Quote:
Peely said:
I take it you've obviously tried the pasm car as well before you first ordered your car.
So just exactly what was the difference in the two ?
Better handling, more responsive steering, better exiting corners with the lsd, etc, etc ?
Peely,
Yes - I've test driven a 997S 3 times over the past 18 months. All 3 were PASM.
Obviously I can't answer about handling, steering & exiting from corners with -20mm & LSD because I didn't actually drive it - I just rode in it - plus Fanch and I only drove around central London (down Park Lane, through the underpass under Hyde Park corner [my goodness did the PSE make a fantastic sound in that tunnel!] and various other places for about 45 minutes) so we didn't try it on the open roads. However, IMHO I think one can safely assume that handling, steering, exiting from corners will only be better with -20mm (and not worse). [Incidentally this was at around 6pm on Sunday evening so we didn't go out of London - we feared the traffic coming back into London would be horrendous plus Fanch had another commitment that evening.]
Anyhow, the bottom line is that my main concern with -20mm was nothing to do with 'performance' i.e. steering, handling, corner exiting etc. I was perfectly confident that these would be better than PASM before I even sat in the car. My ONLY concern was ride comfort. This will be an only car for me which I plan to use on an everyday basis so it has to be something I can live with on the often poor quality roads we have in London and the South East.
I can't tell you what will be right for you since everyone has their own sensitivity as to what level of comfort/firmness they need and how much firmness they can take. All I can say for sure is that, from a comfort/firmness perspective, IMHO -20mm is really wonderful. IMO it is firm without being harsh. I am very glad I chose it. I don't think you should harbour doubts as to its firmness/harshness. It's IMO more comfortable than PASM sport mode and it's a set up I can very happily live with every day.
Also, about the firmness - on a smooth road or even just a normal road, IMO I didn't feel any harshness. When going over a bump in the road, all I felt is a firm contact with it. It's quickly over and then the smoothness continues. IMO -20mm doesn't 'soak up' the firm contact with a sudden bump in the road like a Mercedes SL would (i.e. so that you don't even realise that the car went over any bump). IMO I felt the bump but it's just a firm 'thud', no more than that. I actually want to feel the road surface enough so that I feel actively involved with what the car is doing and how the tyres are interacting with the road. What I don't want is to be continuously shaken or for the ride quality to be one of continuous vibration with every grain of asphalt. That I couldn't live with.
I guess - I should say one more thing - it's a big purchase - Pounds65860 plus options. It's only natural not to take risks with such money and it's difficult to simply rely on what other people on the internet say (people you don't even know and whom you've never even met) when you haven't tried it yourself. What makes it harder to take that 'leap of faith' is that the UK dealers aren't neutral - they actively discourage buyers from choosing -20mm by arguing that it is 'for track use only' or that it 'will be worth less on resale'. I don't agree: I think -20mm is basically around three quarters of the way between PASM normal and PASM sport mode (closer to PASM sport than PASM normal). For me, for everyday use, that's just perfect.
Obviously, everything I've said is just my opinion. I can't tell you what to choose. I can only explain my own decision-making process and then it's for you to see if you think the same way or if a different set up meets your requirements.
Hope this helps. I really have tried to describe everything I can. Hope it sheds some more light on this for you and anyone else in this particular suspension dilemma