Ride Height
- Thread starter bennyboy
- Start date
sawood12
New member
Mine (and I think mine is set up the same as Hilux's) are lower at the front that Appletons and EDH's (or they look to be from the photo's) and I use mine regularly as an 'almost' daily runner. Though i've not had any grounding problems I do have to take extreme care over speed humps and for a car regularly used on the road I think it is too low and I am going to raise the front up a little. All it'd take is a dead badger in the middle of the road or something that has fallen off a lorry and i'd be looking at a substantial repair bill. I literally have about 3" - 4" at the front and the crossover pipe is about 3" off the deck. I have no photo's of mine but you've probably seen photo's of Hilux's nose to nose with Fens. It does feel very responsive and planted to me though - much more so than before. For me the cost of installing KW's is 50/50 kit cost vs. installation cost (assuming you get someone else to install). This also included various bits and bobs which needed replacing while the axel was off. I personally think that it is not that expensive given what you are getting. It's not a minor piece of kit. It's not a mere cosmetic upgrade. It's a full on top quality full suspension setup. People think nothing of spending upwards of £1k on wheels (which lets face it is principally a cosmetic mod given that those who race these things think they drive better on 16" rims), £300 on cup mirrors so I personally think the KW's are good value for money considering what you are getting and the effect they will have on the ride of the car. I'm sure Gaz, Leda's or any other proper coil over kit will be very good - Ed's car felt very sorted to me when I drove it so ultimately you pays your money and makes your choice. I personally think that where the KW's come into their own is for a Street/track car due to the trick valving. If it is a dedicated track car you'll probably feel little benefit between the kits. With regards A-Arms. You definately need to consider something here. I'm losing confidence with the extended pin kit with the stock arms. There are some horror stories out there with these kits. I'm sure alot of it is operator error and as with alot of these things no-one ever carries out a full 'Root Cause Analysis' based on sound engineering principles - more like reaching conclusion through track side chatter, however for me it is a risk i'm loosing the appetite for. I am now considering the Racers Edge arms which are considerably cheaper than Charlie Arms and incorporate a geometry correction pin arrangement which the Charlie Arms don't. Just waiting for the £-$ exchange rate to improve.
Peter Empson
PCGB Member
Well since we're all posting pics [
], here's mine after it was lowered the second time. It looks quite high here (and very tatty), but it's as low as JZ felt they could safely get it.
], here's mine after it was lowered the second time. It looks quite high here (and very tatty), but it's as low as JZ felt they could safely get it.
appletonn
New member
The PO bought the kit plus springs (wrong rates though, hence my recent changes to front spring rates[8|]) from Lindsey Racing and then had RPM fit it all and reindex the rear t/bs about 3 months before I bought the car- [link=http://www.lindseyracing.com/LR/Parts/944SUSESCORT.html]http://www.lindseyracing.com/LR/Parts/944SUSESCORT.html[/link] Perhaps wait for a more favourable exchange rate...?![&:]
Peter Empson
PCGB Member
Looks less like a 4x4 in this one...
appletonn
New member
Yes, that'll teach me to have too much red wine and then go on t'internet....[8|] That said, my rears are 265/35 18, so not sure just how close that o/d will be to yours on 16s? No more half-baked posts from me tonight....[ORIGINAL: edhI hope your sidewalls are thinner than mine Nick [
] Now where did I leave that wine glass...?!
Peter Empson
PCGB Member
Hi Scott, do you have any references for this? I haven't heard of any problems with the geo correcting kits, whereas I believe there are well documented failures with all the aftermarket arms on the net now. I'm not saying that they're perfect, just would like to know a bit more about any horror stories you've heard. I will be following what a lot of the racers do and will be changing the pins regularly (probably every other season, but that can easily be 2k to 3k track miles).
edh
New member
[link=http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html]http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html[/link] suggests you have approx. 0.6in larger diameter tyres [ORIGINAL: appletonnYes, that'll teach me to have too much red wine and then go on t'internet....[8|] That said, my rears are 265/35 18, so not sure just how close that o/d will be to yours on 16s? No more half-baked posts from me tonight....[ORIGINAL: edhI hope your sidewalls are thinner than mine Nick [
]
edh
New member
maybe it's just the angle of the photo? - I haven't fiddled with the setup of the car at all because the PO new his stuff when it came to track work. Does this look any better?
Neil Haughey
New member
I had a look at several PCGB race S2's and a 968's at Silverstone last year, they definitely do a GAZ kit for these cars. It doesn't show on the pdf you can download from their website. I was told by one of the S2 racers just to phone them up which is how he got his ISTR, anyways these guys also sell them; http://www.absolutelyshocks.com/Porsche.html I will be trying a set on my S2 as I have come to the conclusion to convert it into the full monty with a view to perhaps racing it next season. See I knew all that money I spent rebuilding half the car wouldn't be wasted (all though a lot of the car will be apart again). Don't know as yet about the 2 options, do the rules allow remote canister shocks? Can't recall the type on the S2 racers. I can see the next 2 years being very expensive and if I end up out of contract then its all to pot anyways, still though with all the time spent in the garage my spanner skills will be much better . You only live once and all that. Also as far as I can see it the PCGB racers are using stock wishbones as I can't see room in the rules for what is a modified suspension joint? or is my preliminary reading of the rules not the full picture? Whilst we are on the subject of track mods, can anyone advise why does anyone bother with bolt in cages? After studying the options and blue book it seems like a waste of time or am I again misreading things? Opinions please, cheers guys.
. You only live once and all that. Also as far as I can see it the PCGB racers are using stock wishbones as I can't see room in the rules for what is a modified suspension joint? or is my preliminary reading of the rules not the full picture? Whilst we are on the subject of track mods, can anyone advise why does anyone bother with bolt in cages? After studying the options and blue book it seems like a waste of time or am I again misreading things? Opinions please, cheers guys.
bennyboy
New member
Chaps, some great looking cars here, thanks for all the responses. I imagine my car will not do any more than 6 track days a year, so I'm looking for the best price/product compromise. I just don't think I can bring myself to spend 4 figures on anything for my car in one go. Perhaps I can be the 'Gaz guinea pig'?! EDH, I think your car sits perfectly, though does look to squat quite alarmingly under power - makes it look super fast though! Peter, I love your rear end (!?) and have toyed with the idea of a toast rack - really think I would need the 3-piece wing as well though to carry it off.
Wooaaahhh there Neil - worms and cans. I think as I was the OP I will try to summerise the recent discussion and let's leave it at that. A bolt in half cage will offer you SOME additional protection in the event of an accident, could POSSIBLE add some additional rigidity to the car, and CERTAINLY gives you somewhere to mount harnesses to (well most do).
sawood12
New member
That's just it Pete, i've heard a real mixed bag of reports - mainly on Rennlist. On one hand you get people who rave on about the Rennbay kit and say they've done x number of years or miles racing on them with no bother at all and even one guy who had a farside front end collision which showed that the A-Arm sheared, the hub fractured but the Rennbay pin was just bent. Then on the other hand you get a load of guys who are scathing about them saying they've 'seen' instances of sheared pins with the kits but you get precious little else in terms of info about the installation and the circumstances around which the event occured. I like the RE kit as it utilises a replaceable and beefed up ball joint and three different lengths of pin so you can install the closest to suit your ride height. But as always its all about cash - there is alot we'd all do to our cars if we had more of it. Personally whenever my car is in for an MOT, service or other work I always ask them to check the ball joints for signs of play, notches on the pin or around the A-arm socket rim, and re-grease the joint via the grease nipple and so far they seem to be holding up just fine. I also read off Rennlist that Porsche released some sort of service bulletin that recommended that for applications where the car had been lowered (e.g. if you have M030 suspension) or is being raced then you should install 968 A-Arms, though i'm not sure exactly what the difference is and if it will de-risk the situation. Maybe I'll ring up the OPC to ask about that one. When I get the front end raised i'll instruct that the height be determined by resetting the angle of the A-Arms to the same as stock with the extended pin installed. Not sure what height that will end up being. Zentrum are pretty good though. You pay for one lot of suspension adjustments/alignment, then after your next track session (assuming it occurs within a certian timeframe of the initial adjustment) they will re-adjust to your specification for free, so you get a second bite of the cherry for no extra cost.
You want low rear? I'll give you low rear... This is my car after the reindex but before the rear KW units were installed.
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