911SC lowering to Euro Spec Question

[lada03]

Hello,
Im sure this topic has been discussed to death but perhaps someone can educate me:

My 911SC has stock heavy duty Bilstein shocks.

I want to lower my targa to Euro spec height.

How would I go about that? What is adjustable on the stock SC suspension? Torsion bars? Or do i need to fit new parts to lower it?

Thanks

[berndtj]

You should do a little search on the subject, but it's generally pretty easy to adjust the ride height (at least in the front). There are a couple adjuster bolts on the front torsion bars that allow you to easily raise/lower. The rear is trickier, and I haven't done this yet, myself. You may have adjusters on the spring plates which will give you some adjustment. Otherwise, you need to re-index the rear torsion bars. There are plenty of posts on both of these.

I, myself, have new torsion bars that I need to install, so need to go through the re-indexing process. But, I'm just enjoying driving the car around, so not sure when I'll actually get to it.

[lada03]

Thanks, I will do further research as well

[Anjizkit]

Btw. I lowered my 87 targa. It’s highly recommended.




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[lada03]

Looks great!

[aoncurly]

I lowered mine to just above Euro - like 1/4" above Euro and I can get in and out of my driveway without scraping if I go slowly and I personally like the look better. Previously, I had it lowered to a little below Euro and I would scrape in front on those hooks and the tailpipe every time going in/out of my driveway. And my driveway isn't steep. I have 16" Fuchs. You will definitely have to reindex your rear torsion bars. Yours looks like mine did before I lowered it the first time. One thing to consider is you have to have your car aligned and perhaps corner balanced after. The other thing to consider is while you are there, it might be a good time to replace all your rubber suspension bushings (and possibly struts and shocks) if they are original. To replace them later, you'll need to align again. I had all my work done by Elephant Racing and they were fantastic. Good luck.

Also, some good looking stock 911s above.

[Bill Verburg]

Originally Posted by lada03

Hello,
Im sure this topic has been discussed to death but perhaps someone can educate me:

My 911SC has stock heavy duty Bilstein shocks.

I want to lower my targa to Euro spec height.

How would I go about that? What is adjustable on the stock SC suspension? Torsion bars? Or do i need to fit new parts to lower it?

Thanks

you may want to go below Euro spec
THe US '76 -83 911 was 9mm+/- higher than Euro spec, lowest non special strtreet spec was the '74 Carrera @~113+/- meaning as low as 118mm in front, lowest ever streetable spac was the '84 SC/RS @143+/-


to go down to the 143 range you will want at a min steering rack spacers

rule of thumb keep the Aarm pointed down as it leaves the chassis



front measurement, this one measure 124mm



set the rear so there is a slight down angle to the chassis

[MBAtarga]

Lowering the suspension is project #55 in the 101 Projects book by Wayne. The book is obviously available from this site.

[lada03]

I have the book, will take a look.

[EC900]

@lada 03 …out of curiosity what is your current height F/R at the fender arch to the ground and what tire/wheel size.
I’m considering going back to stock height - at this stage I need every inch possible to crawl out of my tub !

[lada03]

I have 16”

205/55 front

225/50 rear

Not surebon the exact height, its exact factory as far as I know

[lada03]

I think i figured out the issue.

My dad installed rear heavy duty Bilstein shocks.

The 1st picture is the car from 12 yearw ago, originally suspension, never touched.

2nd picture is what the car looks like now with the rear lifted.

I think those green Bilstein shocks are adjustable, and i can lower the rear

[Kraftwerk]

There are TONS of threads about this here.. do a search... I recently raised my front, as it was lowered too much, way too low. It's super easy just need to jack up the wheels and use an 11 mm wrench the back is more complex Get Waynes "101 Projects Book" if you haven't already.

[tmsautoart]

This gentleman is a wealth of information. Klassik Automotive Training School. Most of his content is 911 related.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaqwQRMpndI

[lada03]

Great video, thank you

[lada03]

Midwest Performance out in Chicago quotee me $1,050 to lower the car and another $315 for alignment

They said 6hr job?? This cant be right

[Showdown]

Lowering or raising the front is a 15 min job, 20 if you go slow.

The rear is easily a full day if you’ve never done it before.

I reindexed my rears in 2021 and again just a few months ago. The first time it took two days start to finish as getting the spring plates removed was almost impossible. I thought it would go exponentially faster the second time around with new spring plates and bushings but it still took a day (9am-3p ish)

The rear is just a hard, messy, time consuming job with a lot of places where things can get hung up and even if you’re ready for them it still is a pain.

That said, it’s one of those rites of passage jobs that you should try yourself, if only for the new swear words you’ll invent and the best tasting beer you’ll ever have once you finish.

Also, MPW, while a good shop and nice guys, is really really expensive and I guarantee there will be additional labor charges…

[Mark Salvetti]

Originally Posted by lada03

I think i figured out the issue.

My dad installed rear heavy duty Bilstein shocks.

The 1st picture is the car from 12 yearw ago, originally suspension, never touched.

2nd picture is what the car looks like now with the rear lifted.

I think those green Bilstein shocks are adjustable, and i can lower the rear

It's not unusual for new Bilsteins to raise the car and require a ride height adjustment. Unfortunately the Bilsteins are not adjustable, so you will probably have to re-index.

The spline count on the inner and outer ends of the torsion bar is different to give you more adjustability. Odds are you'll have to adjust both ends, which means pulling off the spring plates. That's why people often replace rubber bushings at the same time. It's not much more cost while you are in there this far and you have everything apart.

Mark

[Anjizkit]

Originally Posted by lada03

Midwest Performance out in Chicago quotee me $1,050 to lower the car and another $315 for alignment

They said 6hr job?? This cant be right

I looked at the steps mentioned and it’s spot on. Also if it’s a Chicago car so might have paint on the spring plates so that’s extra work to clear the paint and get it in an adjustable state.

It’s expensive yes. But if you don’t have confidence then let the mechanic do it. I didn’t have confidence (and I wrench a bit) so I let the mechanic do it. Also I visited them when it was happening and honestly they had better and specific tools and the lift that I didn’t have.


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[unclebilly]

Originally Posted by Mark Salvetti

It's not unusual for new Bilsteins to raise the car and require a ride height adjustment. Unfortunately the Bilsteins are not adjustable, so you will probably have to re-index.

The spline count on the inner and outer ends of the torsion bar is different to give you more adjustability. Odds are you'll have to adjust both ends, which means pulling off the spring plates. That's why people often replace rubber bushings at the same time. It's not much more cost while you are in there this far and you have everything apart.

Mark

How do Bilstien shocks raise the rear of the car?

Since the mounting points don’t change when you reindex the rear torsion bars, why does the ride height change if the shocks somehow support the weight of the car ( per your assertion)?

The only way what you postulated is possible is if the shocks are coil overs. Bilstien HDs are not coil overs.