David '97 993

Today I just picked up my car after having put on H&R street springs. I think the car might sit too low especially in front. Are the springs supposed to be almost completely compressed at the top? Also it appears that my 17" tires sit much further under the fender than with the stock setup. Should I have installed spacers as well? It appears to ride much better. I can't decide if I gave my car the "slammed civic look". Please someone calm my fears.

c4-toy

David, I have a 96 C4 Cab and had eihbach lowering springs in it. Car sat too low for comfort and yes it had that "slammed civic look" also. I hated it, and went back to stock. Happy ever since. Was an expensive lesson. The extra handling was not worth it in my opinion, especially for street use.

Viken

David,

Your springs are too soft for the type of shocks you have. Anytime you lower a car with shorter springs you must upgrade the shocks with firmer ones. Check p-car.com for more info on this.

Carmen

Dave,
I had H&R springs installed on 95 993 Cab about a year ago and yes it did lower the car more then expected, was a little taken back when I went to pick it up. I still have the H&R's on it, it grew on me, and others. I have been to a few P-events, and have gotten many compliments. I have even been stopped in traffic by other's in Pcars to admire it and ask what was done. If I don't sell it (looking for C4S or C2S in white) I may upgrade shocks and put on different wheels. As far as comparing to 'slammed Civic look'.. comparing the 2 at all should be banned.

Carmen
'95 993 Cab

Pete911air

David,
There is a lot of different opinions out there. When in doubt stay with factory equipment The euro Porsche springs cost #440.00 and lower your car 1". It gives the car a terrific lock and it handles better.
( just another opinion. )
Pete.

Kai 96 993

Hi David

i've a euro spec 96 993 (ie sits 20 mm lower than US stock), upgraded to 18 wheels and felt that the car is way too high.

Installed H&R springs 6 months ago. It sits much lower ( I think this is the RS spec) but ok on daily driving except that I have to be extra careful with speed ramps and driveways. However, what bugs me was that the car "bounced" when going through bumpy roads. Cant take it so upgraded to a complete H&R coilover system last weekend. Still with the same ride height but the car is GREAT now. Highly recommend the setup.

Ray Calvo

David, shortly after I got my 993 I wanted to lower and stiffen it up. I bought a US M030 kit and looked around for springs. I bought a set of H&R, installed them in the front. Car sat way too low for my taste for street use; I know with that setup I'd eventually tear the bottom out on local Pittsburgh streets. This was even with the spring perches adjusted for max. ride height. Might be OK for race track or land of the fruits & nuts where potholes are nonexistent, but not here in Pittsburgh.

I sent them back and bought a set of Euro M030 springs. Ride height is a good compromise for street and track and I can keep myself well amused.

As far as your comment "it appears to ride much better", I am going to assume you ahd a complete 4-wheel alignment and height leveling. After the job, mine rode and drove like garbage till the alignment was done.

Personally, if car is driven on the street to any extent, the Euro springs lower it sufficiently. Any added performance form H&R ain't worth tearing up the bottom of the car (even with the Euros, still have to be careful around here).

Fred R. C4S

Two summers ago I installed th H&R sport springs on my C4S. My first impression is that they lowered the car too much. I believe it sets the car at the RS ride height. Problems are that the they seem too soft in the front and the car will drop another inch when crossing any little dip in the road. This may be cuased by the lack of matched damping by the stock Porsche springs. Even with a "protection bar" installed under the front end, I have to be extremely careful ascending and descending ramps.

I have driven if for two years now and am switching to the ROM MO30 shocks and springs. I got a great deal on them from Gert (see p-car.com) shipped directly to my house by DHL from Belgium. Wiht the current strength of the dollar, no one in the US can beat Gert's price. I will have them installed in a couple of weeks by a race shop near Chicago.

I fI knew then what I know now, this is the set-up I would have purchased to begin with.

Sam N

David,

I installed the H&R sport springs with the MO30 shocks and the car looks and rides fine. I have 18" wheels on the 993. Have the mechanic adjust the spring perches for maximum ride height like Ray mentioned.

Robin 993DX

Regarding spacers, when I first changed the stock springs in my 993 I too noticed that my 17" wheels were visually some what tugged in the fender. I tried several 1/2" spacers trying to bring them out and found out about the meaning of hub centric spacers.... All of them I have tried caused my steering wheel to shake. So off goes the spacers, and I picked up some 18" technology wheels instead. And they did a great job of visually taken the wheels out to match the fender better.

I went with Eibach springs on my car, it is a height I can live with so far. But eventually I do want to get the MO3O shocks and ROW springs as the final solution.

Below is a picture of my car with the Eibach springs and standard soft shock (bad combination). And notice how the 18" wheels will bring out the wheel a little more than the 17"s.

JC in NY

In my opinion all US 993's are way too high. They all need to be lowered to Euro Rennsport (RS) ride height. This is achieved by either buying the correct RS suspension pieces direct from Porsche or using a correct aftermarket kit like H&R with the Porsche RS adjustable anti-roll bars. The RS ride height is exactly measured from chassis points under the car as indicated in the factory shop manual, not the fender lips.

Once you go RS, you never go back. (That is until you shatter your front spoiler on a driveway incline).

Jim Sullivan

David, everything is subject to personal taste. I couldn't stand the fact that my front tire gap on my C2S was greater than Chevy Luminas that I'd park next to at the grocery store. After 6 months of ownership, I put in the H&R's utilizing my stock shocks. I loved the look (below is an old scanned image of my car pre-digital camera).

If you're using your car for street use, I don't think the front-end shock/spring mismatch is that critical. By your own reckoning you like the ride better. Maybe just relax and enjoy the setup for a year or two, and by then you'll probably want to change it to something else anyways.

Ran

Robin,
I'm curious, is the gap from the topmost part of your tyre to the fender greater in the front than the rear? (I am talking about sheer height not any lateral distance).
Thanks.

Robin 993DX

Looks like it is. But overall it is a even balance. Maybe because the rear is much heavier?

Anir

Ran and Robin,

My car has the same appearance, with the front gap a little taller than the rear one. Stock US TT suspension, but with Eibach aftermarket springs.

Like Robin, I feel that the balance is good and the car drives well. However, I am looking forward to installing the ROW M030 set-up. First, I have to fix the poor Ducati.