Animated Suspensions: The Ride of your Life?

So, you’re finally driving the car of your dreams. Forget the model number and whether it’s air or water-cooled: it’s a Porsche. What do love most about it – and how can you improve it? Here’s an idea – if the beauty of your Porsche is where rubber meets road, then upgrade your suspension. Let your friends at Design911 add more stride to your ride…

Every Porsche is a magnificent example of engineering excellence and the result of decades of innovation evolution. Each component pays its way, and every single nut and bolt is the best it can be, developed and tested to deliver the best motoring experience for the lucky driver of every Porsche.

That’s just one reason to choose OE Match. No matter where it fits in the car, and whatever it does, if it’s good enough for the experts at Stuttgart or Leipzig, then it’s perfect for Porsche specialists around the world. If you wouldn’t accept a standard issue sports car over a Porsche then why accept anything other than premium, aftermarket components?

Take these transmission mounts for the 986 Boxster and 987 Boxster and Cayman models. They’re a simple and easy upgrade of your current setup, they’re perfectly balanced without compromising cabin comfort with road noise. In the same vein, Design911 recommends these two black anodized aluminum front monoball shock mounts as the perfect post-sale replacement for factory-issue rubber bush equivalents. (These fit the rear.)

Compatible with OE and aftermarket struts, machine-milled mounting holes enable more than 1 degree of extra negative camber to maintain optimum road contact – nice to know when cornering fast. Don’t want to replace them twice? Add rubber boot protectors at the basket stage to seal the bearing from any road grime and debris. 

Lower expectations…

Want that lowered car vibe without spending a fortune or tampering with the wider suspension setup? These H&R spring sets drop your 987 Boxster or 987C Cayman a full 35mm as an inexpensive but high-quality adjustment to the pitch of your car. And if you’re fitting springs, this anti-roll/sway bar kit from the same manufacturer is the perfect supplementary product. 

Working in tandem, the springs and roll bars will reduce body roll, boost lateral stiffness and improve handling. Shot peened, heat treated, and fitted with precision forged ends the front, the non-adjustable roll bar offers a 24mm rebate, while the adjustable rear lowers up to 22mm. 

The bars come with exclusive bushes made from a urethane / Teflon composite that eliminates squeaks, and requires no lubrication, ever.  

Complete control.

Some components do great work without the driver even knowing they exist. Take these ‘coffin style’ control arms. They connect the wheel hub, through a ball joint and steering knuckle, to the vehicle frame via dedicated bushings. Adjustable to meet different – and sometimes challenging – road conditions and achieve the drivers’ preferred driving ‘feel’. Supplied with an offset outer sleeve and CNC machined inner sleeve, drivers of 996s and 997s can now achieve in-car caster and camber adjustment and optimise their wheel alignment.   

Sway it is.

A sway bar is named after the thing it helps to prevent – namely unwanted sideways movement from your car. It’s particularly relevant for the bigger units, such as the Cayenne. An integral part of your vehicle’s suspension, the sway bar is made from pliable metal that reacts to a twisting movement, leveling everything out when cornering at full chat. 

The number and variety of sway bars depends on the vehicle, but if you’re looking to upgrade this area, start by replacing your ‘standard issue’ front drop links with this simple, bolt-in alternative. Correctly sized, precision-milled Teflon-lined rod-ends ensure smooth and quiet operation, long life, and high reliability. If you’re replacing the rear, it’s these you need. 

Black box controller.

Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) combines two chassis in one: a sporty yet comfortable version for long journeys and a sporty variant for the race track. In the normal setting, PASM offers a comfortable ride thanks to a basic configuration of the dampers, while the sport mode activates harder damper characteristics that support a highly agile driving style. 

Reduced car body movements make it easier to achieve fast lap times on the race track. 

The DSC Sport V1 is a simple, plug-n-play replacement for the factory issue PASM controller. offering both improved track performance and street comfort. Installed in under five minutes, drivers can tweak their ride by tuning g-force, brake pressure, acceleration, speed, steering, and shock calibration to get the damping profile they want.

Shocks for the system.

Design911 works closely with Bilstein because of the quality of their products and swift delivery – there’s a closer look at our relationship with them here. We’d like to showcase these coilover suspension kits as they’re so compatible with the PASM controller, specifically the Porsche 911 (C2, C4,Turbo and GT3), Porsche Boxster, and Porsche Cayman. Because the coilover system is electronically adjustable, the PASM and car sensors remain fully-functional, and the height-adjustment function supports lowering within a certified range. 

Not sure yet?

If you want to discuss what Design911 and our stunning range of components, OE Match and others, can do for your car then please get in touch. We have plenty of knowledge and are always happy to share it with those who appreciate the world’s best car manufacturer.