SiberianDVM

After the worn out shock replacement with HDs front and Sports rear, coupled with the spare tire and A/C delete and battery relocate to right front/middle, my 911 has the attitude of the Space Shuttle on landing approach: way too nose high.

measurements with full tank, no spare, no driver or passengers:

LF: 26"
RF: 25 7/8"
LR: 25 1/4"
RR: 25 1/2"

I've not messed with any adjustments yet. Should I try to lower the front with the adjustment screws or just take it somewhere? I want to get it corner balanced and aligned if I can find some place to do it, but old Porsche mechanics are kind of thin on the ground around here.

groovzilla

there is a star bolt adjustment screw on the front suspension that simply lowers the front end when turned - i've never done it myself and it only takes a 1/2 or 3/4 turn to lower it 1/2".

**my signature photo below was taken BEFORE i had the front end lowered about 1/2" which makes the car sit so much nicer

someone else more knowledgable will chime in but if the front is all you need to lower it is quite simple.

rear is also adjustable but a little more involved.

wildcat077

It's easy to lower it yourself,all you need is an 11mm wrench.As for a corner balance,unless you track your car and have brake lockup issues i would spend the money elsewhere.

Raise the front of the car off the ground so you have access to the front height adjuster bolts and turn counter clockwise to lower the car and clockwise to raise it.You will need to roll the car back and forth for the suspension to settle afterwards.When you have it where you feel it's right ,go for a drive around the block and recheck again ...

Cheers !
Phil

SiberianDVM

Thanks. I will try this after I get off work, and report back tomorow.

This will be my DE car eventually, so after I get through with all the refurbishments I will probably have a corner balance and alignment done. So far, the closest place I can find is Autometrics, in Charleston, SC, about 3 hours away.

Ed Hughes

Note that with the proper nose down rake, the front fender heights will be higher than the rear. If they aren't your going to be tail happy.

wildcat077

A good rule of thumb for height setting/tire fender clearance is pass your hand up to the knuckles over the rear tires and completely pass your hand over the front tires ...

If that car will become your DE car eventually,i would wait before a corner balance as you might want to install larger 17 inch wheels,perhaps stiffer torsion bars ... there is NO end to what you can do
Just get a good alignment to start off and take it from there !

Cheers !
Phil

Daniel Dudley

If you lower it, you will need a corner balance and an alignment now, not eventually.

SiberianDVM

The front was easy to do......after 5 or 6 adjustments I got both front fenders at 25.5".

The *** end is now sitting up. Both rear fenders are somewhere around 26". Reading the Bentley manual it said the car came from the factory with the rear set so it can be raised but not lowered using the eccentric bolt. Hmmm. What are the odds it's still that way 28 years later? Plus, I don't know if I will be able to break those bolts loose by myself.

It looks like a trip to Autometrics in Charleston may be in my future, sooner rather than later.

Ed Hughes

That's what I said-the front fender height should be approx 3/4" higher than the rear to have the proper rake.

SiberianDVM

If the eccentric bolts won't lower the rear to 25", then I have to re-index the rear torsion bars?

That looks like it could take a while, and I would have the urge to replace all the bushings while I was there.

Ed Hughes

Yes, that is what you will have to do. You use inner and outer spline adjustment to finetune that.

SiberianDVM

Thanks, Ed. I may order some Elephant Quick Change spring plates to make fine tuning the suspension a little easier. Either way, it looks like a full weekend job.

Here is a picture I took today, just after returning from Firestone shop with some new tires. I had it at 25.5" front and 26" rear, but the new tires made it 26" front and 26" rear, so I have some adjustments to make. Decent 15" rubber is hard to find, but these Potenzas ride well and feel pretty grippy.

syzygy

Except it looks like you got the wrong size. Those 25" rear and 25.5 " front measurements only work if your tires are about a 25" diameter. Yours seem to be larger than that.

SiberianDVM

195/65-15 in front on 7" Fuchs (24.980") and 215/60-15 on rear on 8" Fuchs (25.157") It's as close as I could get with what's available right now.

Ed Hughes

I'm sorry to say, but you left a lot of rubber on the table, and not only that, you down-sized stock widths on wider than stock wheels, so the cross-section is going to be funky. Did you not try Tire Rack, or did you just go with what the local shop had in stock?