Aftermarket Suspension Upgrades for Your Porsche at Wolfpen

Many cars, even dedicated sports cars, sometimes ride just a bit too high to be aesthetically pleasing, having the dreaded gap between the fender and tire that can make even the coolest car look like its on stilts. While lowering a car is largely an aesthetic exercise, it does contribute to a stiffer suspension setup and lower center of gravity, which can be part of a sport car’s overall sense of capability. 

A well sorted suspension can give drivers the confidence to push their cars harder, and the control a car exhibits in challenging situations can be enhanced with stiffer, more capable shocks. Many older Porsche and BMW M performance models lack the advanced electronically controlled suspension components of their modern counterparts. Furthermore, the stock shocks on a 997 Porsche 911 might have worn out over time, or the stock setup of a 2012 BMW M3 seems a bit soft by today’s standards. 

Want the best of both worlds? A set of coilovers can replace your old worn out suspension or the separate components of the stock suspension setup. While most Porsche GT cars over the years have come with some form of coilover suspension setup that is height adjustable and able to be corner balanced, most Porsche 911 and Porsche Boxster and Cayman models have a more traditional suspension setup with a non adjustable spring and damper setup. Most BMWs have separate springs and dampers, and cars like Corvettes have unusual transverse leaf springs. Switching to coilovers can provide more adjustability and tighter, more compact weight distribution, which is always preferable in a sports car that’s going to be driven enthusiastically.

If you notice that your car exhibits a disconcerting amount of body roll or you’ve recently stiffened up your suspension with new shocks, springs, or coilovers, it would be wise to upgrade to a stiffer swaybar with adjustable end links. Swapping something like a Porsche Cayman S to a more aggressive set of coilovers, such as Ohlins excellent road and track system, is a good opportunity to upgrade the sway bars and endlinks to something similarly capable and aggressive. You can see such a setup installed here.

If you’ve ever wanted to give your Porsche or BMW a more aggressive alignment, you might have noticed that there’s a limit to how far you can go. Surprisingly, this is true in many Porsche GT cars, such as the Porsche Cayman GT4, that have incredibly broad performance capabilities and are massively popular track cars. Most Porsche and BMW M models, such as the BMW M3, need aftermarket camber plates to allow for more negative camber (and caster adjustment) than might be possible from the factory. Adding an aftermarket camber plate can allow for a more precise track focused alignment that can improve turn in and responsiveness while evenly distributing load across the tire’s contact patch. If you’re considering aggressive driving in your Porsche 911 or BMW M car, upgrading to an aftermarket set of camber plates is probably a good first step. 

Toe links can be the unsung heroes of suspension alignments, both allowing for greater adjustability and preserving settings by being more rigid and resistant to impacts and the stresses of performance driving. Installing aftermarket toe links, such as those from Dundon Motorsports, on something like a Porsche Cayman GT4 RS can help settle the rear end and preserve at the limit handling.