Measurements of Lowered Boxsters

[Gary in BR]

Hello,

I am investigating a few changes to my suspension. As some of you know I am running a set of coil overs and throughout the past 6 months I have changed spring rates, toe links, camber plates and anything else I could think of to get the set up "just right".
Currently the alignment is right and the tire wear is back to Porsche normality.

The ride is great on smooth roads and bearable in the city. The interstate is killing me. If I hit a dip or a rise as in overpasses the car feels as if the rear is coming off the ground. I know for a fact that the rear tires did come off the ground in one occasion because my friend was behind me.

I am tired of this problem.

I have decided to go back to an OEM type suspension and lowering springs. I ran Elbachs for a few years and never had a issue with them.

But I am in love with the slammed down look of my car. I am not keeping my current set up but I am switching to something else, i just dont know what yet.

What I am looking for is a few measurements of OEM 986s and lowered 986s.
I dont remember what the OEM height is or the lowered height on lowering springs. My memory recall is my car is 24.5 inches from the ground now, through the center of the rim to the fender in the front and the rear I dont recall.

If a few of you can measure your car through the center of the rim to the fender front and back It would help me decided if I want to try another coil over or just go back to lowering springs.

If I decide to go to lowering springs we get to have another thread on shock options ( I think Bilsten is it) and another thread on sway bars!!! Are you guys looking forward to this again??

Thanks for all your help in advance.

OH by the way the PSS10s look real tempting.....

[boxs2000]

My car measures at 24 7/8" in the front and rear. This is measuring from the ground up through the center of of the rims to the bottom of the fender. For reference, I'm running eibach pro springs with the factory Bilstien shocks with Bridgestone S02's at 225/40/18 and 265/35/18 in the rears. This set up is about 3 years old so the suspension is well settled in.

Out of curiosity what kind of coilovers are you running?

[

[insite]

if you want a car that handles great & is primarily driven on the street, you absolutely cannot beat (for price or performance or comfort) the M030 setup (the car in my sig is M030 ride height). if you absolutely have to have the car lower, go for eibach springs & M030 everything else. if you have to go REALLY low, go for H&R springs & M030 everything else.

i've driven almost every conceivable combination of sways, springs & shocks available for this car & have come to the realization that (suprise) porsche knows what they're doing. unless you have some reason to need a car that's hyper stiff & squeezes out that last bit of performance for a street car, i am adamant that the M030 is most properly tuned option you can get for our cars.

[insite]

the car on the left is M030; the car on the right is H&R.

[Gary in BR]

Originally Posted by insite

if you want a car that handles great & is primarily driven on the street, you absolutely cannot beat (for price or performance or comfort) the M030 setup (the car in my sig is M030 ride height). if you absolutely have to have the car lower, go for eibach springs & M030 everything else. if you have to go REALLY low, go for H&R springs & M030 everything else.

i've driven almost every conceivable combination of sways, springs & shocks available for this car & have come to the realization that (suprise) porsche knows what they're doing. unless you have some reason to need a car that's hyper stiff & squeezes out that last bit of performance for a street car, i am adamant that the M030 is most properly tuned option you can get for our cars.

M30 everything else? would be M030 sway bars and struts. Right?
Are there different M030 Struts or just the standard Bilstens?


Thanks
Gary

[insite]

here's my preferred setup for a street boxster:

Front Sway: M030 'S'
Rear Sway: M030 'Base'
Springs: M030
Struts: Bilstein Sport or M030

the reason for the base rear sway is that it's thicker than the S and takes out some understeer. a primary reason i love the M030 springs is that while Eibach and H&R lower the car evenly, the M030 lower the car more up front. again, this takes out understeer.

the bilstein sport (and HD; they're damped the same) are supposedly a bit more stiff than the M030, but i can't tell the difference. either is great.

the eibach sways are almost identical to the M030 listed above, but twice the price. the H&R sways are WAY too stiff for the street and will be underdamped by M030 or Bilstein struts; your car will porpoise.

Essentially, if you buy the full M030 kit and have them swap the front bar to the S M030, you will have a full package that works very, very well together.

[fishyfishfish]

"here's my preferred setup for a street boxster:

Front Sway: M030 'S'
Rear Sway: M030 'Base'
Springs: M030
Struts: Bilstein Sport or M030"

Insite, curious as to whether you have adjusted camber/toe, or have left those settings stock as well? And if you have adjusted, are you using after-market adjustable camber plates and/or adjustable links in back? I agree with your setup, and certainly don't want my car any lower, but am wondering how to get my tire wear more even (and contact patch larger) when i track my car...

thanks,

chris

04' Boxster S 550 "Special Edition"
99' Carrera 4
'83 Audi Urquattro

[insite]

Originally Posted by fishyfishfish

Insite, curious as to whether you have adjusted camber/toe, or have left those settings stock as well? And if you have adjusted, are you using after-market adjustable camber plates and/or adjustable links in back? I agree with your setup, and certainly don't want my car any lower, but am wondering how to get my tire wear more even (and contact patch larger) when i track my car...

i run -1.0 deg camber up front on the street and -1.6 deg on the track. i set front toe to zero at -1.0 deg camber. when i change the camber for the track, i leave the toe alone. this pushes the front toe out a teeny bit, which i like on the track.

in back, i don't yet have any toe correction arms installed. i run zero toe at -2.4 deg camber on the street and on slower tracks. i set slight toe in for faster tracks. this is too much camber for a street tire, but i can't de-camber further without trashing my toe settings. this is of course cured w/ toe arms.

[SinnerDC2]

I have h&r race springs on my acura integra. its very bumpy ride, but the stance is perfect. I'm thinking I'm not going to put the h&r's on my porsche because of the bumpiness.

I would be interested in the stock porsche equipment if I can find the for about the same prices as aftermarket stuff.

[insite]

Originally Posted by SinnerDC2

I have h&r race springs on my acura integra. its very bumpy ride, but the stance is perfect. I'm thinking I'm not going to put the h&r's on my porsche because of the bumpiness.

I would be interested in the stock porsche equipment if I can find the for about the same prices as aftermarket stuff.

the porsche stuff is actually cheaper than the aftermarket stuff. not sure what the price is now, but in '07 you could get the M030 kit (sways, springs, and struts) for $1,000 from sunset imports. for comparison purposes, aftermarket struts will run you $800, H&R springs are $400, and H&R sways are another $450.

[blinkwatt]

insite I'm shocked,you saying you'd prefer the M030 stuff compared to the RoW 030 equipment? I really liked my RoW 030 suspension but at the same time I wish it lowered the car's stance a little more. Handling was great with the RoW 030 kit though.

[insite]

Originally Posted by blinkwatt

insite I'm shocked,you saying you'd prefer the M030 stuff compared to the RoW 030 equipment? I really liked my RoW 030 suspension but at the same time I wish it lowered the car's stance a little more. Handling was great with the RoW 030 kit though.

i probably should have been more clear; both are M030, but the RoW M030 has the euro ride height and is indeed the one i prefer. i talk about this stuff a lot and just figure the RoW part of the M030 package is a given (why order U.S. spec?). the U.S. M030 kit doesn't lower the car at all. when i say M030, i mean RoW M030. thanks for catching that, blink.

[Gary in BR]

Originally Posted by boxs2000

My car measures at 24 7/8" in the front and rear. This is measuring from the ground up through the center of of the rims to the bottom of the fender. For reference, I'm running eibach pro springs with the factory Bilstien shocks with Bridgestone S02's at 225/40/18 and 265/35/18 in the rears. This set up is about 3 years old so the suspension is well settled in.

Out of curiosity what kind of coilovers are you running?

[

My car is 24.5 so there is less than a half inch between the two.
Does anyone have H & R's can you measure for me??

As of today I am running KSport coilovers.

[Gary in BR]

Originally Posted by insite

here's my preferred setup for a street boxster:

Front Sway: M030 'S'
Rear Sway: M030 'Base'
Springs: M030
Struts: Bilstein Sport or M030

the reason for the base rear sway is that it's thicker than the S and takes out some understeer. a primary reason i love the M030 springs is that while Eibach and H&R lower the car evenly, the M030 lower the car more up front. again, this takes out understeer.

the bilstein sport (and HD; they're damped the same) are supposedly a bit more stiff than the M030, but i can't tell the difference. either is great.

the eibach sways are almost identical to the M030 listed above, but twice the price. the H&R sways are WAY too stiff for the street and will be underdamped by M030 or Bilstein struts; your car will porpoise.

Essentially, if you buy the full M030 kit and have them swap the front bar to the S M030, you will have a full package that works very, very well together.

This seems like a great idea. All OEM equipment but I will do the H&Rs or Elibachs. I had Elibachs at one time and may go back to them but the possibly lower H&R are tempting.

Thanks for the help, I should have thought of this on my own but I didn't I guess thats what you guys are here for.

[insite]

Originally Posted by Gary in BR

This seems like a great idea. All OEM equipment but I will do the H&Rs or Elibachs. I had Elibachs at one time and may go back to them but the possibly lower H&R are tempting.

Thanks for the help, I should have thought of this on my own but I didn't I guess thats what you guys are here for.

gary -

sounds like you are moving away from the coilovers to the M030. i'm doing the opposite since i see the track a lot. want to work out some kind of trade?

[insite]

gary -

just realized your first post mentioned you really liked the low look of your car. if that's the case, you want the H&R. i don't have the measurements handy, but they lower the car quite a bit. if boxs2000's car is 24-7/8 with the eibach pro, you'd be at your current ride height with the H&R.

the H&R are a little stiffer than the M030, but not much. i would go with the bilstein sport struts since they're supposedly valved a little stiffer than the M030; this will balance out the stiffer springs. don't even consider sway bars other than M030 for what you're looking to do.

[Benny986]

do you know what your exact spring rates are?

i am running C/Os, granted I have motons, and the ride is VERY plush.

spring rates with the same shocks can drastically change the ride characteristics. as can the wrong tire and wrong air pressure.

i have the re01-r. which i like a lot.

[insite]

Originally Posted by Benny986

do you know what your exact spring rates are?

i am running C/Os, granted I have motons, and the ride is VERY plush.

spring rates with the same shocks can drastically change the ride characteristics. as can the wrong tire and wrong air pressure.

i have the re01-r. which i like a lot.

the RE01-R is a VERY comfortable tire.

[Gary in BR]

My current spring rates are 300 front and 500 rear.

I know these are very stiff, my original thought is to just go with softer springs. Most spring rates for the 986 are 200-300 range. The reason I am considering just going to a Bilsten-H&R setup is I will only have to do the work once.

DO you guys think softening the springs will help with the "porpoising" I am getting?

[fishyfishfish]

Another interesting point, which should have been obvious to me (preferably, before I purchased them), is that the after-market camber plates are relatively thick... the ones I bought, schnell, which seem to be as good or the same as all the other ones, are 1/2" thick, so by using them i will be able to get more camber (duh) than stock allows, but i'm also going to be raising the car higher, changing the lower front/higher rear setup of the factory M030 and probably affecting the handling characteristics in a negative way (e.g. more understeer)... so, now, the only way i will now be able to alleviate the understeer and or get the ride height back to the way i love it, is to get adjustable coilovers!!! Thus, like insite, I may be looking to trade/sell my MO30 package as well...

Oh, the webs we weave!