Rat3d M

I'm having a hell of a time getting my car inspected on base here in Germany for my initial registration. The problem I am having is that the car is sitting on H&R lowering springs. The reg states that the lowest part of the car has to be 9cm (3.54") from the ground. My front lip is just below that, and the fender liners that extend down below the lip are much lower. They are just physically unable to get the car over the pit that they use to inspect the undercarriage (not to mention even if they could inspect it, they would fail me for being "too low"). I am almost certain that even if I was at stock height I would still have a hard time getting over their pit, and the fender liner would still be under 9cm.

So I need some help. My options at this point are to buy some OEM springs for cheap on Ebay, throw them on, and hope the car is high enough to clear their pit, or drop a few thousand on some KW Clubsports (not something I am trying to do due to cost). Before I spend the money on OEM springs, can someone that has a 997.1TT on OEM springs and OEM 19" wheels measure the lowest part(s) of the car for me? The areas of concern are the bottom of the front lip on the sides, the wheel well liner where it extends down just behind the front lip, and then there are a few plastic pieces underneath, plus maybe the control arm? If the car is over 9cm from the factory I am just going to go the OEM spring route and call it a day. Thanks in advance!

Dodaleca

Can't you use the published data from the manual, brochure or technical guide?

TT Surgeon

Eilbach makes a tuv approved spring, only 15mm drop.
Honestly, I'd go with stock springs and a dsc box. Will outperform anything short of motons.

Marauder1

I don't know how much of a lift you can get on a 997 but I've used spring spacers on American cars usually in the rear to achieve a raked appearance in my younger days because they were cheap and easy to install as well as remove.

Then again maybe they are not perimitted in Germany.

Rat3d M

Didn't know that existed. Thanks!



My H&R springs are TUV approved, but because I'm military the inspectors on base don't care about that. Their issue is that they have it written into the Army/Air Force reg that the car has to be 9cm at the lowest point and regardless of the height, they physically couldn't get my car over their pit to inspect it (I saw for myself, it wasn't even close). We are free over here to do whatever we want in the way of modifications as long as the car is safe to drive and stays within the policy guidelines they have in place (i.e. my exhaust being 98dB when the max is 95 )


The TUV approval issue is only a factor if I do my inspection off base, which I am really trying to avoid.



I looked into these. Not sure they would lift the car high enough (I need at least an inch of lift I think) and they would likely fail me once they see them installed. Honestly my best bet is to just put a set of OEM springs back in and hope they can get the car over the pit. They are dirt cheap on the used market, I'm just not fancying having to spend 3 hours putting OEM springs back in just to spend another 3 hours reinstalling my H&R springs and then paying for an alignment once a year. A good set of coilovers are in my future I think, but unfortunately that's not in the cards at the moment.

o7silverturbo

Not trying to be a smart a** but what if you just remove the liners and front lip. Have them inspect it and reinstall everything?

Rat3d M

That was my plan and I tried it, but there was something underneath that still wouldn't clear (control arms maybe?). I didn't realize how high the lip on the edge of the pit at the inspection station was until they tried to pull my car on it.