Been working on my ride height...

[VroomGrrl]

Got me some new tools for Christmas and got to work in the garage. What do you think of my new lowered look?

[zukitek]

youre too muchLooks like someone broke out the photoshop.

RR

[VroomGrrl]

youre too muchLooks like someone broke out the photoshop.

RR

Yeah, I couldn't resist. I got in a kind of pissing match on pelicanparts.com forums about lowering and one of the guys photochopped that pic for me. I Hooowwwled! Hoped yall would get a kick out of it. He turned my thumbs-up down, too, I just noticed!

[TouringBubble]

I don't think that's BS legal ... I might have to submit a complaint against you!

I'm not sure what your disagreement is about on the forum, but lowering a car isn't rocket science ... you lower as much as possible to lower the center of gravity while not changing the roll center so much that it breaks the horizontal plane created by the polar movement of the control arms. If the roll center becomes too low/high you will see large camber gain/loss in corners and you must alter the roll center by modifying the suspension mounting points. You must also consider effects on bump steer ... okay, maybe it's a little like rocket science.

This, of course, all applies to independent McPherson based cars though ... =) Do you have a front torsion bar on the 911? I'm not sure when that was updated on the Porsches.

[VroomGrrl]

I don't think that's BS legal ... I might have to submit a complaint against you!

I'm not sure what your disagreement is about on the forum, but lowering a car isn't rocket science ... you lower as much as possible to lower the center of gravity while not changing the roll center so much that it breaks the horizontal plane created by the polar movement of the control arms. If the roll center becomes too low/high you will see large camber gain/loss in corners and you must alter the roll center by modifying the suspension mounting points. You must also consider effects on bump steer ... okay, maybe it's a little like rocket science.

This, of course, all applies to independent McPherson based cars though ... =) Do you have a front torsion bar on the 911? I'm not sure when that was updated on the Porsches.

That's OK - my car was actually classed BSP my first day (corrected for results). Would I be legal there, i wonder?

OK well here is where I get into trouble - with all the rocket science. The debate was not so much about my car, I had posted kind of a joke - picture of a dead possum in the road with the caption "why I am not lowering my car". It went from there!

I have learned a lot already. I called the guy I bought my car from to ask about its current set-up. It looks lower than street spec to me and others. Indeed, it's lowered "some, not quite to Euro." So that's good to know. Honestly, girly as it may sound, i do not like the LOOK of a seriously lowered car with the tires all sucked up into the fender wells.

Torsion bar. I have a brace in the front of my car. Is that the same thing? When I talked to the previous owner, I asked him about it - what brand, was it adjustable? I didn't see any brand markings on it, no labels, and it doesn't appear adjustable. What brand? A "HIS NAME" special. Yep, he fabricated the whole setup himself. Again, good to know.

And that's the sum total of my techincal expertise on this topic!

[TouringBubble]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torsion_bar_suspension

Basically, if you have coil springs up front, it's not a torsion bar setup. Torsion bars were used on early Porsches, but you're is likely new enough to have coil springs.

The bar you have across the front is more likely a sway bar if it's a t the bottom or a chassis brace if it's at the top.

[VroomGrrl]

The bar you have across the front is more likely a sway bar if it's a t the bottom or a chassis brace if it's at the top.

Here's what I got:

[87RX7RACER]

That would be a strut bar Kathy. That bar keeps the shock towers from moving under hard cornering situations. If you want to make some cornering improvements to your ride, my best advice would be to get some nice, lightweight wheels that are wider and going with some stickier tires. I would highly recommend the Falken Azenis 615's. That's what I run, and it's the closest you can get to an R-compound without actually getting a R-compound...lol. Plus they are relatively inexpensive.

Just my .02 cents.

-Vincent.

[VroomGrrl]

That would be a strut bar Kathy. That bar keeps the shock towers from moving under hard cornering situations. If you want to make some cornering improvements to your ride, my best advice would be to get some nice, lightweight wheels that are wider and going with some stickier tires. I would highly recommend the Falken Azenis 615's. That's what I run, and it's the closest you can get to an R-compound without actually getting a R-compound...lol. Plus they are relatively inexpensive.

Just my .02 cents.

-Vincent.

Hey Vincent - happy new year!! Thanks for the info above. I am going to do some more real driving in the car before I figure out if I need to make any changes to my current set-up. I'm getting soooo antsy to get out and drive!

[Erv]

That would be a strut bar Kathy. That bar keeps the shock towers from moving under hard cornering situations. If you want to make some cornering improvements to your ride, my best advice would be to get some nice, lightweight wheels that are wider and going with some stickier tires. I would highly recommend the Falken Azenis 615's. That's what I run, and it's the closest you can get to an R-compound without actually getting a R-compound...lol. Plus they are relatively inexpensive.

Just my .02 cents.

-Vincent.

the new Dunlop Direzzas are stickier and faster, they are a lil more expensive.

love the new look, think it needs to go a lil lower though

[Cholewa]

I didn't realize bags were legal suspensions.

[zukitek]

bags huh?????That leaves open some pretty large doors.That strut brace is a structural enhancement that may prove itself to come back and haunt you .I think it is technically not legal in stock..There you go ...telling on yourself.

RR

[VroomGrrl]

bags huh?????That leaves open some pretty large doors.That strut brace is a structural enhancement that may prove itself to come back and haunt you .I think it is technically not legal in stock..There you go ...telling on yourself.

RR

Well maybe I belonged in BSP to begin with - I rattled off my "mods" such as they are when I signed up at my first event and was classed BSP, then later it was changed to BS. SHRUG. The rear is widened with spacers (and xlong lug nuts) also. So there!

What the hell are yall talking about, "bags"? Spell it out for me, I'm having a big DOH moment over here. Unless you mean all the bags I pull out of my car and pile up next to my car in the paddock, I have no clue.

[TouringBubble]

Bags = airbag suspension. Some lowrider guys use them for dynamic height adjustment on cars/trucks. Like hydraulics, but with a compressor and tank.

They are OE on some cars, like Cadillac and Mercedes ... they can give a smooth ride if set up correctly. Even seen a old Caddy with the rear end basically on the ground? That's probably due to blown bags in the rear.

[Cholewa]

Frame draggers...

The caddy set up is pretty neat in that it's ever changing based upon the load in the car. But it really just tries to manage the same ride height. So if you've got a full load plus 3 grandpas in the back, and the computer forgets to reset, you're gonna have some mad rake.. the awesome kind.