Tire wear and ride height

[dsnow]

Hello all:

I have a 2002 manual C4S with 997 turbo look wheels 19x8 (235-35-19) front and 19x11 (315x25-19) rear. I currently have Continentals on it and the fronts are in great shape, but the rears are wearing the inside of each. I have TOYO T1R's coming. Question is there an alignment spec for more of a daily driver set up? Even though I like to drive it spirted as much as I can, it does get driven like a regular auto on the freeway. I do not track this car.

I would also like to put on some coil overs to lower the car about 25 to 30 mm what affect will that have on the alignment spec for tire wear.

I know currently the camber is just a little bit to negative according to the forums and that is the cause for the tire where. If I lower and put on the coilovers will I be able to compensate for the negative camber.

Would you sugest Coil overs or lowering springs?

My suspension is currently OEM?

Thanks for your help.

soutahc4s

[logray]

I'm not sure about the negative camber affecting tire wear dramatically. That is sorta a religious topic though.

Anyways, if you have the money I would go for the PSS9's or PSS10's. They are phenomenal. I have them on my car and before/after I still get about 15k (normal) on my rears.

They do stiffen up the ride significantly, are adjustable, and lower the car. But the payoff in handling is tremendous. On #10 the shifting response is fantastic.

[dsnow]

I was leaning toward the PSS10's. I had Pzero's and got 15k on them until they started cupping on the inside then I got continentals and and did and alignment to spec and only got 8k on them wore out the inside tread clear to the cords. Just seeing what spec I should align at.

Thanks

[mprowan87]

Lowering the vehicle will cause an even more negative camber. Aftermarket arms are available to allow adjustment where there are non from the factory or more adjustment if they are maxed out. The negative camber however contributes to the precise handling of the vehicle (not so much on the 4S but still some). Standing the wheels up straight will decrease handling. Arms are often required after lowering to keep camber from being too negative when maxed out but the high end products like the adjustable Bilsteins do better at maintaining the original geometry.

My recommendation: Run Michelin Pilot Sport A/S+. These are a directional tires so they can be dismounted, flipped and remounted so that the inside shoulders become the outside shoulders and vice versa. This dramatically increases the tire life if done in a consistent manner. Do this every 3,000 miles and do not go over. These tires last far longer than anything else available and handle phenomenally. They also have a mileage warranty on almost all sizes so after they are gone in 20k or less you can get a little prorated credit on the next ones.

I am in no way affiliated with Michelin. I am an independent tire dealer and European car enthusiast. I have experimented with most makes/models of tires and these are by far the best. It is the only tire I will run on my Porsche and BMW. I have installed them on many applications including BMW, Mercedes AMG, Porsche, and Maserati.

Hope this helps.

[carrera3.2]

You may wish to check this link for a fix to this problem used on the C2: http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-996-997-forum/555332-996-adjustable-rear-control-arms.html

BTW, this C2 with H&R "Sport" springs, factory M030 suspension, and adjustable upper rear control arms sits about 30mm lower than a stock 996 when set to factory alignment specifications and performs very well on the track without the expensive Bilstein PSS modification.

[ldrhoades]

This trhead is a little bit old, but you may want to rethink the coil overs if you aren't going to be tracking the car. There are some downsides (like chasing suspension set ups). Lowering springs will likely get you what you are looking for and be a lot less of a headache. I wouldn't go with R comps of any type for the street. The summer tires that are being made now are pretty phenominal (I've had rides in the Cayman R and Boxster Spyders with the Porsche school drivers on street tires and they keep up with the R comps on the track).

[Jetskied]

It really depends on what do you really want. Coilovers like the PSS10 work great, but they do have drawbacks such as more road noise, cost, are you really gonna change the settings, ultimate set up. If you like the ride now then I would only suggest to use lowering springs such as H&R and maybe refreshen the shocks with new ones. You won't see any advantage with coilovers since you don't plan to track the car. As with any lowering the car you will have some issue getting the alignment back to stock as the cars might not be able to adjust the camber all out. I would suggest getting back to stock alignment as much as possible as it will keep your tires lasting longer.