tlarocque

Its been some time since I used to autocross my dad's '88 Carrera and rip through the neighborhood with my teenage sense of invincibility. I'm all grown up now and driving and M3 Competition but I'm considering buying my dad's 911. Last time I drove it I was a little surprised by how much less confidence I had in driving it. The steering felt a little spongy. My intention would be to use the car for DE's and as a weekend car. Having been away from Porsches for some time, anybody driving earlier 911s have experience with this issue? Is there a good track set-up for the car/way to upgrade the suspension to bring back some of the original feel it had?

Thanks!

Peter Zimmermann

Start by finding out how old the shocks and tie rods are. How many miles are on this almost 20-year old car? Is it a coupe, Targa or Cab? Remember, you've been driving an extremely accurate, precise, modern car, so your goal should be to make the Carrera feel like it should, and then you have to adapt to that.
Pete

ked

I have a '87 911, I also have a few thousand miles in an '06 M3 w/ Comp Pkg. The Bimmer is some benchmark to compare any car to, much less a near 20 yr old 911! There are a number of reasons that you may note differences. In fact they ARE distinct, so much so that one must make serious mental adjustments when switching cars in a high perf regime. Whether one likes it or not, the steering personality (& chassis-handling dynamics) of a 911 is pretty unique. Further, decades of wear and exposure has a real impact on the 911 steering, susp and frt end. How are the tires (age, type & wear)? How are the shocks? Many owners upgrade tie rods to the "turbo" type when they wear out. 911s are esp sensitive to alignment settings & ride height - have those been checked? I would approach the purchase like it was a stranger's car - have a PPI done by an expert, w/ particular attention to the frt end. After that, perhaps have an owner of a great 911 autoX car drive yours - and maybe you drive his, too. This process should reveal what the issue may be. As a family car, I would tend to want to keep it, a trend among Porsche owners... best of luck!

tlarocque

Thanks for the good suggestions. It has about 120,000 miles on it. Dad is the original owner. Other than 17" Ruf wheels (I think he put Falkens on them), everything is pretty stock. I think he replaced the shocks within the last year or two (car isn't driven much). I know the rear torsion bars were replaced somewhere along the line. I see people talking about tie rods a lot but I haven't a clue what they are.

I certainly don't expect the 911 to feel like my M3. I don't want it to. But I used to drive the twisties north of San Diego at 110 mph with complete (unwarranted) confidence. I like the idea of a PPI.

Peter Zimmermann

...and, of course, I meant to say - has anyone 911-knowledgeable aligned the car in the last "x" amount of miles? This car could become a huge, but ultimately, rewarding project for you, but there are so many directions that you can take we need much more info!
Pete

tlarocque

Yes... the car has been well cared for. Maintenence is done by All German in Escondido, CA... I believe they are pretty good. They've been trying to get my dad to sell it to them for years now.

andrew911

My old '78 and '87 911s didn't give me complete confidence at 110 in a straight line Some confidence yes (tight suspension, excellent brakes and steering feedback), but poor aerodynamics and lots of noise (some good engine noise, some bad wind noise). I didn't feel the "modern secure feeling at high speed" until my 964...

Mike Murphy

On the other hand, my 88 Targa feels stable at 80 and 100, even in turns. I hit 130 once, it seemed quite stable, but I was deafened by the wind noise from the Targa top (which was on at the time). Of course, the whale tail and front spoiler may have helped.