Problem with H&R lowering springs

[chippy minton]

Hi folks. I’m having some issues with the fitment of some aftermarket (H&R) lowering springs for my 04 3.8 C2S.
An MOT spotted that one of the front springs had cracked at the base. Not an uncommon problem so I’m told.

I decided to go lower so ordered a set of H&R -30mm springs and all of the associated sundries inc top mounts, bearings etc.

These were fitted by a garage.

I’m not saying who supplied them or who fitted them as at present they are hopefully working towards a resolution.

I would say though that I’m surprised that they let me drive off with them in the state they are in.

The problem is that the top diameter of the new lowering spring is too big, and it sits outside the location it is meant to sit within so it doesn’t seat correctly and it moves around, and especially at low speed, making a racket and pulling the steering to one side until it clinks back into something like a normal position.

The garage confirmed that all the elements of the assembly are correctly installed.

The parts supplier claim it’s the right part and the garage are stumped. Sadly the stock springs have been thrown away so I can’t make a comparison.

Any ideas?

Could they have been marked incorrectly? Do C4’s have a different top mount? Could they just be made incorrectly and they got through QC?

[chippy minton]

[chippy minton]

Thanks for that - a useful point of reference. clearly shows how far off my spring is.

[R8_BAV]

That is completely the garages fault as even if the incorrect springs were sent they should have had the sense and decency to stop the install as soon as they saw they didn’t fit, instead they just sent you on your way!? Looks like they have either put something in upside down or backs on the front etc?

[Hax]

Not just that, why has the paint rubbed on the second coil?
Coils shouldn't be in contact with each other even on full compression.

chippy minton said:

[mlsporsche]

C2 and C4 different springs as are PASM & standard, what numbers are on the springs?

[FTW]

The pictures make it appear that the spring is going coil bound (fully compressed) and has rubbed away the protective coating. It won't take long to corrode and snap in that portion. I think the Porsche spring has a plastic sleeve to stop the wear in that portion.


Personally I'd be questioning if the parts are correct for the car. If they are then the part is poorly designed.

[Filibuster]

Slightly OT, and not meant as an excuse for poor fitting on the garages part but:

This is exactly the reason, why most garages won't fit customer supplied parts....

Not meant as a rant to the OP! I for instance will be bringing my 997 tomorrow to the garage to get the Brembo discs and Textar pads fitted I bought 2 months ago. I intended to do the works myself and even bought a brake piston compressor tool. I just never found the time to do it (no own garage), so I bring it to the only one man garage I know that still fits customer supplied parts.

But I can see why basically all garages I know won't do it anymore...

[chippy minton]

Filibuster said:

Slightly OT, and not meant as an excuse for poor fitting on the garages part but:

This is exactly the reason, why most garages won't fit customer supplied parts....

Not meant as a rant to the OP! I for instance will be bringing my 997 tomorrow to the garage to get the Brembo discs and Textar pads fitted I bought 2 months ago. I intended to do the works myself and even bought a brake piston compressor tool. I just never found the time to do it (no own garage), so I bring it to the only one man garage I know that still fits customer supplied parts.

But I can see why basically all garages I know won't do it anymore...

It’s a fair point and I wouldn’t normally supply parts to a garage, but I cross checked the price of the parts they quoted against a well known specialist and they were cheap enough to make it worthwhile. (Especially as they had a 10% flash sale on) The cost for top mounts and bearings was quite different.

The parts supplier is ordering a set of C2 and C4 springs and checking fitment against the top mount, and then sending the correct springs to the garage to fit them. Hopefully there’s no damage to the rest of the assembly.

[chippy minton]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

The correct H&R spring does have a plastic sleeve. Here's H&R fitted to the front axle of a 987 (which is the same as the front axle of a 997), you can see the sleeve:



That’s interesting- when I collected the car the garage did call out that the spring didn’t have a plastic sleeve like the factory parts do, and it might be noisy. That’s what I put the ‘clonks’ down to.

Thanks for sharing the picture - this is very helpful 👍