Robert

Hey Gang,

I would like to remove the front spoiler on my 928S4. As you can see from the image attached, the bottom of the spoiler is probably only about 2.25 inches from the ground. Around where I live, there are quite a few bumps and curves where the front of the car dives down. I am tired of hearing that awful scraping sound. Will this adversely affect anything ? Cooling ? Thanks in advance.

Rob

Nicole

Hi Robert:

Don't do it! The 928 S4 models have very well balanced aerodynamics, which you would destroy by removing the spoiler. You'd also have to remove the belly pan, which protects the engine compartment from rocks and dirt, and channels the air flow. Your gas mileage would go down, aerodynamic lift in the front would go up. You'd loose high speed stability.

Consider having the ride height of your car checked and set to factory standard, and try to go over major bumps at an angle.

BTW: even if you remove the spoiler, you will still bottom out in some situations, because there are some metal pieces that stand out under the spoiler; those will scrape no matter what. And the spoiler is designed to be soft enough to handle the scraping, while providing the S4's superior aerodynamics.

Just cross one of the bridges over the Bay in strong cross wind. If you feel the cross wind, go faster. Your S4 will become increasingly stable as your speed increases. Once you hit 90 mph you will feel like you are going on rails. Do this at your own risk, and definitely don't try this with the Honda!

PS: How many miles on your car? Have the shocks been replaced? If they are more than 60k old, it is time to get them replaced. It made a HUGE difference on my car!

DougM

Have you checked the ride height? Maybe you are sitting too low.

Robert

Nicole & Doug,

Both very good responses, but not what I wanted to hear... cost wise. I figured that with all of the posts I see here and on other websites about the front air dam either being knocked off or altogether missing that I could take it off with no problem to the car. You are both right, of course. The car has 136k miles and is probably due for a shock replacement.

I just went to the garage and checked the ride height using the "ride height - quick measurement" tip on "Nichol's" site (27" at the front and 24.5" at the rear) and found that I was right on at the rear of the car, but at 25.25" in the front. The car is riding lower than it should.

Two questions. Can I change the ride height that (over an inch) great by doing the ride height adjustment ? If not, how much do you think having new front shocks put on cost ? Don't you dare say that after buying a 928, you shouldn't have to ask about cost...

Thanks and Nicole, I will be get to meet you in person at the May 4th event. If you don't want to be asked too many questions regarding 928s, don't show up. <img src="graemlins/a_smil17.gif" border="0" alt="[blabla]" />

Rob

Nicole

Don't worry - I'm not afraid of being asked questions. However, don't expect me to know everything...

The ride height on the 928 is adjustable. However, you will have to get the car realigned after that. So, if you need new shocks anyway, do it all at once. Shocks and alignment should cost you no more than $1,200...

DougM

Check to see if your shocks are adjustable. Look at the bottom of the rear struts(easier to check). Are they threaded? If they are, you need to get a spanner wrench and take weight off the wheel before adjusting. I don't think you need an alignment after adjusting the height because you're not messing with the toe or camber adjustments. However, I may be wrong.

WallyP

The front ride height is adjustable on some early cars, and on all later cars. A few early cars are adjustable on the rear but not the front. The only way to be sure is to look for the adjusters, which are a bit hard to see on the front. You are looking for a threaded sleeve on the body of the shock and a mating notched ring that supports the lower side of the plate on the bottom of the spring. If you have the adjusters, you can adjust the ride height for free.

Adjusting the front ride height DOES change the toe setting, and if you do not reset the toe, you will wear the front tires very quickly. Luckily, you can adjust the toe on the car at home with minimal tools.

I will post the procedure in a separate thread.

Brittany Chen Li

I have the same problem and I just been taking it easy. I srubed out the ft spoiler way to many times. <img src="graemlins/offtopic.gif" border="0" alt="[offtopic]" /> I got to say Nicole, You are one impressive lady. I admire your knowledge and style. I'm glad your out there. Britt

TJQuill

I think $1200 is what you would spend for big fancy new shocks and springs. I haven't priced them for your MY, but replacement Boges for my 86.5 are only around $400. Anyone who has BTDT want to comment on how hard it is to do them yourself?

Nicole

Hi Brittany:

Thanks for the compliments! I'm glad you are here, too!

We need more women power in the 928 community...

slate blue

Hi Rob if you haven't replaced your shocks yet I would go with Bilsteins. The're certainly the highest quality shock and the extra you pay for them will save you then from having to change the springs. (Probably anyway) If you start raising the car up the way you mentioned you'll knock the corner balance right out. This will ruin your cars handling, particarly the loverly neutral balance of the car. I don't think that many street cars need corner balancing but after the shock change have the ride heights checked when it is on the aligner. Of course make sure that the suspension is settled and the aligner doesn't raise the car's suspension during this process. <img src="graemlins/wave.gif" border="0" alt="[byebye]" />

Robert

Hey there Greg !

This is a really old post that I have resolved. At the get-together with other 928 owners a while back, I discovered that the wheels had the incorrect offset. Through a contact made at the event, I swapped my 18" rims and tires for a really clean set of polished S4 "Flats" and tires. This changed everything as far as the driving experience goes... The car is much more fun to drive now and even though it's not as individualistic as it was with the previous rims, I really like the way it looks now.

That's one problem solved... on to the next item ! Thanks for the reply, you don't by any chance know anything about taking out a after-market alarm or repainting a 928 nose do you ?

<img src="graemlins/roflmao.gif" border="0" alt="[hiha]" />

Rob

slate blue

What do you want to know about painting the nose? I just painted my car a few months ago. I did all the prep. bar the final colour as that had to be done in a booth.
Here's the deal I'll tell you everything you need to know about painting, you can tell me how I can post the photos of my car. All the best. <img src="graemlins/wave.gif" border="0" alt="[byebye]" />

Robert

Greg,

I would like to do as much as possible towards getting the nose looking as good as new. I even thought about shooting it myself because they are fairly small (there are 2 spots - one about 1'x8" in size and the other about the size of a dollar bill)and I am very proficient with an airbrush (my other hobby is scale modeling). I have been reading that many shops use airbrushes for touch-ups. I would just like to learn as much as possible on how to do this and save money (of course). How much did your's come to ?



Rob

Robert

Greg,

By the way, getting images to post on this forum is fairly easy. You need to have a web page that contains the image that you wish to show. There are several sites out there that specialize in posting images, I think that most web connection services (I have Earthlink, but usually any will do, whoever your Internet Service Provider is) give their customers some space on their servers when they sign up for internet access. If you can get an image online, just bookmark that URL in your favorites and then when on this forum, click on the image button. In that window, paste your URL that goes to your image and when you post your message... the image will show up.

It's easier than it sounds.

Hope that helps.

<img src="graemlins/xyxwave.gif" border="0" alt="[bigbye]" />

Rob