Upgrade: Part deux

I spent the better part of December poking around the net in search of an ideal solution to the Porsche suspension upgrade quest. Lots of good information. The best thread and thoughtful advice came from this thread:

http://www.rennteam.com/forum/index.html?vs=19#20073008 where contributor Cannga discussed his research, analysis and results.

It seems like the options are relatively constrained - assuming one wants to preserve the features of the PASM system. It boiled down to the following categories:

- Replacement springs for the existing struts. Good - maintaining PASM functions, low cost; Minus - still left with the questionable shock units, limited adjustments due to the OEM shock design, PASM system may protest when the car is lowered to the desired level.

- Race-quality coilovers. Good - really high quality technology, extremely broad range of adjustment across many parameters; Minus - defeats the PASM system, generally provides a very harsh track-centric ride, very costly.

- PASM-compatible coilovers. Good - PASM compatible (duh), improved ride/handling, only modestly degraded ride comfort, replaceable coils for further performance modifications, adjustable; Minus - some ride degradation, fewer adjustments than race-quality versions, pricey (though less than most race-quality versions).

In addition, of equal value (at least) is replacement of the anti-sway (i.e. sway) bars. There are a few brands to choose from, most seem about the same, and few individuals on the web cited either a preference or much understanding about the strengths/weaknesses of each. One value is the choice of settings via multiple mounting holes.

Given all these factors, I chose to go with the Billstein Damptonic PASM-compatible coilovers. And a set of sway bars from H&M. I bought the bunch from AWE tuning (http://awe-tuning.com/) because they were highly regarded by the Porsche forum cognescetti, nice folks to deal with, and great end-of-year prices.

The car is over at Portola Valley Garage (http://www.pvgarage.com/) for the install. Then a realignment. Then the drivers report. Pretty excited about it actually...