Living the Legend

Our contributing enthusiasts from around the world share their real-life experiences with their Porsche 911s

Real-world reports from our global collective of 911 owners

My brand-new Bilstein B6 suspension is finally fitted… but with some last-minute changes! Some of you may remember my predicament when choosing my new suspension set-up a few months ago – do I go back to OEM springs and ride height with the new Bilstein B6s, or do I stick with the slightly lowered stance that I am now so used to and love the appearance of? Decisions, decisions!

My initial choice was to go back to factory OEM springs – sacrificing the preferred lowered look in a bid to regain some comfort on the UK’S harsh roads – as my 997.1 C2S is primarily used for weekend road trips and definitely won’t be seeing any race circuits in its lifetime.

This decision changed when I found out Litchfield Motor’s founder, Iain Litchfield, had just fitted Bilstein

B6s to his very own 997 Carrera 2S Cabriolet with near-identical spec to my 997. He decided to pair the Bilsteins with an Eibach Springs Prokit. This still lowers the car by 20mm, but with a progressive spring rate meaning the spring gets progressively stiffer when cornering under load, so essentially harder when you need it, but softer when you don’t in normal day-today driving.

Iain insisted I take his car for a test drive before making the decision to go back to OEM springs, which I did. I feared the ride would still be too harsh for the Cabriolet, but I was proven wrong. I have to say I was amazed with the ride quality and handling of the car when pushed – much more balanced, without sacrificing ride quality or the lowered look that I was hoping to keep. Don’t get me wrong, the ride was slightly firmer than stock, but nowhere near as harsh or unsettled as my previous set-up using lowering springs with the original, tired, 14-year-old dampers. The important thing for me was that the car felt much more stable and precise in comparison to the vague feeling I was getting from my car.

So that was it; my decision was made to fit the Eibach Pro-kit with the Bilstein B6s. It’s also worth noting that the Bilstein’s keep full functionality of the PASM that comes as standard on the 997 Carrera S, making them a great alternative to replacing with much more expensive OEM shock absorbers – check out bilstein.com and eibach.com for more information.

As the technician removed the original suspension it was clear to see that it had seen better days, with plenty of corrosion on the struts. Surprisingly the top mounts weren’t in terrible condition, but I was advised that with any suspension upgrade on a 14-year

old car it’s always best to replace with new for best results. After hearing a bad story from fellow LTL columnist Rob about cheaper aftermarket parts not being up to the job I decided to stick with OEM parts. The technician also found there was a small amount of play with the tie rod/inner rack arms, so these were also replaced.

Once the new suspension was fitted it was onto the Hunter wheel alignment machine before I could take it out on the road for a quick 20-minute test drive to experience the eagerly awaited results.

First impressions are that the car has been completely transformed by the new Bilsteins. It’s so much more stable, and as a result has given me so much more confidence in the car!

Unfortunately I didn’t get to take the car home with me for a longer drive as it needs to stay at Litchfield’s for its bumper and bonnet painting and protecting. More feedback to come on the overall result next issue!