Rob Kwate

I recently installed the M033 Bilstein HD package from Gert. I followed Jeff In the Air's instructions and everything went together well. However, on the front, with the car in the air, the strut stretches out enough that the spring is no longer compressed between the upper and lower perches. There is about an inch of space between the spring and the perches. I can raise the lower perch enough to hold the spring in place when all of the weight is off the suspension, but then the car sits higher than I want it (RoW height). Is this normal? I can't help but think I either installed something incorrectly or have incompatable parts. Thanks, Rob.

Jeff96-993

Nope, that's the way it works. Unloaded struts will have loose springs. Hopefully you have yet to complete your alignment and corner balance... or else you'll need to do that again.

Jack of Hearts

The front springs are always loose with this setup. I can't remember if the back ones are or not, but either way it's not a concern. You did it right. Follow Jeff (In the Air's) advice for setting ride height and you will be fine.

porscheralph

Back ones will be loose also - it is not a problem as they will all seat properly when the car is down off the jack stands and has a chance to settle.

InTheAir

You did it right, Rob.

Some people have actually drilled a small hole in the top spring perch and wire tied the springs to the perch; however, I don't think that is necessary.

The only advice that should be considered is be careful that the springs nest correctly in the spring perches as you lower the car off of the jack/jack stands. Since you installed them yourself (good job ), you'll remember that the perches are shaped to capture the irregular end of the springs, so just make sure you get them seated correctly. You can do this by lowering the car a bit and twisting the springs until it locks in or just making sure the alignment of the spring to the perch is correct before lowering.

Nicely done.

skicoach

I just completed this suspension upgrade with Blair Talbot and ran into the same issue. There seemed to be very little space with the front springs but the back springs had about an inch. Blair felt it important to secure the spring to the top of its base at the tower in the event the car ever goes airborn unloading the springs. He was not at all comfortable that they would properly reseat themselves upon reloading. This scenario not to mention what would happen if lowered from stands could cause a real problem if they were not properly guided to seat.
His simple solution was to secure at the top seated position with a vinyl lock tie. Wow, what a fantastic upgrade to the car's overall ride and handling.

RallyJon

Just avoid getting big air.

InTheAir

What about the bottoms then?

skicoach

There is not a specific positioin for the lower seating. The top position determines the lower seat.

InTheAir

Sure there is...



Not that I have a problem with "zipping" the spring to the top perch, but there is a particular alignment between the lower perch and the spring that still needs to be managed when raising/lowering the car. It can easily be pivoted to properly align, but others need to understand that you still have to pay attention to both areas when reseating.

Zipping the top probably makes it easier since the top alignment is harder to see and must be done by feel.

Surj-993C2S

Yup - zip the top perch.

JasonAndreas

Has anyone looked into using a helper spring or finding a spring with the proper length?

surf

Ruf uses a helper spring on their set up