Sanity check on susp setup quote?

[gsxrken]

Alignment, lower ride height to European spec, and corner balance.

What's a reasonable number of hours for that from a reputable shop?

Thanks

[Autoban]

I had mine done last week. The shop quoted 4.5 hours for the job. However, we discovered that my car had a bend trailing arm on the rear left and this was the reason for the tire wear. So they installed a used trailing arm. The bill itemized still 4.5 hours for the ride height adjustment, alignment and corner balancing.

[gsxrken]

Thanks for the reply. I was quoted 8 and it doesn't sit right with me.
Anyone else?

[Joeaksa]

Eight hours with no repair sure seems like far too much. Course everything in Westchester County costs more...

[Packet82]

Just had mine done a couple months ago. It was ~$430 if I recall.

[chrisbruck]

Having mine done tomorrow... $350 for said work. (Plus another who knows what for the replacement front crossmember and rear eccentric bolt that were damaged and needing replacement)

[Don LaVance]

Just had mine done on my 88 Carrera in the SF Bay area. Also had new trailing arm bushings installed at that time. Also had my car raised to Euro standards, (Yes raised up to that).
Labor on the raising, alignment and corner balancing was 4.0 hrs.
Bushing removal/installation labor quote was 5.50 hrs. Excellent results and work quality.
About $1,200 in all parts and labor.

[bell]

it mostly depends on if the rear t bars need reindexed, if so then it's not out of line if changing bushings etc.....

[gsxrken]

Thanks for the replies.
I'm not too familiar with the rear setup, but I know the front uses a bolt to raise or lower within some range before t-bars need to be reclocked.

If I lowered the car, am I saving myself anything? I understand from searches it's a PITA, but is that half of the labor? Or does the corner balance entail rear bars out anyway, so I gain nothing?

[Autoban]

If you just want to have it corner balanced, then there should be enough adjustment in the spring plates. Adjusting the ride height significantly may require re-setting the torsion bars and at that time the job becomes much more involved.

[javadog]

Porsche made the rear spring plates adjustable but they installed them in such as way as to require a re-indexing of the bars to achieve any serious reduction in height. So, if the shop hasn't seen your car, or if they are unsure whether they will have to re-index the bars to lower the car the amount you want, I'd say the labor estimate is not unreasonable. Not all cars are the same, some take a lot longer than others. Ever consider asking them what's included and what they expect?

JR

[Jmorski]

Just had mine done, lowered, added some camber all the way around, corner balanced, replaced some bushings, bigger rear torsion bars and front sway bar to balance it out, rolled fender lips. A lot of work to achieve the results I was after. All in $1600, worth every penny to have a pro do this work who will tune in the changes and adjust to balance out oversteer/understeer.