The work continues. Suspension time.

Hey all... Long time no post with anything technical so...after a looong day in the garage my baby is getting new shoes (Monday) and a new suspension. The hands are raw and bleeding (a good thing, lubrication for parts) and a new set of Bilsteins with H&R sport springs are in place. As soon as I get the new drop links, the GT3 sways are on. Here's some photos of the progress. Much fun....

GO CHAD GO!!! BTW: I Love the Sig pic you did for me!

Thanks pal. Glad you like it. Chad

Chad, did I see an earlier post from you that said you got a great deal on your side skirts at Brandywine? If so, who did you deal with and how much were they? I have enjoyed the enthusiasm of your posts. Thanks for sharing your mods. I am just getting started with mine. Thanks,

Good job man.

Looks tight, man.

Looks awesome! It must be rewarding to "do it yourself".

Cay-ute: Check the latest edition of Excellence. They list all the parts they have on clearance. And honestly, I am not sure who I spoke to. I have been doing a lot of "ordering" lately from different parts suppliers. Thanks all. Riotgear: Thanks. I highly recommend working on your own car. (If you have mechanical ability. If you have trouble filling the gas tank, don't bother ) I have been working on my cars since I learned to drive. I love it. And you are correct...there is a bit of satisfaction when you do it yourself. Not to mention your wallet is fatter. Chad

Cay-ute.....call Justin at B-Wine. I have spent some coin with him over the years and got my skirts from him (last year though) for 525 shipped. That was with a 3K puchase though so I would assume the going rate is about 550-600 shipped now. That sell quite a bit on eBay as well.

That's him, Justin! I had a great experience with them. Chad

These are on eBay from Justin at B-Wine. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...956323753&rd=1

Congrats! Looks liks someone is going to be having more fun. Don't forget to do an alignment. If you have good mechanical ability and decent math skills, you can do the alignments yourself, too. On the subject of working on your own car, it's kind of fun to play around with different alignment settings and see how it translates into real world feel.

i consider myself above average in math and having good mechanical skills so I'd be interested in doing my own allignment. i was in the process of buying a gallardo but wife(soon-to-be)went BEZERK, and they are being stingy with the pricing. the good news is that she acquiesced into agreeing that a new suspension was in order so I've got a ROW M030 on its way maybe i should threaten buying more exotics in the future SOOOO, how do you propose doing your own allignment??? TIA

You will need Toe plates and and Smart Camber tool. I have been thinking about getting these for a while. It would certainly be cheaper than spending $200+ for some guy to do the same thing. Chad

what!?!?!? no pss9's/h&r coilovers/gt3 suspension? i though you were going for the ultimate clubsport? ya need coilovers to achieve the "ultimate" handling. you didn't go wrong with the h&R/bilstein sports though good for you for doing the job yourself. i installed first lowering springs then coilvers on my'99 myself. wasn't too hard if you are mechanically inclined. having done it twice i know all the tricks ... i can get all 4 corners done in 3.5 hours. the 8 hour book rate is waaaaaay over estimated. word of advice, get some workshop gloves. thicker cloth one's for the heavy duty stuff and latex/nitrile thin gloves for the delicate, detailed work... like when you have to thread nuts onto bolts or changing spark plugs.

Looking good! I just did the same shock / spring combination, ride height is just perfect for me. Not too low to scrape all the curbs and ramps in our area. I can't go out straight out of my drive way though, I have to do it side ways or the front spoiler extension I installed will scrape. Sotck bumpers should be ok.

Hey karlooz, Got the gloves. Have had them for some time. In fact, I have to stop over at Harbor Freight and pick up some more rubber ones, I am out. As for the car, I have good reason for what I am doing. All my previous track beasts have been front engine and either front weight biased or 50/50. So this new to me. So, before I go "hog wild" and put some serious track parts on it, I want to re-learn my driving with a rear engine car. The subtle suspension changes will be perfect. I am sure I will do fine. But, I would rather be smooth first, than a moron who simpy drives fast on the straights. Besides, there are already WAY to many of those out there. Please note...I have been working on cars for good while. I have done everything from a full clutch replacement, tranny replacement to engine bottom end, cam housings, etc. I consider no job to be to big. All you need are the right tools. Heh...tools..!! Thanks for the kudos. As soon as I learn more about the 996, I hope to post a bunch of technical "how-to's". Have a good eve... Cheers, Chad

lots of work chad! love to hear your feedback on what you think of the Bilstein/H&R coilovers... what kind of rims are you putting on? cheers Pete

Chad, I looked into the "Smart" strings/etc., and wasn't too impressed. Most of the stuff seems too crude. I mean with toe, you're talking a few hundredths of an inch, and measuring string isn't that accurate. To do an alignment, you basically need to know the following: Camber: We're talking tangent of say -1� times a 25" diameter is about 1/2". This is easy enough to measure with any decent level from Home Depot and some dial calipers or, heck, even a ruler! As long as your garage surface is reasonably level, you'll be about as accurate as the alignment shop. For me, I take 4 measurements at each wheel flipping the level over each time to rule out any warpage in the level or measuring inconsistencies. Measure at the wheel. My assumption is that the wheel is more straight than the tire. Measure at consistent, flat areas on the wheel in a vertical plane. Also measure the distance between the 2 points on the wheel (the farther apart the better). This is your new diameter. Do this while (obviously on the ground). Make whatever adjustments you want (either by trial and error or back-calculating). Drive it around the block and over a few speed bumps and remeasure. Easy as pie (except for the rear toe implications below). Caster: For all practical purposes, it's not adjustable, and you get whatever Porsche gives you. Toe: As mentioned, you're talking a few hundredths of an inch. You cannot measure with a Home Depot level--at least not exactly. I then mounted a good-quality laser level to a "Home Depot" level and made some adjustable standoffs which rest up against the wheel while sitting on a plastic bucket or whatever you have to get the laser at the right height and to touch the wheels evenly. I spend a lot of time getting that laser level calibrated dead flat/horizontal to the standoffs, although, actually, the errors are self-cancelling. The whole purpose of the laser is to amplify the readings. For a roughly 2' diameter wheel in a 20' garage (projecting on the front wall/rear door), 0.07" of toe is magnified to 0.70" (10X) of measure which you can read (again) by hand with a tape measure. I measure total toe and then find the toe differences by measuring between the wheels which is a 4X magnification once you do the math. Again, try to make sure the car is reasonably level, parked straight, steering wheel centered, 1/2 tank of gas, whatever... Major caveats: Adjusting the rear eccentrics is a real PITA trial-and-error setup. Basically, there is enough play in the setup to equal your toe. After you jack the car up in the air to do the adjustment (2 floor jacks), put some masking tape on the wall and mark where you started as a reference. When doing the front, lock the steering wheel as a reference point since it will turn. After you've done it once or twice, you'll say, "Ah, I get it." Only change one thing at a time when you start. I've done probably about 30 alignments or more this way trying every conceivable combination of settings to see what the effect is (it's like playing with tire pressure). One thing that's amazing, again, is the sloppy rear eccentrics. The play can shift your toe from day to day. When adjusting the eccentrics, I've learned to always adjust them "coming in" toe-wise. That way, while you drive it for a few days seeing how you like it, if any play comes in, it'll be in the toe-in direction which is safer while things settle. For this reason, I consider my alignments more accurate than done at the shop because I've really driven on the alignment, then remeasured. I would say that I'm repeatable to 0.05� camber and 0.005" toe typically which is about how much the car settling +/- 1/4" lower when you get out of it will make. Once you have your alignment the way you like, you'll probably go and change something again like springs or tires or something (like me), and start fiddling again. WARNING: The above information is only for those folks like Chad and I who have worked fairly extensively on cars. I've done clutches, rebuilt an engine, numerous suspension swaps, and fabricated some of my own parts, so if you are at the level of changing your brake pads, please do a brain flush of the information above. No liability assumed.

hahahahahahaha!!!! I say this EVERY time I do a write up... As for the Smart strings, that's the first time I have heard something bad. Hmmm. I will keep that in mind. A buddy of mine has toe plates for his race car. I shall have to investigate further. Thanks!! Chad

I wouldn't say that I thought the Smart strings were bad. I haven't used them first hand. From the website/pictures, just didn't seem that accurate. I've got a lot less invested in parts and my setup time is almost zero. I'd trust my laser over string. Light doesn't sag or stretch/flex (at least for the most part).