onewhippedpuppy

I'm still trying to decide what direction I will go for a suspension refresh/update on my C2. I have been leaning RoW M030 because it's a great price for springs/shocks/sways, and it is an OEM engineered kit. My concern is that it will still be too tall and soft for my liking, so I've been looking around at aftermarket. The Eibach Pro-Plus Kit has caught my eye, $558 on Tire Rack for springs and sways. I could easily combine this kit with new Bilstein Sports and come in at about the same price as the RoW M030. So, is anybody using Eibach springs or sways on their 996? A search didn't find much.

Tire Rack link: http://www.tirerack.com/suspension/s...0&autoModClar=

george996

You may wish to consider Bilstein PSS9 or 10, I don’t know if the 9’s are still being offered. One of the best mods I made. Significant ride height adjustability, adjustable dampening and marginally firmer spring rates. A very nice combination for daily driving and intermediate DE driving.

I ran several sway bar combinations with these coil overs including stock, Eibach (front adjustable), H&R (front non-adjustable and adjustable rear) and GT3 front bar. H&R bars are rather stiff and heavy. Considering price I think the Eibach bars a good value.

I think you are correct, the M030 may not lower enough for your taste. With stock tire sizes and PSS9’s you can easily dial in a front ride height of 24.75 to 25.5 in. (front fender lip to grade). You can probably do a search and find the ride heights with M030 to compare.

onewhippedpuppy

I like the options that coilovers provide, but at double the price of a new conventional suspension I don't think I can justify them.

rattlsnak

I'm getting the eibach pro kit with the bilstiens sports. I had that setup on a 964 and a 993 and I liked it.

pfbz

I went with the H&R Sport Springs (Kit #29513, similar to Eibach, about $300 shipped) and am extremely happy with them. Tremendous improvement in ride height and handling.

As for the sways, much of the US spec original understeer was tuned out with original sway bars but H&R springs, tire size/pressure adjustment, and a more aggressive GT3 spec alignment. I had originally planned on a sway bar change but no longer feel the need on the street or occasional track days.

Rear Before:

Rear After:


Front Before:

Front After:




More info in this thread:

onewhippedpuppy

I'd love to hear some feedback once you get it on your 996.

H&Rs definitely seem to be the popular choice around here. The problem is that H&R springs/sways are $985 vs $558 for the Eibachs. That's a pretty big difference.

pfbz

If you do swap sway bars, the eibach's rear is listed at 19mm, that seems a bit small, even though they are somewhat adjustable. To dial out understeer, you want a heavier/stiffer bar in back. I think stock is 18.5mm, Eibach 19mm, H&R 23mm. And the Eibach kit has a heavier front bar than stock, which is going to *increase* understeer even more!

If you definitely want a sway bar upgrade, I would consider H&R sport springs, H&R 23mm adjustable rear sway, stock front sway (perhaps with new bushings), though I agree the Eibach 'kit' is nicely priced.

Mentioned tire size/pressure tweaking above... Not sure what year/tires you are running, but my 2004 has OEM sizing of 225 front, 285 rear which is part of what contributes to the stock 'push'. I am now running 997 wheels with OEM 997 C2 tire sizing, 235mm in front and 265mm in rear. More grip in front, less grip in back, *much* better balanced!

I got a great deal on the 997 take offs, but If cost wasn't an issue and I was going for the most grip *with* balance, I'd probably get 245/35-18 fronts and 285/30-18 rears with proper offset wheels to fill to just inside the fenders.

onewhippedpuppy

The Eibach site shows front as 26 mm solid, rear as 22 mm tubular and 3-way adjustable. Here's what I found in regards to other sizes:

OEM: front: 23.1, rear: 18.5
ROW M030: front: 23.6, rear: 19.6
GT3 front: 26.7, rear: 20.8
HR = front 26 mm; rear 23 mm

pfbz

Hmmm... looks like the Tirerack info doesn't match. On the link you provided, they list the eibach rear bar (7213.312) as 19mm, but the Eibach site lists it as a 22mm tubular. I've seen other references to the Eibach rear being 19mm, so perhaps they changed the specs and kept the same part number? Worth a bit more checking in any case. [edit: if you google 'eibach 7213.312 19mm' you'll see the 19mm spec discrepancy all over]

But assuming the 22mm hollow/adjustable is correct, that makes comparison even harder, as hollow bars can't be compared directly to solid bars, especially without knowing the wall thickness.

Suspension tuning is often a process of trial and error as well as personal taste, For the price, you could try the Eibach kit and see what you think?

alpine003

Exactly.

If you're looking for solid bars then the H&R are the better option IMHO.

Eibachs will offer very little to no benefit as they are almost the same size as stock. 24mm f vs. 23.5 stock and 19mm vs 18.5 stock rear.

I'm not sure where the 26mm/22mm figure is coming from plus IIRC only the front is two position adjustable. Never seen a 3 position adjustable Eibach sway bar for the 996.

Also, the Eibach Pro-Kit spring is pretty soft for any kind of real performance. I'd rather go with H&R's.

pfbz

So being curious about this info mismatch myself, I just called eibach.

It was surprisingly easy to get a hold of their customer service guys who seemed fairly knowledgeable. They told me that the 7213.312 rear bar previously was solid, 19mm, and 2 way adjustable, but their R&D department redesigned the bar and now it is hollow, 22mm, three way adjustable, and stiffer. Apparently without actually changing the part number??

I asked them how one might know if they would get an old or new style bar if ordering online, they didn't have a good answer. The actual R&D guy wasn't available, but left a message for him.

Sounds like Eibach realized their 996 rear sway bar wasn't stiff enough and redesigned it, I say OP should order the kit and let us know what he gets!

alpine003

This is interesting indeed. I wonder if the price will double for the new kit considering the current pricing is only $300 for the pair(probably due to lack of demand)?

pfbz

Actually, they said the new kit had been out for a while already... and since many (most?) auto parts resellers just drop ship from the manufacturer rather than stocking items, I'm guessing theTirerack prices will get you the new kit? Will update if/when I ever hear back from the r&d guy at Eibach.

onewhippedpuppy

Nicely done! I'm honestly leaning this direction, I have a few other little things that I need to finish and I'll probably pull the trigger. I will definitely post feedback if I end up getting the Eibachs.

alpine003

I'm guessing the product line managers dropped the ball on this new rollout then. All the online places I normally frequent still has the old description. It would be awesome if the price remained the same. Btw, I have a RUF rear sway I might be selling.