Should I lower my 997?.....
Discussion
The scenario is this......Ive owned my 997 for a few months now ad overall it' been ood with the exception of the poor front grip which of late has been very poor despite good tyres .....
I booked the car into a local indy, who advise me that a front spring is actually broken, which now explains the poor handling...
I am still waiting for a quote for new front springs (oem Porsche) and I am advised that the labour is around 1.5 hours per side which sounds fair enough...
Now, I am wondering f this is an ideal opportnity to lower the car, as lowered 997's look coooool, and will no doubt handle better...
The kit I would use would be the Eibach offerings, and Iwas wondering the following points:
1) the main concern is the ride quality......will it suffer drastically or is it within reasonable limits with the lowered springs on?
2) resale.....does a lowered car appear less attracive to future buyers, or is it viewed as being a tasteful/worthwhile mod?...
Opinions and experiences please.....oh .... pics of your lowerd ride would be most welcomed!
I booked the car into a local indy, who advise me that a front spring is actually broken, which now explains the poor handling...
I am still waiting for a quote for new front springs (oem Porsche) and I am advised that the labour is around 1.5 hours per side which sounds fair enough...
Now, I am wondering f this is an ideal opportnity to lower the car, as lowered 997's look coooool, and will no doubt handle better...
The kit I would use would be the Eibach offerings, and Iwas wondering the following points:
1) the main concern is the ride quality......will it suffer drastically or is it within reasonable limits with the lowered springs on?
2) resale.....does a lowered car appear less attracive to future buyers, or is it viewed as being a tasteful/worthwhile mod?...
Opinions and experiences please.....oh .... pics of your lowerd ride would be most welcomed!
turboman786 said:
The scenario is this......Ive owned my 997 for a few months now ad overall it' been ood with the exception of the poor front grip which of late has been very poor despite good tyres .....
911's can suffer from poor front end grip, (remember where the engine is?) best to get that front end keyed into the corner early!Slow in, fast out...
Wills2 said:
Before you lower the car, take it to "centre of gravity" to have a 4 wheel alignment done, do a search on them.
A cars ride height is not the be all and end all as regards handling (infact you might end up ruining it) it's got a lot more to do with the correct geo.
A cars ride height is not the be all and end all as regards handling (infact you might end up ruining it) it's got a lot more to do with the correct geo.
www.centergravity.co.uk
I had a car that was lowered on just springs with the original dampers (not a Porsche but should still be relevant. It handled like crap as the dampers were never meant to be paired with springs that hard or to be constantly compressed to that level, it also killed off the rear dampers in a couple of years.
If you're going to do it I'd suggest getting a kit comprising of shocks and dampers and get the geo set up properly afterwards or you could just find that you've made it worse.
If you're going to do it I'd suggest getting a kit comprising of shocks and dampers and get the geo set up properly afterwards or you could just find that you've made it worse.
Who do you think that lowering it will "improve the handling" (whatever that means, I've noticed on PH when people talk about 'good handling' 90% of the time they actually mean grip).
On many Porsches lowering beyond factory spec will not improve the handling at all, it will just mean you have less travel in the suspension making it more susceptible to bump steer. Unless of course you also alter the dampers and the other components accordingly. I shudder whenever I see the words "lowering kit" in a classified.
Having said that, you asked for pics of lowered cars so here's mine straight after fitting adjustable Konis with 600/400 Hypercoil springs. The ride height is adjustable on each corner - the car actually drove ("handled" if you like) much better with another 20mm of ride height.
On many Porsches lowering beyond factory spec will not improve the handling at all, it will just mean you have less travel in the suspension making it more susceptible to bump steer. Unless of course you also alter the dampers and the other components accordingly. I shudder whenever I see the words "lowering kit" in a classified.
Having said that, you asked for pics of lowered cars so here's mine straight after fitting adjustable Konis with 600/400 Hypercoil springs. The ride height is adjustable on each corner - the car actually drove ("handled" if you like) much better with another 20mm of ride height.
Take it to Chris at CG and he'll most likely tell you "compliance is king".
Chris and I discussed this a couple of years ago, whilst lowering springs may confer some benefit on track, for use on our hopelessly surfaced roads, maintaining suspension travel and compliance would be my main concern.
A lowered spring set is "unlikely" to be matched to the ratings of your standard dampers (irrespective of what H & R, Eibach or Apex may say)
If you've got to have the lowered look and aren't too worried about making progress on wet, bumpy B roads, by all means fit the lowering springs, if you want to retain the compliance and ensure the longevity of your original dampers, I'd stick with the original Porsche parts.
And a final though : IIRC most press reports said that the 997 equipped with the FACTORY lower/stiffer suspension was waaaay too hard for the UKs roads . . . . .
Chris and I discussed this a couple of years ago, whilst lowering springs may confer some benefit on track, for use on our hopelessly surfaced roads, maintaining suspension travel and compliance would be my main concern.
A lowered spring set is "unlikely" to be matched to the ratings of your standard dampers (irrespective of what H & R, Eibach or Apex may say)
If you've got to have the lowered look and aren't too worried about making progress on wet, bumpy B roads, by all means fit the lowering springs, if you want to retain the compliance and ensure the longevity of your original dampers, I'd stick with the original Porsche parts.
And a final though : IIRC most press reports said that the 997 equipped with the FACTORY lower/stiffer suspension was waaaay too hard for the UKs roads . . . . .
DONT LOWER IT KEEP IT STANDARD !!!
Its one of the best handling cars on the planet why would you mess with it ? Porsche have a huge budget to work on the setup of this car wht knacker it by throwing on some after market system ?
Also i would NEVER touch a non standard car if buying second hand all my cars come new so i know they are as the maker wanted them with main dealer parts etc
Its one of the best handling cars on the planet why would you mess with it ? Porsche have a huge budget to work on the setup of this car wht knacker it by throwing on some after market system ?
Also i would NEVER touch a non standard car if buying second hand all my cars come new so i know they are as the maker wanted them with main dealer parts etc
So Porsche ruined the "handling" of my GT3 by fitting 20mm lower suspension than a cooking Carrera with PASM?
I agree with caboosemoose - if done right (in conjunction with experts) it could be a worthwhile exercise?
I had a PASM equipped C2S, so can compare the differences and the GT3 is more planted with less body roll, albeit with a firmer ride, even when in normal mode.
I agree with caboosemoose - if done right (in conjunction with experts) it could be a worthwhile exercise?
I had a PASM equipped C2S, so can compare the differences and the GT3 is more planted with less body roll, albeit with a firmer ride, even when in normal mode.
I'm totally neutral I like the idea of a lowered car "it looks nice" but are you racing your car at 10/10 ths.
The problem we have in this country is the lack of willingness of our government to spend our hard earned cash we spend on "Road Tax" Anyone who is thinking of lowering their car at the moment should surly reconsider as I believe our roads are going to get much worse in the near future.
It is the Op's car after all but I would definitely reconsider or for at least the time being.
Frank
The problem we have in this country is the lack of willingness of our government to spend our hard earned cash we spend on "Road Tax" Anyone who is thinking of lowering their car at the moment should surly reconsider as I believe our roads are going to get much worse in the near future.
It is the Op's car after all but I would definitely reconsider or for at least the time being.
Frank
nsm3 said:
So Porsche ruined the "handling" of my GT3 by fitting 20mm lower suspension than a cooking Carrera with PASM?
No one said that did they ?The GT3 suspension was designed from the outset to run at the lower ride height, thus it's dampers and springs are designed/ to work together at that lower ride height.
Furthermore I'd imagine the hub carriers on the GT3 are different (again to work in conjunction with the reduced ride height) Are you noticing a trend here . . . ?
nsm3 said:
I agree with caboosemoose - if done right (in conjunction with experts) it could be a worthwhile exercise?
Indeed, but that's not what the OP is proposing is it ? he's discussing the merits of fitting a set of lowering springs to an otherwise stock car.nsm3 said:
I had a PASM equipped C2S, so can compare the differences and the GT3 is more planted with less body roll, albeit with a firmer ride, even when in normal mode.
No real surprise there then. 
Edited by Slippydiff on Saturday 19th February 19:40
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