Michael Cain

Hi Folks,

About 4 months ago I bought a 1995 Porsche 993 Polar Silver Carrera, 18 inch twister wheels, 6-Speed 69,000 miles with Lowered Sports Suspension. About 35mm lower than standard stock car.

At the time of the test drive I remember thinking what a wonderful drive, great brakes, exhaust note was fantastic, as I put my foot down hard in second I remember thinking what an incredible feeling at i hit the 6,500 rev point I changed to third and repeated, I was addicted, seats very comfy almost moulded to the **** pit.

Short Country Lanes is where the 993 belongs and believe me there is nothing like it, after a 10 mile drive I have a grin from ear to ear.

I didn’t like the fact that half the Speedo was blocked by my right hand and steering wheel, not the greatest design, would have been better swapped with the instruments on the left, but that would have meant the oil level, pressure and temp gauges would be blocked, and I guess the guys at Porsche wanted the driver more aware of engine oil problems than the speed the car was actually travelling. Anyway I am drifting here (a bit like the car)...

After 4 months of ownership I have come to release that my Lowered Porsche 993 has not been designed for pot holes, crater like tracks, speed bumps and all thing uneven we in this country call Roads. Unfortunately after a long drive (100+ miles) I come back with a sore bottom and a back in need of a very good Harley Street Chiropractor.

I have thought about changing it for a Boxster S or a 996 as although I have not driven I think these cars are more suited to uneven roads than a lowered 993.

What I want to know is,

* What can I do to make my 993 less painful on the old bottom?
* Has anyone else had similar problems?
* Are there any easy methods of raising the suspension or softening the suspension?

Regards A Very Sore Bottom

Michael

P.S. Has anyone seen the James Garner film GRAND PRIX and why the hell is it not released on DVD. Does anyone know?

robroy72

Not alot of people know that.

paradisenb

I keep mine stiff because I like the Go-Kart feel. You could change the shocks for stock, assuming your's have been upgraded. Maybe that will help. Or you could buy a MB or BMW and have all the cush you could ask for.
All you have to do to the speed-o is turn it counter clockwise (grab the brezel and turn). That will reveal the speed that matters to you. BTW the only thing that really matters is the tach.

joolsbourne

I can understand hard suspension giving you a sore bottom.
But a sour one? Maybe your suspension is past it's sell by date? Maybe you've had one too many curries?

Dudley

Any signs of leaking from the shocks? At the very least, your suspension should be evaluated by a competent shop. In my limited experience, these cars are raised up much more easily and for less money than they are lowered.
In the mean time you could try this.

Toga

What kind of shocks do you have on the car? May be they can be adjusted.
About the springs, there should be some colour dots painted somewhere on each spring. This could also help to determine what type of springs you have.
Then knowing exactly what you have, you could compare it with what have been said on the subject. That topic has been discussed a lot.
My 4s is set at the standard height (ROW) with Bilstein HD, and I love it.
I'm not sure you would appreciate more the pot holes, crater like tracks,and speed bumps with a Boxster. With a Cayenne may be...
Come on, remove a wheel and tell us what you have

Father of 3

I always thought it was kinda cool that your right hand covers the speedo. Kinda like saying "all that matters is RPMs and oil pressure, what else do you need to know"? All kidding aside, 993s and older 911s are not known to be ergonomically correct. If you want a less compromise type of car, there are lots of other alternatives. Most 993ers would not want to tread down that path, at least not insubstitute for their 993s.

SCMomentum

First, figure out what type of suspension you have. Second, check with a good Porsche mechanic to see if there is a malfunction/bad shocks. If he determines that the suspension is fine, depending on what is installed....ask said mechanic if changing out the suspension for something more forgiving might help soften the ride a bit. If you do this it shouldn't be too much of a problem....buying a 996 isn't going to be much different than that....plus, with a 996, depending on model year, you could be inducing "other" problems that you don't even want to deal with at this point.

Remember these cars are designed to provide "feedback" to the driver...it is part of what makes it so special.

Michael Cain

[/COLOR]I have just found out that the new Boxster Coupe (295bhp) is going to be called the CAYMAN. What a terrible name!!! Not because is actually being named after the beautiful Cayman Islands which is great but the first letter changing into something else!!! Unfortunatley in this country (UK) the Subaru Imprezza is nic named the SCUBY DO and thus I have a horrid feeling that the New Porsche is going to be Nic Named the GAYMAN. Do you remember the ford PROBE, well the name Probe is not good and comes with all sorts of pub jokes you could do with out...

Porsche should just stick to numbers!

mborkow

"Porsche should just stick to numbers!"
ain't that the truth!

texas911

You think that's bad, what about the *****'s Jeep? Did they ever import that car to the UK?

zoomzoom

Michael,

I understand your plight. Our friends in the US (especially those outside of New England) have roads that we could only dream of over Ken Livingston's dead body. I run a C4 with the standard suspension, and I reckon that it's already on the thresholds of what I would consider acceptable for normal driving around London speedbumps, ruts, expansion cracks/joints, potholes, etc. I looked at the Carrera S and C4S but found their suspension unyielding and simply not practical for London driving. (the clearance of standard suspension is already an issue with some speedbumps, let alone lowered)

My recommendation? Get it switched back to regular non-lowered suspension and you will find it a revelation with very little loss in handling for normal and aggressive street driving around the UK.

Cheers -

Crimson Nape Racing

I am suprised no one has mentioned the wheels. They are a big part of the "suspension", and your 18's have a lot less give than 17's would. I'll bet you could find someone willing to swap wheels. You could even just swap for a bit and see if it makes any difference. My 95 has the ROW M030 sport suspension and 17" wheels, and it rides softer than my Infiniti FX did (with sport suspension and 20" wheels).

Michael Cain

Dear zoomzoom,

I know the roads in this country are just terrible, I was in Seville (spain) about 4 weeks and I hired a car with my girlfriend, we drove all round the beautiful spanish country side, there roads put ours to shame, you could drive for miles on wonderful snaking dual carriage ways through hilly mountainaness tarane, there was hardley another car on the roads, it was what England must have been like in the 60's, the Renault Megan Coupe 1.6 hire car was ok but I just wish I had taken my porker.

Anyway regarding the suspension, my car has been lowered 35mm, i have checked the car documentation and there are many bills no mention of the cost of lowering it or who did the work. I would like to raise the suspension back to its Original setting, any idea of (A) how much does it cost to lower a car (B) how much does it cost to raise a car back? (C) what is changed in the car setup, would for example I need new shocks, springs etc....

All the best

Michael

Viken

Does your car still have the original dampers at 69k miles? If so, get some new ones and your ride will improve dramatically.