Q – I’m thinking about taking my Porsche 993 to the track and I wonder about corner weighting. I had the car lowered slightly when I had a Bilstein PSS-9 coilover suspension kit installed. What do you think; is it worth it or not? – Paul
A – Corner weighting allows you to determine whether or not your car is “square” in terms of the chassis relative to the pavement. Typically, when coilovers are installed the ride height is set from fixed points on the chassis to a flat surface. Usually for most folks, this is good enough.
One would think that measuring from the fender edge to the ground would be a good way to determine if a car is level but I found that fenders aren’t a reliable reference point. I know that sounds odd but I have found quite a bit of difference side to side compared to fixed points on the chassis. What looks right to the naked eye is sometimes wrong.
Now, having said that, how reliable is the chassis as a reference point? Not as likely as you would expect especially on an older 911 and don’t even ask about 914s. I found that on most early 911s that I’ve measured and inspected, rather than resembling a rectangular box, they actually measure like a trapezoid. And 911s aren’t the only cars that are cock eyed. Every VW Super Beetle built is too. Not only is this interesting, it also makes adjustments difficult. For instance, on the eighties 911, one side upper strut mount is further in than the other side. This requires some creativity when an aggressive alignment is requested.
On the later cars, like yours, there are many more adjustments available and tolerances are held much closer. Frame misalignment is less prevalent unless your car was wrecked or driven through crater deep chuck holes. For street use or D.E. events, corner weighting would be an extravagance; but for hard core track use, or when “pushing the envelope”, I would recommend it. – MC