kennycoulter

suspension stuff: i think i found my culprit for my jerking steering wheel over bumps and the shaky steering when braking. when i raise my car i can hear the front driver side strut kindof sticking or something. so like i did with my brakes, im upgrading when things go wrong. i want you people(you) to please talk me into some adjustable konis for the front of my car....i have the poly impregnated weltmeister bushings in the control arms right now, but for a while it seemed like that was what was making my steering wheel bounce for 2 seconds after hitting a bump. i dont want anything really harsh, so i figured i could drive with the adjustable konis on the lowest setting. sport and non-sport.....anyone have either or both? the yellows are non sport? the sports are already setup for lowered cars right? what springs(i would guess h&r or weltmeister) should be the reccomended match for jsut a little better handling for my car? this is a daily driver right now, but im hoping to make my svo daily for the most part. i have the adjustable koni reds(classics?) on the front of the svo(stock). my konis on the svo are adjustable with a ****(the rears are twist adjustable). so i really like the ease of the ****. will lowering my car an inch mess with my steering rack or control arms to the point of them failing early? i dont want to make my car unreliable. thanks for everything and im sorry i dont know much of what im talking about.

Chris_924s

There is a fine line between a harsh ride and confort level.

I was amazed at the confort level of Tifo's with the stiff suspension it has. Very pleasing and not a harsh ride at all. It just goes to show how good handling and suspension can be.

I think you have to take a few test rides in some other 944's with different suspension setups Kenny.
It also depends on what you want out of your car-i.e. -- from track beast to daily commuter.

Best of luck with whatever you choose buddy!

kennycoulter

i want it to basically be an all around good to great perormer. i dont plan on racing it, but if i wanted to, its nice to know its there. has anyone here done the "strut inserts" thats what mine is supposed to be right? is this easy or do i have to have some fabricating done? what are the odds that my struts arent rebuildable anymore since they were replaced? chris, i saw your spring plates or whatever you call them that hit the inner fender well......mine are the same shape and you can see where the undercoating was sprayed over the original ones and left an outline......do you happen to know what brand yours are? or is there a part number that i would be able to find what mine are exactly to know if i can just put inserts in? if my shocks WERE replaced, is it possible they were replaced with newer model struts? meaning they cant be re"inserted".....or are the newer models incompatible with the older models' suspension points?

pete944

I have the strut inserts with 200# coilover springs. It's not too stiff at all. You may want to upgrade the rear sway bar to sort of balance things out. Ideally you should increase the rear torsion bar size when you stiffen the front springs but I don't think you wanna go there.
You could run the Koni's with your stock springs and it would give you a very good handling improvement.

Chris_924s

I dont recall- I'll check in the morning light for you.

kennycoulter

thanks so far guys.

Mongo

When I had shaky steering while breaking I had some sort of alignment issue on the front so I took it to get realigned and was then told to replace the tierods on my 84. Naturally I did that, replaced the shocks all the way around and installed 220 lbs. springs. Next thing I know after the alignment, problem solved. The only other thing i can think of too is if your steering wheel shakes bad while braking would be a warped rotor. Good Luck

Andy

Skip

re: early 85 944 - use Koni Sport (yellow, adjustable) 8641-1038S front strut insert and 26-1209S rear shock. The front is adjustable on the car with a **** (included), the rear is adjustable only after removal - same as your Mustang. The sports are not specifically setup to run on lowered cars because there is plenty of stroke as originally equipped.

Weltmeister is the right choice for lowering sport springs. The H&R springs are only for 968/944S2. 200# is the most I recommend you should go with original torsion bars (23.5mm).

Lowering the car will affect your alignment, but there are no real problems with lowering only an inch or so. The ball joints should be fine, especially with the steel arms of the early 944. Tie rods do not have to be changed and there are no real bump steer effects as with some other models.

you wrote: I'm a little confused by these questions so if my response seems way off please slap me back on topic. The "inserts" for your car are as installed by Porsche when new - these are not the cut-n-drill inserts used by later model cars (87+). It is very easy to do, but you do need a spring compressor to remove and replace the springs properly.

Not sure what you mean by spring plates on the front, but I am assuming you mean the upper strut mount. If so, given that you have the early car with the inexpensive-to-replace strut bushings this is a very smart WYIT item.

The newer/later model struts (86 951, 87+ all) do not fit directly onto the early cars. It is very unlikely that a previous owner would have updated the struts by themselves. You can be sure of this by looking at the cap on the struts you have. The early models will have a silver/gold cap that is threaded on. The later models will have a similar looking cap that is crimped on. If the struts is relatively clean, it should be pretty easy to tell which you have.

Good Luck!

kennycoulter

that is the exact info im looking for thank you. but one big thing is.....so you are saying not to use the koni sports with lowering springs? or like the suspension, the inch drop isnt enough to affect the struts? the spring plates i meant are: the hat looking thing that butts up against the inner fender well and i am pretty sure the studs go through this plate and through to mount the strut. if i cant use the koni sports with lowering springs, then what kind of adjustables can i use that are in the same price range?

Skip

Sorry if I was unclear. The Konis can certainly be used with lowering springs. The point I attempted to make was that there is enough excess stoke in the strut as designed from the factory that further modification or special application is not necessary. They work just fine.

The unit you describe with that sits at the very top of the strut is called an "upper strut mount". The studs are attached to the mounting plate - that is what you see above and below the body metal. The early upper strut mounts have an easily replaceable strut bushing with bearing inclusive. The later cars have a complete unit that must be replaced at great expense. However, even these late models cars can backdate to the earlier type mounts.

Clear as mud?

kennycoulter

yes thank you. so you guys sell the strut bearing mount thingers too? im not ready to buy yet, i have to wait and see what my next couple checks are going to be like.

Skip

We sell whatever you'll buy Yes, we do have all the aforementioned parts.