slownrusty

Gang - Started at 10am this morn, by 7pm tonight the car ended up being 1/2" higher...not lower (OK no jokes...)...

Frustrated - Yes

Tired - Yes

Car lowered - No

Anything accomplished - No

Anyhoo I figured the reason why, but I want to be absolutely sure before I tear into the car again....in the picture below do I have to disconnect Arm1 from Arm 2 to actually lower the car - as shown in the picture.



101 Projects did not talk about disconencting these two arms and also quite a few threads I did a search did not talk about it either.

I bought the angle checker from Harbor Freight and I ground down a perfectly good Craftsman tool to get the job done as well but really need to order the actual slim wrench from Pelican.

If I cannot get the car low enough, I will pull out the T-bars and move them a spline. Overall I am looking for about 1.5in drop in ride height.

Any other hints and tips, I did an extensive search as well.

Thanks again.
Yasin

A930Rocket

I think that you'll have limited success lowering the car with the original spring plates. They have very little range in them. Also, I don't think you have to seperate them. Loosening the two large bolts closest to the torsion bar should give you the motion you want.

Your best bet is the adjustable spring plates (corner weighting will be easier as well), but you can do it with the originals.

When I did my 911SC years ago. I leveled the car using the doors sills as a reference. Then I removed and the sping plates and reclocked them on the torsion bars using a digital level to measure my starting point and movements. Bruce Anderson has a write up on how to do it in his book. Like you, it took me about 9 hours to do it right after I upgraded the torsion bars. And it ended up like it had air shocks the first time it was so high up. LOL

Here's a Pelican write up. http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...rsion_bars.htm

Geoffrey

The torsion bars are splined differently on each end which gives you an increased range of adjustability. So, you can rotate the torsion bar in the tube left, and rotate the spring plate on the torsion bar right to get a small degree of movement. I cannot remember the exact degree of motion, but it is something like 7 degrees and 11 degrees. If you counted the splines it would be easy to determine. In any case, you need a magnet angle finder gauge or digital angle finder to place on the spring plate. You start with a known angle and use your trig math to determine at what angle will lower the car 1", 2", 3" or whatever you need. You can then set the torsion bar to the correct angle and it should be very close. Using the bolts closest to the torsion bar you can make fine adjustment. It has a 1/2 - 3/4" of range of motion.

SoCal Mike

Yasin, make sure you first set the height adjustment ecentric(second from the left) to the middle position to give you some fine tuning adjustability up/down. If it hasn't been touched before than it will be set so that you can only raise the vehicle. It definitely can be frustrating and I took both sides apart 4 times getting the right setting. It was an all day affair

Chet 930

Lol............been there done it quite a few times. The first time I tried it some years back my thighs were so sore from squating down and getting up so many times and it took me all day. Done a few since. I just did my 87 a few months ago and it took me less than 2 hours.

Anyhow, yes you do need to get them apart. One degree change on the torsion bar/spring plate (combination of inner and outer bar adjustment) is going to equal about a 10mm change in height. This is for stock size torsion bars.

Set your spring plate adjustment in the middle position also BEFORE setting your torsion bar adjustment so that you can fine tune either up or down.

Its probably too late now but I usually mark the position of the camber and toe adjustment bolts so that I can put them back exactly the same as they came out. I found that this minimizes the change in alignment until you can get a 4 wheel alignment done.

Measure the height of your car now before you go back and try again so you can factor in the 10 mm change to the number of degrees you need to move the spring plate. You may need to adjust one side of the car up or down a degree again even after you complete both sides just to get each side of the car as close to equal as possible. Do that rather than depending on the spring plate adjustment first. This will also help in your corner balancing. Spring plate adjustment is a very minimal change.

Good luck........let us know how it comes out.

slownrusty

Ok guys thanks for the replies!

If I buy this bad boy, I guess I will not have to pull the torsion bars and re-index them based on the recommendation from 930LDR? I am thinking that I might go this way, for simplicity and time and eliminating all the trial and error:

Here is the description for them:
"These adjustable spring plates by Sway-A-Way are exactly what you need if you are looking to often adjust the rear height of your 911 suspension. Designed with a built-in adjustment screw, the height of your rear suspension can be changed and fine-tuned within a matter of minutes. If you've ever tried to adjust the height of your car by moving the torsion bar splines, you will quickly appreciate the time and money saved by using these plates. The kit contains brand new rear suspension bushings already installed. These spring plates allow for increased adjustability beyond the amounts that can be adjusted with the stock components on those 911s equipped with stock rear height adjustment screws."



Yasin

Seba911

Go for them, my friend just bought a set as well.

A930Rocket

That's what I have, but you still need to get them in the ball park when you install them. Do as Chet says and scribe a line if you can on the banana arm to get them to a starting point.

Are you changing torsion bars as well? If so, you'll need to account for the fact that they will not "twist" as much.

Geoffrey

Also, the poly bushings will not directly fit into the torsion bar bushing area, especially if your car has miles and are rusty. Even ones in good shape will require the poly pushings to be cut down to properly fit.

nathanUK '81 930 G50

Luckily as my cars are old and Euro I have never needed to lower the back, only needed to adjust the front to the rake that I like. If like you I was going to play with the rear end I would have bought coil overs for the rear. I appreciate that in theory lowering your car shouldn't have cost a penny (dime ?) but you will have to have a four wheel alignment anyhow.