Suspension. Refresh or Upgrade

[TomB_996]

Hi All,

Looking for some input from others who might have trodden this path already

I have a C4 fitted with the MO30 option but it feels very tired. I'm looking to have a comprehensive refresh done and am considering the best path to go down:

1. stick with OEM
2. venture into the aftermarket (ohlins/bilstein/nitron coil overs, tarrat/nitron/elephant top mounts, lots of bushings, adjustable drop links, etc, etc)
3. a cocktail of 1&2

Before I get giddy and spend all my pocket money, has anyone got any recommendations or indeed input to assist in decision making.

I use the car mainly for spirited driving at the weekends and i'll want to continue with the occasional trackday so a fast A/B road set up would likely be ideal

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[ralphmusic]

Centre Gravity have an upgrade refresh package for 996 which might be worth checking out.

 

[TomB_996]

Thank you! I've just skim read read the page but it seems that the kit roughly half the price of what I was expecting to pay for coil overs.

I'll read more tonight and if anyone else also have recommendations, i'm all ears

 

[Rodney Naghar]

Or get Center gravity to refurbish your existing set and give it an outstanding Geo while you’re there

 

[TomB_996]

Certainly a possibility but I’d still need bushes, drop links, top mounts, front & rear springs, bump stops, etc

To be honest, I wasn’t aware that the OEM shocks could be refurb’d so if they could, it’s certainly another avenue to explore

Absolute agreement on a good geo though! I’ve emailed CoG so will hope get a response after their Easter break.

 

[987Phil]

Do they list prices anywhere as I cannot find the page you are looking at ? (As even though I have a Cayman, curious for a contextual price as I can see this on the list of jobs that’d be nice to do….)

 

[TomB_996]

Do they list prices anywhere as I cannot find the page you are looking at ? (As even though I have a Cayman, curious for a contextual price as I can see this on the list of jobs that’d be nice to do….)

https://centergravity.co.uk/with-the-success-of-the-993-cg-grand-tourer-dampers-follows-our-996-offering-for-4wd-cars/

They state £1700 exc VAT and also within the News section they confirm they’re developing a kit for C2’s. Not sure how transferable to a Cayman either would be, that’s beyond my knowledge

 

[987Phil]

Thank you……. And it was more of a principle/ ballpark as if it’s this cost for 996 then I’d start with a similar price in mind for a Cayman. (Ie £2k +/- a bit as I had no start point, as not investigated too far before but was then curious after your post)

 

[TomB_996]

I spoke with CoG this week and they advised the kit above probably wouldn’t suit my needs being more akin to a gran tourer setup.


Fortunately the very helpful guy I spoke with was able to advise me on alternatives and upon receiving the quote today, I think it‘s the route I’m going down.


It’ll be bilstein pss10 with elephant racing camber plates and then OEM (or OEM alternative at CoGs recommendation) for everything else.


Fitting not likely until mid summer, which is fine

Already excited

 

[Thunderace]

"I use the car mainly for spirited driving at the weekends and i'll want to continue with the occasional trackday so a fast A/B road set up would likely be ideal"

I can only comment on my own situation but a year go I was considering similar (was very keen on Ohlins as had them on my superbike), I need my car to be able to handle the pretty aweful A/B roads of Suffolk so I asked around, CoG appeared to be suggesting the Koni Special Actives but they are a bit far from me and then I found out that Charlie of William Francis near Stowmarket, Suffolk had a new geo setup system so I went there.

I had the following: -

• H&R lowering springs (30mm lower so lower than MO30)
• Koni special active shocks (very reasonably priced)
• New OEM strut mountings
• RSS engine mounts (had been done before)
• All coffin arms, tuning forks etc. replaced (had been done before)
• X74 geo setup
  
  

I have found this to be excellent (over 4000 miles driven now), absolutely transformed the car and at a very reasonable cost. The only thing I think I should have added is the H&R anti-roll bars which I plan to add in the future. I was worried about grounding but it really only does this very occasionally with the very worst of sudden road dips/holes and the ride is not crashy at all.

 

[TomB_996]

This is great to read, thanks for sharing. It sounds our requirements are very similar so hearing of a real world success story is very useful.


I need to be careful with how low I go - underground car parking is already a struggle and I have a LN Engineering deep sump kit and guard which further limits clearance. Hopefully the bilstein’s should allow me to make adjustments as necessary.


You mention the H&R anti roll bars, are they a step up from the MO30 items?

 

[Thunderace]

You mention the H&R anti roll bars, are they a step up from the MO30 items?

Not really, anti-roll bars are much misunderstood and can easily make handling a lot worse if not undestood, e.g stronger front anti-roll bar often equals more understear. Personally I wanted to give them a try as I'd imagine they were developed with the H&R springs I have, I would have experts set up the anti-roll settings tbh.

 

[TomB_996]

Today is the day!


Hopefully pick the car back up in a week

 

[andywill]

Today is the day!
Hopefully pick the car back up in a week

Great choice, well done, let us know your first impressions when you get it back, odds on be like night & day.
Andy

 

[TomB_996]

Today was pick up day

Firstly, the service was fantastic. Chris couldn’t have been more helpful and his knowledge seemingly knows no bounds.

When I dropped the car off we went for a test drive to see where the starting point was. He dialled in on the issues immediately and these were confirmed back at the unit.

Today I picked it up and the difference is remarkable! It’s like a new car, a better car!


The setup I’ve gone for is;

• elephant racing adjustable caster plates at the front
• elephant racing rear top mounts
• Bilstein PSS10’s
• their magic sauce setup, and
• anything else that needed doing

It’s bloody fantastic. The setup is just what I asked for; it’s not overly firm (and of course it’s adjustable), it’s compliant, it makes driving easy as the car doesn’t skip or feel unsettled on broken surfaces like it used to, you get the picture!


It’s clear why they have the reputation they do. Can’t wait to drive the car more and more