Damptronics is certainly the best mod I've made to my '05 C2S. The stock car represents a lot of compromises and the suspension is certainly one area not optimized for performance out of the factory. Damptronics puts you a little further along the performance scale without going hard core. The Damptronics in normal mode may be too harsh for someone looking for a DD over rough roads, never intending to run it hard, or overly sensitive to a firm ride. It is however much more a sports car with the Damptronics - the front end no longer bobs around hard corners and overall the car feels much more planted. The added benefit of lowering and corner balancing with coil overs provides an additional handling boost.

Cruising around town in normal mode I would rate the Damptronics about 10-15% firmer over stock. In firm mode it's about 15% over stock PASM in firm mode as well. Subjective numbers at the very least, but do represent my sense of the level of difference. What you give up for "plushness" is WELL WORTH the added capability IMHO.

 

I had the Damptronics on my 997.1 C2S and returned to stock. It wasn't so much the firmness, rather the subtle bounce of the rear end that bothered me. Street was bad, track was worse (ie: Threshold braking sent the rear end bumping).

On my 09 C2S I have the Sport PASM system, which reminds me of the firmness of Damptronics, but without the odd rear-end situation.

One option I learned about through researching suspension options for my 05 Boxster S was using compensators and lowering springs. One of the problems I've always had with lowering springs was they lowered too much and therefore threw off the design compression of the stock PASM shocks. But, if you took say a 1" lowering spring and used a couple of "Porsche OEM Compensators" (basically spacer discs that go between spring and perch), then you can vary the amount of lowering. The factory does this when they use the same spring on different cars with different ride heights. I'm told there are 3mm and 6.5mm compensators, so to get to say 3/4" lower than stock, just combine lowering springs with the appropriate compensator(s).

The guys in the Cayman / Boxster forums have been experimenting with this for a long time and with that confidence I got a set of Eibach Pro springs and I'll lower my Boxster 3/4".

If you want to read more about my Damptronics experience, try a search on my name with the subject Damptronics.

 

Ron, I track my car a lot, and have never experienced the rear end bumping around under heavy braking. Perhaps it is the H&R swaybars or the corner balance or the different allignments, but never have I had the back end do any thing that I wasn't controlling (oversteer).

 

I still wonder if I just got a bad set. I tried them with stock sways and then H&R rear and GT3 front. Everything was fine at a 1:05 lap at Lime Rock, 1:04 things started getting funny, 1:03 I was backing down. Stock suspension was 1:02 no problem and if I spent a little more seat time in the car 1:01 was coming up (which is very quick for a stock 997S at that track). Even on the street I could sense just a little bit of rear end modulation that wasn't there with the stock setup.

 

Interesting comments. Did you guys see that Koni just came out with adjustable shocks for the 996? I've had these on a couple of cars and I would take these over a PASM suspension any day. A manually adjustable shock probably could have let you solve the rear suspension issue you had. For the 997, isn't the only other option going to full race Moton's? I would go with Eibach springs and Koni adjustables any day.

 

Could be, as I notice a huge difference between normal and sport setting on the way my car performs on the track (for when I forget to press the sport button). I have been out on the track with many 997C2S, both modified and stock and I have no problem walking away from them in sport mode, in normal mode I have strungled and wonder what is going on, then it's like oh yeah press the button and good bye to the other C2S. It's too bad you had a bad experience with them Ron, as there is no way a stock suspension will stay with the Bilstien equiped one (unless there is a pro driver in the stock car)

 

With all of the time you've spent with your car on the track, your expertise is doubtlessly far greater than mine, but I will cite an important detail related to my experience with the Damptronics. There seems to be a non-linear relationship between the height adjustment and the level of compliance with these coilovers. As one can expect, the lower the car, the more compressed the spring and the stiffer the ride. But I found that there is a 'knee in the curve' in which going just a small amount lower seems to introduce a much greater level of harshness and much less compliance than with a relatively modest higher height setting.
I mention this because it could be that your experience with the rear end of your car could be based on a low setting where there I've noticed chattering over bumps and hard braking as well as a return of some nose-bobbing. I've since reset mine to a more modest height reduction (versus stock) and the behavior of the suspension is excellent.
Now my experience is street-only, so it may not be relevant, but I thought I'd toss it in the mix.
Overall, I do think that the Damptronics is the single biggest improvement I've made to the (PASM equipped) car. The question about ride quality is really not relevant. It is slightly firmer, but it's not harsh. Further the famous Porsche nose-bob is mostly expunged (the worst part of the Porsche driving experience). Overall, it's an outstanding upgrade. In the sport setting it's no contest. The sport setting with the stock parts is useless, unless you're driving on German roads or a billiard table. Any rough surface exceeds the compliance capability of the OEM part and you lose contact of the tire with the surface. It's also a very miserable experience for anyone in the left seat.
I would run, not walk, to one of our site sponsors and purchase a set - along with a good set (not H&R IMHO) of sway bars.

 

Verde- What do you suggest for sways?

 

The damptronic is a true coil over so there shouldn't be any difference of compression with respect to how low you set the car. The spring is "at rest", just holding the weight of the car whether you are at 1/2" lower or 3/4" (which is where I was). I think this will just be one of those mysteries...

I know I posted this before, but the chief engineer in CA talked with me a couple of times about my situation before I returned to stock. His bottom line was that the Damptronic was a street / DE level setup. It was not intended for heavy track use. He felt that I had tried to get more out of them than they have to give and that I would be best off with a Moton suspension given how I use the car. My older posts on this should be more detailed...