Rebuiding Inside-out Options

[bkrantz]

I think you should roll the car back and forth so it will seat well and get the proper height.

Agreed, even better take her around the block to settle the suspension

Yes, but that will have to wait until I actually attach the windshield.

[bkrantz]

Congrats! Huge milestone. Here’s the “official” factory diagram for the front ride height in case you don’t have it. Keep in mind that this is for stock tires…and rumors are that the DOT mandated a slightly higher rake in front to optimize bumper positioning. I think having the front about an inch lower still looks stock and handles great…but I’m sure the suspension safety gurus will chime in. Small changes in the adjuster have a bigger effect than you might expect. But as others have said, the car needs to bounce/settle between every adjustment to really see the difference.

Again…super impressive work and thanks so much for detailing every step so well. This thread will be useful forever.

Thanks, Ian. I do want the front to be level or just a bit lower. See my other posts today about following the factory method.

[bkrantz]

To get the car lower, I removed the rear springs/shocks. Step 1 is disconnecting the sway bar links.

[bkrantz]

Shock and spring on the bench.

[bkrantz]

And all apart.

[bkrantz]

The perch was set on the 4th groove from the bottom.

[bkrantz]

Just to see how low the car can get, I moved the perch to the lowest groove.

[bkrantz]

Of course, when reassembled, the spring is now shorter than the full shock length. I will think about tying the spring to the upper and lower perches.

[bkrantz]

The rear sits lower now, by about 1.5". I think I was able to get the springs on bot sides to seat properly in the upper perches.

[bkrantz]

Tire clearance inside the right fender is tight--maybe a bit less than 1/8". The left side clears by about 1/4".

[bkrantz]

Then I worked to lower the front. I remembered to empty the weight I had in the frunk (that helped keep the weight balance forward).

[bkrantz]

I then jacked up each side and unscrewed the torsion bar adjusters two full turns.

[bkrantz]

Front A-arm angles both dropped from 10° to 8°.

[bkrantz]

I also measured the height of the torsion bar centers about 7.4" on both sides. Subtracting this from the hub center height (11.8") gives 4.4". The factory spec is 3.5".

[bkrantz]

But to get the front lower, I will need to reset the caps on the torsion bars since the adjuster screws are almost bottomed out.

[bkrantz]

The car is lower than yesterday, but now the nose is high.

[Cairo94507]

Is 1/8" enough clearance on the rear fender well lip? I am not sure how much these wheels move outward at the top when driving. I can slip my pinky finger between my tires and the rear lips. I was very concerned about tires rubbing anything painted when selecting tires.

Here is mine sitting in the driveway Friday after a little drive. I do like the 914 low, but I do not want to be dragging over speed bumps. But they look so much better, in my mind, when lowered. BTW, I am running deep 6 wheels with 195x55x15 Yokohama tires. If I could have got 205x60x15 tires I would have.

[bkrantz]

Is 1/8" enough clearance on the rear fender well lip? I am not sure how much these wheels move outward at the top when driving. I can slip my pinky finger between my tires and the rear lips. I was very concerned about tires rubbing anything painted when selecting tires.

Here is mine sitting in the driveway Friday after a little drive. I do like the 914 low, but I do not want to be dragging over speed bumps. But they look so much better, in my mind, when lowered. BTW, I am running deep 6 wheels with 195x55x15 Yokohama tires. If I could have got 205x60x15 tires I would have.

That looks good.

I agree that 1/8" is not enough. I started working on that today.

[bkrantz]

Ride height fun day 3. To lower the front more, I had to reset the torsion bar caps. Here is the right side the way I first installed it (with the adjusting screw removed).

[bkrantz]

New position, to maximize the amount I can lower it.