997 carrera 2 s front strut replacement.. bilstein B4 or B6?

[ColinFox]

Dear all.
we have a front shock/strut that has lost it's oil so looking at replacing the front pair.. so do i just replace the fronts with B4 so they are close to the spec of the originals or is it worth the extra to change all 4 corners to the B6 version... any advice/thoughts? thanks colin

 

[Motorhead]

Looking at this link Colin I would think that the B4 probably will meet your requirements, especially if the rear units are still serviceable?

BILSTEIN B4, B6 or B8: Which is the right shock absorber?

Which standard replacement shock absorber is suitable for which purpose? We explain which BILSTEIN model workshops should recommend depending on the situation.

workshop.bilstein.com

I assume that your 997 doesn’t have PASM?

Jeff

Edit: If one of the front struts is shot you can be sure that the rears aren’t too far behind, especially given the rear weight bias, so it’ll be worth considering replacing all four units.

 

[ColinFox]

Looking at this link Colin I would think that the B4 probably will meet your requirements, especially if the rear units are still serviceable?

BILSTEIN B4, B6 or B8: Which is the right shock absorber?

Which standard replacement shock absorber is suitable for which purpose? We explain which BILSTEIN model workshops should recommend depending on the situation.

workshop.bilstein.com

I assume that your 997 doesn’t have PASM?

Jeff

Edit: If one of the front struts is shot you can be sure that the rears aren’t too far behind, especially given the rear weight bias, so it’ll be worth considering replacing all four units.

hi there. thankjs for the reply.. and i forgot to mention that it does have PASM... ta

 

[Motorhead]

I think that means you’re going to need the B4 DampTronic units for a direct replacements then Colin, otherwise I imagine that you’re going to need some sort of [resistive?] emulator to avoid PASM warning messages.

It’ll be worth comparing the prices of the Bilstein units with those of original Porsche parts.

Jeff

 

[ColinFox]

I think that means you’re going to need the B4 DampTronic units for a direct replacements then Colin, otherwise I imagine that you’re going to need some sort of [resistive?] emulator to avoid PASM warning messages.

It’ll be worth comparing the prices of the Bilstein units with those of original Porsche parts.

Jeff

hi there.. is that jeff i met on saturday?? and i believe they do a B6 that is designed to work with the PASM on the car... all the best colin

 

[Motorhead]

Hi Colin,

Yes, it’s me.

It does look as though their B6 DampTronic unit possibly is the most suitable direct replacement for your 997, but it would be worth speaking to them to confirm. You could also have a chat with Chris at Center Gravity, the suspension tuning specialists, as they have a lot of useful experience in this area and also can fit the parts and reset the geometry, although their geo set-ups are very expensive but extremely thorough.

Car Suspension Tuning Specialists | Center Gravity

At Center Gravity, we are renowned for our car geometry and chassis tuning work on Porsche, as well as a wide range of other sports and prestige cars.

centergravity.co.uk

Have a look on the Design911 website** for some alternatives too and have a chat with the Cambridge Porsche Centre to get a price [with a 10% Club discount] for original parts.

Definitely I’d consider replacing the rear units as well since they’ll be past their best, and just replacing the front struts could unbalance the handling.

Jeff

** Here’s a B4 DampTronic package for your car which probably is the closest to standard, the B6 units being slightly updated for heavier duties:

https://www.design911.co.uk/porsche/997-mkii--911--carrera-s-2009/bilstein-cars-with-pasm/

 

[ColinFox]

Hi Colin,

Yes, it’s me.

It does look as though their B6 DampTronic unit possibly is the most suitable direct replacement for your 997, but it would be worth speaking to them to confirm. You could also have a chat with Chris at Center Gravity, the suspension tuning specialists, as they have a lot of useful experience in this area and also can fit the parts and reset the geometry, although their geo set-ups are very expensive but extremely thorough.

Car Suspension Tuning Specialists | Center Gravity

At Center Gravity, we are renowned for our car geometry and chassis tuning work on Porsche, as well as a wide range of other sports and prestige cars.

centergravity.co.uk

Have a look on the Design911 website** for some alternatives too and have a chat with the Cambridge Porsche Centre to get a price [with a 10% Club discount] for original parts.

Definitely I’d consider replacing the rear units as well since they’ll be past their best, and just replacing the front struts could unbalance the handling.

Jeff

** Here’s a B4 DampTronic package for your car which probably is the closest to standard, the B6 units being slightly updated for heavier duties:

https://www.design911.co.uk/porsche/997-mkii--911--carrera-s-2009/bilstein-cars-with-pasm/

thanks for that... i'll investigate further..

 

[Motorhead]

Just one thing to note Colin. The cable on the B4 unit is shown to come out of the top of the piston rod whereas I think that it comes out of the body of the strut on the original unit [and also on the B6 strut], so it’ll be worth checking if there’s likely to be a problem routing it to the PASM control unit which I believe is mounted in the wheel arch.

Jeff

 

[13capp]

I have just replaced both front shocks with the B4 PASM units and at the same time the drop links. I am by no means a 'racer' but the result was a noticeable improvement in ride and super compliant over the potholes so can throughly recommend. As an alternate to Porsche and CoG have a chat with Angus at AMS in Kimpton for some advice.

 

[Red997C2Sport]

A second vote for Angus at AMS Porsche in Kimpton, I've used them for years and had nothing but great service.

 

[MrDemon]

fit Ohlins road and track on custom softer spings if you want the best without paying daft money, you can program out PASM on the 997 cars, no need for kits. PASM is very dated in 2010
here is mine with a slight drop on softer eibach sping on Ohlins, all done at Cof G. Do it right do it once if it's a keeper.
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