When good is good enough is a tough question. Right out of the box our car(s) is better than 99% of the cars out there...yet many/most of the people on this board spend countless amounts of time and money to make them a little better ( and of course I'm guilty of that!!! ). I think it's a great idea to see if you could find someone who has an upgraded suspension and go for a ride and hopefully drive the car...then decide for yourself if what you have is good enough. I would venture to guess not a single person on this forum would say they regret upgrading their suspension ( track junkie or street only ) as the improvement in handling and driving experience is significantly better. Good luck with your decision.

 

Depending on what you are looking for - but you're defintily on the right track as KW V3 and Bilstein are the 2 top choices on my list.

Here are my opinions:

1. Bilstein B16 Damptronic: If you want to continue to have cocckpit control of damping force, aka PASM, then this and the TPC below are your only choice. This is by far the most popular choice among Turbo owners for various reasons. Because Bilstein makes the OEM shock and the B16 upgrade is designed with Porsche chief test driver (WRorhl) as consultant, it is a no brainer upgrade over stock. Still very comfortable around town, for me.

2. Bilstein B16 PSS10: This is same as above, except now damping force is manually adjusted by you of course, and you have 10 choices of bump/rebound setting. Note that the bump/rebound damping forces are not independent of each other. This could be good or bad depending on how you look at it. Good because by limiting the choices, the screw-up by unintentionally bad adjustment won't be as severe. Bad because when you upgrade to stiffer spring, you may for example want to decrease compression (bump) damping force and increase rebound, and you can't do this in the PSS10, because increasing one will increase the other in this system.

3. KW V3: An outstanding system and in fact more advanced than PSS10 above. Bump and rebound damping forces are set independent of each other. The springs (I believe, not sure) are also standard size, unlike Bilstein 70mm ID spring, which is not a standard size and not easily swapped. The advantage of this and B16 PSS10 above over the Damptronic is that you don't have to deal with PASM and its potential failure (very rare) down the road. It is a dilema because I actually enjoy using PASM when I am in a more serious driving mode.
Unfortunately, there has not been a trustworthy review comparing KW V3 to either Bilstein system above, either subjectively (professional opinion) or objectively (track time). Judging from users' reports, I would say you can't go wrong with either and I would be equally happy had I gone with KW.

4. KW V3 Manthey: Someone mentioned this above; I didn't know they actually are selling are Manthey tuned KW V3? Manthey is a name to be reckoned with. I wish I could audition their tuned car.

5. TPC Bilstein: A complete system using modified Bilstein Damptronic (stiffer spring and revised PASM software), to be used with TPC's own sway bars, drop links, rear toe links, etc. Although I've never driven this car, it is easily the top choice IMHO. This is a car that is tuned by professional driver, tested by professional driver, given great review by professional driver (Hurley Haywood??), with proven great track time to boot. There are users on this form (Chris above) who have given very positive reports also. The only problem is that it is expensive, and *might* be stiff for some, but really I think an extra 2 thousands is nothing to spend in the most important component of your car, the suspension.
Note that it's a good idea to test drive the car as I think the TPC system, because it uses stiffer front spring and other heim-joint links like the drop link, rear toe link, etc., will feel stiffer than a straight Bilstein. It's always a trade-off between ride and handling and only you could decide what's best for you. (I like my car's suspension to be stiff.)

Tuned right, the Turbo will become an incomparable daily driver and an unlimited love affair LOL. I *love* my car every second that I drive it.

 

OK, that may change things A daily drive into Manhattan everyday is not a picnic. The "other" Chris (TT surgeon), also commutes into the city everyday and is probably why he said he would leave it stock if he were not a track junkie.

If you're ever on my side of the Hudson, your more than welcome to drive mine.

One more thing. If you do decide to do anything PLEASE do some research on who to use to install. There are lots of people who install suspension components, few who know how to do it correctly.

 

^^^^^ plus one to what he said

 

You can drive mine anytime, or better yet mine and Chris Ts back to back,

 

i suggest to start with bilsteins/ sway bars and only rear toe links. The latter are by far the best buck for improvement mod.. And they dont really intoriduce any NVH.

 

Great help guys. I will contact AWE and TPC for details. Additionally, I'll contact European Road and Racing and Autometrics to see what they have for a test drive in my area. I really do not want to disconnect PSAM but will decide after more considerstion.

 

^^^
1. You are *definitely* on the right track. I would second Chris's (E55AMG) point above, that the installer is the most important variable in suspension upgrade. Do NOT let any rookie installer :-) come close to your car. Anyway, IMHO you could not be in better hands if you use either AWE or TPC -- I've had no direct dealing but no doubt these 2 are among the very top people on this forum on the east coast.

2. Agreed with GT-TT, that an excellent basic setup is Bilstein plus sway, with the rear toe link next.
Note that the basic premise of all after-market links is that they replace rubber bushing/part with metallic heim joint/part. The plus is that it would heighten and sharpen the car's reflex, because of decreased extraneous movement. The minus is that it becomes more of a wear item -- overtime needs to be checked, and some *may* increase NVH. For example the drop link: It stiffens/stabilizes the car and sharpens reaction, but when you go over a bump, it would make a sickening "crack," instead of a "thud" -- LOL I hope that makes sense.

GT-TT, same as GT on rennteam right? Welcome to 6speed!