Herb E.

I have been looking into lowering my 87 Carrera, as well as upgrading suspension parts (shocks, t-bars, and bushings). I measured the car 'as is' and reference both Bruce Andersons book as well as the Bentley manual. I thought the car was at the stock height but it appears to have been lowered (although the previous owner swears no). In the front, I measure 11.75" to the wheel center and 6&5/8" to the t-bar adjusting cap giving a ride height of 130.2 mm vs spec of 108 mm...ie the car is lowered 22 mm. In the back I measure 11&7/8" to the wheel center and 11" to the t-bar cover center giving a ride height of -22 mm vs. spec of +16 mm...ie the car is lowered 38 mm. When I measure the fender lip (as per Anderson) I get 25&7/8 to 26 in front and 25&1/8" in he rear. These are close to the ideal Anderson values of 25" rear and 25&1/2" front. The rake (as measured along the door sill) is about right..approx 1 degree, lower towards the front. My question is, do the fender heights make sense with respect to the ride heights measured? For the car to be sitting at the current height, would it have had to be lowered or is it possible that there is some relaxation in the torsion bars and bushings due to age, leading to the lower ride height? The suspension components (shocks) appear to be original (Boge) and I see no indication of adjustment of the rear spring plates? Lastly, if there are recommendations for shocks, t-bar, combinations, let me know. I saw some earlier posts (from Steve Weiner if I recall) on Bilstein HD shocks up front, and Bilstein sport shocks rear, and Sander 22/29 mm (F/R) t-bars. I'm also considering Neatrix bushings and a cambermeister. The car is used for street & Auto-X. Is the 22/29 t-bar combo too aggressive for the this application? Thanks for any input, especially regading the ride heights. Other stock '87 owners, let me know what you're measuring!

BER

Herb,

I have an '84 Carrera which is similiar to your '87. My guess would be that your car has been lowered; I would doubt the suspension would sag that much from age.

I have lowered my car to approx. 24 3/4" in front and 24 1/2 in rear. This height allows me to run my track tires (225/50 front and 245/45 rear) with no problems. Front fender lips are rolled.

I have Bilstein HD struts in the front and Sports in the rear. I am using 22/28 MM torsion bars and the car is still very drivable on the street. Your car is a little heaver, so 29 MM in the rear should work good for you. I have driven an '88 Carrera with 30 MM t-bars in the rear; it was a little choppy on the street. I just had my car corner balanced and aligned and it weights 2728 with half a tank of gas.

Neatrix bushings are good, but you may not need them. When I replaced my t-bars, my original spring plate bushings were in good shape. I just lubed them up a little with some Dow 111.

Hope this helps. Bruce

expathk

My 87 ride height before adjustment (standard) was front 26.00 and rear 25.00. After I adjusted them it now sits at 24.75 front and 24.25 rear. This is with front 16x215x55 and rear 16x225x50 on stock rims. Hope this helps.

Cheers
Mark

PS Yes, it was corner balanced after adjustment and rides very nicely, but need to be careful on some driveways (angles)and speed control humps found in car parks. Occasionally scrape a skid bar I installed at the front tow hook for driveways.

PSS I experience no scrubbing of the wheels and fenders, the fenders are not rolled or cut, and the suspension is stock equipment presently as there is no provision for racing where I live and rarely opportunity for high speed driving...darn!

Herb E.

Bruce & Mark
Thx for the responses...sounds like the HD/Sport Bilsteins and 22/29 t-bars are a go. I guess I'll have to pull my spring plates and check out the bushings. Thx also for the ride height figures. I'm moving to 7"/9" rims (Fuchs) with 205/55 & 245/45 tires. For that the 24 3/4" and 24 1/4" values seem low but, I'll play around with it. It's good to know one can go that low for street driving without too much fear for speed bumps, etc. Thx again.

expathk

For what is worth my mates 964 (Daily Family Driver and serious Track Car his heights are 24.25 front and 23.50 rear with 215x40x16 rear and 245x40x16 front (errrr...I think these tyre sizes are right!). He has problems getting around every day but he's sensible and careful and car looks awesome.

Cheers
Mark

kvnz911

Can anyone tell me why sway bars don't come up when talking mods?
I have three complaints with my 88:
1) too much sway when pushed hard which takes away some confidence.
2) too much push, partially from running stock 6.5s up front and 9s in back which also takes away confidence.
3) rear doesn't react as fast as front when tracked through fairly large undulating bumps, probably tired rear shocks and stock torsion bars. This makes the front to appear bouncy which takes away confidence.

Seems like larger sway bars would help #1.
Thanks guys, just thinking out loud.

Kevin