I recently installed coil overs on my 987.1 and after adjusting the rear camber and toe in as far as it would go, i realized that I would need the adjustable drop links and toe arms for the rear and drop links for the front.
So my question is , what exactly is going on with the OEM drop links? Is there too much preload? I noticed that when the wheels are off the ground now, they hardly droop down at all. maybe an inch or two. is this because of the links being too short? I'm guessing if i were to go over a high spot on the road too fast the car would come off the ground.
also, now I'm getting a popping sound coming from the front end when making a tight turn at parking lot speed.
any info would be appreciated.
Did the coilovers also lower the car? They often do? If so, other components which are designed for a given ride height need to be replaced with parts which offer an adjustment range.
When the car is lowered, the camber tends to go more negative and the toe is also impacted.
in terms of the travel that many coilovers have, that’s part of their design. They have less travel which partly coincides with stiffer springs.
Understood. Yes, the car is lowered. That was my intention. As well as better handling. The coilovers have the adjustable camber plates. And I did set them as far as possible in the rear. But it's not quite enough. As the rear wheels have about -2.2 degrees. I thought I might be able to get them in spec if I elongate the three holes at the top where they bolt on. The alternative is way more than I want to spend for those adjustable lower control arms. They are over $800 a set!
I forgot to mention, I replaced the front lower control arms while I was in there with the coilovers.
I wont get an alignment till I at least put the adjustable drop links on.
I did a string alignment myself. But it's not perfect.
Do you know what the poping sound might be? I hear it coming from the front when making a tight turn as in the driveway or parking lot .I noticed it after the installation.
A before and after shot of the 987.1
I did a few mods. Removed the cats installed headers and exhaust system GT3 throttle body. IPD plenum. Short shift kit. Heavy duty shift cables. I can't remember the name. Carbon fiber intake scoops and a few other things. No one has touched this car since I bought it just over four years ago. I've done everything myself. I don't even trust leaving it somewhere for an alignment.
If I can't watch, it's not happening.
Call me crazy. But the Cayman is my baby. I'm really obsessed with it.
She screams really loud over four thousand rpm! The sound is incredible!
And way more power than when it was all stock.
It's hard to tell from these pics how much lower the car is. With the black car, black tires and positioning of the car I can't really tell anything.
Did you get the plates for measuring the toe and gauge to check camber?
It's interesting that most race shop do all their alignments with sting; NOT those super-duper computerized machines.
I did buy a gauge. But didn't buy the plates. Sorry about the pics
You don't need plates to measure toe. You can do it with just setting up strings around the car. Doing it this way gives you a better idea how much toe each side has. Toe plates only give you overall numbers.
That's what I thought. I did the string thing, and have zero toe on the back and a little toe in on the front. Don't have the exact numbers. I used the tape .measure method on the front and back of the tires measuring from the inner tread groove to outer tread groove on the side I was on to get the difference. I am about an eighth of an inch wider at the back.
you might be able to see how close to the tires in this pic
Want to make your string alignment super easy?
DIY Alignment Calculator
I might actually learn how to do this sting thing once you clean it up.
