Lowering the front of a '65?

[obrut]

Hi all,

I had a quick look under my newly acquired '65 (66MY) the other day as I would like to lower the front a bit. I spotted a largish bolt head near each strut bottom (16mm?) that appeared to connect to a couple of wedge shaped parts. Is the roughly the same height adjusting mechanism as the protruding bolts found on the fromt of a LWB car?

I'm new to this SWB thing and didn't want to start turning before I knew I was on the right path.


Ps. If I am, if the car is at the lowest end of its height adjustment, do the wedge shaped parts 'close' against each other?

[Flieger]

SWB struts have the ball joint par bolted to the strut and it sounds like you might be seeing part of this. The height adjuster should be the same as the LWB.

[obrut]

Thanks Max, Time for a closer look.

[304065]

Ryan,

I don't recommend touching the height adjusters except in the context of an overall corner balance.

SWB cars are quirky enough from a handling standpoint, if you alter the front ride height without altering the rest of the suspension, you will change the corner balance and the alignment. The car will not be optimized from a handling and braking standpoint. And SWB cars need all the help they can get.

It would be a better solution to come up with the alignment specs that you want, then corner balance it (with all the investment of capital and time that that requires) or take it to a competent shop that has done SWB cars before and have them do it. This is not an inexpensive proposition due to the labor hours involved-- to properly set the rear ride height requires disassembly of the rear suspension, then you change settings, then reassemble and drive the car, then check alignment and height, then do it all over again and again until it's right. I did this three times on my own to get the height in the ballpark, and then took it to a shop and they did it twice to dial it in.

Here is some guidance on the process and targets for alignment-- it made a huge difference in the handling of the car. The minimal front negative camber is less than we're used to from a performance standpoint but it's a street setting, equally adept at parallel parking and doing the ton, and the braking is compromised the more negative you add.

http://www.early911sregistry.org/for...ight=alignment

Good luck!

[rodrv6]

Hi all,

I had a quick look under my newly acquired '65 (66MY) the other day as I would like to lower the front a bit. I spotted a largish bolt head near each strut bottom (16mm?) that appeared to connect to a couple of wedge shaped parts. Is the roughly the same height adjusting mechanism as the protruding bolts found on the fromt of a LWB car?

I'm new to this SWB thing and didn't want to start turning before I knew I was on the right path.


Ps. If I am, if the car is at the lowest end of its height adjustment, do the wedge shaped parts 'close' against each other?

Just curious, what's your chassis number?

[Flieger]

If you count the rotations of the screws and get them the same then you won't mess with the corner balance.

[obrut]

Ryan,

I don't recommend touching the height adjusters except in the context of an overall corner balance.

SWB cars are quirky enough from a handling standpoint, if you alter the front ride height without altering the rest of the suspension, you will change the corner balance and the alignment. The car will not be optimized from a handling and braking standpoint. And SWB cars need all the help they can get.

It would be a better solution to come up with the alignment specs that you want, then corner balance it (with all the investment of capital and time that that requires) or take it to a competent shop that has done SWB cars before and have them do it. This is not an inexpensive proposition due to the labor hours involved-- to properly set the rear ride height requires disassembly of the rear suspension, then you change settings, then reassemble and drive the car, then check alignment and height, then do it all over again and again until it's right. I did this three times on my own to get the height in the ballpark, and then took it to a shop and they did it twice to dial it in.

Here is some guidance on the process and targets for alignment-- it made a huge difference in the handling of the car. The minimal front negative camber is less than we're used to from a performance standpoint but it's a street setting, equally adept at parallel parking and doing the ton, and the braking is compromised the more negative you add.

http://www.early911sregistry.org/for...ight=alignment

Good luck!

Than you for the info. I've been tarmac rallying and circuit racing early (LWB) 911's for about 15 years and are keenly aware of the effects of alignment and corner balancing - and what it takes to get it 'right' (which also varies massively from driver to driver).

This '65 however is on 165's, has stock springs/shocks, no sways and is never driven on the ragged edge. It currently handles quite well (given the suspension) and if that radically changes after dropping the front 5 or 10mm then it will be off to the alignment pros.

[kenikh]

My car, 602455, is lowered in the front on fixed shocks, with 165 tires, stock torsion bars and no rear sways. I can say with confidence that my car is predictable, safe and capable of hanging with far more aggressively outfitted cars. In the process, it was corner balanced. Fear not.

[obrut]

Kenik,

What front bar are you using - 13mm?

[kenikh]

All stock.