Michael Cain

Hi Folks,

On December 24th 2004 I finally bought my dream car a 1995 Porsche 993 (Polar Silver) Carrera 2, it has had a Performance Air Box fitted which improves the sound of the exhaust but not the performance I am told. The car has the turbo SWIRL wheels fitted, 18in Alloy wheels fitted, 265/35 at the rear and 235/40 at the front and looks great.

But the car has been lowered by 35mm which is causing a problem as when I drive the car from the road onto my drive way, there is a large dip where the road meets the pavement and the rear bumper makes a terrible screeching noise, unfortunately over the weekend I have noticed that the rear bumper has been bent and pulled out. I have tried to bend the bumper back but is looks terrible. I am not happy about this anyway I have decided that raising the suspension back to its normal settings may solve the problem.

Can anyone let me know what is involved and how much it would cost for the car's suspension to be raised back to its original height. I have just spent a fortune buying the car and really don't want to spend a great deal raising the car, but any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You Michael

Surj-993C2S

Hi Michael - personally, I would consider putting a plank of wood down between the road and the pavement rather than raising up the car. You could always try writing to the local council (yeah right!).

As for your bumber repair - its probably the support arms that have gone - speak to a specialist like JZ Machtech (ask for Jonas) and they'll quote you a decent price.

hth

Surj

Monique

Hello Michael,

Interesting problem.. Most owners spend thousands lowering their cars and you want to raise it.

There may be solution: as the distance from the rear tire to the bumper is short, you must have a very steep driveway. Fix the driveway may be cheaper.

Raising your car is relatively easy too if it has Bilsteins HD's or PSS9's. Look under your car for threaded shock absorbers. If so, raising is easy given the right amount of money.. coz after raising you will need a 4 corner balance and 4 wheel alignment.. at a Porker specialist.

My take??? Fix the slope on your drive. Perhaps get a Front Protection Bar (FPB) from Gert Carnewal www.carnewal.com

Good luck and welcome to Rennlist.

Mark in Baltimore

Michael,

I have a steep driveway, too. A couple of things might help here. First, try taking the driveway at a 45 degree angle. Using this approach can really help reduce the chance of bottoming out. Second, do you think you can lay down some pea gravel to smooth the transition a bit? It helped with my situation. I tried temporarily using a large 3/4" piece of plywood but not only did it look like hell (it was temporary), but it didn't work for me. It might be fine for your driveway.

You might have to have a body shop deal with the bent plastic and metal under the bumper. Since it's already pulled down, it's more prone to catching on the the road.

Congrats on the car!

Michael Cain

Thanks for your replies,

When I bought a 993 just before Christmas I was going to see my other car a Alfa Romeo 156 V6 2.5 Leather Silver, she is a good solid work horse ideal for trips to work, to and from London, I live in Brighton and have a 110 mile round trip every day.

My initial thought was to buy the Porsche, sell the Alfa Romeo and use the Porker for a daily commute to work. Unfortunately I realised that the car was far too valuable too use every day, and I just could not face driving the car into the ground like the Italian. The Porsche 993 is a true sports car and is has not built for sitting in traffic jams on the motorway. Infact my car seams has a lowered suspension which means driving long distance's on crappy English roads is like a trip in a washing machine full of stones, not particularly comfy.

I don't actually own a drive way and thus my Alfa is parked on the street, I just could not do that to the Porker so I hired a garage, paid 3 months in advance rent, unfortunately when I drove the car on to the drive way from the road, I damaged the rear bumper and caused loud stretching noises. I cannot attack the driveway at a 45 degree angle as its long and narrow entry point with a brick wall either side which means I have to keep the car straight. I have also thought of getting 2 wooden planks to drive up but it all seams such a pain in the back side, the garage is a mile away from where I live and the idea of getting wooden planks out every time I want to go out after the 15 min walk to the garage seams like a pain.

Anyway I get the idea from your posts that heightening the car is going to be an expensive job, I may check the bills and see what the previous bloke spent lowering it in the first place, I also may be able to find out which garage did the work.

Thank you for your help.

Michael

Mark in Baltimore

Michael,

Actually, raising the rear up shouldn't be too expensive, provided you have enough travel to do it. There should be a 1 degree nose down rake anyway. I'm not sure how much adjustment you have with your ROW shocks, but an adjustment and realignment shouldn't be too pricey.

Good luck.

chris walrod

Michael, congrats on the 993 purchase! Sounds as though you already realize what the 993 is all about, pure sports car!

Firstly, find out what suspension you have and post a side view picture. Sounds as though this car may be lower than typical ROW ride height, which can cause what you are experiencing. Find out what you have and go from there.

GabiOsz

Use the porker every day, I do and spend hours in London traffic most days. To quote someone else on this board "drive it like you stole it", but then again I don't have a 100 mile round trip to work.

As for the driveway, in the short term, I have used sand bags (half empty) on the approach to the driveway in my flat, to fill the dip, they fill it better than a plank of wood and are less prone to move.

porkapig

try reversing into the driveway instead? - i know it sounds daft but it works for me