alignment after lowering w/eibach

[brp987]

hi folks.

I bought my '01 box S a year ago. The prev owner said he put on eibachs and bilsteins. The rear tires wore out quickly, so I got around to checking the alignment (I have a smartracing set up).

In front I have -0.5 deg camber each side. The adjustment is maxed out, so I can't get it to stock spec.

In the rear I have -1.9 and -2.4 deg left and right, respectively. I don't have toe #'s yet.

This is a street car and I want closer to oem measurements. My question is, are spacers available to put under the springs so that the eibachs won't lower the car so much, and allow closer to oem measurements?

[Gary in BR]

I dont know of any spacers, but with my car I bought aftermarket adjustable toe links. This allowed me to adjust my toe and bring the camber into a more OEM setup.

Che (board advertiser) and tarret are 2 sources I know of for the toe links.

[pk2]

Originally Posted by Gary in BR

I dont know of any spacers, but with my car I bought aftermarket adjustable toe links. This allowed me to adjust my toe and bring the camber into a more OEM setup.

Che (board advertiser) and tarret are 2 sources I know of for the toe links.

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Hey Gary,

Is your ride compromised much in lowering your car? If so, does the compromise make up for it self in obvious handling improvement?

Regards, PK

[angman]

I have the Eibachs put in and proper alignment done. I don't really notice any compromise at all. The ride height is lower but not drastic by any means.

[brp987]

angman, when you say "proper alignment", do you mean 0 deg camber front, -1.2 rear, as well as oem toe?

I'm aware of the tarett and che toe links. the che links are "open" (no seals) and imho are not suitable for a street car. but, either way, they address toe, not camber. If you really lower your car, is there a way to keep an oem alignment?

[renzop]

What's the wear look like? Is the tread still flat but angled or is the inside feathered? If the later then the problem is toe combined with camber. If you zero the toe then th 0.5 front camber should produce very little extra wear and the rear should wear just a little more quickly than stock. I bet you'll find that you have an unhealthy amount of toe.

Regards,
Alan

[insite]

Originally Posted by brp987

I'm aware of the tarett and che toe links. the che links are "open" (no seals) and imho are not suitable for a street car. but, either way, they address toe, not camber. If you really lower your car, is there a way to keep an oem alignment?

this is incorrect. the toe setting and camber setting at the boxster rear are NOT independent. if you adjust the camber, you adjust the toe. when you lower the car, the static camber increased by default because of the design of the control arms. if you reduce that camber with the eccentrics built into the car, you will have excessive toe-out. the factory toe links are not long enough to compensate for the lower ride height. the only ways around this are to:

a) run around -2.3 degrees camber on each side in the back, which will eat the insides of your tires

b) get aftermarket toe links that are long enough to dial out the excessive toe on a lowered car with OEM camber settings.

FYI, che's links are fine for the street. the bearings aren't sealed with rubber boots, but if you're that concerned about it, fit some rubber boots. FYI, none of the aftermarket solutions OR the porsche motorsport solution use a sealed bearing at the inboard end. SOME aftermarket solutions use a front outer tie rod (factory part) instead of a bearing, but racers complain that these wear out. in addition, the bearings on che's arms are replaceable if they wear out (no affiliation to che).

[brp987]

Insite: thanks for the info. I'll look into che's links.

renzop: the rear tread is beveled and worn more inboard. I thinking you're right about the toe and camber being out.

[CJ_Boxster]

When ever you lower the boxster the rear toe gets way too negative and you need Che's adjustible rear toe links to correct it, excessive toe will cause the tires to wear really quickly... I bet when you go over bumps you get alittle shimmy or wiggle from the rear end, huh? Thats because of the excessive toe.

[brp987]

When ever you lower the boxster the rear toe gets way too negative and you need Che's adjustible rear toe links to correct it, excessive toe will cause the tires to wear really quickly... I bet when you go over bumps you get alittle shimmy or wiggle from the rear end, huh? Thats because of the excessive toe.

I have to crawl over speed bumps to avoid scraping so I don't notice shimmy. But, now that you mention it, did you put in adjustable toe links, and did they solve the shimmy? It's possible that a lowered car with adj. links will still shimmy due to bump-steer. The problem being that the toe links are not level with the ground on a lowered car. For this, Tarett also sells adj. links with bump-steer correction. So, all ya gotta do is throw these on, along with PSS9's and... :ah:

[CJ_Boxster]

The problem is that the Toe links are not short enough to pull the wheel straight after its lowered... Since i had Adjustible Upper Track arms, i just shortened them abit and that solve my Toe problem... But since you have no aftermarket suspension to correct this, go with the Adjustible Toe links, itll correct the shimmy and tire wear issue.

When you lower the car, the Rear Track Arm pushes the lower control arm back alittle cause at normal height the track arm is angled down slightly and so is the rear toe link... and when the car is lowered, Both the Track arm and Toe links are in a more Level position which in both cases increase your toe in.

[CJ_Boxster]

Heres a quick MS paint example I made of what the Rear suspension does when you lower the boxster.

[rd400rz]

where do you buy the ajustable toe links do you have a phone # and how much are they I bought some lowering springs for my 98 boxster and guess I need them

[CJ_Boxster]

DelubozParts sells them... Look at the left hand pane of this page and you will see his Ad.

[rd400rz]

Do you have to use the adjustable toe links ?how much are they? do you have to buy a front and rear set ?I just bought the lowering springs they never told me I needed the adjustable toe links also

[CJ_Boxster]

You dont need them for the Front, only the rear.
Normally no one will tell you need to buy these arms when you buy Lowering springs.. I think just about every car in the world would need to replace some suspension part to get the correct settings.

They cost about 215 on ebay from our vendors store

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Porsche-986-Boxster-97-05-Adjustable-Rear-Toe-Arms_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1713Q2em153Q2el126 2QQcategoryZ33583QQihZ020QQitemZ300200870735QQtcZp hoto

[rd400rz]

thanks for the info

[rd400rz]

This may be stupid question Could I just lower the front,just use the front lowering springs , I think the front has the most space between the wheel and fender it looks like the front sits higher then the back

[CJ_Boxster]

you shouldnt, cause the suspension is not designed to ride at those angles...

I have Eibach lowering springs and after about 2 weeks of driving, they settled and the ride height looks even... Before my rear was lower with stock springs but thats probably related to the high miles i had on them.