plymouthcolt

I installed the aforementioned and I thought I had the shocks set at ROW height. Now I have issues with with the drop link and sway bar touching the toe link. (I have TRG sway and RS drop links).

Is my ride height now dependent on the position of the drop link mount unless I switch the spring and drop links mounts to RS/Cup style (Originally Posted by Bill Verburg). Basically ANY lowering is performed by the springs NOT the perch height?

I am sure this is popular setup and I'm trying to determine is there a baseline that I may use that's been consistent with other users? For example XX threads from bottom of shock to bottom of drop link mount is ROW minus XX or RS plus XX?

If I raise the car five turns and let's say that provides me good clearance, do I say WTF to a specific ride height and just stop chasing my tail in regards to achieving ROW height and mechanical clearance?

I was hoping to get close to a desired height on all corners so I am not paying so much money to the mechanic to clean up my effort.

Howard
1997 911

911CabSteve

I have
* Bilstein HDs
* H&R spriings - from www.carnewal.com : "P93106 - Setup II P93 Lowering Springs"
* TRG adjustable sways (F) 25mm (R)22mm..

I bought my Bilsteins about 6-7 years ago when they offered them with an "extra thread" option for more adjustability. My understanding is that ride height can be adjusted by both the spring height and where the spring perch is set (if adjustable). My wrench used all the Bilstein thread to raise the car as much as possible (since the springs slammed it so low) and my ride height is approx RS. The drop links clear the sway bar, but just barely. Close enough that I can only use the softest sway bar setting (most clearance from the sway bar - longest setting away from the sway bar)..

This set up works for me since the sways are larger than stock and the car handles perfectly neutral on the track with this set up.. You might look at the Tarrett adjustable drop links and see if they have more travel/adjustability if you currently have issues with drop-link-sway bar clearance.

plymouthcolt

Steve thank you for the feedback. I too notice the H&R springs make the car low rider low.

I called Tarett to see if their adjustable curved drops links are longer than the RS drop links. I spoke to Ira and he was kind enough to measure the drop link. Shortest is 6 7/8" and longest is 8 1/4" (measured from center of each attachment point). I'm losing sunlight here so I will measure the RS links tomorrow and report.

Howard
1997 911

willus

If you don't mind, would you update this thread with what you decide to do? I too have the Bilstein HD's + H&R springs, but the rest of the suspension is stock. I am looking to upgrade the sways though.

steve porter

On mine This

Equals This

plymouthcolt

I just came in from measuring the RS drop links. From center of each attachment point is 5 3/8 inches. I will order the Tarett drop links and see if they work. I'll update hopefully this weekend.

craig001

This is the same setup I have on my 96 cab with TRG monoball mounts but not the sways. When installed I had the springs all the may down. The shop that did work told me that it was too low and put the springs up about an inch. Don't know how much that helps you.

plymouthcolt

I received the drop links and was finally able to work on the car Saturday. The car was low rider low so I raised the car up to the very top of the adjustment range.

The first picture shows the RS drops links are no longer able to reach the sway bar.

The next picture is a comparison of the RS and Tarrett at full extension.

The remaining pictures show the Tarrett drop link too is too long. I adjusted the screws to minimum length and it's still too long by several millimeters. The drop link is making contact with the toe arm.

I must say thet when you venture off the path of factory parts and specs it is no fun. Why Bilstein did not incorporate seperate perches to tighten drop link mounts and springs is beyond me. I called Bilstein to get four more perches and they are on back order with no ETA for delivery.

One idea I am considering is flipping the TRG swaybar so it is over the toe arm then using the short stock Bilstein drop links.

I'll try it but flipping the bar may not even be possible due to the unique bends in the bar for underbody clearances.

It seems my only option is to cut the Tarret links shorter. Any suggestions on where to take them for cutting? A machine shop?

Howard
1997 911

911CabSteve

I would think a good race component fabricator could cut the drop link sleeve a little shorter.. I would start by finding a good race shop that does custom parts fabrication and get their opinion... Since you are out east, I won't bother naming the ones out west where I am.. If you have difficulties finding a good fabricator/P-car expert in your area, one gentleman that is EXTREMELY knowledgable about P-Car set up and racing (he is also a PCA tech expert/Pando author) you could contact is Joel Reiser http://www.reiser-technik.com/contact.html who is out east and I'm sure can offer various ways to solve your problem.

FD Motorsports

Howard,
Disclaimer: We sell a lot of Tarret products but hadn't tried these out yet... so this may be a lame idea.

If the Tarret links were flipped end to end, would the short end of the bend in the link being on the bottom side help the situation?
Just a thought...

If not, your HDs should have come with shorter drop links... that orient the bar above the toe link. These work unless you are going pretty low.

plymouthcolt

Worked on the drop links today. First two photos show the link flipped as FDM suggested. Still making contact with toe arm and short of the hole by about 1/4".

I moved the sway bar above the toe arm and tried the stock Bilstein links. As you can see the drop links are at 45 degrees and once loaded it will get worse.

So I tried installing the link on outside of the drop link mount-it seems to work.

I loaded the suspension with the jack and no contact. My only concern is the twist or angle when fully loaded.

Does anyone know if installing the drop link outboard of the shock is ok?

Video of suspension loading

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fwVb...ature=youtu.be

Howard
19997 911

Bill Verburg

This pic shows the root of your problem


whoever put this suspension together cheaped out on inexpensive parts.

this is what the rear should look like


The lower spring perch needs to be independent of the drop link and have it's own locking collar

the drop link mount, besides being independent needs a top and bottom locking collar.

the drop link mount need to be oriented so as to minimize longitudinal thrust, associated w/ suspension movment

plymouthcolt

I finally got the additional spring seats and installed them. As you can see it leaves a little bit of room for adjustment. The RS drop links work so I have a set of brand new Tarrett drop links if anyone is interested.

Howard
1997 911

pp000830

I installed the H&R street kit it includes H&R springs and rebranded Bilstein struts.
I was able to set the ride height anywhere from USA height to Lowered ROW height without incident. I also was able to use the original stock drop links w/o any issues. My setup included the red hardware as shown in the setup above. The drop link arm on the strut was set up so its position was independent of the coil purchase height.
Andy

Bill Verburg

look closely at the original installation, here the drop link mount is connected w/ the spring perch, to lower the drop link mount the spring perch and thus ride height must also change or you must give up the double nut locking configuration


and the updated installation, here the drop link mount is separated from the spring perch and so can be adjusted for height w/o changing the spring perch and thus the ride height while retaining the double nut locks