AllanJ

Hey guys,

My brother is working on his 914-6 project car (my old car) and we're putting together a list of suspension upgrades for next autox season. We're not worried about scca classing, etc. This is a fun weekend toy for him and for us to autox. He wants to keep his fillings in his mouth and his back isn't in the greatest shape.

914-6 conversion with 3.0SC engine and 915 trans (plenty of extra weight back there)

Current setup:

- Koni reds
- Stock 35-yr old torsion bars
- Aftermarket (mount under the body) front anti-roll bar (can't remember size)
- 180lb linear rate rear springs
- 225/50 Toyo R888 all around

With the 180lb rear springs the car oversteers like crazy. Front shocks need to be on full hard (and rear full soft) to keep under control. Obviously not balanced.

Would 21mm hollow torsion bars be a good match for 180lb rear springs? (Keeping in mind wanting to keep his fillings in his mouth)

Or should the rear springs be changed to 140lb?

I'm thinking about replacing the front anti-roll bar with something else. The current one has a ton of preload and the drop links are so short I can't find adjustable ones that will fit and bottom line, I just don't like it. What size ARB would you recommend to go on this car?

Thanks for any tips.

Matt Romanowski

21mm bars would work. The car will be still, but not unbearable. Go with a 19mm through body sway bar. The shocks will be fine.

Also give Jason at Paragon a call. He is great with 914 suspension.

Jay Gratton

Go to the Elephant Racing website, they have an amazing site that shows what you can do and what it will do to help. Sounds like a great project! Post some pictures.

AllanJ

Thanks guys.

I bought the Konis and rear springs (with adjustable perches) from Jason many, many, many years ago. The car was one of those never-ending projects and it finally came out to autox this past season.

I love my GT3 and have autox'ed and tracked it a bunch, but I find the 914 a challenge to drive fast at autox and ultimately more rewarding than the GT3. Plus being out there with my brother and his two kids makes for an excellent day.

Cheers,

Jay Gratton

Allan,
I have AX a GT3 before and while fast, I enjoy my 914 more.

AllanJ

They sure are fun cars! It'll be nice to get this one dialed in.

Jay Gratton

I don't know about your region, but we see less and less 914's at AX these days. Sad for how well they do!

AllanJ

At our local PCA autox, this is the only 914 around. A buddy solosprints his 914-6 (w/3.2L) but doesn't do solo 2. No 914s at the local generic autox clubs either. I think there is one on Vancouver Island who attends autox there. Hardly see these cars around anymore.

At a recent Corvette club autox (they invited the PCA group to join them), they made a full-on power course. Barely had to work the steering wheel (the manual steering with 225 tires up front was never an issue - that's how straight this course was). I placed 6th overall out of 43 drivers.

Admittedly, this group wasn't the most competitive around, but I beat several vettes with 400-500HP driven by guys who've done plenty of driving events. It was a hoot!

Now my brother and I are wondering what this car can do with a tuned suspension and I'll see if Santa can find some Kumho V710 for him.

Jay Gratton

I love Sanata, she....I mean he, always knows what car parts to get me.

racer

The reason you don't see 914s around is age.. at 35-40 years old!.. Same thing happened with 356's by the late 1980s. Only the diehards have them and bring them out anymore.

Jay Gratton

To bad, because the platform is still modern and can still put down amazing runs.

racer

I don't disagree.. its a remarkable platform.. 2000lb, mid engine... sounds alot like a lotus elise these days

I recall them quite popular in my local PCA region untill the late 1990s (heck, I used one regularly myself untill 2000). I think the Boxster drove some of them away.. but in general, for the stock ones, is that their low hp made them less fun for many at the track and competition (miata, mr2) made it difficult at autocross.

J P Stein

I notice that most fellas on this thread are from "back East".
The 914 is alive & well on the West Coast AX venues. There are 6-8 running in ORPCA & NWPCA (Portland & Seattle). Don't give us up for daid yet.

Nere is a pic of the last West Coast shoot out at Packwood WA. in 2009

AllanJ

Great pic, JP! Every one of those people have a reason to be smiling.

Update for you: My brother talked to Jason at Paragon and he has a plan now. Wallet is interfering but he's doing the rear first, and then the front. Rear trailing arm bushings are completely shot and there is excessive play from a worn hole at one end of a trailing arm (where the long pivot rod goes through). He ordered new bushings and will do repairs on the trailing arm to make it solid. He also ordered new clutch and e-brake cables, a bunch of misc maintenance related bits and some headers so he can ditch the restrictive 914-6 factory heat exchangers.

Once his wallet recovers, he'll move to the front and go with 21mm torsion bars and a new 19mm through-the-body sway bar. Also new bushings everywhere.

I just finished putting new shocks/springs on my car and his car will be completely different so we'll both have a lot of learning to do when the season starts up again next spring. Sounds perfect to me!

Thanks for your help, guys. I'll keep you posted.

Cheers,

Jay Gratton

JP,
That is great! At our AX events we have 3 or 4 at best now. 10 years ago we had 8+ and now they are just not out there anymore. However, a guy driving a basically stock SIX gets FTD from time to time, but he beats the living HELL out of it to do it.