77 ride heighth with pics

[flipper]

I am wondering what ride heighth might be optimal for a 77s with stock wheels. Mine looks high in the rear and I want to lower the rear or raise the front. What do you all think?

[carrera1975]

1 and 3/4 in front and 1 and 1/2 in the back. and then get an alignment

[IROC]

Lowering/corner balance/alignment is not an insignificant task on these cars. I would find out what your ride height is now (preferably using the factory method of measuring the ride height) or at least some fender lip measurements and then decide what you want/need to do.

Old spring plate bushings and other factors (worn shocks) can also affect ride height. In other words, this is a big job to do it right. The benefits of doing it right are worth it, though, IMHO.

Mike

[Joe Bob]

You look a little high in the rear aswell as the front.

Bringing down the rear is more problematic than the front. Unless the PO put adjustable spring plates on it, it requires re-indexing the torsion bars.

The "good" part is that you probably need bushings after 30 years and they can be replaced when you do it......

When I did it...I put in Weltmeister adjustable plates, new bushings and upgraded to heavier torsion bars. I then did the same up front, corner balanced and aligned the car.....it was way out of spec even though it only had 40,000 miles on an 83 SC.....did this 4 years ago.

[flipper]

My spring plates have about 4 or 5 bolts halfway between the hub and the torsion bars. It looks like the holes are also slotted for movement. Does this sound like adjustable springplates? Does someone have a picture of adjustable springplates? Thanks all.

Oh, what should the measurement from the ground to fender be?

[safe]

You shoud have adjustable on a 77. There should be 2 bolts near the torsionbar end for hight adjustment.

[stlrj]

It appears to be at optimum European height already. Any lower might compromise handling and be more suseptible to bottoming.

Cheers,

Joe

[Paulporsche]

Too high. Try the tire diameter (say 25") for the rear arch. Then go 1/2" higher in front. That'll give you a nice, slightly nose down attitude to the car.

[Joe Bob]

In my experience....Most stock "adjsutable spring plates" are set at the bottom so to adjust the height UP...this allows for "settleing" over the years....

[safe]

Originally posted by mikez
In my experience....Most stock "adjsutable spring plates" are set at the bottom so to adjust the height UP...this allows for "settleing" over the years....

Yes, mine were set on the low end, with the car at stock height (euro), when I removed mine.

[stlrj]

You could always baseline your ride height by taking measurements of your t-bar centers to wheel centers and compare that to what true Euro height is so you will know how far your ride deviates from optimum.

The front end should be 108 mm or 4.25 ".

Rear height taken from wheel center to the bottom of t-bar cross tube should be 16 mm or 0.63".

Might be interesting if we could all post how our rides compare to true Euro specs.


Here's how my height comes out: front...4.25" rear 0.5"

Wheel arch openings are: front... 26.5" rear...25.75"

Cheers,

Joe

[stlrj]

Here's what European height looks like on my 74 w/SC flares..







Cheers,

Joe

[bigchillcar]

mr. hnky is lookin' good, flip..especially that first photo..didn't know you had the chrome trim on the wheel arches..sweet. glad you didn't sell. by the way, is the paint fresh? almost looks darker than i've remembered.
ryan

[Paulporsche]

Here is my 77 c/w S flares. The ride height is 25.5F and 25R. The tires are 195/65 15F and 215/60 15R

[kach22i]

Originally posted by IROC
Old spring plate bushings and other factors (worn shocks) can also affect ride height.

Does the bushing compress over time?

What's the old fashion /easy way to find out that you need new shocks?

My front is very low, gained about 1/2" when I took the spare out. I think the shocks or springs are weak.

[bigchillcar]

Here is my 77 c/w S flares.

paul..what do you mean by 's' flares? you don't mean the sc flare do you? as far as i know, all mid year cars are narrow-hipped?
ryan

[RSBob]

You are currently running at school bus height. If you decide to have the car lowered, do it right and spend the money. Your stock height will serve you fine, but lowering the center of gravity works wonders, especially with the right camber dialed in.

[Paulporsche]

Ryan,
The impact bumper mid years had a slightly wider flare, but not as wide as the SCs.

[bigchillcar]

The impact bumper mid years had a slightly wider flare, but not as wide as the SCs.

hi paul,
slightly wider than what? the early cars or my 'base' 911?
ryan

[IROC]

Originally posted by kach22i
Does the bushing compress over time?

What's the old fashion /easy way to find out that you need new shocks?

My front is very low, gained about 1/2" when I took the spare out. I think the shocks or springs are weak.

Yes, the spring plate bushings will deform over time although that probably doesn't have a drastic effect on ride height. Worn shocks will cause the rear end to sag. BTDT. It's not easy to use the ol' bounce test to check shocks. On these cars (mid-'70s) if the shocks are original - they're worn out.

Mike