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I don't think you can get a 997 that low on Damptronics. The threaded strut bodies do not go all the way down the tube in the fronts. Is your car a base model or 'S' model? 997.1 or .2? There are different stock heights depending upon your model and options so different starting points for a drop. For reference my 2006 C2S bottomed out the front right shock tower at just north of 1" dropped. To be fair though I'm using GT3 monoball camber plates at the top of the strut tower - I think the stackup is a bit different than the stock 997.1 top plates.
Getting back to stock alignment numbers should not be a problem with otherwise stock components. You might have an issue with caster up front if the car is slammed but I doubt it. Usually caster issues show up on high negative camber and dropped cars. If it does become a problem you can press out the hydraulic filled LCA pucks and replace them with adjustable solid ones. Or use adjustable thrust control arms. Or upgrade to GT3 2-piece LCA's which have two mounting holes at the puck to correct for caster issues.
Oh wow did not even read that they go from 30-50mm.. Thank you for your reply. Would it be bad for the coilovers to go the max 50mm let's say? Also would the monoball top mounts be only for the front or the rears as well?
I just ordered a set of the bilstein damptronic coilovers along with adjustable rear endlinks. I plan on lowering the car 1.5-2 inches.
Question to the fourm members with a PHD in suspension.
What other goodies do I need to get to make sure I have a proper alignment? Goal is little to no camber front and back.
Thank you!
Not sure where you got that "Goal is little to no camber front and back". I think if you adjust the suspension this way you'll have a sub-par alignment.
1.5" to 2" is quite a lowering, too. Hope you are prepared for the issues you'll almost certainly have entering/leaving driveways and with that low of a car possibly even speed bumps might cause you grief.
Not sure where you got that "Goal is little to no camber front and back". I think if you adjust the suspension this way you'll have a sub-par alignment.
1.5" to 2" is quite a lowering, too. Hope you are prepared for the issues you'll almost certainly have entering/leaving driveways and with that low of a car possibly even speed bumps might cause you grief.
You mean these? Wow! Absolutely hideous, and a shame to slam a 911 like that... it has no benefits, looks dumb, and you just scrape all over the place!
+997 to sentiments voiced above about excessive lowering -- this is my C2S with PASM at stock height ... imho you don't need to slam a 997 to make it look hunkered... that would be all 'show' and no 'go'
just get the right wheels/offsets and tires and then the car looks real good AND you can drive it as intended!
You mean these? Wow! Absolutely hideous, and a shame to slam a 911 like that... it has no benefits, looks dumb, and you just scrape all over the place!
Oh wow did not even read that they go from 30-50mm.. Thank you for your reply. Would it be bad for the coilovers to go the max 50mm let's say? Also would the monoball top mounts be only for the front or the rears as well?
2005 C2S btw.
Bilstein can be confusing with their specs. It's not clear if they have a full 50mm of drop range. Some believe it's 50mm drop max on a base model, or 30mm max on a 'S' model since the 'S' model sits 20mm lower than the base model when stock. Others think the 20mm max difference is tolerance differences from car to car. I find it hard to believe that Porsche can't tolerance a car to withing 20mm for the suspension so I fall into the first camp - base models up to 50mm drop, 'S' models up to 30mm drop. In my case I saw north of 1 inch or 25.4mm drop, so 30mm is pretty close to their spec and my experience. But again I mounted mine differently than their standard C2S configuration so that might be why my range is less than 50mm.
There's nothing wrong with operating at the top end of the shock's range as far as the shock is concerned. At one point I spoke with Tom at TPC Racing regarding this. He was less concerned about the shocks bottoming out and more concerned with bump steer issues for severely lowered cars. His recommendation if I remember correctly was bump steer comes into play once you start crossing the 1" drop range for the 'S' models. The larger the drop, the bigger the bump steer issues. For a street car like yours it's not an issue though. But tracking with too much bump steer can be hard to control the car on tight turns, especially if you cut the corner and go over the rumble strips.
Monoballs aren't necessary for your application. They might even add some NVH to the car. It's fine to do just one axle though. I'm not positive but I thought GT3's have monoballs in front but rubber bushings in back. But if you have higher mileage or age on the car you should probably refresh the top mounts with new genuine Porsche or OE supplier versions as the rubber bushings do age over time.
The real benefit for most with the monoballs up top is it allows for installation in two positions - standard camber mode or high camber mode. In high camber mode it easily adds about another -1 degree of camber or more to the alignment without having to mess with the LCA's. It's cheaper than LCA's too. But it pulls the top of the wheel inwards to get the added camber. LCA's push the bottom of the wheel outwards to accomplish the same thing. So the LCA approach adds wheelbase which helps with cornering on the track. The side benefit is removing the rubber bushing and replacing it with a steel monoball to stiffen up the suspension.
Bilstein can be confusing with their specs. It's not clear if they have a full 50mm of drop range. Some believe it's 50mm drop max on a base model, or 30mm max on a 'S' model since the 'S' model sits 20mm lower than the base model when stock. Others think the 20mm max difference is tolerance differences from car to car. I find it hard to believe that Porsche can't tolerance a car to withing 20mm for the suspension so I fall into the first camp - base models up to 50mm drop, 'S' models up to 30mm drop. In my case I saw north of 1 inch or 25.4mm drop, so 30mm is pretty close to their spec and my experience. But again I mounted mine differently than their standard C2S configuration so that might be why my range is less than 50mm.
There's nothing wrong with operating at the top end of the shock's range as far as the shock is concerned. At one point I spoke with Tom at TPC Racing regarding this. He was less concerned about the shocks bottoming out and more concerned with bump steer issues for severely lowered cars. His recommendation if I remember correctly was bump steer comes into play once you start crossing the 1" drop range for the 'S' models. The larger the drop, the bigger the bump steer issues. For a street car like yours it's not an issue though. But tracking with too much bump steer can be hard to control the car on tight turns, especially if you cut the corner and go over the rumble strips.
Monoballs aren't necessary for your application. They might even add some NVH to the car. It's fine to do just one axle though. I'm not positive but I thought GT3's have monoballs in front but rubber bushings in back. But if you have higher mileage or age on the car you should probably refresh the top mounts with new genuine Porsche or OE supplier versions as the rubber bushings do age over time.
The real benefit for most with the monoballs up top is it allows for installation in two positions - standard camber mode or high camber mode. In high camber mode it easily adds about another -1 degree of camber or more to the alignment without having to mess with the LCA's. It's cheaper than LCA's too. But it pulls the top of the wheel inwards to get the added camber. LCA's push the bottom of the wheel outwards to accomplish the same thing. So the LCA approach adds wheelbase which helps with cornering on the track. The side benefit is removing the rubber bushing and replacing it with a steel monoball to stiffen up the suspension.
Hey you've been such a help so far, thank you so much. Just one more question. Would I need to get the "dog bones" to perfect the recommended alignment specs?
Highly doubt it. Dog bones are for the rear only. Yes aftermarket ones add adjustment as well as remove some of the rubber bushings in the suspension for monoballs. But a stock 997 suspension has plenty of rear adjustments already for toe and camber, especially in your case where you want to drop but go back to stock alignment specs. If your application was to stiffen up the rear, or replace the rear toe eccectric bolt with a straight bolt and adjust camber elsewhere, then maybe. But to get back to stock alignment on a dropped car it's not needed.
One thing you might need now that I think about it is adjustable drop links for the sway bars. Your first post says you will get them for the rear. The fronts might need them too. Highly lowered cars will preload the sway bars so adjustable length drop links take out the preload. Most aftermarket ones have monoball ends that can be noisy for a street car. Buy the rubber weather boots to cover them and help keep the noise down. Nearly all brands use the same FK monoballs too so price shop, or buy used and replace the ends with new ones if needed (http://www.fkrodends.com/)
09-19-2016, 03:23 PM
Calling all suspension Doctors
