Is the PSS10 worth it without adding other suspension parts?
#16
On a 996TT there is insufficient adjustment in the rear eccentrics to correct for too much negative camber and toe in if you lower the car too much. .... As you lower the car you need longer drop links. Bilstein does provide longer front drop links but does not supply rear drop links. Tarrett, GMG, TRG make both beefy front and rear drop links. While dog bones and toe links do not make much more noise, drop links do. Dust boot help quiet them down. If this is going to bother you, then stick with stock links and a consevative drop.
My suggestion for even a safer bet is the X73 package from Porsche. Non adjustable but you know it's going to work. I don't think the X73 cost much more than stock parts.
My suggestion for even a safer bet is the X73 package from Porsche. Non adjustable but you know it's going to work. I don't think the X73 cost much more than stock parts.
I have the PSS9 and drop links, dropped ~1", aligned, corner balanced and really like the new feel and look. I had the fronts at 5 and found it a bit bouncy and floaty at speed. Clicked to 4 and cleaned it up a bit. Expect 3 would be the business. I also changed tires to new MPSCups with new pads/rotors...
First let me say I hardly drive my car on the street and I have completely redone the suspension on my car for the track. If you want a street car ride then less is more. In your case I wouldn't change the drop links until you upgrade your sway bars. Some guys just upgrade the rear bar but racing shops will tell you that sway bars are sold as sets for a reason. To each his own. You have to decide just how far you want to take your car. The better the car is for the track, the worse it will get for the street, and visa versa.
#17
X73 Suspension
[quote=muker;3206121]Sounds like I am good as long as I just drop it as little as possible. Given I drive it everyday, I was thinking of a conservative drop anyway so this would work. I tried to look for the X73 at some of the places I shop (Suncoast, Pelican) but didn't see it - any suggestions?
Go to Carnewal.com the product code is P96 X73 Lowered Sport Suspension 2826.45 or $1995 Euro. Gert from Carnewal says it only take 3 days for him to get the x73 package. $2826.45 was total shipped form Germany to Phoenix.
Go to Carnewal.com the product code is P96 X73 Lowered Sport Suspension 2826.45 or $1995 Euro. Gert from Carnewal says it only take 3 days for him to get the x73 package. $2826.45 was total shipped form Germany to Phoenix.
#18
I take it you have the x73 on your car - what are your impressions?
#20
Make sure to set the ride height correctly
I have the PSS9 which are very close to the PSS10s. If you decide to go with the PSS10s, make sure you have the ride height properly set. If the ride is bouncy and the car seems to move around a lot especially when you hit mid-corner bumps, the ride height is probably too low. The car will move around a lot because you're hitting the bump stops. With the stock 18" tires the sweet spot on the PSS10 is right around 26" from the floor to the top of the fender opening. The PSS10 have a very narrow height adjustment range. As I recall the range is 10mm in the front and 5mm in the rear. If you don't get it right, the ride and handling will be terrible. If recently had my car raised from 25.5" to 26" all around and it completely transformed the car. You wouldn't think that .5" would make that much of a difference, but it is night and day.
#21
I went from X73 that came on the car, to PSS10's and I am much happier with the coilover setup.
The X73 was too harsh (over dampened imo) a setup for the street, you felt every crack in the road, found myself flinching at the expansion joints. It did handle great with the X73 more track oriented than street, at least the streets I have to drive on.
The X73 was too harsh (over dampened imo) a setup for the street, you felt every crack in the road, found myself flinching at the expansion joints. It did handle great with the X73 more track oriented than street, at least the streets I have to drive on.
#22
I have the PSS9 which are very close to the PSS10s. If you decide to go with the PSS10s, make sure you have the ride height properly set. .... If recently had my car raised from 25.5" to 26" all around and it completely transformed the car. You wouldn't think that .5" would make that much of a difference, but it is night and day.
I went from X73 that came on the car, to PSS10's and I am much happier with the coilover setup.
The X73 was too harsh (over dampened imo) a setup for the street, you felt every crack in the road, found myself flinching at the expansion joints. It did handle great with the X73 more track oriented than street, at least the streets I have to drive on.
The X73 was too harsh (over dampened imo) a setup for the street, you felt every crack in the road, found myself flinching at the expansion joints. It did handle great with the X73 more track oriented than street, at least the streets I have to drive on.
#23
I have a c4s, which is identical to TT. I put pss9s on it and found that without adjustable control arms on the rears, the best i could do was -2.00 deg camber, which EATS the inside edges of the rear tires. So, unless you want to get only 2 track events out of a set, or 7k mi of street drive, you have to update the control arms to get adequate camber and toe in.
working now on what to do.
JB
working now on what to do.
JB
On a 996TT there is insufficient adjustment in the rear eccentrics to correct for too much negative camber and toe in if you lower the car too much. As PSS10 are adjustable (and have a specified range of adjustment), you can keep the ride height at a level that will allow the stock eccentrics to get street acceptable alignment. However if you expect to get to close to GT2 ride height the stock rear eccentrics will not be able to deal with the negative camber and toe in, hence you'll need dog bones and rear adjustable toe links. Larger width and diameter tires with more radical offsets make the issue even more complex to deal with.
Stock drop links are notoriously undersized and have a tendancy to bend or break regardless of ride height. As you lower the car you need longer drop links. Bilstein does provide longer front drop links but does not supply rear drop links. Tarrett, GMG, TRG make both beefy front and rear drop links. While dog bones and toe links do not make much more noise, drop links do. Dust boot help quiet them down. If this is going to bother you, then stick with stock links and a consevative drop.
My suggestion for even a safer bet is the X73 package from Porsche. Non adjustable but you know it's going to work. I don't think the X73 cost much more than stock parts.
Overall Bilstein PSS10 are a good comfortable street coil over for occasional track use. Height adjustability and rebound control are a nice features and very user friendly. But the design of the shock has its limitations. As the adjustment collar just raises or lowers the coil against the spring perch, it changes the spring rate and impacts shock travel. You'll have to get to Moton or similar to get a true threaded coil over body that allows height to be adjusted without changing spring rates and amount of shock travel. These of course are very expensive, require the aformention other suspension parts plus they have solid pillow ball mounts at the top of the shock adding more noise. Solid thrust bushings and split lower control arms are also recommended along with corner balancing.
While you're getting the suspension all nice and stiff, the soft stock motor mounts and tranny mount let all the engine/tranny mass get jiggy and will need to be replaced with stiffer units.
It's a very slippery slope. What started out as a $3k upgrade ends up costing over $10K. Have fun.
Stock drop links are notoriously undersized and have a tendancy to bend or break regardless of ride height. As you lower the car you need longer drop links. Bilstein does provide longer front drop links but does not supply rear drop links. Tarrett, GMG, TRG make both beefy front and rear drop links. While dog bones and toe links do not make much more noise, drop links do. Dust boot help quiet them down. If this is going to bother you, then stick with stock links and a consevative drop.
My suggestion for even a safer bet is the X73 package from Porsche. Non adjustable but you know it's going to work. I don't think the X73 cost much more than stock parts.
Overall Bilstein PSS10 are a good comfortable street coil over for occasional track use. Height adjustability and rebound control are a nice features and very user friendly. But the design of the shock has its limitations. As the adjustment collar just raises or lowers the coil against the spring perch, it changes the spring rate and impacts shock travel. You'll have to get to Moton or similar to get a true threaded coil over body that allows height to be adjusted without changing spring rates and amount of shock travel. These of course are very expensive, require the aformention other suspension parts plus they have solid pillow ball mounts at the top of the shock adding more noise. Solid thrust bushings and split lower control arms are also recommended along with corner balancing.
While you're getting the suspension all nice and stiff, the soft stock motor mounts and tranny mount let all the engine/tranny mass get jiggy and will need to be replaced with stiffer units.
It's a very slippery slope. What started out as a $3k upgrade ends up costing over $10K. Have fun.
#24
I have a c4s, which is identical to TT. I put pss9s on it and found that without adjustable control arms on the rears, the best i could do was -2.00 deg camber, which EATS the inside edges of the rear tires. So, unless you want to get only 2 track events out of a set, or 7k mi of street drive, you have to update the control arms to get adequate camber and toe in.
working now on what to do.
JB
working now on what to do.
JB
#28
I have a c4s, which is identical to TT. I put pss9s on it and found that without adjustable control arms on the rears, the best i could do was -2.00 deg camber, which EATS the inside edges of the rear tires. So, unless you want to get only 2 track events out of a set, or 7k mi of street drive, you have to update the control arms to get adequate camber and toe in.
working now on what to do.
JB
working now on what to do.
JB
#29
Thanks for the info- do you know how close is 26" to the minimum you can lower the car? I was thinking of minimum lowering to avoid hitting everything with the front lip....
That's good to know - given they cost about the same, the adjusting of the pss10 sounds like a better alternative for street & track. The streets in Oakland are probably not much better than yours!
That's good to know - given they cost about the same, the adjusting of the pss10 sounds like a better alternative for street & track. The streets in Oakland are probably not much better than yours!
Set the PSS9s at the ride height specified in the instructions. I believe off the top of my there is relatively small 5 or 10mm range spelled out by Bilsten.
#30
I installed PSS10's about a month ago and I am very happy with them. I dropped it 1 inch and it ended up about 26.5in to the bottom lip of the fender with 18's. I set the front and rear at 5 and the ride is much more compliant that I expected, especially on the LA freeways! The handling really transformed, no DE days yet but on the street there is a noticable difference with less squat/lift, flatter cornering, more stable and best of all, the turn in is really improved. Oh yes, it looks much better too - no longer a 4x4! My only complaint is that I can tell there is a loss of travel in the front in certain situations, but certainly a worthy compromise. Good luck!
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