Optimal 996 Ride Height - Whats recognised as the sweet spot

As per the title of the thread. I'm soon to fit height adjustable suspension to my 98 996 C2 and am curious to know if there is a recognised sweet spot in terms of ride height & rake? I'm currently on H&R springs over (I think) B6 or B4 shocks. Rides fine at 40mph plus but really crashy below, plus the sacrificial lip on the aero bumper is a little too low and very sacrificial. Is there a recommended arch to 'wheel centre' measure that the community tends to agree on, or rake setting that is optimal, or does everyone go their own way? My current plan is to set it at around 10mm higher than I have today and play with damper settings as I go, but any other suggestions would be welcomed.

My car is pretty low, a bit too low for the front bumper lip, but i like the look, so I'll be fitting some lift cups from stanceparts. I think I'm at GT2 ride height.

My 1998 996 c2 is fitted with KW Clubsport dampers, stiffer bushes and roll bars. It's best described as rock hard. The PO had clearly been using this on track and there are a couple of receipts for corner weighting in the history. It was using r888 semi slicks. So this is a rule measuring from the top of the wheel - estimate - to the nearest part of the arch. These are 18 inch wheels. Standard 225 40 and 265 35 tyres. It is a none aero car. The rule is pressed up against the arch so there is about 5mm before the markings start. Ball park I have about 75mm [80mm is a generous estimate] from top of wheel to arch. Top pic is front and bottom pic is rear. So the same clearance basically front and back. I bought the car like this and drove it around like this for a few years although i ditched the 18 wheels as they were 997 wheels with incorrect offset - these are too high or inboard for 996 front - and kept it on the 17 inch 10 spoke wheels. I even used it as my daily driver - daily driver-ish because i also had a big bmw which was used occasionally - for over a year running up to Covid lock down. I used to commute to an office - imagine that !?!?! - every day. I still have the car although its not moved for many years because I bought a better looking 996 CSR fitted with the softer KW.

Curious as to what you mean by softer kW? Non clubsport v3 ? My car is at or about 996 gt3 ride height on h&r coilovers and rennline spherical top mounts at the front . Geo is approx gt3 ish. With near zero front toe . And agressive camber , can't remember figures. On track its great and on motorway its fine too. But its rock hard on bumpy roads and low speeds . The geo also makes it quite nervous , so it requires a bit of respect / common sense on the road. It also has h&r roll bars and rs rear engine mounts . If you want something that is going to work well on the road I would advise going easy on ride height and keep to as stock a geo as you can . I'm considering options with mine as its getting a bit too old to be tracked . I love the look and stance of the low car but am too aware of the compromise it makes on comfort.

The latest video about this Werk996 cars’s suspension sums up how many of us probably feel about sporty suspension on the road at lower speeds. Worth a watch to see how they’ve modified and updated the KW V3 for the older gent who still wants to press on when the twisties are quiet. Post in thread 'Werk96 996 upgrade' https://911uk.com/porsche/werk96-996-upgrade.127431/post-2766408

The answer to this question depends on a multitude of things: usage, road condition, tyre stickiness, spring rate and bump stop rate. For a road car with street tyres, and street-ish spring rates, I’d probably lower the car no more than half an inch.

^^^^^This^^^^^ All dependent on what YOU want from the car.

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I think so but not sure. Bought the car with them on. RPM Technik Porsche 996 CSR review, price and specs | Evo Specialist develops upgrade package to breathe new life into the original water-cooled 911 www.evo.co.uk

I've got mine about as low as i can run it on the roads i like to go for a hoon on, i always like to get cars looking/ sat right as well as performing properly as well, its taken a bit of messing around but its worth it. I think i've got around 10mm lower on the front, they seem to like a bit of rake. 20251019_110421 by Scott Osborne , on Flickr 20251019_110522 by Scott Osborne , on Flickr 20251019_110532 by Scott Osborne , on Flickr 20251019_110339 by Scott Osborne , on Flickr 20251019_110351 by Scott Osborne , on Flickr Geo set as below: 20250411_125044 by Scott Osborne , on Flickr Happy to get some approximate center of wheel to arch dims for you.

Hi Scott, Car looks great, and about the height I'd be aiming for, if you could let me know your wheel centre to arch dims front and rear that would be very useful. Thanks

Watching thread with interest I forget what suspension you’re running Scotto ? Im keen to put adjustable suspension on mine so reading as much info I can. I read quite alot about people saying their car is great on track but awful on B road bumps, if the dampers are adjustable I’m curious do they ever adjust them ?

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Sorry mate, I missed this reply! Im working from home tomorrow so ill go in the garage and measure tomorrow! Nitron R1 but with the softer 'roadsport' springs, there would be scope to go softer in the springs to be honest but its a nice halfway house for me. The dampers are not far off full soft on the road so loads of scope to go stiffer for any track work but its unlikely to go on the track to be honest! Its also on hollow eibach arbs that are adjustable and adjustable rear toe arms to get the geometry sorted, it really is a cracking thing now!

Ah right great thanks, the R1 model has combined damping adjustment I just read. Do the nitrons work with OEM top mounts ? sorry for the thread hijack OP.

If you do lower a 996 quite a lot you'll probably end up with a very inboard looking front wheel. Pic below is mine without spacers and standard Porsche 17 wheels. I think that's a good angle to show how lost the front wheel can look. Similar problem at rear also but not as bad. Obviously this depends on camber setting and mine is about -1 degrees camber I think. Now obviously the easy way to correct this is spacers or lower offset wheels. But this will affect the handling a bit. I used a 15mm spacer - after the pic below was taken - and really noticed the difference in steering feel. Mine was a daily driver so I was dialled in to how it felt. It had a very low and stiff setup so very hard springs, very stiff dampers, very stiff bushes, very stiff ARB's and zero rubber in the top mounts and so steering feel was amazing. The best I've experienced on a 9x6 but I've only driven a handful or single digits. Some people get very OCD about wheel arch gaps but I think adding spacers or increasing front wheel offset throws a lot of change into all the variables controlling how the front suspension articulates. I definitely preferred the steering feel of my car with standard Porsche front wheel offset. When I first got the car it was wearing 997 18 inch wheels which have a more inboard or higher front wheel offset. I think it's 7mm higher than a standard 996 18 inch wheel. I didn't know about this at the time but its probably why I preferred the feel of the car's steering when I switched to the correct 996 17 inch wheels because it corrected this problem. At the time I assumed it was simply down to change in wheel and tyre width.

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Yep, R1 are very simple, just one knob to adjust. The roadsport kit uses OE top mounts but I wanted the Nitron top mounts for the adjustment.