How to: Lowering the Rear End

[Sonny Caudill]

Dennis,

I have often driven with four adults aboard the 356...no amputations were necessary. Now if you want to try and put four people into, say, a Corvette, well.....

I had 4 people in my Corvette once when I was 17...

[Norm Miller]

The problem is when the 2 guys in front are 6'5" & 6'2". Even the kids would complain.

[Geoff Fleming]

I guess most Registry members are not old enough to recall the story of the Speedster owner who had a family of seven...and the Porsche was the only car. This was in the late fifties. There was an article written in Panorama magazine showing everyone while on the way to church. The 356 has been described as a car that is bigger on the inside than on the outside.

[Mervyn Hyde]

After finding that the rear spring plates were too high and set at 17+degrees (thanks Frazer Carless!) and spending a day re-setting them to between 13 and 14 degrees to get the height I wanted, the car is back on the road. It is a completely different car now. With some slight negative camber now (1.5 deg) at the rear, the handling is amazing. The car feels lighter and better placed on the road and justifies the many reports I have read about the handling of these little beasts.

[Mervyn Hyde]

Thanks for the feedback Jim.

[Al Zim]

We do our torsion bar settings on a lift (because we have some) and use a electric gauge that allow you to set the torsion bar based on the angle of the car. It is easier to make both sides oof the suspension equal.
No body has mentioned aligning the Porsche after the work is done. The first alignment is rough..so the car can be driven down the road to set the suspension usually 50 miles. The second alignment becomes more precise and another 50-70 miles. Then the final setting from the Porsche which will be right on.
It is ESSENTIAL that the rear wheels exactly follow the same track as the front wheels.

[Jules Dielen]

He probably figured it out by now Al. The last post was 7 years ago

[Al Zim]

Jules: YES I knew it was an old post! It is important that the technician be aware of the pitfalls that SOMETIMES accompany a program that seems simpler than it really is. I still discover things in my incredible old 356A parts book and things that I have written in the Shop and Parts manuals when I was still lucid. Your posts are always good! al