JB '87 944

Again..I'm a new 944 owner coming in with another question...tonight after changing the plugs my son and I jumped in for a quick test ride. Beautiful night...no one in sight...let's go! At 100mph/160kmh with a perfectly flat straight road with no wind there was an uneasy sense of losing some stearing control. Lots of steering control is left, just not as accurate. Seems like the car gets lighter up front at high speed. Sort of a floating sensation. Is this normal? Would lowering the front end be a partial solution?

mideastmafia

air is moving under the car, and therefore making it go higher off the ground.. lowering the car will help..


SHAUN

JohnK944

My 87 944 na is solid as a rock well past 125 mph (under very safe conditons) on the highways.

I havent had any lowering done on my suspension.

Maybe an alignment or something else is causing the "light" front end feeling.

Bri Bro

Any guards missing from under the car?

Bob S. 1984 Silver

Lowering is not a cureall. As it is, the 944/951 has precious litle clearance, subjecting the components closest to the ground to potential damage. Ever see a 924 oil pan holed? I would consider a number of factors: Are the pans under the engine in place? Are the suspension components in proper operating shape, starting with the shox(all four corners; bad shocks can result in a "floating" sensation), going on to the ball joints, tie rods, suspension bushings, upper tower bearings,even wheel bearings. I have had my '84 up to an indicated 125 without the lightness. However, the entire front end has been rebuilt as described above. Last but not least there could be an alignment problem.

Eliminate items one at a time; don't rush into all out replacement. If you do, you may never actually isolate the culprit and worse, the feeling may still be there after all your work and expense!!

Good luck!!~

Bob S.

Brian Wilson

I've driven a couple of pre 85 944's and they seem to do the same thing. My 85.5 doesn't float. It sticks pretty well, as driving 100+MPH everyday for me is normal.

I would go with bob on this and check your suspension components. Also, I have my pan underneath the engine out right now, because of constant work on the car, and it still seems to be the same.

Z-man

[quote]Originally posted by mideastmafia:
<strong>air is moving under the car, and therefore making it go higher off the ground.. lowering the car will help..
SHAUN</strong><hr></blockquote>
However, lowering the 944 tends to put more stress on the front A-arm and ball joints, which is the weakest point in our suspension. Failure of the A-arm can lead to catastrophic results! (Just ask the guy whose front suspension and wheel came off at speed at VIR! )

Like said before, it could be your shocks, ball joints, springs: check your suspension and check for looseness.

I've had my 944S2 up to speed on tracks (over 115mph), and it exhibited no floating whatsoever.

-Z.

Oh, and welcome to the club!

Type_LT

ecpunk: I am so jealous

JGriff

[quote]Originally posted by beab951:
<strong>Any guards missing from under the car?</strong><hr></blockquote>

I too get a bit of a floating sensation at 100 mph+, where the steering seems to get lighter. The belly pan that goes underneath the engine is off on my car, and I’m beginning to wonder if that might be contributing to it.

I have the pan (the PO removed it for whatever reason), but not the hardware to install it. Does anyone know if the hardware is available as a kit somewhere, or should I just go to Home Depot and buy a bunch of metric bolts? Does anyone know what size the bolts are for putting this pan back on?

I had an alignment done recently, and the car has been checked out by a good shop, so I think less that it could be a suspension problem. I also get a bit of a shimmy/shake at high speeds, but just this morning I changed the tire pressure, and that seemed to help a bit. (I was running 31F/34R, and I pumped it up to 35F/38R. I am still amazed that the factory spec for this car is 36F/44R!!) It is still not rock-solid shake-free perfect, but it seemed a bit better on the drive in to work on the MA Turnpike.

Supposedly, the tires are new. Maybe I'll get them re-balanced the next time I have it in the shop, just for peace-of-mind.

Thanks.

Jim

Bob S. 1984 Silver

Jim:

If I recall, they are 10mm hex bolts, about 1/2 inch long. Just the idea of keeping crud out of the belt area makes me advise having the pans in place.

Bob S.

JGriff

[quote]Originally posted by Bob S.:
<strong>Jim:

If I recall, they are 10mm hex bolts, about 1/2 inch long. Just the idea of keeping crud out of the belt area makes me advise having the pans in place.

Bob S.</strong><hr></blockquote>

Thanks. If there was any size I was going to guess, it was going to be 10mm!!

I'll buy a few from HD and try them out.

Thanks again.

Jim

Matt O.

I'm no fluid flow expert, but I doubt that lowering the car an inch or so would help keep it planted at 100+mph. Although lowering the car makes it handle better, aerodynamics shouldn't be your reason for lowering.

-Matt

bs

[quote]Originally posted by Bob S.:
<strong>Jim:

If I recall, they are 10mm hex bolts, about 1/2 inch long. Just the idea of keeping crud out of the belt area makes me advise having the pans in place.

Bob S.</strong><hr></blockquote>

i thought when a bolt size was given, it was the threaded portion which was measured? anyway, these bolts have a 10mm head. you will probably also want a few washers and you will need 2 "10mm" (ie, use a 10mm socket) nuts to mount the metal piece that goes around the oil pan and keeps you from draining the oil without removing it.

the front most plastic piece mounts to the bottom of the front valence with screws that go into those little clip on "nuts". I lost most of my clip ons so my front belly pan is presently mounted with zip ties. it gives the front end of my car a nice look...

jim968

Aside from the very good comments on front end & suspension condition, y'all may want to check the simple stuff like tire pressures. My '88 944 actually felt 'tighter' on the road at speeds around 100 mph, I assume because the aerodynamics were generating usable amounts of downforce. The 968 is the same way.

Just remember that kinetic energy is mass times (velocity squared)...."oops" is not a good thing at those speeds...

Jim, speaking only from theoretical knowledge, of course....

special tool

Assuming that your suspension is good, you can use a splitter if you are over 100 mph frequently. If you do, you may want to raise your rear tire pressure proportionately above your fronts to counter oversteer at high speed.