Can anyone tell what ride height I am at, and if I need to lower?

[umfan866]

Hi,

Can anybody tell from the photo, about which ride height I am at, and what you would do (or keep the same)?

I picked up a car from a fellow Pelican (thanks Chris!!!). The car has had a complete suspension overhaul as per this thread (and has not been further modified since, at least in terms of suspension):

Suspension Work Recap.....

I believe the car is currently is somewhere between American ride height and European ride height. It is nice in that I don't need to be extra careful. Note: Not having driven it much but just looking at pics prior to getting it, I wanted to lower it, but then recently I did have one incident where scrapped/banged the front toe hook driving out of a blockbuster parking lot-- so that gave me pause about lowering it further. On the other hand, I like the look when the wheel wheels are completely filled in, and I like the idea of going to Euro ride height. I am not going to do anything soon, and may only make minor adjustments, but can anybody tell if say the rear is a little high? I believe the aggregator adjustments are in the center for both front and rear, so there may be some room to make small adjustments without reworking the torsion bars, and doing a full alignment and corner balance. Again, for right now, I am not going to do anything. But I do have a pair of stone guards to throw on and need to make sure I won't be needing to access the torsion bars soon.

Thank in advance, Marvin.

[DRACO A5OG]

It appears to be at 1.0 degree rake. Rear end looks to be a bit too high.

What are the measurement? Ground to Fender peak?

Euro is 25.5F & 25.0R

I moded mine to be 25.25F & 25.0R

[rusnak]

I think that 911 has been completely gone through by Chris, who did a fine job. If it's too harsh or hits the bump stops, then raise the car or install raised spindles. Otherwise, maybe just leave it alone.

[umfan866]

Guys - Yes Chris did an awesome job, and his suspension work has a lot to do with why I bought the car. Eventually I may want to lower it, but not for a long time. It's great for around town driving without having to worry. I wonder if the rear is a bit high since I had to remove the roll cage (for now) so my 2 boys can sit in the back-- that metal piece sure is heavy! I'll take some measurements because I am just curious where I am starting off at, having never owned a 911 before. I am already addicted!

[DRACO A5OG]

She sure is pretty!!!

[umfan866]

Yep I wanted a coupe originally, and I was looking for 7 years, but I could not pass this car up!! You could eat off the engine! A friend recently thought it has 80k miles on it- and it actually has 218k miles now!! Chris himself had looked for a car for 10 years when he picked this up 6 years ago. I will be continuing the love and feeding. Trying very hard to stop myself from going wild with mods / personalization - hence why this whole thread is more of a feeler/ assessment of current ride height than anything else!

[rusnak]

I think the pavement is a little uneven. Just noticed the rear spoiler.

[Hodgey]

Looks fantastic as it is....

Mine is exactly the same; I can just get a couple of fingers between the rear tyre and the fender lip....

Neil

[DanielDudley]

Looks pretty low. IIRC, the rake is for high speed stability.

[GaryR]

Don't touch it.

[nesslar]

Originally Posted by GaryR

Don't touch it.

Yeah, it's not bad, IMHO. I would switch things. I think the back is a tad too high, and the front a little low. About 1/2" higher in the front and 1/2" lower in the back would be more "normal". The car's ground to center fender lip measurements look to be out the same right now, front vs. rear. The front "should" be at least 3/4" higher than the rear (most run 1" I'm sure), assuming body/chassis is straight/level, which I imagine is true.
Of course this reflects my preference for looks and handling, and keeps the proper "rake" in place, slightly slanted down from rear to front, but my "suggestion" would put you at Euro height, and in fact a bit lower than Euro (in reality). Nice car.

[wildcat077]

Marvin,

Nice car !
I would think that the back could go a little lower ...I run a one finger gap all around with my car and i did a "homestyle" front fender lip rolling with a baseball bat ... Not the best way but it saves my tires from doing any damage to the fenders should i ever hit a major bump !
Maybe you could do it without having to reindex the bars,if you're lucky the PO lowered the car and tried to leave the eccentric adjusters in a neutral position.

Cheers !
Phil

[WIL84911]

Congrats! Nice T-bar. I would lower the rear.

[vintagecarlover]

nice car. congrats, can we see more pics, especially the rear deck/spoiler pls?

[nesslar]

Originally Posted by WIL84911

Congrats! Nice T-bar. I would lower the rear.

Was just looking again, and I think that since he said the (adjusters) front and rear are "centered" now, he might get just enough lowering in the back, if he wishes, probably by maxing out the adjustment at the spring plates.

[Wil Ferch]

Many of us "think" we know what Euro height is,....but I'll bet we'll all be wrong. If you look at Porsche advertising brochures over the years, the "Euro" cars sit awfully high ! Also this.....by 83, according to the Tech/Spec books... ALL market cars were at same ride height.

Bruce Anderson often mentions a fender-lip measurement of 25.5" from ground to fender-lip for front, and 25" for rear ( cut out is a different shape and location, so it doesn't mean front is higher with these measurements), will be roughly what HE thinks Euro ride height is...and he openly admits it may be lower than true Euro. These measurements give the car about a 1 degree forward down rake. Your car looks about righ for rear...maybe a tad lower in front. Measure yourself and find out... instead of asking us to guess ...

[umfan866]

Ah, didn't know it was that easy! 25" in front, and 25 and 1/4 in the rear.

[DRACO A5OG]

Yeap, removing the roll bar raised the rear end, she needs to be dropped at least 1/4 -1/2", maybe Chris can help you?

[rusnak]

But first he should weigh the boys and decide on whether to configure for zero, one, or two boy running.

[DRACO A5OG]

Ha, thought of that too