Damian in NJ

My new H&R sport springs are now on the new cab. Eurotire did the install, lowered the rear using the eccentric on the trailing blade, then aligned the car.

I didn't get enough seat time to judge a performance benefit, but boy does the car look better. As the car came with 16" wheels I had a nasty gap between the tire and the body. This greatly improves matters, although new wheels and tires are on the upgrade list.

Very little more firmness in the ride, but I didn't push it too hard yet. It seems like it's more than an inch lower to me-getting in and out is more of a chore.

I'm quite concerned about putting a Turbo S splitter on this car-I had a couple of close calls with the one on my coupe in the few weeks I had with it so equipped before I sold it. That car was stock height. I'm going to wait until after Hershey, I want some feedback from some 968 owners who have both mods. Too bad I can't get the genuine Porsche part, I saw one and think it's ABS, much thicker and more durable than the fiberglass one I had on my coupe.

Dave

Stay away from my driveway, it eats front ends for breakfast <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" /> . IIRC, isn't the cab windshield raked back a little more than the cab? Is the extra exit/entry effort due to this or is the all due to the lowered ride height?

Damian in NJ

No offense, Dave, but for sure I won't go near your driveway. You had your car parked there, and have had a clutch, tranny and motor go at separate times! Sure you're not on poor Baltus Rol's property? (Cryptic, but here goes-the Baltusrol Golf Course, in Dave's neighborhood, is named after a murdered farmer. One of the best courses in the US, host to the Open a million times.)

Yeah, the windshield is raked more, but I'm talking before and after the springs. For sure more of a pain than the coupe, but worse now. Since it's a weekend car now I can live with it.

Manning

Alright, I don't understand. How can 15 versus 16 versus 17 inch wheels make a difference in fender to wheel gap when they all *should* have the same overall circumference and therefore diameter? EDIT With the correct tires installed obviously.

I know as a fact the 195/55 15 stock wheels/tires for my car have the same diameter as 205/55 16 or 225/50 16 wheels/tires which I use now and where stock on some of the 944 series cars. And there is no fender to wheel gap difference.

Please 'splain

Ken

Sounds good man! It's time to change your avatar!

ringo951

What spring rate did you go with.

Sami951

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by Manning:
<strong>Alright, I don't understand. How can 15 versus 16 versus 17 inch wheels make a difference in fender to wheel gap when they all *should* have the same overall circumference and therefore diameter? EDIT With the correct tires installed obviously.
</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Simply enough, the tires one mounts on bigger wheels are just a bit larger.

For example, 16" 225/50 tire gives a total diameter of 24.86", and for a 17" 255/40 tire the total diameter is 25.03" ... not much, but just enough. And using a 17" 255/35 tire would be just wrong with a rolling diameter of something around 24.0", so it has to be that 40 series...

(just for laughs, a 19" 255/30 tire would be 25.02" total... that's why it fits in just as well as a 17" <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" /> )

Mello

Isn't it just that bigger rims, which require less tire sidewall, means less "black" or "nothing" between the tire and the fender?

PorscheG96

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by Mello:
<strong>Isn't it just that bigger rims, which require less tire sidewall, means less "black" or "nothing" between the tire and the fender?</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">I'll agree with that.

Damian in NJ

The springs are progressive, 195-230 pounds. And of course, I bought them from Paragon.

Manning

Sami,

I tend to agree with PorscheG96. The point of plus sizing is to increase wheel size, but not actual roll out. I looked up some listed diameters for a couple brands of tires I have used to prove my point. And yes there is some variation from brand to brand:

Avon Tyres:

225/50 16 = 24.9 dia
225/45 17 = 25.0 dia
245/40 17 = 24.7 dia
255/40 17 = 25.0 dia

Hoosier Tires:

225/50 16 = 24.6 dia
225/45 17 = 24.6 dia
245/40 17 = 24.5 dia

One to three millimeters really isn't that much.

Not trying to be a dick, I just don't like the marketing crap spring companies uses to convince poor suckers to buy lowering springs for cosmetic reasons. Actually I just don't like marketing in general.

Damian in NJ

Mike, I'm not sure what that means to my situation. With the tire and wheel combo being the same the shorter springs lower the car, requiring a realignment. And since many Porsches have different ride heights (US vs RoW) one common performance upgrade is to revert to the RoW springs alone. This can't be purely cosmetic, visit the boards with the guys with the engines in the wrong spot-many of them seem to have done this. Or did I misread your post?

Manning

Damian,

I was trying to figure out the correlation between 16 inch wheels and nasty gap in your comment "As the car came with 16" wheels I had a nasty gap between the tire and the body."

Your correct in your assertion that installing lower stiffer springs is not purely cosmetic, though many companies will present plus sizing as causing a gap, thereby requiring lower springs to look right, and oh by the way it can improve handling. The Honda crowd seems to buy into this, but it just doesn't wash, as the aesthetic relationship just isn't there. A properly plus sized wheel/tire combo will have nearly or exactly the same diameter.

Damian in NJ

That makes your comment much more clear to me. It's just that I had 17" Cup 2's as options on my coupe, and the new cab has a noticeably larger gap at the fender/tire interface with the 16". The springs cured this.

Matt Sheppard

My '86 uses Weltmeister lowring springs and I did the rear eccentrics to even it out. It's a little lower than I would like, but even.

Food for thought for the splitter (though we have different cars) I dont even use the stock "bat-wing" under the front bumper on this car. Mind you I live in the mountains and, due to runnoff necessities, I drive around a town with some formidable paving features. But even in the city, I find the bottom of the front bumper cover just clears the concrete tire stops or curbs in all the parking lots by a few mm's. I would quickly destroy anything underneith that it were mounted there - not that I'm all that careful. It just takes one lapse of reason to ruin your day.