will951

My neck hurts!!

I think xsboost90 has got the right idea.

Skip

Mickey, I did my first set with a hacksaw and it worked just fine. You only need to leave 1/4" or slightly less for the sleeve to rest on - I grind them down real close now. Use a metal hand file to clean up the edges after sawing (takes multiple angles) - no special tools are needed, but with my air cutoff wheel I can remove the perches relatively quickly and easily.

It should look something like this once complete (even less perch is just fine - this is an old picture):


Also, here's more info on the process: http://www.tech-session.com/kb/index...x_v2&id=39&c=4

Good Luck!

poindex30

Thanks Skip,

I'll get to hackin' this weekend. With my new sport classic rims my car would look better about 1 inch lower.

Thanks,

Mickey

Skip

Another consideration when lowering is to not go too low. Depending on tire size, you want to try and stay above 24" from front fender lip to the ground centered on the wheel. The late model 944 (85.5+)control arms do not like to work at such angle resulting from excessive lowering - the ball joint can bind and crack/break/kaboom. Another general rule of thumb, or finger, is to be able to slide one fingure in the gap level between the tire and the fender. Many go lower than this, but it is a risk.

dave120

I've heard that about going too slow...my car has Weltmeister 200# 1" lowering springs up front right now, but it's also got an aluminum spacer on it so I don't think mine is actually dropped more than maybe 1/4"

Hopefully when I put my new coilovers that I just got from Paragon on soon I can keep the ride height about where it's at. It looks pretty good and I don't scrape on anything reasonable..there's just over 25" from the fender to the ground.

Geo

This is actually a design flaw on the part of Porsche that the suspension can travel so far as to bind a balljoint.

The issue here is not simply one of lowering, but of spring rate as well. Higher spring rates will keep the suspension from moving as much so it will mitigate the problem.

But lowering itself is not the issue since even a stock car can bottom and thus bind the balljoint. It would just show up more on lowered cars because too many don't have high enough spring rate with the suspension closer to bind.

[edit] On second thought, if the aftermarket struts have a shorter body, it's not a design flaw on Porsche's part, but rather an issue with the replacement parts that must be dealt with.[/edit]

xsboost90

i put my 200s into the center of the strut perch w/o the adjuster mount and they dropped right in tight as a glove. TIfos car is lower than mine w/ his adjusted all the way up, but he has the heavier springs w/ shorter length.

jc22

I installed a barely used set of front koni adjustables that are not the inserts they are the full strut version. I also installed the adjustable ride-height kit with 400#, 8 inch springs and the Paragon camber plates. I set the lower spring perch right in the middle of the threaded sleeve to install and when I lowered the car off the jacks it was WAYYYY too low. I adjusted the spring perch to the top and it is still about as low as I would feel comfortable running it. The tire is just at the level of the fender. Has anyone else run into their car being too low with the adjustable ride-height kit and camber plates?

M758

I have the paragon coilover kit and the paragon camber plates on my 944-spec car. Since I run steel arms ball joint bind is not an issue. If they go bad I have spares on the truck and can change them in 20 min. I run the car as low as I can. My limitation is suspension up travel. Any more and I'd run out of travel before the shock bottoms. Of course the rear's low too so any more and I might bottom the suspension to the frame.
Also I never cut the spring perch off my struts. I just left them on an never needed to removed them.

Here is a pic at full droop and on the ground (note those at 225/50 R15's and 1" shorter than stock diameter)






Geo is right that spring rate is critical. Run too low on soft springs and run into problems. Run low on stiff spring and you will have less problems. BTW I have run 20+ races with my car at this ride height with no problems. 350lbs springs, 28 mm sway bar and 2626lbs as raced with driver weight.

jc22

M758,
My front appears to be 1/2"-1" lower than that but my spring perch is adjusted all the way to the top. What rate and length spring are you using?

M758

I am using 350lbs springs not sure the length, btu I guess you can figure fronm the top shot as it is about the length of the exposed strut insert. Also note the car 2450 lbs or so with out driver. That means much less weight at each corner of the car and less spring compression for the same length.

You would need alonger spring than me. Also my front tires are 1" shorter in diameter.

Skip

Joe, IIRC your race car is an 84 with the steel arms? If so, different ball joints - much better range of motion than the cast arms. No argument with the spring rates - all you are doing is reducing the cars ability to dive/lean excessively.

M758

Yep steel arms have really cheap ball joints. Not sure if they have more range of motion, but I figued If they ever failed I could swap them out at the track so damaging them never concerned me. Lowering the car means lower CG and theroretically better cornering performance. Stiffer springs mean less suspension compression in braking and corner thus you need less suspension travel before you bottom. Thus allowing a lower ride height. Only issue is that if you go too stiff on springs you may have issues with the tires no longer contacting the ground. So it is a balance. However at these spring rates it is hard to make the car too stiff. Easy to mess up the balance however. By rule 944-spec cars are limted to 30 mm rear torsion bars and no coilovers. So the limits the rear spring rate. So to keep good cornering balance the front springs are limited as well. I have found that 350lbs springs provide a nice balance given the rest of the set-up on my car. Othe spec guys use 400lbs springs and still other 250 lbs spring. Personal taste as to car feel and how the rest of the car is set-up play the biggest role in what spring rate's guys run.

Street cars have this stupid "ride comfort" thing to worry about plus are often much heavier so it can be tough to compare direcrtly with any proper race car.

Skip

My personal swag on the ball joints is that cast arms can be lowered to introduce a 3 degree negative angle (joint-to-arm) while steel arms can be lowered to introduce a 6+ degree negative angle. This is a swag because of the spring rate deal - this is based on a spring rate of 250-300#. For more spring rate, you could theoretically lower slightly more. It's also a swag because it's based on expereince and the experience of others rather than me actual measuring the suspension in play. I backdated steel arms to my 86 for this very specific reason, and, to get the el-cheapo ball joints that are replaced each year needed it or not. Game on

Tb311

Ok I checked the number under the boot and its 8741-1136L and it had a white sealed cap. So does this mean I cant get the kit? Also what are the ball joints and tie rods and how do I check them? Well from what you guys have posted I think I will probly just go with 200# in the front and just replace the rear with some new shocks.