Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

hi, ive had a 924 for a couple of months now. coming from the vw scene i like my cars low! ive seen a couple of kits for 924s but not low enough, is there any coilover/strut kit that will get my belly scraping?

also the whole rear setup confuses me a bit, what do i need to replace to go low?

i dont know how long i can handle a 4x4 porsche!!

Hi, are you on Retro Rides at all?

Way to do it is to get coilovers and to reindex the rear suspension since that is a torsion bar system. You could have a go at the rear yourself but most Specialists will warn you about the car handling like a bag of ass.

i am on retro rides but havent posted there for a while.

coilovers for the front only? dont really understand the rear suspension bit......

Timmy - what area do you live in bud? I know a guy who will be well happy to slam your Porsche but it depends on whether you are able to travel to him.

Failing that I know he will be happy to hava chat on the phone to answer any questions you may have

im in kettering northants so pretty central
what sort of costs would i be looking at?

My understanding is that the rear suspension is vaguely similar to that of a VW Beetle hence why the front requires coilovers (uses a MacPherson strut arrangement).

The front will need shorter coils & if going that low, different struts to cope with shorter suspension travel.
The rear has torsion bars & is fiddly to do although detailed in the manual. If paying someone the all the adjusters will probably be seized so that can add labour £££s.

Be warned that the front ball joints don't like being lowered excessively & can fail. Also going too low will destroy the handling & probably incur bump steer, screw the roll centres, but I suspect you are doing it just for the visual effect only.

ive had all of my cars lowered and find it boring to drive anything thats not. surely race or track cars are lower than standard?

yes its mainly for looks but in my limited experience with vws, they handle a whole lot better

Yup race & track cars run lower than standard, they also run massively different suspension geo & totally different tyres, also very limited suspension travel on vastly uprated springs & shocks .
I suspect most of the lowered stuff on the road doesn't, I've driven track cars that are road legal & they are not pleasant.
These have been cars with modded mounting points, lots of rose joints, shimmed racks etc.
The old joke about running over a match & knowing whether it is Bryant May or Swan Vesta
At the risk of showing my predudices here, but VWs ain't generally the best handling or steering cars in the world so I suspect modding one will be a whole different ballgame to modding a Porsche. (Calm down Smallman I've not driven an R32!)
If you think a 944 is boring if not lowered then there is something wrong! Mine is pretty knacked all round but will still show most things around corners & is dead stable at 125MPH on Gaydon JLR test track.
Lowering a 944 by 10-25mm is quite a good idea & will lower the CofG, but it needs to be done carefully, The ball joints ain't to keen on the idea & you should really run a modded pin. Also you can't do this by halves as you'll be running the suspension on totally difficult arcs, creating bumpsteer & all the other issues, the static front roll centre will drop as well. Adjustable top mounts would be a good idea as well.
If you are doing it for appearance then go ahead, but if you genuinely want a better handling car then do it properly. The 944 is a fantastic handling car on decent suspension & with fully adjustable suspension can be tweaked to give more full on handling. A set of KW Variant 3 shocks & springs & a decent geo set up. Google Promax or EMC to get an idea.

thanks for your advice!

im always up for a challenge though! will keep everyone posted how i get on.

although ill admit its mainly for looks i would like it to handle ok. its never going on a track so it doesnt matter that much. as long as its safe to drive on the road then ill be happy!

them arches are just too perfect not to try and tuck my wheels into them

It's never going on a track Why you buy a Porsche then! Get it sorted & it will be anything but boring. Too much poke before the tyres warm up & your going sideways at 70. Thats not boring. My car is fairly standard. But it's the most fun to drive of any of the cars I've yet driven except for the new Aston. And I wouldn't dare put that sideways as it's worth too much. And a Lotus 7 which isn't nice to drive on the road as nobody ever sees you. Try new bushes & shocks first. Porsche spent big money testing the 944 to make it so good. The best thing you can do is restore it to as near as new condition as you can. Every new part you fit makes a noticeable difference.

I dont think you'll need to worry about the bottom ball joint unless you are lowering substantially 40mm+. You can get 10-30mm off the back by adjusting the eccentrics any more than that it will mean re-indexing.

Rich

Wouldn't class 40mm as low, it thinking at least 80mm!

I've got a 924 and it's too slow for a track!

I like doing things differently, that's why I bought a 25 year old Porsche at 21 when all my mates are into newer cars. I can see in my head how I want it too look. I appreciate most people won't get it.

Feeling like it handles good and actually handling well are two different things (generally people think a harder ride must be better handling). My mate thought his 306 GTi-6 lowered 60 was the best handling car he had. On the country road my 'standard' GTi-6 left his mouth agape as he simply couldn't keep up with me around the corners and he suffered from Bump steer badly.

[quote="timmy"]Wouldn't class 40mm as low, it thinking at least 80mm!

Now that is more like it. So many people 'lower' their cars and when you ask how much its been lowered the answer is 10mm or 20mm!

Do it properly, set it up well and you wont regret it. It will look awesome and, even though we live in the UK with some average roads, it will be a joy to drive