DanR

Hi Guys,

I have been doing some serching and want your help / confirmation if I am heading in the right direction

I have just bought a 87 944s with less than 100kl miles but a full engine rebuild in the last 3k. My plan for it is to use it for autox and some DE events next year as I dont want to continue abusing my 997. I am going to focus on handling and safety and want to know your thoughts on suspension and brake setup

THE PLAN
strip the interion and fit a bolt in cage (weld in will have to wait as I am doing it on the cheapish)
fit race seats and harness
fit my fire extinguisher system

WHere I need the help.............. from research I think I should

change the front annd rear sway bar to turbo or M030 spec

change the dampers and springs (what do people reccomend as it will be track only

Brakes - was thinking to get either 928s4 or some 951 turbo calipers (is this a good idea?)

All advice welcome please

Dan

xsboost90

i would *personally* leave most the interior and strip out the stuff in the way of the safety equipment-maybe take out the tar stuff under the carpet and then reinstall carpet.

MO30 968 sways

turbo brakes w/ heavy race pads would be more than enough i would think for the n/a- bigger brakes you may be stopping too much to recover out of the corner!

springs- your on your own there are hundreds of possiblilities.

DanR

Would turbo claipers from an 87 turbo bolt straight onto my 87 n/a s? (I would replace the disks as the same time!)

Techno Duck

You need late offset ('87+) spindles from a turbo to do it.

And i agree with Dan, i think the stock turbo 4-piston calipers should be plenty for a 8v n/a 944. Your pushing around at most 2800lbs with only 150hp at best. Ive found they are more than adequate on my car, though i do not claim to be a expert driver.

What is your budget with the suspension? There are a ton of options available. Having a budget in mind will help narrow it down.

DanR

Hi,

I have actually bought the s so should have close to 190bhp and I also hope to lose plenty of weight as well. As to budget for suspension I am looking to do it on the cheap so within $1000. WHat will this get me and how much will it improve the handling?

Thanks for all the help

xsboost90

hm- maybe find a set of s2 or turboS sways- $150-200
some weltmeister front springs - $100 www.paragon-products.com
new shocks/struts

DanR

what spring rate would you suggest?

Z-man

Dan -
My suggestion would be to freshen up the suspension (if needed), and maybe get a set of stiffer swaybars. Safety equipment -- go as far as you wish -- you can never over-do the safety stuff. But drive it for a season at DE's to get a feel for the car -- it will be quite different than your 997. Seat time first, then suspension upgrades!

After you get an understanding of how the car handles, then start looking at upgrading the components -- without knowing what the car is like, your upgrades may not necessarily suit your driving style or your needs.

And while everyone here (including myself) is willing to offer you suggestions on how to spend your money on various upgrades, it is ultimately your wallet that needs to be opened, and you are the one who will drive the car.

My $0.42,
-Z-man.

Litespeeds

If you want to do auto-x and some DE, you can go with the slightly larger 26.8mm front sway and 18mm rear sway from a 951s which I have a set for sale for only $180 shipped.

You can order the M030 package from Paragon but the front bar and rear adjustable bar will cost you over $448 plus shipping.

With the money you save, you can spend it on the Koni adjustable shocks for the front and rear. Also are you planning on lowering the car by changing or reindexing the torsion bars? Now that is where it will get expensive.

Most people will just try and lower the rear of their car by moving the spring plate or something like that and then use the Weltmeister lowering springs for the fronts, about $117. That is the most cost effective but once you plan on making this into a dedicated track car, then you might go with a 944 Spec suspension. That will include 30mm rear torsions, 350 or 400 lbs front adjustable coilovers but you will still be using the Koni adjustables.

As for brakes, I would just keep the stock calipers and rotors and change out to steel braided brake lines and upgraded brake pads like the Hawk HP Plus and ATE Super Blue brake fluid. You should be fine with something like this for now until it becomes a dedicated track car. Even then, all you need to do is change out to Hawk Blues and you are good to go, or should I say stop.

M758

944 spec prep levels seem to strike a nice balance between racey, fun and cost effective.

Our cars have the folloing mods

Engine = Stock. Most cars remove the cat, but that is all. Stock chip, stock header, stock intake etc. We do a number of mods the oil system for reliability.

Body = exterior is all stock(steel & glass), but everything inside is stripped. This alone takes out about 350lbs from the cars and makes then quite quick inspite of their power levels. The major down side however is while they can street driven, they are not all that pleasant on the street.

Brakes = Stock, but with cooling ducts and race pads. If you get good pads the stock brakes will hold up fine

Suspension = We use what is really very good street suspension. Koni yellow shocks, and 250lbs to 400lbs front springs with most often 28 mm or 30 mm torsion bars in the rear. Sway bars vary from 944 Turbo units to Weltmeister adjustables. It seems that personal choice plays a big role in which sways people run. Camberplates and the adjustable ride height sleeves are nice to have in front to get the camber and right height that makes these cars run well. We also use delrin or poly-graphite and they also work well. Metal spherical bushings are better, but cost considerably more. Overall there are many things you can do to improve the suspension over what I mentioned, but the performance gains are progressivly smaller and the costs escalate qucikly.

Wheels/tires = We run 15x7 stock wheels with 225/50 R15 Toyo RA-1. The toyo are not the fastest tire out there, but the are consistant and have a long life. Plus are reasonbly priced in the 15" size.

Overall driving a car prepped even very basicly like this will make you 997 feel like a heavy pig.

BTW... is that a 944S (ie 16 valve car?) If not you can race it in the 944 spec class, but that is only for 8valve cars.

jaje

I was going to say that 944 Spec class is only 8v 2.5 cars with limited prep. The 944 Cup allows you to run a lot more modifications and they have a Super Cup class that will allow the 16v (S & S2) and Turbos to race.

AlpharettaRK

I think that you should pick a race series, whether spec or a PCA stock class and make sure your mods stay within those rules, even if you don't plan to race. If/when you want to re-sell the car you will be closer to recovering your investment if there is someplace the car can be raced. Buy some Hawk Blue or PFC 97 pads for the stock calipers and use the rest of the money you were going to spend on brakes for the suspension. I wouldn't even worry about brake ducts right away.
Cheers
Randy