BMWM3PORSCHE944

I want to make my rear end a bit stiffer. The car is as low as can be set by the factory adjustments with Koni adjustables at 4 corners as well as Weltmeister 250# springs up front. The car is understeering a bit even with the front shocks set to minimum stiffness and I would like to correct that.

I am also experiencing some fender rub on the front tires when cornering at speed, I am under the impression that of course stiffening up the front with a strut tower brace woud help. Am I correct?

Would a thick sway bar under the rear help me out with that issue?

I appreciate any suggestions and welcome any input on good vendors and products.

Legoland951

Koni yellows set at full stiff with 250 weltmeisters and 31mm hollow torsion bars worked well for me when I had my 86.

P944forScott

Do some squats, ride your bike... sorry too much caffeine

MM951

or rollerblade

tifosiman

The larger rear sway bar won't fully get things back into equalibrium here. You need to do one of two things to get your car back into a balanced situation:

1: Larger torsion bars in the rear. Somewhere around the 28mm range would work great with your spring rate in the front.

2: Coil-overs for the rear in conjunction with your stock torsion bars.

What size tires/rims are you running in the front? Are they really rubbing on the fenders, or is there some sort of issue with the inside fender well liner?

Jeremy

Matt

Pete,

What kind of driving do you do in the car? Track/autocross/street call for somewhat different answers.

Don't give in to the temptation to stiffen the front Konis. They're adjustable only in rebound, and stiffening will only make the handling and rubbing problems worse.

I ran essentially the same setup for a while (924S). It didn't feel too bad on the street, but is was truly horrible on the track, the understeer was off the charts (with 225/50/16 fronts, 245/45/16 rears). I tried to correct with a Weltmeister rear swaybar set pretty stiff; that helped somewhat, but was only a bandaid and not a very good one. The fix was to install bigger torsion bars. 27 or 28mm balance the 250# springs pretty well; I'm using 29mm bars and 325# springs, with Koni yellows set pretty soft.

Matt

Geo

I'm with Matt. Stiffen with springs or bars. I'd prefer to stiffen with springs and tune with bars. Do not try to stiffen by adjusting the Konis. Dampers are not there to do the work of the springs.

You'll probably want stiffer springs and T-bars.

BMWM3PORSCHE944

What am I looking at for the T-bars in parts and labor?

I have not set the fronts to full stiff, they are actually at full soft right now to help with the understeer. I do not know what the rears are set at, I told the to go full stiffness but do not kow what they did and neither do they! LOL!

I use the car for street, auto-x and eventually track as well. I just had the front bearings repacked and that has helped a bit, but it still pushes in high speed broad curves and low speed tight turns.


I may have access to a pair of Carerra coilovers for the rear, I was going to buy them from a friend but we had fitment issues, they wouldnt line up with the bolt holes on the rear suspension piece, they sat out about an inch or so too far to bolt up. He suggested I find an extension but I heard that it might not be very safe. If I could find an extension that would be safe I would love to put the coilovers on the rear, but I am thinking that replacing the T-bars might be cost prohibitive for me right now.

Does the car have rear springs? Or is it just the Tbars back there? I need to learn more about my car obviously.

Thanks VERY much to all so far for all the time effort and assistance in this matter, your personal time is very appreciated, ESP. you mechanics who do this for a living and take the time out of your slender free time to help soem shlub like me who doesnt know jack. I'll be happy to cook any one of you a 5 course dinner sometime, Im a chef!

Geo

Yes, changing the T-bars will take a fair amount of time and $$.

Perhaps your best bet from an expediency/$$ standpoint would be to get different swaybars. Again, not inexpensive, but cheaper than other alternatives.

The next best bet would be to buy/install rear coilovers, but I'm not sure the cost of that (won't be cheap).

BMWM3PORSCHE944

I think I may have found some rear coilovers and the adapters to make them work. Keeping my fingers crossed!