porsche0nut

Interested in hearing what you learn about the torsion bar/shock pairing.

mmporsche

Since the car will be used 50% street and 50% track I am sticking with Chris' recomendation on the Bilstein Sport shocks and 22 and 30 mm torsion bars. I will report back my impressions once I get the car back from him next week or so.

As I mentioned, Chris was a former professional racer and he supports many top drivers in the country (SCs to RSR Cup Cars). His corner balance and alignments are the best you will find anywhere - partially due to the fact he has a mega-expensive machine for setting up the cars. There are 4 pillars with scales on each as well as all the measurements within degrees. He is a genius when it comes to car setup.

I ran 23 and 33 effective bars on my SC when I raced in E stock with re-valved Bilsteins and it was great fun and very fast. Again, I am not looking to win any races and our region doesn't give out trophies for DEs so.........

mmporsche

Spoke to the mechanic today who is working on my car...on a Sunday. I said, "you should be reading a paper and drinking coffee". He says, "I don't do either"..... Anyway, the car is coming along nicely and he is just waiting for parts. I decided to go with all new brake rotors and pads (pagid), new SS lines and a brake cooling kit while he is tearing everything apart. Also adding turbo tie-rods to sharpen the steering. He hopes to have all the mechanicals finished by this Friday so I can begin working on some of the other aspects. I picked up a set of 7 x 16" Fuchs that are reconditioned from Wheel Enhancement and dropped my factory 8's for refinishing to match newly acquired 7's. The RA1s showed up but cannot mount until the 8's come back.... I picked up a BK Harness Bar off of CL and plan to remove the passenger seat in the near term and just run a driver's seat. My steering wheel showed up with the hub and a shim to fix the wobble. I am hoping for my Rennline order this week along with headers, M&K GT3 style exhaust and Wong chip. I will update with pictures once I get the car back and cleaned up a bit more on the underside. I sent this picture I found on Google images to the mechanic requesting this ride height.

race911

So did you end up with raised, decambered spindles?

mmporsche

Not at this time. I raced my '81 with stock spindles, per the rules and never had any problems with handling.

race911

Right, as it wasn't legal then. (Honestly, it's been so long I'm not sure what is or isn't legal now for the stock and prepared classes as we don't have any alphabet cars locally anymore.)

I absolutely, positively guarantee the bump steer curve was atrocious. Whether it bothered you, that's a different story. What I can say is that Ed's old car "Ruby" that I've had for a year now, is absolutely, positively done correct, and it drives so. The other SC that dropped back in my lap, the Weissach, was slammed by the guy I sold it to, and of the 3 or 4 times I drove it before it got stuffed into the back yard to be parted out...........well, it hardly goes down the road in comparison.

mmporsche

As long as I can keep up with the GT3s during the DEs I'm okay with a little bump steer.

Ed Hughes

I'm not sure you know whether you had a problem with handling, or not. That is not to be an assinine comment- simply my interpretation in reading your posts.

I'm still scratching my head on this build. Things like brake cooling don't win anything either, and sure arent free. For what you are spending on this, another $1.5-2k would put such an edge on this blade, that it truly could fend for itself when playing with newer, more powerful cars, and be truly special to drive.

I went down your road, stiffer tbars, refreshed bushings, etc, initally. Was it a fun car, and did it FEEL good initially? Yes. But, as I got smarter and figured out all of the shortcomings, I knew I'd done a half-assed job.

When I did match shocks, reconfig spindles, etc-the improvement gained by finessing was unbelievable. It was THAT different.

mmporsche

I am not sure I appreciate the tone of your comments. I raced wheel-to-wheel for 8 years and was consistently a top finisher across the country (first and seconds mostly) in a very competitive class. I held a number of track records in class and probably still do. Have you ever raced yourself?

If you would read the thread from the beginning you will see that I am not building a race car, rather a car I can drive for pure enjoyment and to and from the track for some spirited DE work. Last time I checked you cannot WIN a DE.

Smarter? Half-assed? You sure talk a big game and based on your 12K plus posts often. This is MY car and I am taking it in the direction I want. I am not building a spec racer or any race car. I know a tremendous amount about suspension setups and have learned from professional shops like 3R and Chris Cervelli who actually build world-class, winning cars.

BTW, I have no trouble keeping up with the newer cars, within reason, because I have lots of actual seat time at tracks from New York to Florida to Utah.

I was sharing this project because I always enjoy reading what others are doing to their cars and thought this would be an opportunity to do the same. Suggestions are welcome but not from people like you that feel the need to be arrogant and demeaning.

Ed Hughes

You'd asked for suggestions, as I recall. Yes, you said before that you raced-I didn't forget. I'd also said I wasn't trying to be an ***, my assessment was only my interpretation of your posts, and my question is whether you would know the difference, as in-if you have not driven a car that is setup well, to know how IT feels.

This seemed like it was going to be a fine-tuned machine initially, but in the end it seems to me to be bits and pieces of what you've read about, and not much practical experience. My take or interpretation only. But, it is your car, and you have every right to do it how you want. I also think it is fair to have opinions.

So how is using the words "smarter" and "half-assed" about myself, when discussing my experiences, "talking a big game"?

As to post count- Last I looked, I've been around for over a decade, and that has included many projects, such as building a pretty nice motor, and overall development of a pretty decent '84 911 along the way. The motor thread alone had something like 21,000 views, and a fair amount of dialog.

I also spend a fair amount of time on the 993 board, and was pretty active with a 928 for a couple of years, so documenting projects amd participating in technical threads such does rack up posts. I've also tried to contribute the little I know in helping others. Ive maybe posted 5 times in Off-Topic. So, I won't apologize for post count. Post count means nothing certainly, and doesn't give me credibility.

I'm sure your car will be fun.

mmporsche

I have been on RL for 8 years and have posted just over 300 times. In that time, I owned 4 Porsches, turned 2 into very successful racecars. Rebuilt two motors, blah, blah, blah. I guess the difference is I actually spend my time doing rather than talking and shi**ing on people's posts and acting superior.

You cannot resist your little jabs. Your comment about me choosing stuff because i read about it and how you thought the car could be a fine tuned machine is bs. You probably have a fine tuned machine but dont know how to drive it so what's the point. I don't want a car that rattles and squeaks driving around town as it would with all the changes you are proposing. I spend my time driving and instructing rather than siting in front of my computer talking about everything I know.

You are what is known as a "sexual intellectual", look it up!

J richard

Hmm...bigger boxes!...this looks like a fun project.

race911

Here's where I'm confused--knowing Ed, and how he painstakingly inquired how to assemble a full functional, harmonious, torsion bar car I wouldn't turn a deaf ear to what he's relating. One drive in the car would set anyone straight, as far as dual purpose cars go.

On the other hand, if I've already competed with an SC that's in the ~2:10 range at Watkins Glen, AND am working with Cervelli, what are a bunch of guys on an internet forum going to bring to the table?

Personally, as I've said above, I hate bump steer. Been dealing with how to get around it since the stone age, when I got my Hunter alignment rack at that first shop in '85. But that's just me.

mmporsche

While I have built race cars that were not street legal I was looking for suggestions on how to build a mixed use car. I have lots of experience driving but I have not spent much time researching good set ups for my intended goals. I was inspired by the article in Excellence about the silver SC that I shared previously. He kept the suspension largely stock which I would like to do for street comfort and eventual resale.

I plan to buy a 997 GT3, in the not too distant future, for my stated purposes but this car fell in my lap for a reasonable price so I thought I would have some fun. I don't keep my cars very long because part of the fun for me is the hunt and sometimes conversions. Honestly, I had no plan to buy a 3.2 because I just sold my turbo but after I read the Excellence issue I was inspired. Plus, I don't like being Porscheless

And yes, I did ask for suggestions but I don't appreciate the tone in which Ed delivered them. This may be "half-assed" by his definition but there is a better way to express his views in my opinion.

I would like to move past this and get back to the modding.

Ed Hughes

I've DONE plenty...