oo7ml

Hi,

I have kept my 3.2 Carrera completely standard, however I am contemplating lowering it by just 10mm - 20mm (max). I have a few questions which I hope someone can help me with.

01 - Someone mentioned to me previously that the 3.2 Carrera suspension can be lowered quite easily without requiring a replacement of the suspension springs / arms etc? Is this true and advisable?

02 - Any reason you would recommend not lowering the car?

Mark Salvetti

Hi! I was looking at your handful of old posts. Mark from Ireland, is it? I saw you were talking about adding a 993 or a 964 to your Cayman, did you buy this Carrera instead? Looks beautiful.

All of these cars can be lowered without replacing any suspension components, but it's possible that the torsion bars will have to be re-indexed. Talking about the rear, the spring plates do have some adjustment available to change the ride height. The question is whether there is enough. There is an eccentric bolt for minor adjustment - I think it is really meant to make it easier to corner balance the car. What you need to check is where the bolt sits now, and if you have any additional travel available to lower the rear. See this thread (I'm sure you can find many more, and videos on Youtube): http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsc...djustment.html

If you don't have any room for adjustment, then the spring plates need to be pulled off and the splines on the torsion bar adjusted to change the ride height.

In front, there is a bolt that can be used to lower a bit, but there again how much you can lower depends on where the bolt is set now. Otherwise the front torsion bars would have to be re-indexed, like the rear.

Even if you do this yourself, it's not free since you should have the car re-aligned and corner balanced after changing the ride height.

Here in the US it's common to lower to a "Euro" spec, but you should already be there. Your car does seem like it is riding higher than Euro. Did the last owner replace the shocks? New shocks can cause the ride height to increase.

Reasons to lower are better looks, and better handling due to the lower center of gravity. I think it might be hard to notice handling differences unless you push the car pretty hard.

Hope this helps,

Mark

SARGEPUG

Nice 3.2 and like the cream! Mine is lowered as you can see in my sig pic, it's simply achieved by lowering the torsion bars.....

AG81

Simply stated there are considerations if you want to lower your car. Yes It can be done with out cashing out. There are, as stated above, other adjustments to be made. You shouldn't just lower it and forget it.
Alignment, balancing, bump steer just a few things to consider. I had mine lowered a bit but I am in a situation where I couldn't get it as low as I wanted due to approach difficulties on my home and work driveways.
Getting up was fine.....leaving was a huge PITA. Those are other things to consider. They do look better lowered.

oo7ml

Hey Mark, yes I've had few cars since I first posted here. I've added a 3.2 C but still on the lookout for a 993 :-)

stlrj

Something else to consider when lowering ( below European height ) is what I noticed was an increase in understeer and quite a bit more tire squeal when cornering. If that sounds like fun then go for it.


Cheers,

Joe
87 Carrera back to stock European height

cairo94507

If I had a 3.2 Carrera I would set it to the Euro ride height and stop there. I love these cars and hope my next P-car project will be a Carrera Coupe in the '87-'89 range. Good luck with your car it is a beauty.

stlrj

Does that mean one that was already lowered you would raise back up to Euro height?

josephvman

I've thought about lowering mine, but the relatively long overhangs already make ground clearance an issue in Houston, which has lots of steep drive entries because of the constant street flooding. I have a few places I routinely go and have scraped my tailpipe a few times by going just a bit too fast and not exactly the right angle. I also like the way it handles now and don't feel like starting over. I had a GT4 and it looked great but scraped everywhere, My GT3 has the lift option, and I'm sure I would have gotten rid of it by now if it didn't. I'm jealous of you guys that have great streets and don't have these issues. Houston streets are like a war zone.

Freddie Two Bs

+1.
​​​​​Slammed g-body 911s don't look good at all in my opinion.

oo7ml

Thanks all. I think I might get Porsche to do it when i’m in with them next and get them to change it back if I’m not a fan of it.

The Brewmeister

I had my '88 Cab set to Euro ride height and love it. The car still has a decent ride and hasn't lost it's ability to deal with real world streets and roads. There are a few intersections and driveways that I have to be real careful in my approach to them or I will tap the front toe hooks. Luckily the front spoiler lip has not scraped yet. Anything lower than Euro ride height for street/highway use I would not recommend.

The Brewmeister

BTW, great looking car! It's in a color that you don't see often and that makes it unique.

stlrj

Let's just say you lowered your Carrera below Euro ride height (or whatever looks good to you) since all Carreras since the introduction of the of the 3.2 Carrera were already delivered at European height. US bumper height regulations were no longer in effect since 1984.

The Brewmeister

^Nonsense. If that were true then why do U.S. spec 964's and 993's also sit higher than ROW cars? You have to change the springs in a 993 to get Euro ride height.