CP

I have an appointment next week to align my car and do the corner balance. I looked at my car and Pin's car and his is MUCH lower. So I thought I would lower my car when I do the alignment.

Today, Rick Weldon (pro racer for Flying Miata) drove my car on his test circuit, and he said I should not lower it as it rides beautifully now. I asked Don Wise of CT automtoive and he said the car sits perfect in his eyes and I should not lower it.

I do not do tracks or autocrosses (at least up to now), so my driving is limited to future BAR drives and similar roads. I assumed that the lower the car, the lower the CG, the better the cornering. That may not be true. So I'm trying to get some education here. Besides looks, are there performance reasons to lower the car? Is yes, please explain why. BTW, I do not like the 'slammed' look at all, and will not lower the car for looks alone. Will only do so if there's compelling perfromance gains.

I'm seeing ViperBob this Saturday. I'll invite him to drive the car and see what he thinks.

I intend to have Custom Alignment drive the car and seek their input as well. But any enlightenment ahead of time is appreciated.

Thanks.

CP

Miraculix

Lower your car mate!

ksjcorpus

cp im with you ......... i don't like the slammed look either .... it just changes the porportions for me and like you im happy with how mine handles.

David in LA

If you have to ask this question then "no, you should not lower it". If anything you may want to consider lowering just to ROW height - which is how the factory originally designed the car before the U.S. DOT got involved

graham_mitchell

Is it possible for you to ride in a lowered 993 before you do it yourself? It is an expensive thing to do and then change back!

Although only you can decide, I would recommend going down to at least RoW height.

I wouldn't call RS height 'slammed' as that is the height chosen by the factory for improved handling.

Firren

My 993 is lowered, with Gemballa springs and possibly original shocks (still under investigation ). It gives the car a very cool look, IMHO, but is quite impractical; here in Stockholm there are plenty of evil roadbumps which threatens the underside of the front spoiler. The lowering also gives me a headache in some garages while entering / exiting. Not all places are built for an extremely low 911...

If you indeed decide to lower it I would say that you should take a look at the Euro M030, which rides higher than my current setup while still being a "Porsche height", so to speak. I am also looking at it but it's still another of my long-term projects... If you plan to do more track, take a look at the PSS-9s which sounds like the deal (albeit a tad expensive for my budget). if in doubt, it's always worth the time to check out www.carnewal.com (no affiliations from me, just love the site... *droool*)

Final note: as far as I understand it, changing to a "harder" setup will move "the limit" of the car further away, as well as giving you less room to react when you reach or pass the limit. Lowering the car gives the advantage of lower centre of mass - less sway. This usually means setting the car harder as well, AFAIK. Feel free to correct me here *takes cover*

Mark in Baltimore

If you think you'll track the car more than once or twice a year, I would consider lowering it. On the rough-and-tumble streets of Baltimore, I have had no problems with my very low (lower than RS) car. Steep driveways present a challenge that requires a 45 degree angle of approach, but I had to be careful even when I had the SUV height. My car, however, is not a daily driver.

I think a lowered 993 looksmuch better than a US height model (when was the last show car or design drawing of a sports car that you've seen with a great deal of space between tire and fender?), but I did it for reasons of handling and aerodynamic stability. If it's more visually pleasing along with working more efficiently, I'm all for it. I'm sure I will someday deviate from my form-follows-function principle.

As Graham said, RS height is not slammed, nor do I think my car is slammed, either. I'm not sure if I buy into the notion that a lowered car will have such dramatically higher limits that the car will prove to be fatally twitchier, but I also feel that, despite a great deal of cautionary feedback I had read and been told, driving R compound tires (MPSC's) at the limit is more forgiving than the excellent street tires I had. YMMV.

jda407

I lowered to ROW and love it!!!!! has a slightly more agressive look and drive yet keeps everything sensible when it comes to rough roads, train tracks, etc..

Terry Adams

I am confused. Are you the same CP who just got their 993 back as a Ruf BTR-2? If not and this is another car, it's a matter of personal taste. I lowered mine about 1.25" to RoW, but that went along with RoW springs & sway bars F&R, plus Bilstein HDs. The handling difference from all of that was night and day v. US stock.

John D.

OK - stand back from the computer - here comes another "JD Special Question"...

I confused in some of the replies (I'm easily confused ). Are some saying that they can get to RoW heights with stock US springs, or to lower to RoW, does it require new springs/perches/shocks - whatever???

Can you guess what I'm thinking about doing this weekend???

Mark in Baltimore

PSS-9's, hopefully? Bilsteins?

John - I have PSS-9's. I don't believe you can go to ROW heights with the stock shocks/springs.

fluid15

Based on what I hear, it sounds like you should get your wallet ready!

Aside from the benefits of hardware that lowers your car, once I saw how 993's are suppose to look - see any Euro/ROW 993 - it was apparent my car needed a change.

Jeff 993TT

Personally, I'd lower it. I lowered my car to about ROW height and I still want it lower! I"m going to have it set to RS height in the near future.

Have a good time at viperbob's place this sat. Like the other's have said, bring your wallet. ( In fact, I'll be there too this weekend, picking up some parts that I ordered from him.. )

CP

Folks,

Thanks for the replies. I neglect to mention (I assume you folks would remember that) that my 'car' is the RUF BTR that comes with ROW ride height as is. It also has a RUF PSS9 coilover system on it. It also has the Tech Art splitters under the front bumper, so lowering could cause scraping issues.

Based on what I read, I'll probably keep it as is. Bob will hopefully confirm that for me come Saturday.

CP

Stu

Does a different sized wheel effect the height of a car or is it just an optical illusion? - To me, it appears that cars with larger wheels look lower to the ground.