Interesting Ride Height Issue

[euro911sc]

I have always felt my car looked a little Rally like... so did everyone else, but I figured it was because of the lower profile tires making the distance to arch look bigger... Measured the front and back and got a little surprise: Frt: 25 5/8", Rear: 26". did some research and the front is supposed to be 1/2" higher... not the other way around!

so... my plan is to lower the rear with the eccentric nuts till they bottom out and then adjust 1 side to keep the left/right height relationship equal. Then adjust the front to meet my 1/2" front higher goal keeping the front left/right height relationship the same.

then use the string method to check the alignment. If it is way out I'll re-align it.

this is primarily a track car that is driven on the street at least once a week. currently has the stock susp., but I am almost done collecting all the parts for a full ER susp. with 22/29's, 22/30's, or 23/30's.

Commentary on my lowering plan? Do I REALLY need the thin wrench for the rear? or does it take a 2 hour job and make it a 30 minute job?

Best regards,

Michael

[tonythetarga]

You might try lowering the fronts first and in equal turns. You may have to reindex the end caps to get the front ride height down. The more important thing to do is corner balance the whole car and not worry about exact ride height side to side or front to back. The height numbers everyone talks about are approximate anyway, the corner balance is more important, especially if you track it as you say.

[brads911sc]

Agree w/ Tony. I had mine done at the premier porsche race shop here in Houston, and the heights side to side are still 1/2 off, but the car is balanced.
Was told this could easily be cause by the fact that its a targa and to "not worry" about it.
I also did a full suspension kit from ERP and chuck stated the same thing.

[Bill Verburg]

Originally Posted by euro911sc

I have always felt my car looked a little Rally like... so did everyone else, but I figured it was because of the lower profile tires making the distance to arch look bigger... Measured the front and back and got a little surprise: Frt: 25 5/8", Rear: 26". did some research and the front is supposed to be 1/2" higher... not the other way around!

so... my plan is to lower the rear with the eccentric nuts till they bottom out and then adjust 1 side to keep the left/right height relationship equal. Then adjust the front to meet my 1/2" front higher goal keeping the front left/right height relationship the same.

then use the string method to check the alignment. If it is way out I'll re-align it.

this is primarily a track car that is driven on the street at least once a week. currently has the stock susp., but I am almost done collecting all the parts for a full ER susp. with 22/29's, 22/30's, or 23/30's.

Commentary on my lowering plan? Do I REALLY need the thin wrench for the rear? or does it take a 2 hour job and make it a 30 minute job?

Best regards,

Michael

When you decide to do the t-bars do it right, I'd take it to the '901 Shop' up in Stewart for ride height/corner balance/alignment. Just tell them what you will be using the car for and they will do the rest

[Superman]

Yes, the thin wrenches are necessary. Yes, this will change your suspension settings and upset your corner balance. Do it all at once, including the new torsion bars, then have it aligned and corner balanced.

[euro911sc]

I'm not finished acquiring all my susp. parts, but have a track weekend in early Nov. so I thought I would take the weekend and lower the car as low as I could get it and then check the alignment. If I had all my parts I would strip the susp. front and rear and do the whole thing at once.... anyways...

The car is corner balanced... or was. Probably shifted over time. I'm looking for a set of scales to borrow, but just in case I thought I would pass my plan past the forums. The idea here is to keep the same or similar balance relationship (assuming it has not changed drastically) while lowering the car at least as low as it can go without having to re-index. I'm making the assumption that if I keep the left/right height relationship on the front and rear that will minimize the change in corner balance. Good assumption??

How much should I expect the camber and toe to move on what is probably going to be at most a 1/2" drop? I'm confident I can reset the alignment after things are changed up until I hit the corner balance... at least without the scales.

The 901 Shop are great guys and they are about 5 minutes away. I may end up taking it there, but I'd also like to learn to do this at home well.

Car drives fine, but does not inspire a lot of confidence as compared to my lowered DD. I'm hoping with the susp. re-fresh to change that. You know, 25+ year old rubber crap and all... but until then, I'd like to get the most out of what I got

Maybe I'll just wait... *shrug*

-Michael

[euro911sc]

Oh yeah... I'll pick up the thin wrench from our host...

-Michael