Has anyone ever swapped in LESS firm shocks?

[SCCA_AX]

IMO you're really chasing minutiae here. At the end of the day, the 986 chassis isn't super rigid, and it acts like a giant, undamped spring. It's not going to ride like a pillow no matter what you do.

Porsche made a good compromise between ride and handling, to the standards of a quarter century ago. Attempting to deviate from this is going to be a tough battle.

Yes, Koni reds vs fresh B6s might ride slightly better, but they're not going transform the car.
Yes, 17s vs 18s might ride slightly better, but they're not going to transform the car.
Yes, reducing unsprung weight will improve ride. But unless you're going from 50lb 20" chrome spinners to 17" OEM wheels you're unlikely for it to register at all on the butt-o-meter.

My car rides fine most of the time (US M030 / fresh Koni yellows / stiff sidewall tires on 18s) but I'll grit my teeth over particularly broken pavement every once in a while. My modern sporty sedan over the same road would absorb it far better.

[DreamSign]

Thank you for saying is you are happy for me that I was able to get the dampening where I wanted it to be by just changing wheels and tires.

Because that is how I read your post.

I read it as: " Good for you that you tried the simple thing first and it worked :0) "

I wasn't trying to make a Rolls Royce ride, my stated aim was to dampen the unwanted shocks over rough patches of road, and since I don't track, autocross, or compete with the car, I don't need as stiff an initial shock pulse.

I'm happy this simple change got me to where I wanted to be.

I wish you a happy day too :0)