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As others have said, it's not a real problem, but you should note that the front lip spoiler on a regular 991 is made of flexible plastic. I suspect it's intended to be "sacrificed" in case of a scrape on a driveway, parking beam, or otherwise. It's under $200 to replace and is an easy DIY. I just replaced mine this year. It wasn't damaged that badly, but at $185.00 it was a minor cost to get it back to new.
My GTS has it, so I use it...but it is far from a needed option on the regular 911 models as contrasted to the GT cars. The lip on my RS would smear quite a few places in my normal driving if it weren't for FAL.
I've been on the lookout for quite some time now for a 991 that is specced the way I would like, and I have found one that suits my preferences in every category but one: Front axle lift.
I live in an urban area with lots of speed humps, sloped entrances and exits from parking lots, parking garages, and some pretty awfully-maintained roads. As such, I'd hoped to find a car with FAL to give me confidence that I can get wherever I may go in town with minimal damage to the front of the car. There's a decent change I will be working in an office with a parking garage as well, so the possibility of driving this car and scraping every day does not sound ideal.
The thing is: FAL-equipped 991's seem like friggin' unicorns. I see them very rarely on the used market.
I know the front lip is going to get scraped no matter what, and that it's essentially a consumable item. Doing damage beyond the front lip is my primary concern. This is a SPASM'd car I am considering.
So the question is: Was/is a lack of FAL a deal breaker for you?
If you have the base suspension, FAL isn't necessary. As others have said, just approach at an angle for the bigger bumps and angled drives.
If you have SPASM, you will scrape; but the front spoiler is just plastic that is designed to be easily replaced. In my 4 years with a SPASM C4S I only replaced the lip spoiler once, and that was because I got it thrown in as a freebie during a service.
As a last resort, both KW and Techart make aftermarket FAL kits.
991.1 w/SPASM was noticeably lower than 991.2 w/SPASM.
I guess I've got one of those unicorns, a 991.2 Carrera 7MT with FAL. First one didn't have it, and went back to the dealer at lease end with a front lip as perfect as the day it was delivered (991.2s with the standard PASM ride high, so that's not much of an accomplishment…particularly coming out of a GT4!). Second one has FAL, as I had one too many situations in the previous car where I wondered if I was going to make it as there was no way to angle—and I knew I would want to lower this one. I'd say it's a smidge lower on TechArt springs than a 991.1 with SPASM, and I'm still on the first Sport PASM lip for 15,000~ miles now. It remains unmarked, and I don't use FAL all that often. Pretty rarely, in fact. So, maybe I didn't need it—but it sure is nice to know it's there instead of avoiding certain destinations.
It wouldn't be a deal breaker for me, but it is nice to have.
If you are worried, avoid the extra low factory or aftermarket options. And remember that changing your approach angle can help deal with some dips or angle changes.
On a related note, I considered it on both my 991.1S and my GTS, and didn't spec it for either one. Very happy with my decision as front clearance is (miraculously) impressive for how low these cars are, even with my GTS having Sport PASM!
It's a deal-breaker for me. Our office driveway has a very steep driveway out to the main road & it's really hard for me to pull out in our 997 without scraping the front lip. Our 2017 GTS had FAL & our new Targa has it as well. I wouldn't consider buying a newer 911 without it.
09-14-2020, 07:48 PM
