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I guess I am going to be something of an outlier. I am a relatively new driver of an old Porsche 928s.
I love driving this car. I admit it.
But I live in New York City. To those who don't know, it is a big town with shoddy infrastructure. Big town, big Apple, big worms. We have rats who eat pizza here and like it to go.
We have potholes that should be used in Moab for example. We have some beautys. Some have cars from breakfast one had a tow truck with an operator still inside.
When they do street repaving here, it is at night so you don't hear the anguish of affected drivers.
I love driving my Porsche to work. I start at 6 am so I get to start driving from Lower southern Brooklyn at 4:30 am. I drive thru the Brooklyn Queen Expressway thru the Brooklyn Bridge onto the FDR Drive. If the traffic is light, I play on the Cross Bronx Expressway. If I'm have something to do, I go thru the Bruckner Expressway, which is a nice piece of way.
So this is my dilemma .
I need to raise my ride height on my 1985 928s. I really could get by with one inch but if it can be raised by two inches, great. The entrance to the gas stations are tough. The speed bumps aren't a problem anymore. But those level differences when they are doing street paving are such a pain.
Looking for suggestions.
I'm on a Budget. I have a sick wife and NY is a expensive town.
Thanks in advance.
Adam
Car in the middle. Taken at Hershey PA. One in the middle.
I feel for you. I saw your car at Hershey BTW. Anyway, these are difficult cars to raise the height. You would need to make sure that you have stock springs, as Eibachs lower by just over an inch. One thing you should look at are the 928 Motorsports protection plates. A bit tricky to install, but they are lifesavers. I have them on my 85. Don't need for my 78, since it does not have a chin spoiler and it rides high.
the 928 suspension is adjustable and most older 928s sag over time (yours probably has sagged below spec). Below is a web page explaining how to raise the suspension to spec ride height.
Here are some pictures to show where the measurements should be taken to see what current ride height is and where to remeasure after adjustment.
If you raise the car to do the adjustment, you will need to drive the car for 6-10 miles to allow it to settle before remeasuring. Its a back and forth job, adjust, drive, measure , until you get it to proper ride height.
the picture below is of the Shock Fork you will need to do the adjustment. The other picture shows the shock collar which is what needs to be adjusted.
I need to raise mine as well. As is common, the adjustor barrels are stuck fast to the collars they thread into. I can spin it, but the collar spins on the shock.
I should have gotten this straightened out when I put in new shocks. As it is, I'll have to take them out again, and probably put in new adjustors and collars. I've been told that some adhesive is a good idea to keep the collar from spinning, even when new.
In the meantime, I'm relying on the bash plates. They also protect the alternator; smacking the alternator can bust the crankcase at the mounts.
Take a ride upstate on June 17th, and you'll get plenty more advice...
Start soaking those stock adjusters a week before you want to turn them with your favorite rust-buster. I like PB-Blaster, but a lot of them work.
If you turn your steering hard over one way or the other you can get your hand and a spray can in there without having to kack it up or remove a tire. Soak the adjuster with penetrant every day for a week and see if you cant turn them then. Also: they are much more likely to turn if you take the weight off of them, so be sure to jack the tire off the ground the day you actually try to adjust them.
Adam I think you are doing the right thing. When we got the Strosek Ultra car (it was yellow in those days) it was ridiculously low and did grind the ground everywhere. From pictures you can see the difference in ride height. I have fabricated and added a pair of stainless steel protection plates which may but not very often hit the ground when passing over these damn speed bumps we have over here.
Åke
I feel for you. I saw your car at Hershey BTW. Anyway, these are difficult cars to raise the height. You would need to make sure that you have stock springs, as Eibachs lower by just over an inch. One thing you should look at are the 928 Motorsports protection plates. A bit tricky to install, but they are lifesavers. I have them on my 85. Don't need for my 78, since it does not have a chin spoiler and it rides high.
I'll give another recommendation for Carl's plates. I've had them on for a couple of years and they've easily paid for themselves in 'saved damages' (plates are around $100, a new front spoiler is $300 or more - you do the math). The "thud" when they hit is very unnerving, but it's a lot better than a "crunch."
I didn't find them difficult to install at all. The instructions are pretty clear, there are a couple choices as to which side to put them on (they go on whatever side they fit better). My tow hooks were bent, so I had to flatten them a bit to get the plates on, but that wasn't a big issue.
I'll give another recommendation for Carl's plates. I've had them on for a couple of years and they've easily paid for themselves in 'saved damages' (plates are around $100, a new front spoiler is $300 or more - you do the math). The "thud" when they hit is very unnerving, but it's a lot better than a "crunch."
There are two types of thud- the one when you drive over a speed bump a bit too enthusiasticallyand the one when you compress your modified [stiff Eibach] springs a bit too much when doing 80+ mph- the later is somewhat more "interesting". Bottom line my motor has survived both types with the bash plates fitted- they have the scars to prove it! Definitely a good return on investment.
The OP can raise his suspension to the extent that unseized adjusters will allow but trust he appreciates that when you change ride height the alignment also changes- more so toe than anything else. Raising the car will cause the wheels to toe in and negative camber to reduce.
Just a note: we make those from 6061 aluminum just so they are strong enough to support the car, yet they are sacrificial... a harder metal like stainless would crash and not thud into the concrete. We wanted a little softer impact. The aluminum is available to deform at the foot and absorb some.
Another vote for Carl's plates here. They've saved me on the dip after a raised manhole cover (serious thud) and every day on the angle of approach I take into my garage (light brush). From contact, they can get quite sharp though, so you might want to occasionally clean up the edges a little if planning to do a major project in that last area.
Here's a pic of when they were first installed at Carl's shop.
... From contact, they can get quite sharp though, so you might want to occasionally clean up the edges a little if planning to do a major project in that last area...
Good point. I did my pan gasket over the winter, and took them off as part of the disassembly process.
A couple minutes work with a file cleaned up the rough edges very nicely.
Someone (Jake/Ducman?) has posted about using aluminum welding to add material back to them after they wear down significantly. Mine were nowhere near that, so I didn't worry about it.
+1 on the protection plates. Saved my alternator a week after installing them.
Had to replace my springs/shocks after finding they were shot. Loved the "slammed" look of the low ride height, but hated bottoming out on every little bump in the road. Put it at stock height with the OEM shocks and springs and life is now so much better. The car handles better too.
05-16-2017, 11:03 AM
need to raise my ride height... Best solution?
