LeMons 944 Handling Problem (no back hatch)
10-21-2014, 09:10 AM
#16
Rennlist Member
I am sorry, but it is the ultimate in mush-headed foolishness to encourage the total removal of rear windows in race cars. If the car catches fire, even an oil fire underneath, the aerodynamics immediately will suck all the fire into the cockpit and onto the driver's back and head.
10-21-2014, 09:51 AM
#17
Rennlist Member
No problems with our 944 this weekend, We won the race at Gingerman by 5 laps with a fully stock suspension, no rear hatch and cheep KYB shocks. Its endurance racing just make sure the car is mechanical sound. We did install a rear bulkhead and lexan behind the driver for fire protection.
10-21-2014, 10:04 AM
#18
Rennlist Member
To get to the posters original question. You cannot throw the car around like a autocross car, the suspension is to soft. Smooth driving is rewarded.You cannot brake the car hard and stand it on it's nose, brake earlier and softer and get on the gas sooner, if it understears a slight lift will correct it.
We never see a handling problem on low fuel, Rear toe in is critical 1/16 tow in on each rear as you do not want to induce any toe out due to the soft rear bushings. The one thing you do not want to do is cut the front springs or stiffen the rear, with stock bushings you will create a ill handling monster. Do not set the car to low in the rear, if it compresses to the bump stop that is bad. The car has a natural tendency to understear, very good to have when you have been driving the car for 2.5 to three hours. Just keep the suspension stock and work on the rear to get rid of the snap overstear. You may have a rear bushing that is bad.
We never see a handling problem on low fuel, Rear toe in is critical 1/16 tow in on each rear as you do not want to induce any toe out due to the soft rear bushings. The one thing you do not want to do is cut the front springs or stiffen the rear, with stock bushings you will create a ill handling monster. Do not set the car to low in the rear, if it compresses to the bump stop that is bad. The car has a natural tendency to understear, very good to have when you have been driving the car for 2.5 to three hours. Just keep the suspension stock and work on the rear to get rid of the snap overstear. You may have a rear bushing that is bad.
Last edited by dgmark; 10-21-2014 at 10:50 AM.
10-21-2014, 01:35 PM
#19
^^^ What Mark said (we're teammates)
Our car is loose and sloppy but balanced, with the only real tendency to looseness being under hard braking. That said, we have had a few other team member spin it - usually either (a) under hard braking or (b) due to a lack of experience in really aggressive driving.
Our car is loose and sloppy but balanced, with the only real tendency to looseness being under hard braking. That said, we have had a few other team member spin it - usually either (a) under hard braking or (b) due to a lack of experience in really aggressive driving.
10-27-2014, 06:33 PM
#20
Rennlist Member
Hi Stef. 
Caught the Jalop post and put two and two together... Can't offer much on the remedy for the handling except I'd second having one for the safety reasons mentioned above. When's this last PCA event you wrote about? Hopefully not the one that just passed.
Caught the Jalop post and put two and two together... Can't offer much on the remedy for the handling except I'd second having one for the safety reasons mentioned above. When's this last PCA event you wrote about? Hopefully not the one that just passed.
10-29-2014, 04:17 PM
#21
Instructor
To get to the posters original question. You cannot throw the car around like a autocross car, the suspension is to soft. Smooth driving is rewarded.You cannot brake the car hard and stand it on it's nose, brake earlier and softer and get on the gas sooner, if it understears a slight lift will correct it.
We never see a handling problem on low fuel, Rear toe in is critical 1/16 tow in on each rear as you do not want to induce any toe out due to the soft rear bushings. The one thing you do not want to do is cut the front springs or stiffen the rear, with stock bushings you will create a ill handling monster. Do not set the car to low in the rear, if it compresses to the bump stop that is bad. The car has a natural tendency to understear, very good to have when you have been driving the car for 2.5 to three hours. Just keep the suspension stock and work on the rear to get rid of the snap overstear. You may have a rear bushing that is bad.
We never see a handling problem on low fuel, Rear toe in is critical 1/16 tow in on each rear as you do not want to induce any toe out due to the soft rear bushings. The one thing you do not want to do is cut the front springs or stiffen the rear, with stock bushings you will create a ill handling monster. Do not set the car to low in the rear, if it compresses to the bump stop that is bad. The car has a natural tendency to understear, very good to have when you have been driving the car for 2.5 to three hours. Just keep the suspension stock and work on the rear to get rid of the snap overstear. You may have a rear bushing that is bad.
What Mark and Jim said. I am also a team member of this Lemons team. The car is very easy to drive fast and where we actually end up catching the faster cars is in the corners. Ive spun ours before, but I was being either extremely aggressive (my own fault), or it was raining very badly (and I was being aggressive, I suppose passing four cars 3 wide at autobahn into a corner is a recipe for spins). I have found that if you just stand on the brakes and try to throw the car into anything without minding smoothness (on and off brakes, and also with steering) that the car will get loose. However, that is the case with any race car. The 944 is extremely forgiving, if I drove my 911 the way I sometimes drive our 944, I would be in a lot of trouble. Mark does all the work on our car, so I would really go with whatever he said, as he has built us a winning car.