Cross Turismo Lowered + Spacers

[whan]

Thanks so much for this writeup - I plan to lower my CT when I get it and order aftermarket wheels, so this provides a great blueprint for all of those mods

It looks like 15mm spacers in front don't look too aggressive on the CT, which is good. I think I'm going to do a 16mm equivalent on the vossen hf3 I want, in order to get the deep concave profile (max +38mm offset which is 16mm spaced out from stock +54mm)

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[optik382]

When I purchased my 4CT, I really wanted to achieve that low-slung sport wagon look. The ST was not announced yet, and my wallet won't support the GTS ST price anyway. So, here is what I did to achieve everything...

Awesome post, thank you! How'd you achieve the body-color wheel arches?

 

[Visceral]

Awesome post, thank you! How'd you achieve the body-color wheel arches?

i believe the whole car (including cladding) was wrapped. That deep purple isn’t a color the Taycan comes in outside of PTS (and Viola metallic is darker than this).

 

[enginerdify]

Awesome post, thank you! How'd you achieve the body-color wheel arches?

@optik382 - The whole car is wrapped, including the arches - see that post here. Took a bit of adhesive promoter to get the vinyl to stick.

 

[optik382]

@optik382 - The whole car is wrapped, including the arches - see that post here. Took a bit of adhesive promoter to get the vinyl to stick.

Got it- thanks so much. I have a Neptune Blue wrapped in SatinGuard… need to figure out what to do here Primer 94 is, I think, illegal in California now!

 

[lcarron]

When I purchased my 4CT, I really wanted to achieve that low-slung sport wagon look. The ST was not announced yet, and my wallet won't support the GTS ST price anyway. So, here is what I did to achieve everything...

Lowering
The CT sits 20mm higher than the sedan in the regular ride height setting. Starting from this thread and particularly the post about the comparison in lengths between the suspension links on the sedan vs CT, I started down the path of erasing the 20mm bump to set my CT to ride at the sedan height in the regular setting.

Parts
I looked at links available in the internet marketplace - VR Racing and FVD seemed to be the most popular for ~$200+ a set. I researched the option of obtaining the sedan links from Porsche parts, but as others have found, the small plastic link pieces themselves are not sold individually - they are only sold with the sensor for an even greater price. Both of these options seemed far too expensive for replacing 4 pieces of plastic that are not load-bearing. Using the thread that sent me down this path along with this YouTube video, I decided to create my own links instead.

I ordered some stainless steel threaded rods and some rod end ball bearings from Amazon for a grand total of ~$42. The 100mm rods with the ball bearings on them totaled 120mm ball-to-ball. Using the sedan link ball-to-ball measurements of 88mm front and 95mm rear, I cut 2 rods each to 68mm and 75mm, respectively. I used the nuts that came with the rod end ball bearings to keep pressure on the ball ends. They looked roughly like this:

Trials
1st
For my first height adjustment, I used the sedan lengths as a starting point and extrapolated out the lengths from there to what I ultimately wanted - an ultimate drop - known as CUSTOM ? The look was exactly what I was going for, but after a test drive in regular mode, I found myself hitting the bump stops and ending up with a very harsh ride.

2nd
Learning from the first attempt, for my second height adjustment, I decided to just go with the SEDAN lengths straight up. The ride was far improved and actually fine in regular mode on city streets. I could only slightly feel a bit harsher ride than the stock links on the low mode once I tested on the highway and the car forced itself into lowered mode. The gap between the tires and the fender on the front looked a bit off so I added an extra mm to the front links - I am calling this SEDAN+.

From this, I concluded (as others have found researching suspension parts) that it is not only the links that are different between the sedan and the CT, but perhaps the entire engineering setup of the suspension. The CT seems to be engineered to travel at a higher ride (perhaps the ST will use the sedan components). The factory low mode seems to be set at its position as that is likely the minimum amount of travel range in the suspension required for that Porsche smooth ride quality. This sedan-height trial slightly decreased the suspension travel range beyond this engineered limit, resulting in the harsher ride over imperfect surfaces in the lowered and low modes.​

3rd
Since my initial target was for the regular mode post-lowering to be equal to low mode pre-lowering, I used the ratio data I had gathered from the first two attempts to figure out the link length to achieve this goal - a balance between maintaining ride quality and having availability to further lower the car beyond its stock minimum - known as CUSTOM ? . Turns out, a 5mm delta from the stock links both front and rear is pretty close to make new regular be old low.

The CUSTOM ? result is a new normal mode equal to the stock low mode - a deviation from stock regular of 3/8" front and 1/2" rear - and the ability to achieve a new minimum ride height in low mode that is 7/8" lower than could be achieved stock. A perfect balance of ride quality and lowered look.​

Link Lengths
ball center-to-ball center

	REAR	FRONT
STOCK	102mm	82mm
SEDAN+	95mm	89mm
CUSTOM ? ultimate drop	91mm	91mm
CUSTOM ? balanced ride	97mm	87mm

Result
Ultimately, I chose to stay on SEDAN+ lengths due to the look and almost imperceptible compromise to ride quality, after testing on different driving surfaces. The SEDAN+ result is a new normal mode equal to the stock low mode minus 1/4" - and the ability to achieve a new minimum ride height in low mode that is 1-1/8" lower than could be achieved stock. A perfect balance of ride quality and lowered look. Additionally, I noted that by default, the nose is 1/4" lower than the rear and the new SEDAN+ lengths maintained this.

Ground Clearance
measured from the inner-most underbody along the front and rear jack points to flat concrete surface

	REAR				FRONT
	STOCK @102mm	CUSTOM ? @97mm	SEDAN+ @95mm	CUSTOM ? @91mm	STOCK @82mm	CUSTOM ? @87mm	SEDAN+ @89mm	CUSTOM ? @91mm
LIFT	6-7/8"	6-5/8" ↓ 1/4"	6-5/8" ↓ 1/4"	6-3/8" ↓ 1/2"	6-3/4"	6-3/8" ↓ 3/8"	6-1/2" ↓ 1/4"	6-1/4" ↓ 1/2"
REGULAR	6-1/8"	5-5/8" ↓ 1/2"	5-3/8" ↓ 3/4"	5-1/4" ↓ 7/8"	5-3/4"	5-3/8" ↓ 3/8"	5-1/8" ↓ 5/8"	5" ↓ 3/4"
LOW	5-5/8"	4-3/4" ↓ 7/8"	4-1/2" ↓ 1-1/8"	4-1/2" ↓ 1-1/8"	5-3/8"	4-1/2" ↓ 7/8"	4-1/4" ↓ 1-1/8"	4-1/8" ↓ 1-1/4"
LOWERED (hwy auto)		5-3/16"	4-7/8"			4-7/8"	4-5/8"

Fender Gap
distance from top of tire to fender edge at wheel center

	REAR		FRONT
	CUSTOM ?	SEDAN+	CUSTOM ?	SEDAN+
REGULAR	2-1/8"	1-3/4"	2"	1-3/4"
LOW	1-5/16"	1"	1-1/4"	1"

Spacing
After achieving the desired ride height adjustments, I went about creating that flush fender/wheel look with spacers. The ones from 4 Wheel Spacers is what I ultimately went with - 15mm front and 18mm rear - for my 21" Cross Turismo Design wheels and Continental ProContact RX all season tires. The result is a perfectly flush look.

Spacers
2022 CT with 21" Cross Turismo Design wheels

REAR	FRONT
18mm	15mm

Lowering Photos
old top (no spacers), new bottom (with spacers)

Lift Mode

Regular Mode

Low Mode

Spacer Photos
old left, new right

Rear

Front

Front Right

Front Left

Rear Left

Rear Right

Parts

• M6 x 100mm Stainless Steel Rods
• M6 Rod End Ball Bearings
• 15mm Spacer Set
• 18mm Spacer Set

Referenced Threads

• Bore Size
• Sedan vs CT links
• Ground Clearances
• Suspension Parts

Congrats on the all thing. I’m wondering which mode you are using for daily drive? It seems that you are using regular which is identical to normal low. Did I get it right?

 

[sydenfareren]

Thanx for sharing. Very informative. I am a bit sceptic about removing the links. But it looks so much better.

 

[enginerdify]

Congrats on the all thing. I’m wondering which mode you are using for daily drive? It seems that you are using regular which is identical to normal low. Did I get it right?

@lcarron - yes regular is the daily setting now

 

[enginerdify]

Thanx for sharing. Very informative. I am a bit sceptic about removing the links. But it looks so much better.

@sydenfareren - it really isn’t that difficult to remove the stock links. The ball ends on the new links go on/off much easier so once you are past the first step of stock removal.

 

[ff2kracer]

I cut 2 rods each to 68mm and 75mm, respectively.

Hope you don't mind me clarifying this point, I'm replicating your work and finding that with the rods cut to these lengths you can't adjust the assemblies to the Sedan+ or Custom B lengths (you cannot go short enough). Do you recall perhaps shortening them more later?

 

[WoKe]

Guess it also depends on the balljoints you are using. If these are longer/shorter you will need to compensate.

 

[ff2kracer]

Guess it also depends on the balljoints you are using. If these are longer/shorter you will need to compensate.

Sure, that's obvious. I ordered all the same pieces as OP recommended, hence the question.

 

[enginerdify]

Hope you don't mind me clarifying this point, I'm replicating your work and finding that with the rods cut to these lengths you can't adjust the assemblies to the Sedan+ or Custom B lengths (you cannot go short enough). Do you recall perhaps shortening them more later?

@ff2kracer - yes I actually cut multiple lengths from that 10 rod set I posted from Amazon. Then I could go longer/shorter. I wouldn’t be too detailed about the rod cut lengths as posted, as just the overall is what is important. I just tried to have as much of the rod threads inside the ball ends as possible.

 

[Visceral]

I had calculated 60mm and 68mm for the rods and was surprised to see the 68&76.

 

[ct-andy]

Hi @enginerdify I bought a set from VividRacing. The short links are for the front and longer one to fit on the rear right?

I tried to install the short link to the front but the rod end ball bearing's direction is completely wrong. The way VividRacing link set up is Front long links and Rear short links.

I don't think its correct.

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