Does anybody know if the cars we get in the U.S. are a different ride height than what Porsche sends to the rest of the world? I believe Ferrari's come with a higher ride height in the U.S. than in Europe due to some safety reason. Is this the same with Porsche?

Just asking because when I first got my 997.1 C4S I couldn't believe the huge gap in the wheel well (and my car has PASM which I understand already lowers the car 10mm over cars without PASM). Wheel gap was much larger than my wife's BMW and my previous MB AMG. Almost looked like the gap in the wheel well of my Subaru Outback. Had to drop it.

So do our cars here in the U.S. come with a higher ride height? Thanks in advance for any answers.

 

All I know is I barely have 5" clearance with the factory aero kit and can't imagine it any lower. I believe US regulations is 4" min clearance, not sure about rest of the world.

 

When you say 4" clearance, are you saying this is the gap in the wheel well (from top of tire to bottom of fender opening)?

 

Nope, I'm talking ground clearance on the front lip.

 

The wheel well gap is large I admit, just can't imagine how guys on this forum lower their cars without destroying the front end.

 

Thanks for clearing up the 4" clearance question. I have a GT3 front bumper on my car and it has scraped a bit. The nice thing is that the lowest part of the lip is a pretty cheap and easy replacement. I've got to go out to my garage now and measure what the ground clearance is from ground to bottom of the front bumper lip. Got me interested to know now.

I still think the wheel well gap straight from the factory is to big.

 

There are advantages to the large gap. The gap provides greater wheel travel for a more comfortable ride and greater turning radius with large 19" rims. If you lower it you'll have to run a stiffer suspension and lose some ride comfort and possibly turning radius.

 

Agree. However, this further perks my interest in my original post to find out if Porsche sends cars to the U.S. with a larger wheel gap then cars to the rest of the world (perhaps due to U.S. safety regulations).

 

You raise an interesting question. I wonder if you can spec a 997.2 with SPASM and factory aero as that would be 10mm lower than what we have.

 

My understanding is that U.S. cars sit higher. It looks ugly, but you can get out, and into driveways easier. I lowered my car by swapping stock springs with H&R springs. The car definitely looks better, and takes corners better. But I have problems with driveways. I ended up making a concrete ramp so I could get the car into the garage, and there are driveways I just don't pull into because the car rubs. But hey, if I wanted convenience I'd buy a Toyota.

dadbe

 

What front-end do you have, stock or GT3/Aero?

 

So it is true that cars headed to the U.S. sit higher. Do you remember where you got this information.

Anybody else know?

 

We have two C2S's in the family and both have factory aero kits. The 06 has a 5 inch clearance on the front lip, no suspension mods. The 07 has a 4 inch clearance with spring mod.

 

I think the ride height regulations in US are related to bumper height and not ground clearance.

 

Yes perhaps, it seems ground clearance is more of a State law thing and varies.