968 suspension

[tek_121]

Hi all, I bought, 4 months ago a 968, 1994.
I want to put a dropped suspension on it, what would I need to buy exactly?
I'm not sure I understand how the suspension work!

thanks in advance

[Joel8005]

Go tot the Pelican parts page and look at suspension options for the 968...... thats is starting point.

[tek_121]

Went there already, but I don't understand what I need front and back, to drop my car!
seams like I need front spring, a link kit for the back, do I need new shocks?
I mean, can somebody tell me you need those parts to achieve a 1.25"-1.5" drop?!?!

Originally Posted by Joel8005

Go tot the Pelican parts page and look at suspension options for the 968...... thats is starting point.

[flash968]

you cannot drop the rear of the car more than about 3/4" without either reindexing the torsion bars, which is a big job, or removing them altogether and going coilovers, which also involves suspension bushing changes - either way, you are looking at a fair amount of work

the front is fairly straightforward, though to go more than 1" on the OEM perches requires a strut change to add threaded collars so you can drop it more

all totaled, you are looking at about $1.5k - $2k in parts

[Aslet]

I just ordered my 968 a stiffer/adjustable height suspension. I went with coil-overs all around and will re-index the torsion bar. Like Flash said, you may looking around $2k in parts (more if you do any strut braces or sway bars). Then they need to be installed, adjusted, and the car aligned.

If you get shorted front springs, use the stock torsion bar (just re-index), and use your current shocks the cost won't be bad (maybe $300 for the springs and $1500 labor). If you are doing all that work, I don't think it would be worth keeping the stock shocks and suspension stiffness (aka upgradeit, which may cost $1500 in parts and $1500 in labor).

It is a lot of money if you just want the car lower for looks. If you want to upgrade and make it handle better and you have the money, I am for it (hence I am about to do it to my 968)...

[ernie9944]

Originally Posted by tek_121

Hi all, I bought, 4 months ago a 968, 1994.
I want to put a dropped suspension on it, what would I need to buy exactly?
I'm not sure I understand how the suspension work!

thanks in advance

Mine is lower 1"1/2 front___3/4" rear ,take a look at my garage (93-968 Dream) the car has very very good handling behavior, either just cruising around or at very higth speed, yet is not what I call a (pig) that will brake your bones on the street.Don't forget that the rigth wheels & tires has to be taken in consideration when doing suspension mods.Once you get it rigth leave it that way suspension mods is not something you want to fool around with every days since there is so much factors involve ,even the roads condition where most of your driving will be done.Like mention don't expect such a mod to be cheap, but once done rigth you will enjoye it for a long time.

[tek_121]

So if I would buy this:
Koni, cup, coil, over, kit, 8641-1414, 8040-1035, 30-series, 8641-1038, Bilstein, Escort ,Cup ,Coil, Over, Kit, fire, hawk

What else job should I need to do?

Originally Posted by Aslet

I just ordered my 968 a stiffer/adjustable height suspension. I went with coil-overs all around and will re-index the torsion bar. Like Flash said, you may looking around $2k in parts (more if you do any strut braces or sway bars). Then they need to be installed, adjusted, and the car aligned.

If you get shorted front springs, use the stock torsion bar (just re-index), and use your current shocks the cost won't be bad (maybe $300 for the springs and $1500 labor). If you are doing all that work, I don't think it would be worth keeping the stock shocks and suspension stiffness (aka upgradeit, which may cost $1500 in parts and $1500 in labor).

It is a lot of money if you just want the car lower for looks. If you want to upgrade and make it handle better and you have the money, I am for it (hence I am about to do it to my 968)...

[redranger]

I installed that kit on my car. If lowering is your objective, you will be disappointed. If better handling is the objective, you will be happier. You will also need to add tender springs and the couplers for this kit or your springs will come loose.

You can lower the car in the front, pretty far, but the rear is the issue, it can only go down as much as the eccentric bolt will allow, which isn't much, maybe 1/2". After my install, I was at about 27" in the rear and after adjusting the bolt, it came down to 26.5", which is stock. To go lower, you need to re-inded or remove torsion bars. In the front, I could go down below 25" if I wanted to.

[flash968]

yup - i see people constantly thinking that kit will do the job, but not realizing about the torsion bar issue - they end up with a car even higher than they started out

also, i just drove a car with bilstein cups, and didn't like that either - while not horrible, there was no adjustment to the valving allowed, and like other relatively inexpensive gas shocks and struts (like koni yellow sports), while they "feel" sporty, they are really just harsh - as a result, there is a very real limit to the spring rates that can be used without ride compromise

bottom line is that you need to have independent compression and rebound adjustment if you want to increase spring rate and not lose ride quality - also, getting rid of the gas preload and going hydraulic helps a lot

lol - welcome to the slippery slope

[tek_121]

Ya ok, i can see why i didn't understand how to achieve a simple drop!!!
So if I just want a better suspension, I shouldn't go with coil over and just replace my front spring and shock and the shocks in the back? is that it? but it wont really drop?

Originally Posted by flash968

yup - i see people constantly thinking that kit will do the job, but not realizing about the torsion bar issue - they end up with a car even higher than they started out

also, i just drove a car with bilstein cups, and didn't like that either - while not horrible, there was no adjustment to the valving allowed, and like other relatively inexpensive gas shocks and struts (like koni yellow sports), while they "feel" sporty, they are really just harsh - as a result, there is a very real limit to the spring rates that can be used without ride compromise

bottom line is that you need to have independent compression and rebound adjustment if you want to increase spring rate and not lose ride quality - also, getting rid of the gas preload and going hydraulic helps a lot

lol - welcome to the slippery slope

[flash968]

if you drop the eccentrics in the rear you can go down about 3/4" if it is currently all the way up, and then install say 200# H&R 1" lowering springs - that is about as far as you can go and maintain any sort of balance with the 175# torsions (the OEM front springs are 160#, so you can see how easy it is to upset the balance)

shocks are up to you and what you want, but be aware that NO shock increases suspension stiffness - that is a common misconception - all they do is slow down the frequency of a spring - the only addition you might get is the 25# preload some gas shocks have - that is very minimal in effect though - they may "feel" like the suspension is stiffer due to the charge, but that is really only on bumps - as soon as you go into a turn, the spring is what determines how stiff things are - hydraulic shocks are generally more progressive than gas, but gas reacts more quickly - the choice is very subjective

hope that helps