Motation

Is it possible to get a set of rear spring helpers and install them in my 86? If so what mods need to be made or is it just a bolt in application? I have HD Bilstien inserts and am looking in stiffing up my rear suspension with out having to go with a whole new torsion bar setup/headache. TIA.

nine-44

Koni, KLA Industries, Bilstein. There are a few others out there, either www.paragon-products.com or www.klaindustries.com would be a good start to check out.

nine-44

Hmm, the link to KLA isn't right, I'll se if I can find the right one, it is KLA Industries tho

nine-44

oops, it's www.klaindustries.net sorry

Techno Duck

Im confused with what your asking. Are looking to go with coilovers in the rear? That would likely require you to reindex your torsion bars anyway due to the change in rideheight.

You are saying you want to stiffen your rear suspension with helper springs? All you have in the back are just shocks and torsion bars.

Peckster

Forget abut helpers, just replace the springs.

Motation

I was under the impression that there was a setup that included just a set of springs that you could mount to the rear end that would "help" out the torsion bars. But now I see that the only thing available are sets of coilovers that replace the stock set up. So I guess I'm looking at new torsion bars. I have new Blistien H/Ds all around, 220lb H&R springs up front, what size Torsion bars will match this setup? Also anyone know of a quality Bay Area mechanic that won't rape me on an install? Thanks for everything guys, especially the patience you show this Noob. see you on the road.

Kris

Serge944

Yes, you can install a set of rear coil overs (in place of your shocks). With a small enough springrate, there shouldnt be a problem withe rideheight. Both paragon and kla can help you out.

If you dont want to lower your car, forget the torsion bars, as it will be very expensive.

944J

If you lower your car in the rear you have to change the torsion bars?

tifosiman

As Andy ("nine-44") mentioned above, you will need to purchase coil-overs for the rear. Unless you have changed the spring rate in the front to something stiffer than the stock springs, you won't want to add much rate in back, maybe 80-100lbs max. KLA sells a nice set (QA1's), as does Paragon (Koni's), and others. Some of the factory 944 racecars used coil-overs in conjunction with the stock torsion bars.

However, contrary to what others have posted, this usually is not a simple bolt on affair to get it perfect. Even if you adjust the eccentric bolt on the back to lower the car as far as the bolt permits (1/2-3/4 inches), when you install the coil-overs the back of the car will either be raised slightly, or the coil-over springs will clang on their perches (usually when going round a corner and unloading the suspension on the opposite side), or both.

To get it perfect, you really need to re-index the torsion bars to put the proper amount of pre-load on the coil-overs to keep the springs from clanging and to get the rear of the car to the right height. Unless you are a decent mechanic, re-indexing the torsion bars is not an easy job and you would want to pay someone to do it that knows what they are doing ($$$). If you are interested on doing the work I have a decent tutorial I can send you.

The necessity of working on the torsion bars to get it just right brings up an important point. If the torsion bars need to be re-indexed, it is almost easier to just install larger torsion bars (instead of the coil-overs) and be done with it. If you are not going to be monkeying around with springrates and ride heights later on and know the rate/height you want, it makes the most sense to just install the larger torsion bars to start with (IMHO). The other side of the coin here is that you could just yank out the torsion bars all-together and go with coil-overs only on the back. Many have done this and have had no issues.

I've just touched on the above issues, there is more detail that can be gone into regarding springrates, shockmounts, bushings, etc, but I just wanted to hit the highlights for you.

Good luck!