Did anyone ever design a driver controlled height adjustment for a 911

[dzlndan]

Purist beware!

Okay so I have a Cayenne and it's very easy to adjust the height with a flick of a button so it got me thinking. "Why can't I have this on my 911?"

right now I have to keep my 911 around 27 in order to be able to get up my driveway. I don't like the look at all. What if I was able to keep it at the 24 and then push a button to raise it just to get up my driveway? I was thinking maybe air shocks? anybody know if anything was ever designed aftermarket??

[Noah930]

Sounds like you need a 959.

[fanaudical]

I know that Cargraphic of Germany offers an airlift suspension for newer Porsche models; not sure about the 911...

[Dave Colangelo]

Airlift is one way to do it and most likely the simplest, but as to why its never been done ill offer this.

Any kind of thing like this adds considerable weight to the car in all four corners plus what ever you need to operate it (pump, compressor etc). In a car like the cayenne the addition in weight is not a big deal. In the SUV market the ability to raise the car up and go over obstacles is what you often want. When it comes to sports cars you are really trying to get them as low as you can and as light as you can. If some one was buying a Porsche (or any sports car for that matter) you would not want the extra weight for a system that moves the car a matter of inches. you would want the car to be set up at a proper ride hight and left there. Granted there are cars that have such systems (Lamborghini comes to mind) but im sure they create just as many headaches as they fix. For me, if I encounter some kind of a road or what ever that I cant get my Porsche onto, chances are it does not belong there.

Regards
Dave

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by Dave Colangelo

Airlift is one way to do it and most likely the simplest, but as to why its never been done ill offer this.

Any kind of thing like this adds considerable weight to the car in all four corners plus what ever you need to operate it (pump, compressor etc). In a car like the cayenne the addition in weight is not a big deal. In the SUV market the ability to raise the car up and go over obstacles is what you often want. When it comes to sports cars you are really trying to get them as low as you can and as light as you can. If some one was buying a Porsche (or any sports car for that matter) you would not want the extra weight for a system that moves the car a matter of inches. you would want the car to be set up at a proper ride hight and left there. Granted there are cars that have such systems (Lamborghini comes to mind) but im sure they create just as many headaches as they fix. For me, if I encounter some kind of a road or what ever that I cant get my Porsche onto, chances are it does not belong there.

Regards
Dave

Well written Dave.

Coincidently I'm considering air bag suspension for my daily but that's for completely different reasons.
Would I do it on my 78 911? ... No.

[Quicksilver]

The front suspension height is easily adjustable via the screws in the front but I suspect they would be very hard to turn while the cars weight is on the suspension. Also I suspect you would be adding considerable wear to a part that is meant to be static.

I suspect the only reasonable way to do height adjustability is to switch to coilovers and mount the top on a screw actuator. Personally I think it would be a huge waste of time and $$$ unless you were wanting to re-engineer the whole suspension.

I suspect the best solution is to just lift the car to euro height (if it is below) or make a change/repair to the offending driveway. I've driven some very low cars in some rather less then wonderful conditions and the only real problem I've seen is when I don't slow down enough (Idiot Driver Syndrome) or have bad tactics (aggressive driveway = angled approach).

[WANNA930]

I think it might be easier to do then you think. Air Ride Technologies is probably on top of their game and I believe take on custom projects.

I do not think you will be adding more then 50-75 lbs at that. I will assume you are looking to lift the nose to clear an obstacle and then drop down to a predetermined ride height?

They have controllers that will either keep a set ride height or lower and raise to set heights. Your system can be part of the suspension or kind of on top of the strut that simply raises or lowers the car. This is proven technology that woks, yes even in a Porsche.

[Tidybuoy]

I love my '74 for the simplicity and lack of buttons to "flick". I recently drove my neighbor's 2014 Cayenne to pick up our pizza (about 2 miles) and it took me the entire trip to figure out how to adjust the side-view mirrors. I guess it's a matter of personal preference but I like my 911 just the way it is.