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914World.com _ 914World Garage _ front end lowering
Posted by: PORobinSCHE Mar 25 2007, 04:41 PM
hello all, is it possible to lower the front appx 1 1/2 inches without adding the spacer to the steering rack?
thanks
Robin 
Posted by: Joe Ricard Mar 25 2007, 05:02 PM
depends if you like to get the steering wheel jerked out of your hands if you hit a bump in a curve.
General consenous is to go low enough to get the lower control arms to level with the pavement.
You will have the tie rods pointing a bit at this point and should put in bump spacers which is REALLY easy.
tthen do and aligment and drive it.
Posted by: SirAndy Mar 25 2007, 05:02 PM
hello all, is it possible to lower the front appx 1 1/2 inches without adding the spacer to the steering rack?
sure. you can lower it all you want without any spacers ...
just gotta get used to the bump-steer ...
Andy
Posted by: PORobinSCHE Mar 25 2007, 07:18 PM
i guess i need to put some spacers on my shopping list. 
Posted by: r_towle Mar 25 2007, 07:22 PM
There is a point that you cant go any further...the a-arm hits the underside of the unibody...
There is a flange there that you can bend flat to gain another 1/4 of an inch...it would be on the front of the a-arm.
Rich
Posted by: So.Cal.914 Mar 25 2007, 10:21 PM
You can have your spindles raised or get the spacers... Spacers are cheaper.
Posted by: ClayPerrine Mar 25 2007, 10:34 PM
You really don't want to lower the front suspension to the point where the control arms are horizontal, much less pointing up on the outside.
The reason for this is geometry. When you turn a car, the suspension compresses on the outside wheels. When the car rolls, the wheel gains positive camber in relationship to the ground. On the front of a 914 (or 911) the suspension compresses and the arm moves more horizontal in relationship to the car. The ball joint moves both outward and upward, and this increases the negative camber in the outside wheel, thus countering the positive camber induced by the roll. This will keep the contact patch on the tire as large a possible, maximizing the traction.
Now if you start with the control arm horizontal, the compression of the suspension causes the ball joint to move both upward and inward. This adds positive camber, which decreases the contact patch of the tire. That decreases the amount of traction on that wheel.
In the factory manual it recommends that the ride height be set so that the ball joint is lower than the pivot points for the control arm.
So, if you want to lower the suspension to extremes, the only right way to do it is with dropped spindles.
Posted by: newto914s Mar 9 2009, 02:47 PM
You really don't want to lower the front suspension to the point where the control arms are horizontal, much less pointing up on the outside.
So, if you want to lower the suspension to extremes, the only right way to do it is with dropped spindles.
Does anyone make drop spindles for the 914, or are the bug spindles a bolt on option?
Posted by: SirAndy Mar 9 2009, 03:16 PM
Does anyone make drop spindles for the 914
Drill out existing welds, then press the spindle off the strut:
Clean up spindle and struts:
Then weld back together at a higher point ...
Andy
Posted by: RJMII Mar 9 2009, 03:56 PM
Andy, are the 911SC struts built the same way?
Posted by: SirAndy Mar 9 2009, 05:30 PM
Andy, are the 911SC struts built the same way?
If i recall correctly, the struts in the pictures were from a 911 ...
Andy
Posted by: elmonte Mar 9 2009, 05:46 PM
this can be done this way only on Bilstein struts . The boge struts have a flare in the strut tube above the spindle that will not allow you do this .racer chris at CFR does have a way to do the boge Struts.
Posted by: elmonte Mar 9 2009, 05:49 PM
Here's a link
http://www.tangerineracing.com/suspension.htm#Front%20Strut%20Raised%20Spindles
Posted by: Phoenix 914-6GT Mar 9 2009, 06:04 PM
Looks to me like the Boges have no curve in them. Mine are Boges as well and they look exactly like Andy's.
Posted by: elmonte Mar 9 2009, 06:42 PM
Looks to me like the Boges have no curve in them. Mine are Boges as well and they look exactly like Andy's.
It's not much of a flare but is enough that the spindle mount can't just be slid up the tube. If you mic below then above where the spindle mounts you will see. Tangerine racing cuts and sections the tube to raise the spindle
Cheers
Posted by: elmonte Mar 10 2009, 12:59 PM
Here's a couple of links to the Pelican bbs that discusses what ClayPerrine posted and also talks about the Boge struts.
cheers
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?t=100741&highlight=Boge+struts+raising
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?t=361009&highlight=Boge+struts+raising
Posted by: RJMII Mar 10 2009, 01:13 PM
You can have your spindles raised or get the spacers... Spacers are cheaper.
It looks like the spacers would still be needed with the spindles raised. =o( unless the stearing arm was bent at the same time, like the link that elmonte posted showing the tangerine method.
looks like i'm disagreeing and agreeing all in one post. lol
Posted by: elmonte Mar 10 2009, 01:36 PM
Yes Steering rack spacers or better yet something like this to fine tune the bump
Posted by: Jeffs9146 Mar 10 2009, 04:05 PM
It looks like the ones modified from tangerineracing do not require the spacers on the control arms, they bend them into possition!
Posted by: elmonte Mar 10 2009, 07:22 PM
It looks like the ones modified from tangerineracing do not require the spacers on the control arms, they bend them into possition!
You are correct, my mistake.Not a big fan of the way the spindles are raised or the bent control arms on the Boges . Better to get a set of the Bilsteins, but that would mean new brakes for the 3 1/2 caliper spacing. Don't know if the Bilsteins come in 3 inch
cheers
Posted by: type2man Mar 19 2009, 08:27 PM
Ok, I am gonna hijack this thread. I bought a 914 a few weeks ago. Actually I have 2 of them. I loosened the screw in the front all the way and let it down. Not low enough. So I removed the strut and cut the rubber bushing inside. STILL not low enough. It rides hard now and I know it's riding on the front strut bushing. Tires are 195/65/15. I am going to go with either 175/55 or 195/45 but this will only add an inch. I could do lowered spindles but it still won't put me where I want to be. I haven't done the rear yet because I can just cut the springs or get coilovers. I've attached a pic of the 914 so you guys can see the ride height AFTER I lowered it. Perhaps there are different size struts. WTF?
Posted by: roadster fan Mar 20 2009, 02:29 AM
Ok, I am gonna hijack this thread. I bought a 914 a few weeks ago. Actually I have 2 of them. I loosened the screw in the front all the way and let it down. Not low enough. So I removed the strut and cut the rubber bushing inside. STILL not low enough. It rides hard now and I know it's riding on the front strut bushing. Tires are 195/65/15. I am going to go with either 175/55 or 195/45 but this will only add an inch. I could do lowered spindles but it still won't put me where I want to be. I haven't done the rear yet because I can just cut the springs or get coilovers. I've attached a pic of the 914 so you guys can see the ride height AFTER I lowered it. Perhaps there are different size struts. WTF?
I think that looks good
Just saying,
Jim
Posted by: type2man Mar 22 2009, 06:49 PM
Thanks for the compliment. Does anyone else have other opinions on why my 914 is not that low. Lower profile tires would drop and inch and lowered spindles would drop another inch but consider the fact that it's already bottomed out. I'm sure someone else out there has a slammed 914 they could share their thoughts on...
Posted by: r_towle Mar 22 2009, 07:16 PM
Do you have an antisway bar?
You may also have to remove the adjuster and re-index it to go any lower...that is what I needed to do on every car I lowered.
Rich
Posted by: type2man Mar 22 2009, 08:33 PM
Do you have an antisway bar?
You may also have to remove the adjuster and re-index it to go any lower...that is what I needed to do on every car I lowered.
Rich
Yes, it has a swaybar. I'll check into it and come with an update.
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