Pics & Review of My Bilstein PSS10 Lowered Red Turbo by cannga

5 minute(s) of a 612 minute read

Thanks, you've done your homework! I didn't even know this one exist, and I like it a lot. Ohlins is an outstanding shock and this one ticks all the boxes for why one would choose coilover in the first place:

1. Adjustable damping force setting

2. Adjustable height: all lowering springs on market lower a fixed 24mm, coilover allows variable lowering.

3. Interchangeable springs: very few people change springs, but just in case, personally I prefer to have standard size, meaning the straight looking spring of 60mm ID, or 70mm ID for Bilstein.

4. Looks pretty. 

Turns out this is a VERY, very well-reviewed choice for our/my BMW E90 M3 (which I still love btw, not as much as the Turbo but close :-)). One thing I don't understand is on the BMW forum, people seem to switch the Ohlins-recommended rear spring from 370 to one that is doubled the rate, 740 (!?). In general, street damper is set up for maybe about a 150 change in rate; if you change more than this a. it doesn't sound right, and b. you risk damper failure unless the shock is re-valved. Don't be surprised if you have to do a little tweaking with the spring rates in your Turbo too.

I think this is an excellent choice for a non PASM Turbo coilover, but were I to do this, I would check a couple things:

1. Call Ohlins USA (very helpful, I hear) and ask them what the spring rates are for our Turbo application. Don't give them a hint of what you are thinking :-). From these spring rates, I think we would have an idea what application is intended for the shock, what it might feel like, how much the damper could handle, etc.

2. Check on the minimum lowering height. Web site seems to list 20mm, this might be a little too much depending on what you are looking for and where you drive. I would like the minimum lowering range to be 5mm-10mm or so. I lower mine 10mm-15mm and for me this is about the max I would like to lower.

10-27-2013

^^^Thanks for the nice Ohlins data; I'll add some comments later but I like what I see so far. If you have time and are serious about getting these, ask them what position they would like to set damper with above spring rates: how many clicks from full counter clockwise position, front and rear.

Repost from ealier in thread: http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/997-turbo-gt2/136096-pics-review-my-bilstein-pss10-lowered-red-turbo-12.html

3. Spring Rates Summary: Spring rates are the heart and soul of the suspension system, they tell you the intention of the car/vendor: Is this going to be a street car or is this gonna be a track star :-). Note that the damper also contributes significantly to how the car feel: a Bilstein with 400/600 springs will feel completely different from a JRZ with 400/600 springs. This is because the damping forces in the 2 coilovers are different, JRZ has damping forces designed for heavier springs and for more vigorous requirements of track use. Also other factors such as constructions are different; one example: Bilstein re-uses the stock's top mount/bearing which has rubber parts to soften the blow, JRZ to best of my knowledge does not - anyone pls correct me as needed. So although the spring rates give you some important idea, the bottom line is you won't know until you actually drive the car.

Source for spring rates below: Very extensive web research (ie no guarantee whatsoever of accuracy :-)) and Excellence Magazine. GT3 rates are posted for comparison, and do keep in mind the GT3 is around 300 lbs lighter than Turbo, meaning if anything the Turbo's springs could/should be even stiffer than GT3's. Also, 997.2 Turbo's engine is lighter, making the increased spring rate noteworthy. Anyone with more info please correct as needed. 

(KW rates corrected per 997TTMeister's link)

Stock 997.1 Turbo: 

Front: 206

Rear: 457 Linear 

Stock 997.2 Turbo

Front: 206

Rear: 514 Progressive (342 initial, 514 final) 

Bilstein Damptronic For 997 Turbo

Front: 340 Linear 

Rear: 565 Linear 

Helper springs (no contribution towards rate) 115 front, 145 rear

Bilstein Damptronic in my Turbo  (stiffer springs than Bilstein OEM)

Front: 448

Rear: 600

Ohlins Road & Track For Turbo

Front: 400

Rear: 685

KW V3 For Turbo

Front: Progressive, unknown final rate, possibly around 300

Rear: 970 

For 997 GT3: 285 front/ 970 rear

For 997 C2S: 230 front /740 rear

Moton/JRZ For Turbo (starting min. rates, stiffer if needed)

Front: 500-600

Rear: 700-800

Stock 996 GT3:

Front: 225 Linear

Rear: 550 Progressive

Stock 997 GT3:

Front: 257

Rear: 600