i did a "rough" ground clearance check on all four corners by measuring the distance between the inner edge of each wheel arch and the ground. turns out that the right side of the car sits about 1 cm lower than the left side. i imagine that the suspension has reached the end of its shelf life -- i suppose 13 years is not too bad!!!!

my questions are:

1. what suspension components, if worn out, will lead to sagging?

2. apart from the shocks (which i plan to change anyway), how can i determine what other parts need changing?

any help would be greatly appreciated.

best regards

rehan

 

As a general rule, some cars (I'm not sure about 944's) do have a fractionaly different ride height on each side of the car, to cope with road camber.

Maybe someone here knows about this?

Martin

 

Rehan: Most probably shocks. Also: the height adjuster on the rear suspension might have been changed.
Fenders are the ones that get damaged (and fixed) most. You may want to re-check while measuring from fixed points on the floor like front frame rails and rear torsion bar tube.
If history of the car is unknown, it might be advisable to have the chassis measured at a good body shop. It might have been involved in some accident.

Martin: don't know if this is factory standard, I don't expect so. 1 cm is a lot for that. Do know that some racers compensate for the drivers weight, consequently the right side of the car would sit lower then.
TakeCare

 

Thanks Martin, Hans.

I did a more careful measurement this morning and the difference is closer to 2 cm!! I also took it to a body shop and they checked the chassis alignment -- 11 mm (i.e. 1.1 cm) difference between left and right wheelbase, which they attributed primarily to castor difference between the front wheels. In their opinion, the chassis did not show any signs of accident damage.

I am definitely going to change the shock absorbers. But I want to take this opportunity to refresh the suspension as much as possible TO RESTORE STOCK RIDE / HANDLING (I do NOT intend to race / auto-x this car).

My questions are:

1. What shocks should I go for, given my main objective of restoring stock ride / handling?

2. Should I get new springs for the front, given that the stock items are 13+ years old? If so, what springs should I go for given my main objective?

3. What about front strut mounts? How can I check the stock items for wear? I understand Paragon offers the "older" style mounts for use in late model cars -- any feedback as to how they perform?

4. I plan to change all sway bar bushings -- should I also change the front control arm bushings and castor blocks?

5. What about the rear, other than the shocks and sway bar bushings -- should I be looking to change the spring plate bushings also?

Any advice on the above would be greatly appreciated.

Best regards,

Rehan

 

My car had a similar sagging rear right, a couple of Koni Yellow on the rear completely cured the problem. The old shock in the sagging side was completely shot.

When you have a rear shock completely ineffective, the height difference is the minor of the problems you have: the car is really undrivable and potentially dangerous: it is very easy to spin it in in bumpy turns.

Ugo

 

Changing rear shocks will not change the ride height. It will improve the ride quality and keep the car from bottoming out, but the ride height will stay the same.

To change the rear ride height on the S2 cabrio, you have one of 2 options:

1) Reindex the torsion bars (major PITA), or

2) Adjust the eccentric bolt on the rear trailing arm.

If you do #2, you will need to have the rear wheels aligned afterwards.

More info on adjusting the trailing arm eccentric here:

http://boerger.golden-tech.com/ Check under "DIY Repairs."

Irrespective of the above, if your shocks are worn, it's still important to replace them. On the S2 cabrio in particular, you will have "nuts and bolts" compatibility issues if you stray from OE replacements in the front. I just had all 4 corners replaced on mine with parts from the dealer. Parts were like 600 Euros and we had them replaced there.

 

Sorry, but I disagree.

A completely shot rear shock CAN INFLUENCE the ride height from 1/2" to 3/4". A normal shock has internal gas pressure, and tends to open if left alone, a shock without internal pressure no, it stays closed.

I can attest that in my car (Porsche 968 cabrio) a new Koni alone rised ride height at least 1/2", leveling the car immediately and prior to any regulation of the rear ride height eccentric. Obviously you will see this effect only if the old shock has no more gas in it.

Ugo

 

Hey, whatever works for you. I know personally of a friend's 944S2 cab in the E-Mail lists that had all 4 shocks replaced with Konis and, yes, they firmed up the rear a bit but the ride hight is still too low and the car crouches excessively on launch.

 

Thanks gentlemen.

I am also inclined to go for the stock Sachs / Boge dampers -- got a price quote for c. US$ 650 for all 4 corners. Does that seem OK?

Any views on replacing suspension bushing (sway bars; front control arms; spring plates) and front strut mounts to bring back stock ride / handling?

Best regards,

Rehan

 

Rehan,

Some guys have upgraded to M030 or "Sport suspension" sway bars. I haven't done this, as I find the car handles quite well in stock guise. Especially with the new shocks.

$650 sounds like what I paid. Be sure to ask for a discount if you are a member of your local Porsche Club. It makes a difference if it's 20% like mine.

Enjoy the car. They're the last of the breed.