B8.5 ride height question

[boro92]

I just measured my 2013 6MT non-ADS. Fender to ground height is 26 3/4" all around +/- 1/32" and this is with brand new 255/35/19 Toyo T1 Sport tires. Car has 36k miles.

And here is a pic for reference:

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o34/S4tranquility/39D79D3D-8710-457A-983A-3E8823192B94_zpsapxixlwb.jpg

WOW 26 3/4! What a big difference.
That looks so much better. Thanks for the measurements – appreciate it. It’ll go into my chassis notes

[boro92]

Cool…looking forward to following your progress, and your opinions of it on the track. I am still in the the novice group in driver school, and really enjoying taking the S4 to road courses. The car hangs with pretty much everything out there at this level.

You probably know this, but the musts for suspension are: Eurocode Alu Kreuz, adjustable rear sway bar (set to stiff) and proper tires. In addition to those, I did an adjustable front sway bar (set to soft), solid end-links, SPC adjustable control arms and the lowering springs. When paired with the sports diff, I really feel like the car is well balanced on the track and I don’t feel any issues with understeer. Body roll is minimal and the car feels extremely controllable at the limit.

You’re probably aware that the real issue with the car on a track is the factory brake setup (aside from being fat as hell lol). This can be largely mitigated with proper fluid and race pads, but the lack of cooling is a major problem. YMMV based on track too. There’s a great track thread on AZ if you haven’t seen it: www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/574274-OFFICIAL-B8-S4-Track-Drivers-Thread

Thanks for the input. I have been considering the eurocode AK, and certainly a rear sway + front camber arms.
I agree on the brakes – I’ve only taken it to a tiny circuit once, and brakes were the largest “mechanical” issue. They simply retain a lot of heat, and there’s virtually no airflow management with them at all. My brakes started to smell after just 2 laps (!!!). I managed to boil Motul RBF660 to boot. Mind you, the circuit was really tight and suited to low power/light cars. But still.

For now, I am running Castrol SRF and will look into pads for the next season. I’ll start up a thread on alignment adventures when I start charting down that path

[drob23]

Cool…looking forward to following your progress, and your opinions of it on the track. I am still in the the novice group in driver school, and really enjoying taking the S4 to road courses. The car hangs with pretty much everything out there at this level.

You probably know this, but the musts for suspension are: Eurocode Alu Kreuz, adjustable rear sway bar (set to stiff) and proper tires. In addition to those, I did an adjustable front sway bar (set to soft), solid end-links, SPC adjustable control arms and the lowering springs. When paired with the sports diff, I really feel like the car is well balanced on the track and I don’t feel any issues with understeer. Body roll is minimal and the car feels extremely controllable at the limit.

You’re probably aware that the real issue with the car on a track is the factory brake setup (aside from being fat as hell lol). This can be largely mitigated with proper fluid and race pads, but the lack of cooling is a major problem. YMMV based on track too. There’s a great track thread on AZ if you haven’t seen it: www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/574274-OFFICIAL-B8-S4-Track-Drivers-Thread

Thanks for the input. I have been considering the eurocode AK, and certainly a rear sway + front camber arms.
I agree on the brakes – I’ve only taken it to a tiny circuit once, and brakes were the largest “mechanical” issue. They simply retain a lot of heat, and there’s virtually no airflow management with them at all. My brakes started to smell after just 2 laps (!!!). I managed to boil Motul RBF660 to boot. Mind you, the circuit was really tight and suited to low power/light cars. But still.

For now, I am running Castrol SRF and will look into pads for the next season. I’ll start up a thread on alignment adventures when I start charting down that path

Here’s me going off track at Waterford Hills (an awful track for air flow). EBC yellowstuff on the fronts, motul 5.1…I’ve posted it a few times, but maybe you missed it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzAFbebY_es

[boro92]

WOW
Good job. Did you hit the 4 ways once your pedal hit the floor?
I noticed they were blinking as you were going off–That’s safety

What pads do you run now?
FWIW I haven’t had luck with any motul brake fluid. They are good if you bleed before each and every track event…which in my opinion, is not practical. So I went to something with a higher wet boiling point (339 vs 509f). I’ll report back on how the brakes do when I hit tracks I frequent (Mosport, Shannonville). Hitting up Shannonville this weekend, and Mosport the following week. I fully expect the brakes to suck, however

[drob23]

WOW
Good job. Did you hit the 4 ways once your pedal hit the floor?
I noticed they were blinking as you were going off–That’s safety

What pads do you run now?
FWIW I haven’t had luck with any motul brake fluid. They are good if you bleed before each and every track event…which in my opinion, is not practical. So I went to something with a higher wet boiling point (339 vs 509f). I’ll report back on how the brakes do when I hit tracks I frequent (Mosport, Shannonville). Hitting up Shannonville this weekend, and Mosport the following week. I fully expect the brakes to suck, however

Thanks, I coded the “euro hazard light” feature in the central electric module. Whenever you get close to ABS it flashes your hazards for a period. Kind of funny at the track since it constantly engages.

I was more than rustled by this, so I got a BBK before getting back on a track. Went with a 355mm Stoptech kit on the front ($2400 from R1 concepts) so I could fit my winter wheels over the setup. Then, once I opened that can or worms…everything got upgraded

Currently have carbotech xp20’s in the front for track days, and 1521’s on the front for street driving. Also got some hard brakes Ti shims (.5 mm). Upgraded the rears to xp8’s and added JHM LW rotors to match the slotted fronts and I needed new rotors anyways for the pads. Went with RBF 660, hoping I don’t need to bleed (assuming at least the fluid in the caliper) them after every event :o

So far the system was incredible at Mid-Ohio…but around town they are noisy as hell. My tech didn’t use vcds to install the rear pads, so I’m wondering if it has something to do with re-adapting the parking brake?

Just swapped the xp20’s back in there last night for a 2 day event at Gingerman this weekend

Here’s the AZ thread I made about the BBK install and upgrades: http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/607565-StopTech-BBK-ST-60-355mm-Installed

[boro92]

WOW
Good job. Did you hit the 4 ways once your pedal hit the floor?
I noticed they were blinking as you were going off–That’s safety

What pads do you run now?
FWIW I haven’t had luck with any motul brake fluid. They are good if you bleed before each and every track event…which in my opinion, is not practical. So I went to something with a higher wet boiling point (339 vs 509f). I’ll report back on how the brakes do when I hit tracks I frequent (Mosport, Shannonville). Hitting up Shannonville this weekend, and Mosport the following week. I fully expect the brakes to suck, however

Thanks, I coded the “euro hazard light” feature in the central electric module. Whenever you get close to ABS it flashes your hazards for a period. Kind of funny at the track since it constantly engages.

I was more than rustled by this, so I got a BBK before getting back on a track. Went with a 355mm Stoptech kit on the front ($2400 from R1 concepts) so I could fit my winter wheels over the setup. Then, once I opened that can or worms…everything got upgraded

Currently have carbotech xp20’s in the front for track days, and 1521’s on the front for street driving. Also got some hard brakes Ti shims (.5 mm). Upgraded the rears to xp8’s and added JHM LW rotors to match the slotted fronts and I needed new rotors anyways for the pads. Went with RBF 660, hoping I don’t need to bleed (assuming at least the fluid in the caliper) them after every event :o

So far the system was incredible at Mid-Ohio…but around town they are noisy as hell. My tech didn’t use vcds to install the rear pads, so I’m wondering if it has something to do with re-adapting the parking brake?

Just swapped the xp20’s back in there last night for a 2 day event at Gingerman this weekend

Here’s the AZ thread I made about the BBK install and upgrades: http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/607565-StopTech-BBK-ST-60-355mm-Installed

Wow, XP20/8 combo. Very serious stuff.
I have no doubt you are thrilled with them! That in combination with the larger and thicker rotors must be awesome Must also be ridiculously loud if you ever use them on the street hahaha. If you keep the XP8 in the back, it is expected that they are noisy. I ran RS19 in the rear of my past car, which is arguably less aggressive than XP8 and that was very loud alone.

I side with you that the brakes are a weak point on this car. However, I’m going to do some discovery on what one can do with airflow management with the stock setup before dumping big coin on a BBK. That, in combination with proper pads and fluid may work.

And since we’re on the topic, have you considered using the 911 GT3 air scoops on the lower control arms to direct more air to the rotors?

Part numbers:
996.341.484.01
996.341.483.01

http://gallery.rennlist.com/albums/album802/cup_brake_ducts_heat_shield.sized.jpg

(Sorry, thread derail - became a track discussion!)

[drob23]

Wow, XP20/8 combo. Very serious stuff.
I have no doubt you are thrilled with them! That in combination with the larger and thicker rotors must be awesome Must also be ridiculously loud if you ever use them on the street hahaha. If you keep the XP8 in the back, it is expected that they are noisy. I ran RS19 in the rear of my past car, which is arguably less aggressive than XP8 and that was very loud alone.

I side with you that the brakes are a weak point on this car. However, I’m going to do some discovery on what one can do with airflow management with the stock setup before dumping big coin on a BBK. That, in combination with proper pads and fluid may work.

And since we’re on the topic, have you considered using the 911 GT3 air scoops on the lower control arms to direct more air to the rotors?

Part numbers:
996.341.484.01
996.341.483.01

http://gallery.rennlist.com/albums/album802/cup_brake_ducts_heat_shield.sized.jpg

(Sorry, thread derail - became a track discussion!)

The hope was the xp8’s would help retain the stock bias with the race pads, but I didn’t think they would be this loud Still need to try a few things before I throw up my hands and deal with it.

About the GT3 air ducts, interesting! I have never heard of this. From some brief rennlist browsing, it looks like some of these snap onto the wheel wells to create a complete channel. I’m assuming these could be installed/removed at the track?

As a side note, I’ve always tried to not be the guinea pig, but this brake cooling issue might be something to experiment with.

[boro92]

The hope was the xp8’s would help retain the stock bias with the race pads, but I didn’t think they would be this loud Still need to try a few things before I throw up my hands and deal with it.

About the GT3 air ducts, interesting! I have never heard of this. From some brief rennlist browsing, it looks like some of these snap onto the wheel wells to create a complete channel. I’m assuming these could be installed/removed at the track?

As a side note, I’ve always tried to not be the guinea pig, but this brake cooling issue might be something to experiment with.

I am getting some of the air ducts, I’ll post up how it goes. Not sure if I’ll fiddle with it this season though, but I will certainly make a post! They can be installed/removed at the track, as they are just held on with zip ties, but you can probably run them year round. They were not extra additions to the 911 or anything. It’s standard equip. So it passes DOT requirements and all that (min ground clearance etc etc).

I intend to run both naca ducts + ducting to the rotors + the brake scoops. The car is too heavy, and it needs the airflow…and I don’t want to buy a BBK

PS FWIW I got spring rates back from Eibach (for Pro-Kit), and they are so bad that I am not going to do lowering springs/shocks. At least, they are turning me off in a big way. Honestly, not worth the cost. I’m going to call H&R and get their rates, and I will report back.

Eibach told me prokit is 58lb/in front, 171lbs/in rear.

Front may be a typo, can is possibly 158lb/in. I’m having them confirm this.

[mmmkam]

27 1/4! Hmm, seems like a big difference. I’m going to go out and check to see if there is any sort of spacer (but it seems that only ADS cars have that). I have no idea why mine is higher! Would be interesting to know what you measure. Please do find out if you have time Thanks!

Finally got a chance to check this for you. 27 1/4 in the front and a hair over 27 3/8 in the rear.

[boro92]

27 1/4! Hmm, seems like a big difference. I’m going to go out and check to see if there is any sort of spacer (but it seems that only ADS cars have that). I have no idea why mine is higher! Would be interesting to know what you measure. Please do find out if you have time Thanks!

Finally got a chance to check this for you. 27 1/4 in the front and a hair over 27 3/8 in the rear.

Oh thank you!
I guess mine is not far off then.
Your rear height is like mine!

Update on Eibach prokit spring rates: They got back to me and told me the front spring rate was quoted in nm/mm. So converted, it’s 336lbin front, 171lb/in rear.