Nick C Posted June 18, 2020 Report Share Posted June 18, 2020 hi all, finished fitting h&r m030 (the 10mm ones) lowering springs yesterday, i marked everything up before i took anything away and put it back exactly as it was, I will get an alignment done so I'm after recommendations, obviously porsche will be favourite but what about other places, I'm in Derbyshire. Contacted zentrum and its 100 +vat, think main dealer porsche will be similar, I go to the Sheffield one as I know a guy who works there. Thanks for any advice 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher2110 Posted June 18, 2020 Report Share Posted June 18, 2020 A-Line Dudley. Get there before they open! Or be prepared to wait a while, always a good mix of drivers and cars around 👍🏼 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVO Chris Posted June 18, 2020 Report Share Posted June 18, 2020 6 minutes ago, Nick C said: hi all, finished fitting h&r m030 (the 10mm ones) lowering springs yesterday, i marked everything up before i took anything away and put it back exactly as it was, I will get an alignment done so I'm after recommendations, obviously porsche will be favourite but what about other places, I'm in Derbyshire. Contacted zentrum and its 100 +vat, think main dealer porsche will be similar, I go to the Sheffield one as I know a guy who works there. Thanks for any advice 👍 Hi Nick, I have the same kit I am just about to start on, any tips and pics? especially a before and after and I want to know all the effort is worth it. cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick C Posted June 18, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2020 Hi, very happy with the look, I wasn't after anything too low as its a road car not a track car, i always thought it sat too high and it kept niggling me. If you take your time it's easy, fronts really easy, rear a little more tricky, there's links on YouTube which I followed, i picked through the different methods and it wasn't bad at all. The rear is easier if you take out the 8mm hex bolts on the drive shaft than the hub nut, remove the top drop link bolt through the strut, remove the caliper and the pipes from the strut and tie up out of the way, remove the 2 eccentric bolts making sure to mark position first, loosen the 3 to strut bolts, this is where one side was easy and one not so, if you pull the hub outward so it can be pushed down you might be lucky and the strut slide out of the hub then just undo the top 3 nuts and the strut is out, on the other side I had to compress the spring under the arch to get clearance then wiggle it free outside the car, this was a pain and took a while. The front take off the caliper and lines etc and tie up out of the way, take out the top drop link nut through the strut (both wheels need to be if the floor to do this) take out the 10mm bolt through the strut, loosen the inner bolt that goes through the coffin arm so the hub can pivot down, no need to remove it, mark the position of the 3 strut top nuts and loosen, when everything is loose you should be able to push down on the hub and the strut should come out of the hub then undo the top 3 nuts and lift the strut free. Don't forget to tighten the eccentric and the front coffin inner bolts with the weight on the wheels. https://linksharing.samsungcloud.com/0HZXEkmpYloN I The pic doesn't do it justice plus this was literally after I dropped the car back down, think it may drop slightly more after a few miles but you can definitely tell the difference straight away. Top is after bottom is before. Hope this helps. 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVO Chris Posted June 18, 2020 Report Share Posted June 18, 2020 15 minutes ago, Nick C said: Hi, very happy with the look, I wasn't after anything too low as its a road car not a track car, i always thought it sat too high and it kept niggling me. If you take your time it's easy, fronts really easy, rear a little more tricky, there's links on YouTube which I followed, i picked through the different methods and it wasn't bad at all. The rear is easier if you take out the 8mm hex bolts on the drive shaft than the hub nut, remove the top drop link bolt through the strut, remove the caliper and the pipes from the strut and tie up out of the way, remove the 2 eccentric bolts making sure to mark position first, loosen the 3 to strut bolts, this is where one side was easy and one not so, if you pull the hub outward so it can be pushed down you might be lucky and the strut slide out of the hub then just undo the top 3 nuts and the strut is out, on the other side I had to compress the spring under the arch to get clearance then wiggle it free outside the car, this was a pain and took a while. The front take off the caliper and lines etc and tie up out of the way, take out the top drop link nut through the strut (both wheels need to be if the floor to do this) take out the 10mm bolt through the strut, loosen the inner bolt that goes through the coffin arm so the hub can pivot down, no need to remove it, mark the position of the 3 strut top nuts and loosen, when everything is loose you should be able to push down on the hub and the strut should come out of the hub then undo the top 3 nuts and lift the strut free. Don't forget to tighten the eccentric and the front coffin inner bolts with the weight on the wheels. https://linksharing.samsungcloud.com/0HZXEkmpYloN I The pic doesn't do it justice plus this was literally after I dropped the car back down, think it may drop slightly more after a few miles but you can definitely tell the difference straight away. Top is after bottom is before. Hope this helps. 👍 Nick, that is great help and really appreciate your writeup, it niggles me too just an inch lower makes all the difference. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobbie Posted June 18, 2020 Report Share Posted June 18, 2020 2 hours ago, Nick C said: hi all, finished fitting h&r m030 (the 10mm ones) lowering springs yesterday, i marked everything up before i took anything away and put it back exactly as it was, I will get an alignment done so I'm after recommendations, obviously porsche will be favourite but what about other places, I'm in Derbyshire. Contacted zentrum and its 100 +vat, think main dealer porsche will be similar, I go to the Sheffield one as I know a guy who works there. Thanks for any advice 👍 I just used the Kwik fit in Wilmslow when I upgraded to a full M030 suspension, as you get up to 8 alignments within 2 years for £110. They use the Hunter kit and have done a good job judging by the handling. On the 986 there are two settings on the Hunter equipment for ROW and ROW Sport for M030 equipped cars. Might be worth investigating if it’s worth changing from standard settings on the 987 since you’re dropping the ride height. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dicky-Art Posted June 18, 2020 Report Share Posted June 18, 2020 My regular garage do 4 wheel alignment, camber and toe setting for £85 providing nothing is seized. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick C Posted June 18, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2020 Thanks for the input, I guess I just want it doing right and with care, I once had a tyre fitted on an audi tt and the garage marked my alloy, I was fuming as they just said they can't guarantee it not happening on the machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bally4563 Posted June 19, 2020 Report Share Posted June 19, 2020 18 hours ago, EVO Chris said: Nick, that is great help and really appreciate your writeup, it niggles me too just an inch lower makes all the difference. Thank you My tip for the rears is to leave the strut in place until the hub is off and fitting vice versa put strut in first and put a don of grease in your socket when you are taking off one of the strut nuts you will see why when you get around to it. And if you split at the driveshaft, get some extensions so you can work outboard and torque them back up at 60ft/lb with thread lock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick C Posted June 19, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2020 for the nut that's in the recess on the rear top strut I loosened it to finger tight then used a telescopic magnetic bit to turn the nut and lift out, worked a treat without getting grease everywhere, putting the nut back reverse of removal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVO Chris Posted June 19, 2020 Report Share Posted June 19, 2020 14 minutes ago, bally4563 said: My tip for the rears is to leave the strut in place until the hub is off and fitting vice versa put strut in first and put a don of grease in your socket when you are taking off one of the strut nuts you will see why when you get around to it. And if you split at the driveshaft, get some extensions so you can work outboard and torque them back up at 60ft/lb with thread lock. Thanks Mick. all very useful info. I have been printing off your words as I go along to guide me through. I have done plenty of spring changes in cars but I want to make sure I get the Boxster as spot on as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick C Posted June 19, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2020 Me too, I'm very handy with a spanner and have done this job on previous cars without issue, the porsche is so good to work on, none of my bolts were seized and everything is so well put together, another thing make sure you have a thin 17mm (i think) spanner for holding the drop link nut whilst removing the nut on the end, makes life so easy. My spanner was slightly too wide to fit so I had to grind my mtb peddle spanner to the correct size which worked a treat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul P Posted June 20, 2020 Report Share Posted June 20, 2020 I just had mine done at OPC. £345. was quoted £330 for the same job by Paragon. like all these things. I think it’s more about the skill and pride of the person doing the work rather than the name on the door but I would be surprised at places that charge £100 if they did caster and camber as well as toe but that’s just a gut feel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulQ Posted June 20, 2020 Report Share Posted June 20, 2020 I know labour rates are less round these parts, but my last one cost £85. Think local indy is around £150 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sa utah Posted June 20, 2020 Report Share Posted June 20, 2020 1 hour ago, Paul P said: I just had mine done at OPC. £345. was quoted £330 for the same job by Paragon. like all these things. I think it’s more about the skill and pride of the person doing the work rather than the name on the door but I would be surprised at places that charge £100 if they did caster and camber as well as toe but that’s just a gut feel. £345 for a wheel alignment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobbie Posted June 20, 2020 Report Share Posted June 20, 2020 On 6/19/2020 at 10:22 AM, Nick C said: Me too, I'm very handy with a spanner and have done this job on previous cars without issue, the porsche is so good to work on, none of my bolts were seized and everything is so well put together, another thing make sure you have a thin 17mm (i think) spanner for holding the drop link nut whilst removing the nut on the end, makes life so easy. My spanner was slightly too wide to fit so I had to grind my mtb peddle spanner to the correct size which worked a treat. I think you’ve been lucky with your car, Porsche made some very dodgy decisions in mixing steel and alloy which corrode together. The drop links on my car had to be drilled out of the hubs and the inboard end of the coffin arm had to be removed with a reciprocating saw🙁. I suspect it was a legacy of being used every day for commuting with salt and spray on the roads. Sounds like you’ve got a keeper👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bally4563 Posted June 20, 2020 Report Share Posted June 20, 2020 11 minutes ago, Nobbie said: I think you’ve been lucky with your car, Porsche made some very dodgy decisions in mixing steel and alloy which corrode together. The drop links on my car had to be drilled out of the hubs and the inboard end of the coffin arm had to be removed with a reciprocating saw🙁. I suspect it was a legacy of being used every day for commuting with salt and spray on the roads. Sounds like you’ve got a keeper👍 +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul P Posted June 20, 2020 Report Share Posted June 20, 2020 5 hours ago, sa utah said: £345 for a wheel alignment? 345 for "full setup" - that's more than do the wheels all point forward in my mind. Pays your money, takes your choice, local "tyre's r us" - 45 quid for "tracking" on the daily - 4 visits later, car finally stopped thinking it was crashing and activating the stability control. They do Porsches as well as Toyota's apparently ( but not mine) I based my go/no go on an indy with an extremely high reputation quoting £330 for the same job and "the best in the business" (centre gravity) wanting more and a day of my life telling them how I would like to drive my car on any given road on any day. Like all these things, if you got what you wanted for <= what you were prepared to pay then you won. In my case, I didn't want variations of quick/euro/fast/cheap setting up the suspension on my car - but if I knew someone, who knew their sh*t, and wanted 100 quid for the same job then i would have of course spent my money there - but I don't have anywhere that fits that description. I don't plan on doing this regularly, but having just put new tyres on the car then I am happy I am not going to kill them sooner than I need. Back to OP's question - if you have somewhere you can trust to do what you want for 100 quid - then you have your answer, based on experience, (and I suspect most OPC's are similar) you won't get the same price from them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apollo000 Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 8 hours ago, Paul P said: 345 for "full setup" - that's more than do the wheels all point forward in my mind. Pays your money, takes your choice, local "tyre's r us" - 45 quid for "tracking" on the daily - 4 visits later, car finally stopped thinking it was crashing and activating the stability control. They do Porsches as well as Toyota's apparently ( but not mine) I based my go/no go on an indy with an extremely high reputation quoting £330 for the same job and "the best in the business" (centre gravity) wanting more and a day of my life telling them how I would like to drive my car on any given road on any day. Like all these things, if you got what you wanted for <= what you were prepared to pay then you won. In my case, I didn't want variations of quick/euro/fast/cheap setting up the suspension on my car - but if I knew someone, who knew their sh*t, and wanted 100 quid for the same job then i would have of course spent my money there - but I don't have anywhere that fits that description. I don't plan on doing this regularly, but having just put new tyres on the car then I am happy I am not going to kill them sooner than I need. Back to OP's question - if you have somewhere you can trust to do what you want for 100 quid - then you have your answer, based on experience, (and I suspect most OPC's are similar) you won't get the same price from them. My local tyre place has a high reputation does it for under £100, they have the Hunter alignment system, speak to me throughout the set up and take their time to ensure it's done correctly. I suspect there are many more like this around, sounds like you had a bum deal with a local and there are many out there that are clueless! However I would never pay £345 for alignment, it's a simple straight forward job - OPC charging that.......big windows in the showroom! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sa utah Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 Same story here. 2 very good and respected local places (neither are fast fit type places ) one a Porsche Independent. I’ve had numerous cars set up by them over the years and have never paid near that. Some of them were factory spec settings and others settings I gave them due to having different components on the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul P Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 I hear you guys, but my point is - in the absence of somewhere local that I trust, my choices were 1) take a day off work drive for 90 mins to the closest Indy with a good reputation and wait for them to do the job - cost £330 or 2) Have the OPC do it while they had the car anyway cost £345. If the good indy had been charging £100 then that's where I would have gone - where I live there are cheap indys and a further afield good indys, but there are no cheap and good indys within 100 miles - and whilst I am sure that somewhere in the middle there are non porsche specialists with the right kit, the right skills and the the right attitude, I haven't found them, apart from one who is great as long as you can leave the car with them for an indeterminate amount of time and they will "get around" to you job when they can - and for this job - they don't have the hunter gear on site - so they would farm it out to "somewhere" anyway. I don't disagree that 300+ is too much money for this job, I simply needed it to be done and this time I swallowed the cost in order to get what I wanted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bally4563 Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 A brief pause... OP checks his pants are still on😂😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TV8 Posted June 21, 2020 Report Share Posted June 21, 2020 I had my 996 alignment checked and adjusted by Precision Porsche recently. The rear wheels were fine but the fronts needed adjustment and they note that they do check and correct, toe, caster and camber. Also, steering wheel alignment. £90 plus vat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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