OCD update

Just a small update from the lowering/balancing exercise or the prior post. Though the technique used to measure and level the car (based on applying a caliper to the coilovers themselves) is accurate and repeatable, it does not take in to account any variance between those measuring points and the actual stance of the car on the ground. That is, once the car is lowered and allowed to settle, there was a side to side variance of 2mm in the front, and 1mm in the rear. Most would say that these numbers are within the practical needs of the exercise. However, in light of the title of this post, I sought to further refine them.
Clearly, I would need to use the cars stance as the actual benchmark to make all of this work, and I'd likely have to iterate a few times to get this right. So here's an alternate technique I used to provide further accuracy in the balancing process and one I'd likely use instead of the micrometer technique. Again, this is not intended to be instructional or advisory for anyone else. This is simply what I did to get this all right. Got it?
Measuring the actual ride height of the car is tricky. On the one hand, 'actual' is laudable, but literally interpreted, assumes perfectly aligned air pressure and a level surface. The Porsche factory technique is an example of this. I chose to factor out the tire/ground thing by measuring the distance from the lower wheel lip to the top of the fender. It's simple, repeatable and very much approximates 'actual'.
Since this was going to take a few attempts, the time to repeat the adjustment process and measure (as well as the wear, tear and risk of jacking/removing/adjusting/remounting/etc.) the wheels needs to be optimized. I chose the following - acknowledging that the goal of this exercise is to get side-to-side balance right. If front-to-back is required, modify these techniques to realize that priority. In this case, I did the front end, but the rear, with more difficulty and dexterity, can be done the same way.
1. Jack up one side of the car.
2. Remove the front wheel.
3. Loosen the coilover adjustment retainer (i.e. lower collar)
4. Turn the collar in whatever direction/distance estimate to level the car.
5. Remount the wheel and lower the car to the ground. Do not tighten the locking collar. Do not re-torque the wheel.
6. Measure. If it perfectly matches the opposing side, proceed to step 14.
7. If not, jack the car until the front wheel is off of the ground.
8. Power up the car (you needn't start it) to get the power steering working.
9. Turn the wheel to whichever lock gets added working space to reach the coilover collar (typically the direction of the side of the car you are working on).
10. Power off the car.
11. Reaching in to the coilover without removing the wheel again (through the space made by turning the wheel AND through the wheel spokes), turn the adjustment collar by hand in the direction and distance estimated to balance the car. Use the wrench if you can, but with the car off of the ground, you can do it bare handed.
12. Power up the car, straighten the wheel, power off the car and lower it.
13. Wait a few minutes here if you can. Bounce the car a few times to ensure it has settled. Then remeasure both sides. If it is balanced from side-to-side, proceed to step 14. Else, return to step 7.
14. Finally, raise the car, remove the wheel, re-lock the collars - being careful not to affect the adjustments.
15. Remount the wheel, lower the car, torque the lugs. Done.
This seems to be a better technique (for me) to affect small changes to the car - either initially or to experiment with different ride heights and different rake angles. A quick test drive of the car shows that the new suspension bits and adjustments make for a radical improvement in the driving performance of my 997S Cab. It IS a rougher more dynamic ride but not painfully so. If you prefer more of a GT-type car, I would stick with the OEM parts. If you want to drive a true sports car, I couldn't more strongly recommend his modification.