ibkevin

that do not lower the car. Is there such an animal, if so, where?

Makis

I think you can convert standard strut to use 2.5" diameter springs that can also be adjusted for height. These springs can be found with any rate and length. I am using #200 with a 9" long spring that lowers my car (944S2) by 1". I reacon if you use 10" long #250 spring will retain ride height and retain correct suspension travel.

Z-man

What are you planning on doing with the car? Street driving? AX? DE? Club racing?

-Z.

gregeast

I'm running 200# Welt springs with a spacer that puts the ride height back up ~ to stock.

ibkevin

I drive the streets like a mad man, you're call !

I know what I want, non-lowering 968's are a trick find.

Z-man

Then keep it stock. No need to go with heavier springs unless you track or AX it. Pot holes, bumpy roads, highway divider cracks -- all reasons NOT to stiffen up the car.

For a street driven car, the stock suspension on a 968 is perfectly fine.

-Z.

eohrnberger

On the flip side, if you do decide to get more into DE's and auto-x, the spring rates that I've got (double the stock rates) seem to be a good compromise between decent track performance and a reasonable street ride (we've got some of the worst roads around here!). (Thanks to Jason at Paragon! )

Z-man

eohrnberger - what spring rates are you running?

I'm at 400 lbs front / 31mm hollow torsion bar rear (335 lbs effective). Definately better than the stock suspension for the track, and not too stiff for the street. And the car felt terrific at last weekend's autocross. Suits my needs very well!

-Z.

Makis

I know somebody that runs his 968 with standard suspension but uprated sway bars. I think 30mm (stock is 26.8mm) front and 19mm (stock 16mm) rear and 18inch wheels. Uprate sway bar and shocks like koni yellow sports could do the trick if suspension kept stock.

ibkevin

I bought a pair of towers from a lister and while they were being shipped I bought a pair of #250's for my new turbo tower shock upgrade. When they arrived I compared the new springs to the towers and they didn't fit, ... because they were 968's! Now I'm not one to complain about something like that, however, I think the 250's would give the front a little more bite and stay comfortable on road trips.

Fishey

Why would you not want to lower the car? I have my car slammed and still never get hung up on anything...

Z-man

Actually, stiffening up the fronts without touching the rear of the car will only make your car understeer more. While going to a 250lb spring won't be that noticable, don't expect the car to handle better.

-Z.

eohrnberger

I've got 300 LBS/In in front, with the stock sway bar (maybe upgrade next spring), and 250 LBS/In in the rear, plus the torsion bar, with the stock sway bar (maybe upgrade next spring). At the moment, I've got the Koni's set to 50% stiff, so I can yet balance the car out depending on what it does on the track.

It's nice and firm for cornering, and not yet overly harsh on rough roads. First DE around here will be the 11th, and I'm looking forward to it.

Z-man

How thick is your rear torsion bar? It sounds to me like your a bit on the stiff side in the rear. Click here for the Paragon Tech session discussing rear spring rates.

My understanding is that you want the rear effective spring rate to be around 75% of the front rate. Your front rate is: 300 lbs, therefore, your rear effective rate should be around 225 lbs.

Based on the tech session above, if you still have the stock 24mm torsion bar, your rear effective rate is: 250 + 137 = 387. To get to the 225lb effective rear spring rate, you'd need something like a 125lb to 150lb helper springs in the rear, not the 250's you have in there now. (Or, you could up your front spring rate to around 450 or 500 lbs. to balance it out.) Unfortunately, adjusting the Koni's won't get you the balance you need.

Bottom line: you may have a car that oversteers a bit more than you expect. ?You may have a very tail happy car when it's pushed closer to the limits than you push it on the street.

In my update, I've got 400 lb effective rate front, 335 lb effective rate rear (with the 31mm hollow torsion bar + no helper spring). The rears are more like 85% of the fronts in my case. But I have my rear Welt sway bar set to full soft. (And I have an M030 front swaybar) The rear Koni's are on the soft side of medium, and I believe the fronts are full soft. On the track, that setup works better than I thought it would - very neutral, with a hint of understeer at the limits. In Autocross, the setup works fantastically!

Just my opinions here - I'm really no expert, and I haven't dealt with adjusting suspension too much, but I believe the rear of your car is a bit stiffer than ideal.

-Z-man.

eohrnberger

-Z-man,
Yea, I understand the reasoning, and am familiar with the tech article, but the Porsche tech. that was staying after hours to help me out with this project didn't really want to re-index the torsion straight out of the gate (it's a real PITA).

If I come back after the DE session and talk to him about how tail happy it is, perhaps I can convince him of helping me out to do that. BTW: He read that tech article too. Step-wise refinment.