Lowering an '02 996tt??

[75Carrera]

Here's me car. I'm more than happy with this ride! I painted the scoops on the turbo twists to make the wheels look taller and deeper.
What options are out there to lower the car's ride height an inch or two? I've read some posts about kits but wonder what you fellow turbo owners or wrenches might know after lower a car?
Effect on suspension? AWD? Some idea of cost?

Donny
Here's my car...

[racer]

i believe for these cars you need shorter springs... which usually means aftermaket springs.. hence the "kit". Factory also offered a kit.. I think it was X74? Or, you could cut your own springs

[75Carrera]

Originally Posted by racer

i believe for these cars you need shorter springs... which usually means aftermaket springs.. hence the "kit". Factory also offered a kit.. I think it was X74? Or, you could cut your own springs

Kinda what I thought it would take. Wonder if it requires any change to the shocks and how it affects alignment? Don't know what else could be affected. Personally I like a nicely lowered ride height that allows wheels to better fill the wells. We used to cut springs when I was in HS but back then houses didn't cost this much!

Thanks..

[thstone]

H&R makes a set of sport springs that will lower your car. Here is a link to their page:

2003 Porsche 911/996 Turbo Applications || H&R Special Springs, LP

Cost is about $500. A lot of 996 owners have done this mod; here is a link to some before and after photos:

Pictures after H&R Install... - Rennlist Discussion Forums

[racer]

Depending on the spring rate chosen, you may or may not need to change your shocks. I would recommend an alignment to ensure things are right. No point having 4 wheels pointing in 4 different directions.

[75Carrera]

I agree Racer. Not looking to start down that old slippery slope. Most likely to keep this car clean, low mileage and may even offer it up for sale if I were to find something else I was interested in. Alignment for sure. I do already see wear on the inside of the rears.

[racer]

Inside wear on the rears is natural for a 911. Thats where all the weight sits and where the power gets put down.

That said, a quality part like the H&Rs would be a nice upgrade and likely compatible with stock shocks. Can always keep the stock springs in the garage

[75Carrera]

Originally Posted by racer

Inside wear on the rears is natural for a 911. Thats where all the weight sits and where the power gets put down.

That said, a quality part like the H&Rs would be a nice upgrade and likely compatible with stock shocks. Can always keep the stock springs in the garage

Excellent thinking! The H&R's are available in many places but all in the 350-375 range. I assume they sell them in a few spring lengths for mild to more radical lowering. I'm in the moderate range. 1" seems too little and 2 would be too much, so somewhere between 1" and 1 1/2" lower. I know nothing about spring rates and would hate to take the step and not get the ride height I would like to achieve. And retaining the stock springs is a good idea.
Tires are another issue. Assuming that inside tire wear is "natural" I will bee looking at some point at replacements and will seek input on the best wearing tires vs the best sticking tires. The car has amazing grip on these Continentals. Friends seem to be going to Michelin SP2's haven't really ask why?
Thanks Racer

[Aerkuld]

Second the comment on rear tire wear on the inside edge. These cars run significant negative camber on the rear and the inside edge always wears quicker. I've had good wear results with Continentals and you may be able to have the rear tires removed from the rims and swapped left to right after several thousand miles. Of course, you'll have to pick the tires carefully and not get some asymmetric tread pattern design. That would buy you a little more mileage out of them if you want maximum VFM (value for money).

Another option for lowering, albeit considerably more expensive, is the Bilstein PSS10 (or PSS9) adjustable shocks. Much more control over ride height and ride quality. Depending on the mileage you already have on your shocks you may be able to 'justify' the cost. You won't be disappointed, but you'll definitely need an alignment then. You'll be surprised how much difference it makes lowering your car, both from performance and appearance.

[75Carrera]

Getting a few bids to install H&R's and alignment. May need new rears in a few K miles. Swapping is a good idea as long as excessive inside wear doesn't translate to far less outside grip... Just like the rest of this amazing car, condition is everything. At 28,000 miles the inside rears appear to be starting to show wear.
Can the negative rear camber be adjusted out a bit to reduce inside wear? I'm just askin'...

[88carrera]

Nice car!
I ran into a problem with extreme inner rear tire wear using H&R "Sport" springs on my 2003 C2 (not a turbo, of course). First are the positives: 1) The car is lowered ca. 1.25 ", which is about the same ride height as a GT3. 2) The car looks great at this ride height. 3) The car handles extremely well both on the street and on the track in this configuration. 4) The ride is firm, but not too harsh in my opinion.
Now the negative: The lowering makes it impossible to set the rear alignment within factory specs because it is not possible to have enough adjustment to reduce the excessive negative camber that causes the inner tire wear.
Here is the solution that I chose: I installed adjustable upper rear control arms in place of the non-adjustable OEM "dogbones". These adjustable upper rear control arms are available from several aftermarket suppliers. I got mine on E-bay for ca.$400. According to the Porsche PET (digital parts manual), the rear suspensions of the 996t and the 996 Carrera 2 have exactly the same upper rear control arms, so my solution could be your solution.
My car no longer has any excessive inner tire wear in the rear and tracks perfectly.
Hope this helps.

[75Carrera]

Really interesting Fort Collins. If the extra labor and cost to install and align with Control arms and H&R's isn't crazy it sounds like a great idea. Have you heard any others who have experienced similar results? Tire prices being what they are, it would be worth the investment. Too bad Porsche didn't choose to set the turbo ride heights like the GT's... Thanks for the information.

[88carrera]

The H&R Sport springs were installed for the previous owner, so I do not know the labor cost. I installed the adjustable rear control arms myself. Easy install that just takes a few hours. However, one must go directly to a trusted alignment shop after installing the control arms. I had my car adjusted to factory alignment specs. It was easy for the shop to do this with the adjustable arms, impossible without. My car started with the factory MO30 suspension option, but that is not important for this discussion.

There are people who will tell you that it is normal for the 996 series to rapidly wear the inner rear tires because of the slight negative camber. I do not believe this to be true based on my personal experience. I suspect that such stories are sustained by people who lower cars without getting the alignments back to factory specs. I have run many thousands of miles on my Continental Extreme Contact DW tires with no hint of uneven wear. I would also say that with the factory spec camber, the car performs excellently at the track, if that is what you want to do.

If cost is not an issue, you may check into replacing your rear suspension with a GT3 set. It is my understanding that they are adjustable.

Good luck!