H&R Springs

[cvhs18472]

Are the H&R springs a direct replacement for stock or are there other parts needed to insure a proper wheel alignment. Thanks in advance. Ed

[986Jim]

They are all you will need, however after you take apart the suspension to put in the springs you will have to wait for two weeks to let them settle. Springs when you first install them don't lower your car to the said level it takes some more time sitting on them to get that compression. Then after the two weeks you need to get an alignment done once all the settling is completed. That is when your alignment will be back proper.

Chances are after the suspension is taken apart and spring are put in your steering wheel will be off center for that two weeks because it's basically impossible to get everything back perfect when you re-assemble it all. We're talking fractions of an inch to make 1 degree of toe or camber or whatever, can't exactly eyeball that.

[td_100]

Hi,

Just installed mine, I agree the car does not sit as low as expected initially.

I have a knockong noise from the front, could this be a ball joint?

[nfesas]

The H&R springs I purchased for my 987 were a direct *fit* but not a direct replacement. I assume you're getting springs that will lower your car about 1" to 1.5". If so, after the replacement, your alignment stands to be significantly off. Enough to induce poor (dangerous) handling and significantly increased tire wear. To give you an example, after I fitted my springs, my front toe was out (toe-out) by about 3/16 of an inch total. The factory calls for 1/16 of an inch toe-in total (1/32 per side, +/- 1/32nd). Note that the factory calls out these dimensions as minutes of angle. The numbers I've used are computed for my car with 19" wheels as measured at the edge of the rim.

Additionally, my camber was way off as well. I decided to not take any chances. I did the alignment immediately after installing the springs. As a side note, I checked the alignment about a week after the install and it was holding at the established settings. I'll check again in a week or two and if there's interest, I'll post the results.

By lowering the car, I have had to accept increased camber angles (so far). Rear camber is now about 1.7 degrees negative and the front is at about .7 degrees negative. The factory calls for -1.3 and -0.2 if memory serves. On my car, I'm at the limits of adjustability on the suspension and thus cannot restore the factory settings. Solutions to improve camber at the front seem to include camber plates, extending the slots on the front strut tower (risky?) and coilover shocks with built-in camber plates. For the rear, it seems like the options are a) different (shorter) lower control arms or B) adjustable camber plates. Since I haven't seen anyone offer/propose an adjustable camber plate for the rear (including the factory), for now I'm assuming that's somehow a bad idea or otherwise not possible.

I consulted two different experts and their recommendation was: "go with the alignment settings you have - they're not that far off and given an aggressive driving style, your tire wear will probably not be an issue".

For now, that's the path I'm following, while further investigating the others - just for fun :-)

Good luck with your project.

Nestor