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I'm in the process/planning to lower my 08 997.1 S Cab from the stock height by about 1 inch. Do any members of the forum think this is too much? All comments considered. Looking for pros/cons. Thank You
A 997.1 S at stock ride height has ground clearance issues on all kinds of pavement transitions, driveway curbs and the like. Over the years I have had repairs done to the plastic parts in the nose several times and eventual replacement. Luckily, the cost of new parts was fairly low. When I had the Bilstein coilovers installed with a 1/2 inch lowering, ground issues became significantly worse. Be particularly careful when backing over driveway curbs, potential deformation of brake duct mounting points. Also, a mountable curb on a roadway may be difficult to take when necessary. The next time I have the car into my mechanic, I am going to have it readjusted to stock ride height.
Lowering of the car is cosmetically attractive and can improve cornering, but has significant drawbacks for use on public roads in situations that cannot be avoided.
The S is already lower than the carerra, I spent ages looking at options before I did mine lots of them dropped the car too much and it sat to far up in the wheel arch (ok if you want that look) but it looked modded and not subtle I eventually went with Techart with although are made by Eibach are made to Techart spec and IMO are better than the Eibach the ride is not much different to stock (so spine still intact) I also used Porsche 5mm spacers again subtle and not ott IMO .one thing to note if you have sport option on your car the springs will drop the car less about 15mm . I did this mod over 15 months ago and the Techart springs have not continued to lower over time as some other do. just need to go easy on inclined entrances but it is only the small rubber splitter under the front car that actually catches and I could remove it very easilly. hope that helps
Porsche builds each model for certain handling and driving characteristics. As the models progress towards increasingly high speed handling, the suspension changes made to optimize for this just naturally result in somewhat lower ride height. At no point do they ever go, "you know Hans, I think we should just slam it, what do you think?"
I think, if you want better handling then by all means pursue that. With a vengeance. And the ride height you get is the ride height you get. Never the other way around.
you can use a spring like H&R or the porsche ROW springs, they are all about equal height, 15-20mm , you wont get 1" unless you go with different coilovers. I think lower springs are pleasingly low and do give good drivability and as close as you want to go to the ground
I'm in the process/planning to lower my 08 997.1 S Cab from the stock height by about 1 inch. Do any members of the forum think this is too much? All comments considered. Looking for pros/cons. Thank You
My 997.1 has about a one inch drop via TechArt kit. I think it looks natural. OZ 20" Ultraleggeras all around too.
Be careful, I dropped mine about an inch with KW coil overs and it has made the ride quite rough. I love the coil overs on the track which is why I did it, but it makes driving around town a lot less fun and the car ultimately less usable (outside of track use). Obviously ground clearance becomes an even bigger challenge with speed bumps, garage ramps etc., but honestly this is a much smaller concern and readily manageable much moreso than the the concern of ride quality.
Speaking from experience on 997s I have used H&Rs and Techarts. While I have no scientific data to back this up I felt the H&R's get a little lower after I had some miles on them and the rebound was a little bit too stiff. The Techarts felt closer to stock and gave the right look.
Wheels were also mentioned and spacers. I have never been a fan of spacers. Especially must be careful on the fronts. My suggestion is get wheels with the right offsets and you won't need spacers and can save weight at the corners. I recommend the Champion RG5, classic BBS look or my favorites the RS98's so lightweight and not too pricey. Both yield the perfect offset and you won't need spacers!
I had the H&R Springs on my 09 C2S and it was nice but I needed it moar low so I scored a set of coilovers from my buddy that was going air on this 997. LOVE the lower height. If you're scrapping those driveways must be insanely steep or you're not "cutting" it enough to avoid such things. I've driven lowered cars most of my adult life and rarely scrap.
If you're interested in my springs they're for sale. Installed in June and now off the car, it's my weekend car so very little miles put on them $250+shipping. It's listed on 6speed since I don't have enough posts I guess on here to post on this classified.
I have already purchased h & r coil over pro street's so I won't be using strings. I have also purchased Elephant camber plates if more adjustment is needed. Would any comments change knowing this? By the way all of the cars look GREAT! Again, I thank you for the input...
Speaking from experience on 997s I have used H&Rs and Techarts. While I have no scientific data to back this up I felt the H&R's get a little lower after I had some miles on them and the rebound was a little bit too stiff. The Techarts felt closer to stock and gave the right look.
I have TechArts and echo the above. The ride and comfort is same as stock (arguably better) and ride height is perfect. I use spacers 5mm at front and 15mm at rear and the look is wicked. Front end plastic parts - black piece on chin of front spoiler and two black pieces immediately in front of both front tires) brush on occasion (speed bumps and some road dips) but it is no big deal. I have a C2 and factory ride height is way too high - even S look too high now compared to the perfect TechArt result - IMO this is a must-do mod and can be installed (springs included) for 1500 or so.
I have TechArts and echo the above. The ride and comfort is same as stock (arguably better) and ride height is perfect. I use spacers 5mm at front and 15mm at rear and the look is wicked. Front end plastic parts - black piece on chin of front spoiler and two black pieces immediately in front of both front tires) brush on occasion (speed bumps and some road dips) but it is no big deal. I have a C2 and factory ride height is way too high - even S look too high now compared to the perfect TechArt result - IMO this is a must-do mod and can be installed (springs included) for 1500 or so.
+1 regarding techart. I also added 5mm oem spacers but didn't feel the need or desire to go with larger spacers since my Carrera sport wheels are half an inch wider than other oem wheels with the same offset as the others which means they already stick out half an inch wider than other oem wheels. If I had other 19inch oem wheels, I'd use more aggressive spacers. I only occasionally scrape the rubber that is right in front of the front wheels. Not a concern for me since they are soft and give. I can't really explain it, but I think that the ride absorbs bumps way smoother and less harsh than the regular oem springs while being more stable and less floaty which simultaneously means that you feel a little more, but it's not a negative feel. Just more road feels. Get a proper alignment. It will align back to oem specs. Make sure to align it to settings with 20mm lower chassis.
10-24-2015, 02:06 PM
Lowering Car
