Lowering my 3.2

[Simonk]

I've been thinking about lowering my 3.2 by about 20mm using the standard suspension and just reindexing the torsion bars (I think that's what they call it). Just wondering if there would be any adverse affect on the way the car handles if I do it. I presume it would mean less suspension travel and therefore hit the bump stops sooner. Is it going to be bottoming out all the time or just on the odd big bumps?

[J.J.]

mine rides on the bumpstops

[Pauly]

How are you lowering the front? does it have coilovers?

 

You'll get less body roll as the centre of gravity is lower. handling will improve. But when lowering i would want to get stiffer springs so you don't run out of suspension room as quick. 

 

Re indexing the torsion bars is a task i've heard. I'll be doing them soon for my coilover upgrade. Maybe you should look into adjustable coilovers all around like Kw v1s 

[Kerry]

Ditto with the idea to lower, my is a bit older version (1975) and also wondered how much is in it to do it yourself, or is it a tricky task for a relative novice? 

 

Also, I had thought to recondition the original bilsteins rather than replace with new, but I wonder if thats the right way to go as well?

 

Any thoughts people?

[Russ]

aren't coil-overs called 'coil-overs' because the coil of the spring is over the strut? the torsion bar is the spring, the strut is separate and i'm not sure what re-engineering would be required to fit front coil-overs out of a 964 onwards

lowering your suspension is going to make it firmer, you're basically tightening up the spring by winding up each end. should be able to give it a go and see what you think, maybe worth getting some thicker torsion bars and/or firmer shocks and setting it where you want it.

but it all comes back to how harsh you want the ride to be. can't hurt to try though

it is a DIY job, but it's sometimes difficult to get it all level. there are special tools available to adjust the torsion bar and the ride height on the swing arms on the rear that make the job a fair bit easier too

my 2c, i'm not an expert by any means tho

[Pauly]

Kerry - If lowering i would indeed go get new shocks. maybe ones with slightly more firmer valving. 

 

going 20mm lower i would look in either getting thicker T-bars and higher rate springs. But if you don't have adjustable spring perches at the front you won't be able to drop the front. You can get slip on selves to make it adjustable

 

 

Coilovers are indeed coil over shocks. the adjustible ones have threaded spring perch to raise and lower the height. 

 

Russ - for the torsion bar setups, to add coilovers, companies like KW tell you to re-index the t-bars to the lowest point and you install the coilover unit where the strut goes. 

Some people remove the T-bars completely. 

[jnr356]

it's a 3.2

it doesn't have coilovers

 

wind down the 11mm head bolts at the rear of the front torsion bars 2 turns

 

you will get 20mm at the rear by turning the eccentric(if they haven't been done before)you will need thin spanners though

 

should be able to do it in less than an hour

 

will ride fine,no bottoming out

20mm is sfa

[Kerry]

What about on a 2.7 jnr? Is it the same as the 3.2?

[jnr356]

kerry yours doesn't have the eccentrics on the rear

need to reset spring plate angle

1degree = approx 9mm

 

front is the same as simons and on every 911 up to 964

[D-banger]

Aren't all 911, pre-964, the same with torsion bars suspension.

 

See this from pp

 

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/101_Projects_Porsche_911/55-Lowering_the_911/55-Lowering_the_911.htm

[jnr356]

i have the factory gauge for spring plate angle

 

or you can buy a camber gauge with a removable digital spirit level(does 2 jobs,good investment)

 

http://www.bbxracing.com/product_info.php?products_id=73

[Simonk]

Hey jnr. It's my understanding that the adjustment on the spring plate was designed to bring it down from US height to Euro height which is what mine should technically be at already. Do you know if that's correct or not. If you're right that would make the job a lot easier.

[jnr356]

it's a fine tuning adjustment,it would have been set to a central position from factory

 

different countries had the spring plate angle set at different degrees

as i said it would be originally central,to go up or down

[LeeM]

My friendly 2 cents

Mark (Jnr356) has been an accredited, recognised and sought after Porsche specialist mechanic for many years, including the racing scene.

He has lowered more Porsche's and VW's than we have all had hot dinners.

In my opinion, ANY advice from him about any Porsche mechanical repairs or modifications is worth its weight in gold

[Simonk]

Cool, I'll check it out. Do you know anything about this corner balancing caper? I've never heard of it being done on any other car but everyone goes on about it being mandatory. I know I'll need to get a wheel alignment but I don't really understand the corner balancing process or who I get to do it.

[jnr356]

it's a road car

don't believe the "hype"

 

yes once you get your stance what you like,get an alignment

[Simonk]

My friendly 2 cents

Mark (Jnr356) has been an accredited, recognised and sought after Porsche specialist mechanic for many years, including the racing scene.

He has lowered more Porsche's and VW's than we have all had hot dinners.

In my opinion, ANY advice from him about any Porsche mechanical repairs or modifications is worth its weight in gold

Yep! I'm very pleased to be getting his input on this

[Simonk]

it's a road car

don't believe the "hype"

yes once you get your stance what you like,get an alignment

Excellent, thanks for the great advice.

[jnr356]

also when you make the adjustments roll the car back and forward bouncing at the same time

if you do the adjustments and expect it to automatically come down it aint gonna happen

 

and if your car hasn't been in a major accident measuring to the edge of the mudguard is fine

 

****don't forget to measure and tabulate before you start

[tazzieman]

Cool, I'll check it out. Do you know anything about this corner balancing caper? I've never heard of it being done on any other car but everyone goes on about it being mandatory. I know I'll need to get a wheel alignment but I don't really understand the corner balancing process or who I get to do it.

These cars are hand built and no two are the same . Cross balancing is important if you are doing autocross or tracking the car, otherwise an "optional extra" .  When swinging from right to left and back again , it's the final piece of the puzzle after alignment . tyres , suspension etc have been sorted.

 

The poor old 911s are a bit complex in this regard even though the suspension is very old school.

You could buy a set of scales , one guy bought 16 bathroom ones and made platforms for each corner 

 

The 1978 928 and other modern cars came with adjustable coilovers from the factory 

[Flatout]

I need to do this as well, great advice here. My limiting factor is my driveway unfortunately.

 

Not worried about a bumpy ride, car is currently very smooth, my previous car had a 9 inch conversion and it was so big in the car it used to hit the floor when you hit any moderate sized bump .

[Coastr]

I need to get mine from US ride height down to European as a start.  And when I was looking through the receipts I found that a PO had the front of the car raised - not sure if that is still in place though.

 

Goes over speed bumps just fine though.  One of my prior cars was a major scraper and it used to annoy me, a lot.

[Simonk]

I'm having trouble sourcing some skinny spanners to undo the bolts on the radius arm. Bunnings and Total Tools both said I'll be pushing ...it up hill to find one. Anyone got any ideas where I can get a 24mm and 36mm other than Pelican?

[Peter M]

Simon,

Could you just grind down the thickness of an ordinary spanner to fit?

Or alternatively make ones out of suitable thickness flat bar using your angle grinder? Can't imagine the bolts would require too much torque to undo.

[SteveT]

Try eBay?

 

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Metric-Super-Thin-Open-End-spanner-Wrench-set-9-Pce-8-32mm-T-amp-E-tools-new-99309-/261499694819?_trksid=p2054897.l4275