Hi teeners. Getting close to exorcising the demon air bubbles from the brakes and I notice something in driving around. The inside rearview mirror is worthless! All I can see is the pavement 20 feet back.
So, I'm thinking the front is too high or the rear is too low. The car has Koni coil overs on the rear and unknown struts on the front. The Konis are adjustable but only for damping, and they're over 15 years old.
The rear wheels have a significant amount of camber. I watched one of Ian's videos about installing rear coilovers and if I follow his rule of using a straightedge from the rocker panel the rear is too low.
However, I believe I could also lower the front pretty easily.
I'm new to the 914 world so all opinions and thoughts will be considered, absorbed, and used to bring the BB to the straight and level.
Thanks.
Oh, a photo is included.

There is some adjustment in the front, but as it lowers the front it messes with the suspension geometry. I had to move my struts out at the top to compensate. There are a couple companies out there that will raise your spindles on the struts so you can lower the car but have the suspension maintain the proper travel and geometry. As far as off the boat stock, that looks about right. Your car's a Beauty

There's also a bump-steer kit (a couple of thick washers and longer bolts) you can install between the steering rack and it's mounting points if you decide to lower the front end too much.

I'd pay attention raising to the rear suspension first ... some adjustable perch shocks and/or stiffer/taller springs would help there.

I remember this car from when it resided in Washington state. The stance actually looks level and good to my eye. When I redid the suspension on my Bumblebee (VIN -14854), I replaced the original worn 45 year old rear springs with slightly stiffer 100# Weltmeister springs. I now have a very slight front rake which I prefer. I'd look at your rear springs first if you plan an upgrade.

Rear ended looks too low… raise it and then get a four wheel alignment and four corner balance… worth every penny.

I'm going by what this fella says it should be at OEM. Not sure if he is right. @ eprox 14:30
The ride height looks like mine when I got it. It was 10 years old

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCEl24tNEfo

I believed your rear probably on the stock height (based on various thread here). Look at your body line by the rocker cover, pretty straight to the middle of rear wheel. Maybe try to lower the front and should be very easy to adjust it with just two bolts (left and right) on the lower trailing arm. And if your ok with the adjustment, visit alignment shop to re check or minor alignment.

It could be that your rear view mirror is glued too high on your windshield.

Just a skoch but could make a difference.



Also . Make sure it got attached in the right location.

Good point on the mirror. Anyone have a measurement for a factory installed mirror on original glass?
The rear is low according to the Youtube video Ian put up on installing rear coil overs. I also wonder if or where I would find the factory bumper height spec for a 74.

Thanks all, Any rec. on where I might find original factory bumper heights for the US spec 914? I would like to have a target to aim at when I start fiddlin with the setup.

Hi Rob,

according to the factory manual, the upper edge of the mirror mounting plate is 100mm below the upper trim of the windshield, centered.

Greets, Arno

i studied all this in the factory manual when i recommissioned my 1.8.
we rebuilt all the suspension, shocks, bushes etc so had it all apart.
the manual does not give ride hts. not at least as far as we could figure out.
what it gives is unloaded spring length (for the rear springs).
this is what we used to set up the rear strut (shock).
we kept the original springs. we also measure the location on the original boge shocks we removed and used the same location on the new bilstiens we put in.
i'm guessing if you use springs with stronger strength they are still all the same length?

from there we just put it all back together.
the front was sitting up, us spec style when we first got it back on its wheels.
i drove it around for a bit to settle the suspension.
and then we set it up dead level measuring the sill panels above ground by adjusting the front suspension torsion bars.
which is supposedly how it should be set up - level.
some folks here like to set them up nose down slightly.
the manual says to have a full tank of gas when you do it!
very german.

i've got no complaints with it set up dead level.
i did have some complaints when it was nose up.

yours looks pretty right in those photos. looks level.

there is a section in the manual tells you how to set up the spring on the rear shock strut.

but i've never seen anything in there that i can find with heights specified.

like some have noted here, sounds like your rear view mirror is wrong.
when you have it right you will be staring into the license plates of SUVs right up your quoit or blinded by lazer beam audi LEDs at night.....

I prefer to have my teen lower, I set my rear top of the rim 1" to the bottom of the fender then I leveled the front (all 4 corners). When I did this I put my approximate weight (sand bags) in the drivers seat and I did my own alinement.

Yes I do have slight bump steer, but so little that I can live with it.

Drop the nose and 'Praise the Lowered'

The factory spec for adjusting the front height is to measure from the center of the wheel to the ground, and measure from the center of the torsion bar adjuster to ground. The difference between those two measurements should be 90 +/- 5mm. As @wonkipop said, there is no spec for the rear.

Now forget all that because it sticks the nose way up with the car looking like a snooty rally racer. When I did it, my car looked hideous. I brought the nose back down a little bit and adjusted the rear spring perches to level it out as measured from the jack point doughnuts to ground.

This is the measuring high from the front axle.

Click to view attachment

There's debate as to was this is where the factory wanted it or did they have to raise it slightly to be within USA/Canada DOT regulation height for the headlights.

My only comment is that if it was the height they wanted it, they must have been drunk at the time.

My car will not currently meet the DOT required headlight height.

Good thing they don't check it.

Clay

According to the manual the ride height in the center of the rocker is supposed to be 140mm or 130mm car loaded. This is of course with stock 25" tires or 165 SR 15 on 5.5Jx15" rims.

def. a 12 can diagram (depth charges, not regular tins).


-----

three stories i heard back in late 80s.
1) headlight ht regs as above.
2) set up for understeer all the way to limit and beyond, due to fear of customers unable to control snap oversteer. bit of r. nader/corvair paranoia still around maybe at time? the 6s never looked in press photos to be nose up (might cast doubt on version 1). the 4s did look nose up in early photos. could have been at command of VW and their conservative engineers? vw would have had more control over the 4s coming out of the karmann works complete. the early 4s ran 155s standard, mighty skinny tyres?

and 3) was the bumper regs, esp so in relation to 73 models on with compression tits at front. but photos of earlier years of 4s also have the nose up attitude so....

i find the understeer one believable, you only got to look at how nose up 411/412s and superbeetles were. verging on ridiculous?


EDIT - just read through this thread.
interesting discussion on brake regulator (proportioning) valve in there.

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=352999

could be that VW engineers also took a conservative view on panic stops and rear wheel lock up in poor road conditions with regard to mass market 914/4s.

well done finding that in the factory manual.

interesting - mine sits considerably higher than that - unloaded admittedly. its a level 195mm to the bottom of the rocker panels (330mm to top of rocker panel) above ground with about half a tank of gas. running proper stock size 165s. the back is sitting at the ht it was before we took all suspension apart - took a reference measurement.

edit. - i see where you mean - in the glove box manual?
the 130mm seems to be the lowest level of floor clearance which might be lower than sills. i went out and measured the car. my overall ht. agrees with glovebox manual at 1230mm. i also measure a clearance of 130mm to the u/s of the little rubber flaps that hang down in front of the engine bay for lower pressure area air flow. lowest hanging things on the car.
perhaps that 130mm is a reference to ground clearance at the lowest point which is the flaps?

interesting to learn mark henry has his car set up with i inch from the rim to rear guard. 25mm in metric. i have approx 95mm clearance from the rear rim to the rear guard (close to 4 inches) and i think we did a good job of setting it up stock, which was my aim.
so anywhere in between is going to be good.
i noticed - it might have been my imagination. that when we cranked the front down, the rear seemed to come up a tiny bit.
most folks probably favour getting their cars lower.
the car is still running original springs - softest factory spring.
it drives great with a full load of two people, cases of wine, luggage, full tank of gas, on bumpy country roads. i run pretty skinny michelin XAS tyres so its more the vintage driving experience i am after, without the vw engineer induced plough understeer.

easy enough to play around with rear springs and go from there to get what you want. you don't want the nose up.

Click to view attachment

here is more info on ride ht.
knew i had it somewhere in files from last year.
design drawing 914/6.
gives dimension to what looks like top of front skirt, u/s of bumper.
drawing suggests - might also be dimension to bottom of driving light grilles.
whatever it is close.

technically, for the uber precise, the dimension giving the ht is at plan cut at level 0 or 349mm above ground which corresponds to the dimensions given on the plan view drawing.

dim = 349mm with car empty.
measuring mine it is 340mm to u/s bumper with half a tank of gas at centre of car.
another dimension we used setting up to check at the end we were in the vicinity of something like stock with the front set level. its not a dim written in stone for setting up suspension.



Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment