Why I Won't Be Lowering My Car

[VroomGrrl]

Reason #1, I submit:



That thing was HUGE, a good 10" high from the road surface, and I shudder to think of the mess I'd have if my car were lowered.

[MindtrapX]

Ouch, could have been a very bad deal... Have a lot of that around here, maybe I'll rethink lowing mine as well....

[Paul K]

Good call. I couldn't get up my driveway if my car were lowered!

[911JC911]

Meh....you just need better lights so you can see the 'obstacle' sooner.

I don't know....a jacked up 911 just looks like a Beetle dune buggy to me.

[4flyboy]

You know I've been wondering about this for a long time. Tons of threads tout Euro ride height and a bump steer kit combined with a corner balance. My problem isn't possum it's the streets and Freeways of Los Angeles. I'm scraping a ton with factory settings and shudder to think what I'd tear up if I lowered the old girl.
I don't know how you guys do it? Am I overstating the effect that this would have in city driving?

Scott

[Dan (almaden)]

you decide before or after

[TRE Cup]

How high do you have to set the suspension in case of dog, deer, or moose?

[nameisbauer]

I'd rather have it low, and risk hitting something, than look like I was ready for Dakar 24-7. If it was a deer, or dog or anything taller than a cat, its gonna hit the front anyway.

Dan- Before or after? After! Except the bra! Again, Id rather get rock chips than cover them up. Why protect something you can't see anyway?

[jerhic]

you need better headlights!!! spend $200.00 and up-grade to "HID" you will never go back. How much is your life worth?

[Rusty Heap]

Just get 2 different rigs..........I present to you Big Red and Little Red.

[burgermeister]

I actually prefer the look of a 911 close to factory ride height , which for post 1983 cars is the same in Europe as it is in the US according to everything I've read (excepting the internet). I also know what reduced jounce travel does to suspension loads on crappy midwestern roads.

Baja, schmaha - not everybody likes the slammed-to-the-weeds lowrider look either ...

[VroomGrrl]

Originally Posted by nameisbauer

I'd rather have it low, and risk hitting something, than look like I was ready for Dakar 24-7. If it was a deer, or dog or anything taller than a cat, its gonna hit the front anyway.

Dan- Before or after? After! Except the bra! Again, Id rather get rock chips than cover them up. Why protect something you can't see anyway?

Ok well let's go there. I understand the basic science that makes a lower stance improve handling for "sporty" driving. But I have no real context for comparing - I've not spent hours and years looking at cars and studying suspension issues - much less driving with different setups. I just know from a practical standpoint that I run across enough road hazards that have me bottoming out or dodging obstacles that I am not eager to be any lower for daily driving purposes.

And I have to confess, I am a nut for rally and the sight of a jacked up 911 makes me a little...dewy shall we say apparently the opposite of what you experience. That said, does my car look 24/7-Transiberian Rally-Ready to you?

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by burgermeister

I actually prefer the look of a 911 close to factory ride height , which for post 1983 cars is the same in Europe as it is in the US according to everything I've read (excepting the internet). I also know what reduced jounce travel does to suspension loads on crappy midwestern roads.

Baja, schmaha - not everybody likes the slammed-to-the-weeds lowrider look either ...

+1

Slammed to the weeds is very possible with a 911. I don't think it looks "right" either, but that is just my opinion.

[nameisbauer]

Vroom- That looks nice and low to me actually. Thats lower than stock height already.

[nameisbauer]

I couldn't resist! Kidding, kidding.

[porsche930dude]

mines lowered quite a bit with a chin spoiler and i hardly ever bottom out. when i do it hits on the tow hooks or the metal bar under there. i rarely scrape my tailpipe tip. Once i almost lost my fuel pump on an extremely cupped PA back road i made a skid for it but havnt needed it yet. I drive some pretty nasty roads sometimes too. As for big dead possums or live ones for that matter. pay attention and dont speed at night

[s2per]

I smacked a very large racoon with my lowered '75 Targa about 10 years ago. Dark country road, 65 mph estimated speed, and an unfortunately timed run across the road by the critter. Bent the heck out of my front valance (6 months after the full repaint, of course), loosened the spolier and my German tag was dragging along by one bolt.

That car had a jinx; in the 10 years that I owned it, I hit the 'coon, an armadillo, a squirrel, a rabbit, an owl (just winged him) and got a size XL frog stuck between the bumper and valance one night.

To be honest, when the animal's over a certain size, an inch lower to the ground means nothing.

[euro911sc]

Jim that is soooooo funny!!!!!

What you really need, VroomGrll is a nice an sharp front splitter! Cut that sucker in two and the top half falls off when you brake for the next corner

-Michael

[VroomGrrl]

Originally Posted by nameisbauer

I couldn't resist! Kidding, kidding.

Yer killin me!!!!! Hahahaha! TOO funny!

But seriously! No really.

I just got off the phone with the guy I bought my car from. He said it IS lowered, but not as low as it can go. He said there's a name for the height set-up, "shipping height" or something like that, he couldn't recall off-hand. The ride height was set when he had some body work done on the RT side after the wreck in 2002 - work done by Jones Automotive in San Antonio.

While I had him on the phone, I asked him about the brace in the front, too, which I was curious about. I didn't see any way of adjusting it, nor any brand name on the bar or mountings. Turns out he fabricated it himself. So that answers that!

Funny thing about your awesome photochop, I told him that another reason I wasn't wild about lowering is that I didn't like the look of the tires being covered up in the top of the fender well, it looks odd and just "wrong" to me. Thanks for posting this reminder of everything I don't like about the lowered look!

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by s2per

To be honest, when the animal's over a certain size, an inch lower to the ground means nothing.

You got it.

Total track cars can and should be as low as possible as long as the suspension travel is adequate. Otherwise, I'd tune to the general environment.