Ground clearance questions

hey all, I love the forum. I am waiting for the 997 to come out & right now own an X5 which will become the family hauler. Questions: 1. What is the ground clearance on a 996 (or 993)? 2. Do all 911's 9different model years) have the same ground clearance? 3. Would it be correct to say that the C2 has the most ground clearance since it doesn't have bits stuck on to it? Appreciate any & all comments.

Welcome Tradervox, 1. Depends on the model, and hard to explain because two different cars may have same ground clearance in their spec sheet but may behave differently in real life because of the different distance b/t the axles and different front bumper extension, etc. 2. No. 3. Yes because the C2 has the standard suspension and no aerokit standard, while the C4S and Turbo are 10mm lower and the GT3/GT2 around 30mm lower. Also Us spec 996C2/C4S and 996Turbo are 10mm higher than the European/RoW (Rest of the World) 996's. And on top of it, the same model cars may vary as much as 10mm from each other.

Tradervox, What is your ground clearance issue? As Carlos stated above, the actual ride height can vary. It's interesting that my standard non sport suspension BMW 330cic will often scrape slightly leaving my driveway over the curb if I don't take it at the correct angle. My standard suspension (but probably lower ride height) 996 never touches bottom however. Probably due to the difference in wheelbase. Andy

I had the same problem with my ex-M3 (lowered), it would scrape the in b/w the axles or bellow the engine, were my Euro spec & sport suspension 996C4 with aerokit doesn't, its the wheelbase.

There are a lot of speed bumps where I live and I always see sedans and family cars scraping the floor when they go over the speed bump but I never do. I have sports suspension on my C2 which is 20mm lower in the front and 10 mm lower in the back. With a firmer suspension the car does not bounce up and down where as on cars with soft suspension once the car goes over a speed bump the suspension is so soft the front of the car gets pushed down to the point where the front bumper scrapes the floor. Ground clearance with standard suspension on a 911 Carrera, Carrera 4, & Targa is 100 mm. The manual states that ground cleance for a 4S in euope is 90mm but it comes with sports suspension so I guess in the US it would be 100mm. The maximum ramp angle you can drive through is 13 degrees with standard suspension and 12 degrees with ROW sports suspension

The other thing you have to be careful of are the flared rockers used on pre 03 996s (and maybe others) I have the factory flares and I lose about 20mm where the rockers wrap under the body. That is sort of preventing me from lowering mine anymore.

Thank you all! My question has been amply answered. The roads are reasonably ok where i live & there are a lot of BMW 3's here that ply comfortably. The P car should do just fine. Now, all I have to do is wait for the "official pics" of the 997 to decide if it is that or the 996. Cheers!