[Jazzbass]

OK, I've spent all my project money on new wheels so I won't be re-doing the suspension anytime soon. Which is good, in a way, because it'll let me figure out what I want to do.

I do, hower, want to lower the car. I'm measuring 26.5" at the front fender with 3/4 tank of gas. People make comments about my Cayenne-like ride height. One guy commented on how clean my wheel wells were - he noticed because there was some much room to see them above the tires.

I was thinking about going to the equivalent of 24.75/25.25. There will probably need to be some fender rolling to get the front tires in. How big of a pain is this going to be? Do I need to reindex the t-bars? Is it resonable to assume I can roll the fenders w/o cracking the paint?

Any recommendations? Will I need a new alignment? BTW: There is free food, drink and a nice mini fun-run through rural Maryland for anyone available to help. My goal is to do this before the HPDC on 10/11.

[Jim Richards]

Chris, remember that the measurement to the front fenders is about 1/2" higher than the rears. Depending on the position of your adjusting levers relative to their housings (in the front crossmember), you may be able to just dial in the front height with the adjusting bolts. If insufficient travel available, then re-indexing is needed. The rears can be adjusted about +/- 3/4", assuming your spring plates are set at the center of their adjustment range. You'll need that special (i.e. thin) ride height adjustment wrench to adjust the rears. I don't know about rolling fenders, but you may benefit from additional camber. After changing your ride height, I think you'll need an alignment. The ride height in the rear impacts the toe, if I remember correctly.

[Marc A]

Chris:

You can roll the fenders without damaging anythng if you are patient, working a wood bat back and forth between the tire and lip pushing down on the end of the bat. I did one front fender without any damage to the paint. My rears are another story, but then 225s aren't supposed to fit on a narrow body either.

Lowering . . . . start by lowering the back first. Break loose the cam adj bolt (36 mm bold behind spring plate) and the set bold (24mm) inside of the adjuster. They are on verrrrrrrrrrrrry tight. You will need a large pipe on a 1/2" breaker bar.

Remove the lower bolts that hold the rear shocks to the control arms. If you have bilsteins remember they lift the rear about a 1/4 inch. Put the car down on the suspension and move the adjuster bolt so that the small plate on the outside of the spring plate moves down all the way. Roll the car back and forth and see where hieght is. If it is too high, then the torsion bars will have to be indexed. I can give you an easy process to do that without all the fancy angle measurements, but it is too long to type out. PM me a number where I can reach you.

[BER]

Chris,

I also think you are a little high on the front end. I have an '84 Carrera and I sit 24.75" in front and 24.25" in the rear. I currently run 225's on front and 245's on the rear.

My experience (based on my ride heights) is the front fenders need to be rolled if you use 225/50x16 tires on the front. If you use 205's on the front, I don't think any rolling is required. Rolling is not hard, just take your time; Marc gave good advice in his post.

I have a little over 1 degree negative camber on the front which helps pull the top of the tire away from the fender lip, but my experience is the front fenders still need to be rolled using 225's (especially the driver's side).

Another consideration is Bump Steer as you lower the front suspension. At my front height, I was starting to experience some bump steer. So I installed a Weltmeister Bump Steer kit (just thick washers) and no more bump steer problems.

Lowering the rear is a little more problematic. As previously noted, you have a little adjustment available using the height eccentric bolt. To get any serious (i.e. 1" or greater) rear lowering, you will need to re-index the rear t-bars. It's not a "major life event", but you do need patience and a good protractor (it's all about angles).

After doing all my front and rear lowering, I weight balanced the car and got a four wheel alignment.

Good Luck. Bruce

[Jazzbass]

Thanks for the responses, guys. I figure the front should be easy, the backs a little harded. My goal is not to go ultra-low (i.e. Mackpipes) but to get your typical slightly-lower-than-euro-spec ride heght. Right now I'm running 245s in the rear and 205s in the front, although I want to go to 225s up front.

Marc: I definitely want to talk to you about the lowering and rolling. PM is on the way.

Bruce: What size wheels are you running in the front - 7s or 8s?

Hopefully this can be a one day affair. How critical is the alignment after lowering? If its a must, I might as well put some new tie rods on in the process.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by jazzbass

If its a must, I might as well put some new tie rods on in the process.

Oh, I sense a big job brewing here. You know you need turbo tie rods. And man o man, do Sway Away adj. plates make ride height setting a lot easier. New t-bars and bushings all around. Why pay for several alignments? Do it all at once and be done with it.

[Charlie Stylianos]

Chris,

See this thread for Thom's spring plate calculator:

http://www.dorkiphus.com/porsche/viewtopic.php?t=226


I used this method, and my rear heights came out just about perfect.....still within adjustment range of the eccentrics.

[Jazzbass]

You know, that was the original plan - do the whole suspension at once this winter. I even mentioned in a previous Dorkipus posting that the suspension re-do was "at the top of the list". At this point I'm putting it off until next year because:

1. I'm out of Porsche $$$ right now.
2. No time (getting ready to finish the basement)
3. Want to see how my car handles on the track first.
4. I'm considering repainting the car. I keep flip-flopping on this, but I think I might just disassemble the whole thing, paint it, re-do the suspension, have the wheels refinished and re-do the interior at the same time. How's that for a "while you were in there"?

[BER]

Chris,

I'm using 7x16 Fuchs in the front (9's in the rear).

Bruce