The following are the measurements from ground to wheel arch on my RHD UK '92 C2 tip:

Front left: 27 inches
Front right: 26.5 inches
Rear left: 25.5 inches
Rear right 25.5 inches

I'm surprised by the half inch difference at the front, and that the rear seems this much lower than the front (yes, I know the engine is back there!!)

Is this in spec??

 

John

Do you have handling problems or are you just nit-picking? The reason I ask is that if you don't stop soon I am going to have to measure mine as well, and if I find mine are out then I am going to start worrying about it!!!!

Seriously though - do you feel there is a problem?

 

Dear John,
Put simply the actual front ride height should be equal to or lower than the rear. Driving nose high is not a good idea especially at high speed. What was your fuel level when you did this. 1.5 inches is a bit of a worry. Does it really look from the side this nose high.
Half an inch difference from side to side is also just a little high. There is no spec to speak of in this. What is important is level and corner weight. Mind you more than 10mm would indicate something not correct. Side to side.
I would recommend that you check the level of the C2 front to rear and side to side using a simple spirit level.
For the rest you will need professional assistance,
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4

 

Will measure again today with 1/2 a tank of gas. Spare, compressor etc is in the car.

Christer
High speed handling is a bit light at 125+

Adrian
Car looks definitely nose up. What should I use as horizontal datum on car to rest spirit level - the 964 is very curvy!!

 

Dear John,
A rag and balance the spirit level (Just kidding). The front (on the seal)and rear bumpers for side to side and the door sill for front to rear.
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4

 

Now be gentle, but shouldn't the right-hand side of a RHD car ride slightly higher if properly balanced? That's assuming the car is set up for a single occupant and empty when measured. Does that make sense?

 

John: I've just gone through shock replacement, corner balance, and alignment/ride height adjustments with my car. My car's ride height is now even at 25.25" in the rear, with 25" left front and almost 25.5" right front (balance was more important to me than equal ride height). So your car seems too high in front compared to that, and to the old rule of thumb. The old rule of thumb (maybe from Bruce Anderson) for lowering US spec cars to "Euro" ride height (or a little more?) was to have the rear at about 25" and the front at about 25.5". That's measuring as you did, and this would supposedly give about a 1 degree slope downward toward the front, because the front fender arch is actually a little higher than in the rear. Another rule of thumb is to not have over .25" ride height difference from one side to the other, but some go outside this (me included) to get a better corner balance with driver in the car. Heed Jon's warning about body panels possibly being out, and his inducement that once everything's in order the car will feel oh so right. Good luck.

 

Guys,
I agree with Jon that measuring from the wheel arches is somewhat unreliable. This is why a level check should be done first. The key issue is corner weights. The manual says that the weight over each front wheel should be within 20lbs and the weight over each rear wheel should also be within 20lbs. The closer you can get these weights the better the balance will be. There are no differences for RHD or LHD. Now to increase the corner weight on the say the right front you have to raise the left rear. I also say in my first post, professional assistance is needed for this work along with the manual. However, regardless the front should not be higher than the rear. Side to side measurements are less important at this time. If you have ever driven a 964 at its maximum speed (circa 260kph)you will understand why it is scary to start of with a 964 where the rear is lower than the front.
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4