Lowered 328's...

Hello gents, I recently sold my 328 to a friend who is not big on computers. He wants to lower it about 1". What do you recommend to do this? Coilovers, springs, etc. I found a few threads on 308's, but thought the 328 had upgraded suspension. It is a 1989 if that matters.

Pics would be great!

 

I recommend he drive it over some speed bumps and ramps at standard height, with a heavy passenger, before spending money to make it undriveable.

 

lowering it 1" does not make it undriveable.

 

I suggest he sell the Ferrari to someone who doesn't like trashing cars, and buy a Corvette or Mustang or something, instead.

Cheers,
Rich

 

Lowering a car properly, and only about an inch improves looks and handling. Hearing some of your comments is laughable.

If you can't help with the issue at hand, please move on, thanks.

 

you were lacking a caveat, lowering the car but also not driving like a total assclown.

 

Good luck. Tried to share my experience.

 

I would agree if you want to not worry about how you drive your Ferrari you are better leaving it at stock height, or even raise it if you want to not worry about driving it like a minivan over speed bumps.

 

Ryan, get in touch with 308nut (Wade Nunez), he has my 89 and I had him lower my car. Cheers rhett..

 

The "upgraded" suspendsion is from the Mondial with modifications. The upper and lower wish bones both front and rear, are the same. The Mondial owners may be able to assist you.

 

Its fine for a track car. Its impractical for a car on the street round where I live - too many speed bumps & I've grazed it numerous times over the years underneath. Its the panel under the radiator, the jacking points or the very tail end of the chassis legs behind the engine that get caught.

Take another inch out the car & what is the occasional minor scrape becomes quite serious contact IMO.

 

Same here in France; I don't know about the streets and roads in the USA, but what I know is that it's already really marginal with the standard ground clearance of the car as it is, so taking an inch out of the standard ground clearance of the car would really be calling for disaster.

Rgds

 

Thank you, will do that. Do you happen to know what he did at all or have pics?

 

The car is in FL, roads are good here. Plus, 1" will not make much of a difference. Just need to be a little more careful. 328's have awful fender gap stock, and the 1" really helps that look visually better. Plus handling is improved. My 911 has been lowered 1.25" for years, I am careful and have never scraped anything. I actually know someone who make replaceable skid plates if need be.

 

Springs were made from scratch and the shocks were rebuilt, he has all the details. I do not have pictures to share right now..

 

Some cars ARE lower in stock trim than others. This fact has been discussed here at length. Mine raked nose up and had a large fender gap. About 95mm. I took my springs to a spring works and asked for new custom made springs at precisely the same rate or stiffness ( as opposed to the usual 20% stiffer as I had low profile tyres and didnt want a harsh ride ) but 30mm shorter in front and 15mm shorter in the rear. The rear turned out perfect but the front did not change at all. I took the front springs back and they were scragged down another 40mm. This finally resulted in an absolutely perfect 35mm drop in front. The forward rake and stance is so elegant and powerful at the same time. Nothing rubs or touches. I had wheel alignment done and found that as expected, the car had gained positive caster and negative camber. All specs were easily adjusted to be in the recommended ranges. I set caster to the max of the range as I value straight line stability. This process was simple and straightforward with the exception of the trial and error on the length of the springs to give the desired result. I kept my OE yellow bilsteins as they tested fine.

My handling has improved a lot. I suspect that the increased positive caster has something to do with it as the pre lowering caster spec was 2° too little making the straight line handling darty. I had struggled with that for years. Understanding the 3 main wheel alignment settings and their effects on handling is crucial.

Obviously the car is lower and initially one is cautious at bumps and verges but since my car measures only about 10mm lower than a friends stock car, its really no big deal. I dont expect to 4 x 4 with it ( or to have cup holders in it ). The ride feel and firmness is indistinguishable from how it was. Should I wish to put the origional springs back, ( never) it would take me a morning on my own.

 

Some cars ARE lower in stock trim than others. This fact has been discussed here at length. Mine raked nose up and had a large fender gap. About 95mm. I took my springs to a spring works and asked for new custom made springs at precisely the same rate or stiffness ( as opposed to the usual 20% stiffer as I had low profile tyres and didnt want a harsh ride ) but 30mm shorter in front and 15mm shorter in the rear. The rear turned out perfect but the front did not change at all. I took the front springs back and they were scragged down another 40mm. This finally resulted in an absolutely perfect 35mm drop in front. The forward rake and stance is so elegant and powerful at the same time. Nothing rubs or touches. I had wheel alignment done and found that as expected, the car had gained positive caster and negative camber. All specs were easily adjusted to be in the reccomended ranges. I set caster to the max of the range as I value straight line stability. This process was simple and straightforward with the exception of the trial and error on the length of the springs to give the desired result. I kept my OE yellow bilsteins as they tested fine.

My handling has improved a lot. I suspect that the increased positive caster has something to do with it as the pre lowering caster spec was 2° too little making the straight line handling darty. I struggled with that for years. Understanding the 3 main wheel alignment settings and their effects on handling is crucial.

Obviously the car is lower and initially one is cautious at bumps and verges but since my car measures only about 10mm lower than a friends stock car, its really no big deal. I dont expect to 4 x 4 with it ( or to have cup holders in it ). The ride feel and firmness is indistinhuishable from how it was. Should I wish to put the origional springs back, ( never) it would take me a morning on my own.

 

Look at what Wilbers offers. I got custom shocks that lowered my 308 about 3/4". No issues with interference and it looks better. Hard to tell if the new shocks or the lower height made the difference -- but it sure handles a lot better than my worn out Koni's.

 

Mine is lowered one inch and now, it handles and looks better.

 

what is the difference in ride height between the 308s and the 328s? I remember seeing mine side by side with 308s and they seemed relatively much higher.

I tend to agree on keeping the stock ride height for the 328. getting in and out of many normal parking lots is already a bit of a challenge. my sense is unless you are just doing track time and canyon runs, it would make getting around more annoying.

though I'd love to fill those wheel wells!

 

Before and after. No comparision. I was inspired by MikeTuason's profile pic. I have never seen a 3x car so balanced, with regards proportion and stance. That pic literally takes my breath away everytime I see it.
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absolutely fantastic Greg ! love it...

 

Greg, your car nearly has the perfect stance, just plain beautiful.
Your wheels looks awesome as well.

 

what wheels are those?

 

17"speedlines