Rack spacers needed with RSR struts?

[Gary F]

I have been told that the Bilstein RSR strut for a 911 has the spindle raised 19mm, when compared to the standard Bilstein or Boge strut. Does this mean that when the front of the car is lowered, say 19mm for instance, that steering rack spacers are not needed?
This seems correct to me, but does anybody have some insight? What about if the car is lowered more or less than that amount? Thanks.

[Gary F]

The steering arms and spindle have not been modified, but the mounting position on the strut housing is 19mm higher than the standard strut, so I'm told. What I don't know is how do you adjust the front torsions to accurately line up the tie rods with the new steering arm location. I know to turn the adjusters counter clockwise to lower, but how much will the front move with each full revolution of the adjuster? Then of course, my original concern about the need for rack spacers. Thanks.

[rattlsnak]

The whole point of rack spacers is to keep the tie rod end in line (angle) with the connecting points on the steering knuckle. The RSR struts have a raised spindle (which lowers the car), but the connecting point for the tie rod ends on the knuckle is at the same point as stock, so no need for spacers.

[rattlsnak]

jadams, you're totallyu correct with normal struts, but if you replace your struts with RSR, or Cup struts, the spindle DOES go up WITHOUT the steering arm moving from its original position.

[Gary F]

The struts are Bilstein RSR-spec, with Porsche part numbers (i.e. 911.xxx.xxx).
The spindle/steering arm section is the same as my OE Boges, but raised on the strut housing. The previous comment that the suspension stroke is repositioned with the raised spindles makes sense. This assumes that the car is lowered on the suspension from a factory setting.

It seems that the intention of the raised spindle is to compensate for the lowering of the car. Thanks for all the great debate.

[Early_S_Man]

Gary,

To be vey specific, Paul Frere says that the 2.8 RSR Bilstein struts had a specification of 126 mm rather than the standard 108 mm above the axle centerline ... which is an 18 mm change, not 19 mm. So, if tou use 126 mm +/-5 mm for your front height, you will not need rack spacers.

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Warren Hall
1973 911S Targa
1992 Dodge Dakota 5.2 4X4 parts hauler