Suspension options

[mc5]

Have been looking to upgrade my suspension for a while but keep putting it off due to being worried i may regret my choice for the sizeable outlay

I'm happyish with the ride quality/handling for the road of the std set up but not so much the looks. Can anyone with first hand experience help. Choices are

Bilstein B12 which comes with h & r springs - ride height may be too low from images Ive seen and much stiffer than oem - cost £1400

B4 shocks with lowering springs - safe option and has been good on other marques - cost £900

cayman r - probably best option for me & well proven but will it be much different to b12 & pricey at £2000 

coilovers - overkill for the road and don't want the hassle of setting up & rebuilds

[Windymiller]

I’ve gone through this very same dilemma myself recently. 
 

after a visit to centre gravity in July for their 2hr total suspension survey and consultation I had ‘decided’ to go the R suspension route, but then I received their £4K estimate (parts + fitting + geo) and decided to stay as is with a few minor tweaks / refreshes. R rear ARB to help with turn in and slight reduction in roll (to help preserve tyre outer edges more), new rear coffin arms (one was ‘clonking’!), front and rear drop links and front top mounts and bump stops (both perished and no doubt affecting front end feel). 
 

ive sourced the parts myself from OPC and AUTODOC for ~£500 and my local Indy has quoted ~£500 for fitting and geo. 
 

The good thing about CGs total survey was they checked the shock absorbers health and all 4 came back as spot on even at 11.5 years old with 69k miles. 👍🏻

I test drove an R (just on the road) at Dovehouse a couple of weeks ago and loved it, but didn’t think it’s ride or handling (on the road) was noticeably different to my S. I accept that I wasn’t really pushing it on a test drive though, and on track might be a different experience entirely. 

 

I concluded that my standard suspension is fine for me in terms of dynamics on road and the 5/6 track days a year I do and an additional £3k expenditure on a ~£25k car wasn’t ‘value for money’ just to reduce the ‘SUV’ style wheel arch gap. 

 

(I may think differently again next week though… 🤔🤷‍♂️🤣)

 

so none of that will have helped you. 🤨
 

But there are several folks on here who have gone the B6/B8 route with R springs. Although currently the B6/8 shocks aren’t that much cheaper than the OE R shocks… 😱

Edited August 10, 2021 by Windymiller

[mc5]

Thanks Windy. Coffin arms have been changed. Indy recommended h&r springs over R springs as they are progressive. So I guess the choice is b4, b6 or b8. 

[Liongolfer]

I'm on the B8 R springs.  The amount of drop you want will also guide your choice.  H&R drops more than R springs and with coilovers, you can of course get slammed if you want.

[@carnewal]

Apart from the Koni Active, they now also offer the Koni Sport shocks for the 987.
These shocks are adjustable and work great with the CaymanR or the Spyder springs.
They are a lot cheaper compared to the Bilstein shocks

[mc5]

1 hour ago, @carnewal said:

Apart from the Koni Active, they now also offer the Koni Sport shocks for the 987.
These shocks are adjustable and work great with the CaymanR or the Spyder springs.
They are a lot cheaper compared to the Bilstein shocks

Ive heard good things about these but think i read that the top adjusters on the rear shocks means you cant pop the trim back on. Is this correct

[andygo]

I found this thread. Didn't mention rear fitment other than unable to have bose subwoofers in the back.

 

https://rennlist.com/forums/996-forum/798696-koni-sport-vs-bilstein-b6-b8.html

 

But realised its for a 996, so not relevant. Sorry!

 

Edited August 11, 2021 by andygo

[Blissya]

I was chatting to Ben at String Theory garage (they used to work at back of Caffeine & Machine) when they checked and adjusted my suspension and geo set up on my Mk2 Golf. Mentioned that I might want to do something about the arch gap on the cayman at some point and they had just done a gen 2 boxster with some ST set up, can’t recall the details but maybe about £1200 ish stuff so not too bad. Have seen the owner posts on Instagram and they seem pleased. It does improve the looks for sure

[@carnewal]

The adjuster pin on the top of the Koni Sport is about 12mm (0.5") higher than a standard shock.

True, you will however have to adjust the shocks before re-fitting the trims.

[newold_m]

I’ve recently installed Koni Sports with the Cayman R springs following the suggestion from Carnewal and couldn’t be happier — it’s a well matched setup; ride is controlled and comfortable… As a reference previously I had a B12 setup (Bilstein B8+Eibach springs) two issues I wanted to address were (i) improve low speed ride comfort and (ii) raise the ride height a tad and both were addressed with this combination. 

 

Also a shout-out to Gert — excellent customer service, highly recommended!

 

Here is the the trimming I did on front and rear to access the adjuster. For the fronts used a 3/4” hole saw and on the rear 1” one — showing the second one I modified, the other side doesn’t look nearly as good as it took several cuts to find the right location 🙃

 

 

Edited March 23, 2023 by newold_m
Added info