Lowering & Spacers

Hi All, I have been toying with the idea of lowering my car. I am pretty confident that H& R springs will suffice for my needs but my main question is - is there any reason to buy expensive spacers and has anybody got any pictures of a lowered 987s (lobster claws) with 7mm and 15mm spacer setup? I have searched the forum/google but some pictures have expired as they were a little old. Ideally I want to go the 30/35mm of springs in terms of lowering but really want a closer/flush finish on my wheels too. Regards, Chris

Porsche Palace Stay at home orders has given me time to create a Porsche Palace. www.planet-9.com This thread has some photos of my Cayman with the same setup you are asking about. Note, the front has - 2.8 camber. It looked better with - 1.5. Also, sorry about the mix of wheels, I was trying to wear out a set of tires. IMO, lowering without spacers would not look good.

I don't have my car lowered yet, but I do have the same spacers. Brings the tires out flush with the wheel wells.

[Image-only or quote-only post; no author-written text.]

I have 15/18mm lightweight spacers from ecs if i remember correctly. I wouldnt put a cheap metal there, but I don't know where my spacers are on the grid of expensiveness (bought used for less than $250). Didnt lower the car yet. Im worried that springs will compromise performance under extreme loads, I track the car. Also, living downtown Chicago makes me rethink where the car should be in terms of height. Additionally I like how the Cayman S shocks roll and load in curves, But, probably most will agree, correctly changing 987ns stance transforms the car cosmetically and maybe is enough alone.

Looks really nice, I love the colour and car sits really well! I wouldn't want to change the camber personally as I daily the car but it does look great!

That's exactly what I want to achieve and lowering I would probably do afterwards, looks good though!

Yeah that makes sense, I am mainly doing it for cosmetic purposes as the car is used daily its not driven too hard. I am curious about the spacer quality, which is my main query I suppose. Design 911 do kits but without them coming from a brand (H&R etc), I just don't know what difference it would make compared to eBay kits for example.

Lowering springs and spacers are a must in my opinion, for cosmetic reasons if nothing else. In my opinion at least, many aspects of handling are also improved, but I don't track my cars so I can't speak to performance under very high load. Installed springs and spacers on both my 987S and my C4S. H&R is fine as a brand, not top of the line, but fine. Like Boski I put ECS spacers on my cars. No real reason, though. The main thing with spacers is ensuring they are hub-centric! Also, I definitely saw uneven tire wear on my Cayman after lowering, even after alignment. You can go the extra mile ($$) and buy additional equipment to ensure good alignment for tire wear reasons, but I didn't. Tire wear is MUCH better on my lowered 911 ... the geometry is just different. Have fun!

I have h& r springs with 7mm front and 15mm rear, the wheels still sit slightly in the body, if you're looking for a perfect flush look I would go with 12mm and 18mm in the back.

what additional equipment would I need to get even tire wear? I think just rear adjustable toe arms right?

This is what I have been looking at along with the H&R lowering springs: Dedicated to your Porsche needs Design 911 supply car parts, spares and accessories, to both retail and to the trade. Our car product and accessory range includes brakes, exhausts, tyres, wheels and panels and interiors. #Porsche #ServiceCentre #Essex www.design911.co.uk

I had H& R springs on a 2001 Boxster S that I bought used. The springs created an unpleasant ride and damaged the shocks.

Well I do have a few pictures of a lowered Cayman with wheel spacers on OEM wheels and race wheels/ tires with offsets mimicking the spacers. If you drop your ride height by 30 mm or more, you will need a adjustable rear toe link for alignment purposes that will save the inner shoulders from scrub wear.

[Image-only or quote-only post; no author-written text.]

I've H&R lowering springs and Bilstein BB6 shock absorbers, front and rear. I also have OEM 235/265 tires on the car and they pretty much line up with the lip of the edges of the wheel wells. I'd suggest you have the suspension work done first and check out the tire fitment afterwards before you spend the money for spacers have the .

While the H& R springs look good on this car, a while back, on the PistonHeads web site, CMOOSE, chose these springs, but were too short in front. Maybe H&R have a better quality control now. Another picture of the above car looking down the side to see the outline of the wheel/rubber. Some wheels have a different offset f to r so the rear is closer to the fender than the front that is noticeable. I have 4 sets of spacers, each with their own bolts to go with these sets of wheels/ tires combo. This activity started with the OEMs of 57/43 offset (spacers of 18 mm f and 23 mm r), then went to 5 and 10 mll for custom wheels to get the exact look I was hoping for when ordering custom wheels. Spacers are cheap compared to the lightweight monoblock forged wheelsets made for racing. These wheels also look attractive on the street with oversized 35 sidewall sticky tires . Currently trying to use up an old set of RE71R's on the street, they just have too much rubber left to throw away.

Reviving my old thread: Just an update as I hadn’t posted about whether I went down this route. Following the winter I sold the car to get my third Boxster which has now had the H&R kit and spacers fitted. The car has PASM so the ride is much firmer than in my old car however the front sits slightly higher than the back by about 10mm. It’s currently having a wheel refurb and perhaps I’ll update the thread with a picture if I have a good one. Thanks again for everybody’s help, really appreciate it.

Car at Goodwood FOS: had not long been lowered here so may have settled a little more now.

Your Boxsters stance is about right. We need a photo down the side from the back forward to see how the wheels/ tires fit into fender arches. I cannot see the lower rear here. Usually there is a slight rack forward. However, depending on how much rubber you have in the rear, you can reduce the rear rake some. I'm talking about coilovers that have this ride height adjustability. With H&R you can add spacers, but what's the point if you want a lower ride. Now that you have the ride height and wheel spacers figured out, any additional modifications? What type of driving excites you? Canyon work. Maybe Tarett GT adjustable swaybars to help prevent body roll in the corners.

Hi Apex, I will do eventually but there are a few things on this car that need doing, cosmetic wise. I have just had the wheels re-done, albeit that the lip has ended up slightly thicker on the wheels and I have a very slight paint fracture on the front bumper which I will get done. In terms of performance I did have a look at sway-bars when I ordered my springs but I am going to ensure I am happy with everything in terms of ride and look at the moment. I haven't noticed a massive difference in stiffness of ride but it can occasionally feel a bit more bumpy on the motorway. Since getting my car back from having the wheels refurbed it has sat a little higher again which may be because it sat with no rims on a lift for a week, so just allowing it to settle and ill get side on pics. Chris

The adjustable swaybars will give you more control of body roll in the corners, but also transfer some NVH in real bumpy back country roads. I like a flat (limited body roll) cornering car, and set up my car that way. Along the way I added some additional support tools to help get the car out of the corners. Wavetrac, a geared LSD that is excellent. Even if you do not race, this addition along with Numeric cables and shifter really liven up my car. They allow much more engine braking and throttle response coming out of the corners without any wheel spin. The opposite effect is in play as well with engine braking from threshould braking to trail braking. The Wavetrac allows some wheel slip preventing snap oversteer when entering corners, yet preventing inside wheel spin coming out of the corners. Some say that brakes are better than engine braking, but after really getting into the dynamics of how the 987.1 braking system works, especially with a Wavetrac, the rear end is much more planted both into and out of the corners. While clutch LSD style locks up the rear even more, from my perspective, the Wavetrac works good enough. I have never brought the rear end around, even hard on the brakes down hill in tight corners. Try that with clutch style LSD 's and you might be facing the wrong direction quickly. I'm just pointing out that there are a few modifications that can be made to make the performance of these cars even better without even touching the motor or the clutch. You know that the R came with a LSD , stiffer springs and swaybars to give exactly the added control dimension that I'm talking about. Most R's mileage is not from being raced on the track, but used as a sports car.

I had a look at a Cayman S with all the options of an R on including Ceramic Brakes, LSD & Bucket Seats. I missed out on it as the history wasn't fully clear and still wanted a convertible, however I really enjoyed my test drive and it inspired me to go for the Black Edition. I will look at further performance options in the future however I need to concentrate on bodywork and little things at the moment. Regards, Chris

Chris, Sorry you missed out on the R. As you can attest to that car was special. The bucket seats really add to the total package. Ken

Mine but with different wheels (19's).

Hello Everyone. Just picked up my first Porsche . A super clean 2008 Cayman S in Guards Red. I'm also interested in doing spacers to bring the wheels/ tires flush with the body. Not going to lower the car. I've seen discussions here with 7mm/15mm and then also 12mm/18mm. Mine has the 19" wheels like the pic above. Thanks

Greetings, Thank you for sharing you ideas. When you get to it, pictures please. The black car has good flush wheel offset. Just want to point out is the almost 270 degree of space around the tire to the body fender lips. This is from dropping the ride height. I recommend Ohlin coilovers. I've had them since they became available to the Cayman 5 years ago. No maintance on these suspension work horses. Currently running 17 clicks from full stiff for street duty. Racing is between 3 clicks to 9 clicks depending on the tracks. Ohlin's allow you to set the ride height to your wishes without affecting the preload setup. I use ECS spacers and bolts. Google it. I got various sizes for different wheel sets. 5,10,18 and 23. Be sure to get the bolts as well for the Cayman

Thank you for the information. I'm not going to lower my Cayman S . I just wanted to find out what the best option for wheels spacers would be so my tires /wheels are flush using the OEM suspension. From what I've read in this thread is that 12mm front and 18mm rear put the wheels/ tires flush with the body. Is this correct?

Caymansguy65= ECS Tuning is the company I deal with as they have really good wheel spacers. 12 & 18 mm should work well. I have 4 sets of ECS spacers for different wheels sets/offsets. There is a thread that you might find enjoyable. Google Search www.google.com Two guys drive both cars and report their findings both on canyon driving and track. My connection here is through the Bridgestone RE71RS that were provided. Its interesting that HAWK provided brake pads and rotors to this group for the Toyota but not for the Cayman S because it was not their car. Turned out that the Cayman really needed either brake pads or way better brake duct cooling. Also, Numeric shifter/steel cables which I have or GT3 shifter would upgrade their complaints of sloppy shifter / metallic authority. So what is the take away from watching this you tube? Needed upgrades to the 2007 Cayman S: Bridgestone RE71RS for the street and I really love them. Numeric shifter and cables up graded brakes and brake cooling, I use 996 GT3 Cup brake ducts front and GT2 brake ducts rear and "R" brake pads. Wavetrac LSD to keep both rear tires planted out of the corners and helpful under threashold braking. These items would increase the performance of the Cayman to well above the Toyota GR 86.