doolittle

I have a 1983 944 with the following: Koni yellows all around, 200 pound Weltmeister front springs, and stock 23.5 rear torsion bars. The Koni's are currently set at 1/4 turn from full soft in front, full soft in rear. I am looking for input whether the Koni settings are correct or should be changed for a track day at Cresson Motorsport Ranch (3.1) south of Ft. Worth. Thank you in advance!

Dan

Van

Full stiff all around.

StoogeMoe

Car will likely understeer with the uprated springs and stock torsion bars. Do you have the stock sway bars?

doolittle

The rest of my set-up: 25.5f/18r sway bars, 16x7f/16x8r Fuchs replicas with 205/55f&225/50r RE-71r tires, front strut brace, fresh control arm bushings up front, and fresh sway bar bushings/drop links f&r. I adjusted the front struts to slightly more than 50% firm today. I liked the feel of the front end. Debating 1 click (20% firm) or 2 clicks (50% firm) for the rear shocks. I'm afraid 100% firm would be too much with my current spring/torsion bar set-up. Thoughts?

Dan

mj951

I'm not familiar with Cresson Motorsport but it's likely to be a smoother surface than the street surfaces you're testing on so there's a good chance you'll be able to run a stiffer set up at the track. Best to make suspension adjustments at the track between sessions.

Van has a lot of experience with the 944 so I wouldn't discount the full stiff all around advice from him but that will be harsh and dangerous on the street so you'll want to take it easy to and from the track or again make the adjustments at the track.

You might also consider a 19mm adjustable rear sway bar. Either the OEM three hole adjustable or the Lindsey five hole adjustable bar. This would allow you some additional fine tuning and the ability to dial out the understeer Moe mentioned above.

T&T Racing

[QUOTE=mj951;15722641]I'm not familiar with Cresson Motorsport but it's likely to be a smoother surface than the street surfaces you're testing on so there's a good chance you'll be able to run a stiffer set up at the track. Best to make suspension adjustments at the track between sessions.

Van has a lot of experience with the 944 so I wouldn't discount the full stiff all around advice from him but that will be harsh and dangerous on the street so you'll want to take it easy to and from the track or again make the adjustments at the track.

Support these comments. Going full hard on front shocks reduces the front roll and dials out some front understeer and going full hard in the rear shocks helps to dial out a little more understeer. Van recommend these settings for track only because the suspension front spring rates and rear torsion bar are softer compared to track setup

mj951

[QUOTE=T&T Racing;15723098]T&T, I think you meant to say ^^^ assuming no changes to the rear.

T&T Racing

[QUOTE=mj951;15724036]👍, but full hard in front shocks transfers weight to the front faster and makes turn in crisper, could add understeer at corner exit depending on the tires.

mj951

Excellent, good description!

Van

Yes, I made that recommendation with two assumptions: first, the track is likely smoother than the street. Second, what you're really controlling by stiffening up the koni single adjustable shocks is the weight transfer characteristics - both decel at corner entry, and acceleration at mid-corner. This means that for those transition periods, the car will act like you have stiffer springs (torsion bar in the rear). In my experience, this is helpful for track situations. Make the adjustment, try it, and see what you think.

doolittle

So, after reading everything I could get my hands on and a conversation with the people at Paragon, I adjusted the front shocks to half+1/8 firm, and the rear shocks to half firm. I also added braces for the front sway bar. My initial impressions are that I like the ride and feeling of the car: I would describe it as "taut", without being uncomfortable. Track day is 4/8/19, and I will report back afterward.

Dan

mj951

Sounds good so far.

As you're doing, it's best to make incremental changes to understand how each effects the handling characteristics of the car.
After getting the feel of the car in the morning you might consider making an adjustment to the front struts between your afternoon sessions . Go full hard on the front struts even for only a few laps and you'll see how much adjustability there is.
Even on decent county roads if you make a route and get use to it you'll be able to make strut and shock adjustments and understand the adjustability of the suspension. Obviously better to do this on the track but that time can be limited and more expensive.

An upper strut brace would increase the crispness of the steering response even further but will also increase understeer which is safer through high speed corners but eventually you'll get tired of it.
Enjoy the day.

edfishjr

If this is your first track-day ever (sounds like it) then you'll be fine with shocks not at full stiff.

As you get faster you will find that any suspension that is not uncomfortable on the street is not stiff enough for most enjoyment/best performance at the track. As Van says, you have a relatively soft setup and full stiff on the shocks can mask some of the inherent bad effects.

951and944S

1-2 clicks on a shock of this level after one session will not even be noticeable because it is only compensating for (thinner) heated up oil.

Secondly, bumps are high speed compression, weight transfer is slow speed, of which these shocks don't even have an adjustment for.

T

doolittle

So, I ran the car yesterday at Cresson MSR (south of Ft. Worth) and had a great time. I probably got in 1.5 hours of total track time, with temperatures starting around 65 and rising to around 80 by the afternoon. I would highly recommend the track if you have a chance to run it: 3.1 miles with a nice combination of hills, technical turns, and straightaways. The car ran well (36 years old!). I was surprised by oversteer on several occasions, especially considering my current setup, which I went in expecting understeer to be pronounced. I did experience the front tires contacting the fender liner on some turns that included bumps. Overall, pretty good setup.

Dan