Lowering 993's

[Andy B Aces High]

Can anyone advise on lowering a standard Carrera 2 ? I would like to lower the car by about 25-30mm.

I know the Turbo and S models are lower by about 30mm.

If I lower my car what is the best method to ensure the standard suspension geometry is maintained and handling is not compromised. I will obviously fit new shocks and springs, any recomendations? Do I need to change wishbones, drop links or any other suspension parts to those fitted to the Turbo/S models to ensure the geometry stays as it should be or does the standard suspension have enough adjustment to bring the toe etc back to standard?

Cheers,

Andy B.

 

[38F3E1]

Believe Turbo, C2S and C4S were lowered by 10mm not 30mm. C2 and C4 was also available with the M033 or M030 option to lower by 10mm.

RS is the model that is lowered more and has different front suspension components to deal with bump steer.

I have been told recently that going to M030 minus 10 (i.e. 20mm lower) is OK without compromising suspension too much. Anything more and you will start to notice and then may want to fit RS parts to compensate.

Ian.

 

[Andy B Aces High]

Thanks Ian.

Anyone recommend which lowering kits are worth going for ?

 

[Pickled Piper]

That's quite a severe drop you are trying to achieve. If you are sure you want to drop the vehicle by that much you may wish to consider the Bilstein PSS9 coilover suspension kit. This will allow you a large amount of adjust ment in terms of ride height and also damper bump and rebound. Have a look on www.carnewal.com for prices and allow anywhere beween £500 to £1500 for fitting.

Also have a look at the suspension post by Maurice Piper in the FAQs or Tech section above.

pp

 

[Andy B Aces High]

Thanks Pickled Piper.

I think I am going for 20mm drop. Have found another thread running on this subject so will follow progress on there. Will take a look at your other sugesstions as well.

 

[kbooker]

Andy,
Ian's correct, M030 minus 10mm is as low as you can go without very expensive component changes, so 134mm front and 117mm rear, have just done this last month with RS settings, very pleased with the end result. []

 

[Andy B Aces High]

Kev,
How much lower than standard is the M030 suspension, bearing in mind my car is a Carrera and not an S model. There seems to be a lot of companies offering the Bilstein HD set up with minus 30mm springs.

 

[kbooker]

Andy,
M030 is 10mm lower ( 144mm front 127mm rear ) than your cars standard ride height, M033 ride height is the same as M030, I changed to Bilstein HD's with M030 springs and rollbars about a year ago, a vast improvment over the monroe's and M033 springs / rollbars but it depends on what you're after i guess!
HTH.

 

[Andy B Aces High]

Thanks Kev, looking at getting rid of some of the gap between the top of the tyre and the wheel arch.

 

[ubertub]

just lowered c4 by approx 30mm? 9M springs and standard shocks... geo set up was as RS. All dialed in without any modified control arms or owt. Grips well but I think I may go for Billies when I can afford them. a bit bouncy on the front! Looks well now that there's no daylight between tyre and front arch. Not sure if I could justify cost of coilovers, as I'd probably never alter the adjustment once it was okay - road or track.

 

[tudorbroach]

Hi Andy,

I have looked up the ride height settings in various books and manuals that I have which include original 993 sales brochure from 4/96, Adrian Streather 993 Essential Companion, OEM Porsche manual plus others.

Standard 993 Rest of World Ride Heights 154mm Front, 147mm Rear.
Carrera S, Carrera 4S, Turbo & Turbo S 'M030' Rest of World Heights lowered by 10mm front, 20mm rear giving 144mm Front, 127mm Rear.
Carrera RS lowered by 30mm Rront, 40mm Rear giving 124mm Front, 107mm Rear but requires expensive changes from standard 993.

Would agree with Maurice totally. Shocks are weakest link. Depends on whether you are going to look at car or drive car on Britains bumpy roads!!!

Regards,

Mark

 

[ubertub]

[/quote]

Blimey, looking things up .. !! Whatever next, Mark ?

I would add that running lower ride heights requires matching sets of springs and shockers. There is a major disparity between standard shocks (running outside their design envelope) with lowering springs, vs a complete suspension set a la Bilstein PSS9 .. I don't know what 9M supplies, but I bet it wasn't designed with standard shocks in mind.

It is also financially unjustifiable to do all that setup work without swapping to Bilstein HDs at a minimum .. [8D]

cheers, Maurice
[/quote]

Excuse me for not meeting your standards... Did I not mention upgrading the shocks? When I upgrade to HDs 'all that setup work' will be an hour's labour. HD's as a minimum, what? these are ideal for driving around on roads. It's not a race car.
Andy B is asking for practical advice... I am giving him the benefit of what I have experienced. Yes, the shocks need replacing with HDs but the springs suit my driving style, and the carlooks a damned sight better. Anyone can suggest a PSS9 kit but it's not necessarily the best solution for an everyday road car, particularly if budget is a consideration.
Talk about financially unjustifiable. You don't half rub me up the wrong way.

 

[TISPKJ]

Andy, I doubt you will even notice 20mm on the car. I have found in the past that because your suspension is circa 10+ years old you end up with a certain amount of sag in the springs, I have lowered just about everything over the years and find 20 - 25 mm not even noticable at times unless on a brand new car.

Porsche wise had great results with Roock lowering springs (H&R), steer clear of the cheap stuff offered by some of the 911 specialists.

Best option IMO for you is to source a set of GT3 suspension units from one of the boys that have upgraded, not 100% certain they will fit but I am sure they can be made to all they are is the adjustable Bilstein units with a Porsche sticker on.

You may get away with leaving geo as is with a 20-25mm drop but anything more worthwhile will result in having to have the car geometry reset, not a bad thing but circa £200 ish on it's own

Not sure if you get to the kent meets (unless you are who im thinking of) but come and have a chat next time.

Regards
Paul

 

[ubertub]

ORIGINAL: MoC2S

ORIGINAL: ubertub

You don't half rub me up the wrong way.

I'm not here to rub anyone up, right or wrong way .. [8D]

I see you're new here, so I'll forgive you this once - []

cheers, Maurice [8|]

Ta for forgiveness... God, I'm a touchy so-and-so at times... must have been twined that day! I'll behave now, and put some decent dampers on the old gal! (and the rear anti-roll bar!!!) is there a smiley for shame?

 

[Andy B Aces High]

OK guys, put the toys back in the pram !!

I have been in touch with Gert at Carnewal and settled on M033 springs with Bilstein HD shocks. Carnewal have extra thread on the shocks to allow greater adjustment and the kit comes with new drop links to compensate for the lower height and allow the standard Sway Bars to be used.

I have opted for the M033 springs on the basis that my car is mainly used on the road and they give a smoother ride than the M030 springs, I feel that on the road I do not want the suspension too much stiffer as our road surface quality is so poor the car is already being shaken up enough. Gert advises that he has supplied this set up to other customers who are pleased with the result.

I am also going for the RSR exhaust option.

All of Carnewal prices seem very competive.

Will be installing all this lot sometime after xmas and will post some results on here then.

 

[sawood12]

Anyone tried KW on 993's Yet? They have been getting rave reviews on 944's and 968's and I believe it is the latest 'must have' on GT3's. I'm chuffed to bits with my setup and my indie commented that he'd never driven a 944 that felt so sharp after a test drive following a service last week. They really are the dogs danglies. They are an expensive install on 944's due to the rear torsion bar setup, however on your 993's with coil-overs all round it should be a relative straight swap over with a re-alignment afterwards. My installers reckon they are better on road than the PSS9's - ok he is comparing the feel of a 944 on KW's to a 993 on PSS9's so is not a direct comparison, but he commented that 993's on PSS9's is a very hard ride on road (in fact he had a 993 in the shop that was having the PSS9's removed after a month on the car as the owner couldn't live with them on the road) whereas the KW's are more compliant even though the spring rate is comparative due to the multi-valving in the shock absorbers that give a more compliant ride on road and stiffen up on track.