briancrooks

Hello all!

I was changing my oil, getting ready for the spring, when I noticed my right front suspension seemed a little low. When I measured the distance from the wheel to the bottom of the fender, the passenger front was indeed a bit smaller than the drivers side. The car was parked on an even flat surface. I feel pretty certain the shocks are OK, as there is no excessive bounce or anything when I load and unload them. I am not noticing any noise, but it is pulling slightly to the right. I am still learning about my car, and was wondering if anyone here had some thoughts on what part of the suspension could be the culprit.

1989 G body 911 Targa

Any and all thoughts would be helpful!! Thank you!

Bill Verburg

It's normal for there to be small variations in fender height from side to side. It's usually the result of corner balancing, you'd rather have the car balanced than w/ equal heights. That said there are other reasons for the heights to be off an you might want to look into having the car aligned and corner balanced by a knowledgeable shop. Not all shops are going top be competent enough to do this.

Just as a side note, I sort of get why some call a Carrera 3.2 a G , but that not really what it should be called

Here' a list of the various series designations, the first impact bumper cars in 1974 were indeed G series, but your '89 is a K series

briancrooks

Ah!! Thank you for the body type info. I am not quite 2 years into my Porsche ownership, so there is still a lot to learn!

As for the suspension question, thank you! So if I am hearing you right, there is some natural variance in ride height right to left, but the car itself should be even left to right. Which is why you are saying it needs a corner balance (and probably an alignment). Yes?

Thank you!!

Bill Verburg

What you want for best handling is to have the cross weights as close to equal as is possible( the reason is it's only possible to shift weights across the diagonals w/ spring tweaks. You cannot shift weight transversely or longitudinally except by actually moving stuff), this is done by adjusting the t-bars up or down, when the cross weights are equal the car is said to be corner balanced, and yes due to chassis variance a given corner may be a bit higher or lower than its opposite side

here's my car
lf 510 rf 509
lr 791 rr 783

total 2593

lf+rr 1293
rf+lr 1300
lf+rr and rf+lr are the cross corner weights w/ driver, these are as close to equal as I could get them.

fender heights
24 5/8 24 6/8
23 7/8 23 7/8

these fender heights give a slight nose down

Some use a different formula
lf/rr =

oldskewel

Before worrying too much, I'd re-do your height measurements with a driver in the driver's seat. These cars are pretty light, and the weight of a driver on one side will make more of a difference than on heavier cars.

Corner balancing should be possible while also dialing in whatever heights you want - just as the numbers above show - balanced weights and even heights. And I will guess that that careful adjustment was done with the car prepped carefully - sandbags in the driver's seat, gas tank at a certain level, etc. - since those things affect the tuning.

For example, do you ever feel how the fender sags while pumping in gas?

chrisnmorse

Before you have the alignment/corner balancing done, it might be a good idea to have your mechanic, or a good alignment shop give the suspension a carefull once over, in particular, the front a arm bushings, anti roll bar bushings, ball joints, tie rod ends, as well as the rear bushings. A 30 year old car could easily have unacceptable wear. You don't want to have to do the alignment/corner balance again, after repairs.
Just for grins, have a friend, of approximately our weight, sit in the drivers seat and re measure the right to left heights again.
You are not likely to get the cornerweights perfect because several heavy items are on the same side as the driver - the Huge battery and the 50 gallon windshield washer tank, in the left front corner.
good luck,
chris