Lowering rear end on 2001 Boxster 'S'
 

Greetings fellow forum members,

I have a 2001 Boxster 'S' that I recently swapped out the stock suspension components for the M030 RoW suspension package. I also installed Tarrett Engineering adjustable sway bar drop links front and rear. When all is said and done, and I've put several hundred miles on the car since the swap, the rear end of the car sits slightly higher than the front end.

I was expecting the car to sit lower overall, and level front to rear. I'm running 19" Carrera Classic wheels with Michelin PS2s, 35 sidewall aspect. There are no issues with the handling of the car, it hugs the road beautifully, and I've autocrossed it five times this year and have had no traction or control issues.

Is there an adjustment that I can make to any of the suspension components to get the rear end of the car lower, so that it sits level overall?

There is no adjustment, but you could replace the springs with eibach etc. or move the strut down in the wheel bearing carrier. I filed another hole 5/8" higher on the strut flange for the bolt to go through. I wanted to go lower but couldn't because the strut and cv boots will contact one another. I'm now stuck with .25" toe-in at each RR wheel and have had to order adjustable toe links. My camber is at -2 . These cars toe-in and increase negative camber as the rear is lowered. I was able to lower the FR by 1"so the stagger is even greater than on your car. I may lower the RR more but will have to buy adjustable control arms or use eccentric bushings as I don't want any more negative camber.

Keep in mind that many cars are designed with this rake , and removing it may affecting handling balance, and more importantly high speed aerodynamics. Rake with a flat underbody will develop some downforce, while zero (or negative) rake may generate lift.

wow, I never thought of that! M030 seems about level whereas ROW030 lowers the FR MORE than the RR, thereby creating a nose-down rake, comparatively. For those sensitive enough, rate of roll needs to be considered too. My car rolls evenly FR to RR now and is quick to do so.

Rake will change the relative roll center heights, and can be used to fine tune initial turn-in behavior. I don't know how sensitive the Boxster is to rake changes, but it is something to be aware of.

I got an extra degree of rake, not necessarily by design, as the M030 ended up lowering my front by 6mm but raising the rear by 5mm. It is impossible to tell what that has done to the handling as the whole effect is diluted by the new suspension and geo anyway.

I did not measure mine before and after RoW-M030. But I had mine installed in early April and was aware that the rear would be slightly higher than the front. But I also read somewhere that it would settle in over a few thousand miles and not be as noticeable. I like the way mine sits after putting on 6K miles. Handles and rides way better than stock.

The ride height spec's on the M030 as compared to stock are -15mm front and -10mm rear. The kit is designed to provide a bit of rake with the nose lower than the tail.

Unfortunately, there are no ride height adjustments for the stock or M030 suspension - you'll have to go to a coilover shock (like a PSS9) to get F/R ride height adjustability.