lowering the front end

[greenwood]

I think this has been discussed before but...how far can I drop the front end before I need to install the so-called "bump steer kit". I'd like to drop it to make it even with the rear height.
I think this is going to be one of my many 914 winter projects.

[HMeeder]

Well, you don't really need to make this a weekend project. You could lower it in about 10 minutes by jacking the front up and using an 11mm deep socket and a breaker bar and rotating the adjuster bolts counter-clockwise to lower.

How far do need to lower the front? If you go more than an inch you so, you may need the bumpsteer kit, less, possibly not. Another reason you may want to do this before you pack up in the winter is that you should check your ride height after doing the adjustment. Lower the car to where you think it may need to go, then drive it a bit to settle the chassis. You may want to adjust it some more. After you get the car to where you want it, go find some corners that are uneven. Even street corners with drainage swales will do. Does the steering wheel 'kick back' unusually much? Can you find some sweepers with uneven surfaces? In the middle of the curve does the car fight back or tremble and buck? You may now need to get the bump kit.

If you choose to raise the rack make sure that you loosen the steering u-joint inside the car to prevent the rack from biding up. After all this, you will need to get a front end alignment. Changing the front steering geometry will change the toe-in, effect how the car drives and can lead to premature and uneven tire wear.

All this should be done with an opportunity to drive the car between adjustments. If you wait to make it a 'winter' project you will quite likely have to do much of it over again after the spring thaw.

My $.02

------------------
Herb
'72 1.7 Tangerine 'Teen
'74 2.0 Red Rustmobile

[rfoulds]

You may want to dig deeper in to why the back end is currently lower. Are your springs shot? If you have the sotck rear shocks, and they are not leaking, they are probably okay. But the springs can make a helluva difference. Whn I replaced my worn out 90 pound springs with new, shorter 140 pounders, the back end came UP 1 1/2 inches! Since I was going to have to get an alignment anyway, I took it to a tire shop that knows Porsche and told them to "even it up and line it up." all four corners are now perfect, ride height is same front and back, and it was only the price of the alignment I would have had to have got anyway!