driver front susp. lower than pass. side

[damian911]

Hello all....my question is how many things can be wrong if the drives side suspension height is lower than the pass. side...a rough estimate from ground to under the fender on drivers side is approx. 25 inches and the pass. side is 25.5....I checked the front shocks recently and they were both still very firm??? anyone have any ideas of what it can be??

[nine11speedster]

Now, if i remember correctly, you can just tweek the bolt that is holding the Torsion bar to adjust the height. Maybe a 1/2 turn is all you need to get that 0.5 inch lowered.
This can be done without even jacking up the car. What year is your 911?

[damian911]

Thks speester, i have a 83 911 . i just learned the rear is off too....driv.rear=25.5 and pass.rear=25.....my question is it common for the heights to be so off?? Could something be bent? or is it just something that needs to be adjusted from time to time....thks damian

[Gunter]

damian:
The car has to be on absolute level ground to take any measurements.
The fender lip is not really used when aligning and corner balancing.
If the front adjusting screws are in the same position relative to each other, and the sides are still unequal, the T-bars may have to be re-indexed on one side.
Guessing will not work here, you'll need to have the car on the alignment stand to really assess the situation.
If the alignment wasn't done for a while, now is the time.
A very popular setting is 25" front and 24.5" rear fender lip.
Your's sounds off anyway.
Do more research here, lots of info.
You also have to decide what Camber and Toe you want for a 4-wheel alignment; NOT the factory settings.
Go to a shop that really specializes in 911's.
Do a search.

[911pcars]

Use the tripod method to confirm rear wheel heights settings are not affecting the front corners.

Disconnect a drop link from the front/rear sway bars.

With the front wheels on level ground, raise the rear end under the gearbox crossmember.

If the front corner heights remain the same as before, adjust the adjusting bolts so the front corners are the same.

If the front corner relative heights have changed after raising, this confirms one of the rear corners is affecting the front. Adjust the front end, then reverse the lift sequence and adjust the rear end as necessary. The tripod method for front and rear will get you closer. Alignment and corner balancing can follow.

Sherwood

[damian911]

thks just check and the front adjusting screws were way diff. thks for info think i have the front pretty close i guess ill be looking at the rear on the weekend....thks everyone...damian

[ChrisBennet]

damian,
IMO you really need to corner weight the car if you are going to mess with ride heights. Corner weights are more important (from a driving perspective) than ride height.

You could have the ride heights exactly where you want them yet have most of your weight on just 2 wheels (diagonal from each other). This is a Bad Thing.

By way of example, take a chair and chop 1/2" off the right front leg and 1/2 off the left rear leg. The chair will now balance on the remaining 2 legs and the shortened legs won't even touch the ground - all the weight will be on 2 legs even thought the chair's "ride height" is fine.

The last car I checked (911 Turbo) with scales had the ride height off by something like 1/2" on one of the rear fenders. I thought for sure I would need to adjust the ride heights but when I checked they were pretty close so I left them alone.
-Chris

[Gunter]

damien:
Sounds to me that you are trying to do it without really understanding the dynamics.
Unless you understand the 40/44 spline discipline for the rear, and have the right tools/equipment, you'll end up with a car that's not aligned and definately not corner balanced.
You may have the illusion that the fender height will get you there.
Unless it's done right, you won't know how well these cars perform and handle.

[chiplamb]

After corner balancing within 49.8% and a bunch of tweaks to get it there (way way off) my RR arch is 2/3" higher than the LR. Fronts are nominally close. But you have to do what the scales tell you to do.

[2.7RACER]

Hi Chip,
If your rear heights are not equal, yet the car is balanced according to your scales, the rear torsion bars are not set correctly.
Since you said the right rear arch is 2/3" higher than the left rear, you have the choice of lowering the right side or raising the left side to get whatever rear height you want.
This involves re-indexing one or both rear torsion bars.

To check the rear height without the front height settings influencing the result, find a point at the centerline of the front which you can lift with a jack.
While up on the jack, take off both front wheels and lower the jack at the front back to the height with the wheels on.
I use a 2x4 under the car and a hockey puck on the jack. This allows the front of the car to equalize.
Use a tape measure to find the exact center of the front.

Now check the rear heights at the arches. The dimension will not be influenced by the front setting.

If the rear heights are equal the problem is at the front.

If the arch dimensions are not equal, decide if you like the right side or the left side height. Re-index the torsion bar on the side that is not to your liking.

This is a variation on the triangle method as written about by Chuck Moreland of Elephant racing, as found in the tech article section.
When done corner balance with the scales.

[chiplamb]

This was apparently a compromise solution to keep from adding more weight to an already over-light left front. He worked the torsion bars quite a number of times. Since this is still a US ride height car solely for pleasure/semi-aggressive street use at the outside, I will evaluate it for a while and perhaps go the lowering route later on which will put me in a position to re-corner-balance and align.

For now I'm plenty pleased, it's better than it has been. This is an 82k unmolested 89 targa which has had absolutely no balancing or any other work of that nature done to it to the best of my knowledge.