wanted more adjustment options. I've tried to follow Cannga's guidance (http://www.rennteam.com/forum/index.html?vs=19) to the letter, with the coilovers, stiffest sway bar setting in the rear (nothing to adjust in the front) and a GT3-like alignment. This was the last step so a few added comments re this phase. On my 'S', I was only able to squeeze about -1.0 degree of camber our of the hardware. I did not choose to upgrade the shock tower components to give me more adjustability so that's about it for now. And notwithstanding web comments to the contrary, it is quite incorrect that the alignment provides 75% of the value of these changes. Just the other way around. The new coilovers are da' bomb, the bars likely have some value (I could not do the before/after experiment here), and the alignment certainly helps in improving with turn-in (or dynamic instability if you're in to another line of machinery), but nothing breathtaking.

So, my findings are much like Cannga's. This basic mod is a must-have. For folks reading this blog who are not Porsche enthusiasts and question why anyone would hack such a valuable piece of machinery, I admit that perfection-seeking OCD behavior will always find a way. I do not know what further incremental value new drop links, et al would provide though I suspect it's diminishing returns. And this is not a track car. Just an um, aggressive drivers car. With matching driver. Further, although the ride is a bit firmer, I don't think that this aspect should sway (sorry, bad pun) anyone from going with it. The ride is just fine, immerses the driver in the experience, does create more road noise - especially tire noise - likely due to a smaller gap between chassis bottom and road enabling some interesting resonance, and the handling is night and day. Now that I've been driving it a bit, I do wish the Damptronics had some manual adjustments. Though I have no formal experience in this aspect of car mods, it feels like it could use yet more rebound damping to expunge the last of the P-car nose bob. It's mostly gone, but not thoroughly. So, for those who are still considering the change, and are comfortable shelling out nearly twice the entry fee, and want to get it 'just right', and are willing to defeat their PASM system, Moton's or alternative Bilstein's, Penske's, etc., might be the way to go. OTOH, I have no first-hand knowledge re the ride quality trade-off with these others so caveat emptor.

Finally, I had a bit of a grin on my face when the fellow doing the alignment (at TCDesign - very nice folks (http://www.tcdesignfab.com/)) measured and found that, after lowering the car front and back 18 MM, I got the ride height corner variance to +/- 1.5 mm. He said that it was nearly impossible to do - and totally unnecessary for a street car! :) So I guess the techniques cited in a prior blog entry worked. Not a true corner balance by any means, but sufficient for street use. I chose not to drop the car the full 20 MM as discussed on another thread because of road object risks and my plan to substitute the GT3 bumper for the current stock one. Not having the comparison in lip heights, I am not sure yet what to expect. We shall see..