Mig17

Good evening

I own a 1990 951 (late model with 968 wing, Desing 90's, etc.), and I'm very happy and satisfied with the car, but I feel the suspension is too soft and I'm not confortable in fast turns, etc.

The car has lots of power, and I'm not planning major engine upgrades for now. The main reason because I want to upgrade the suspension is that I think the car runs more that it handles. For example, I feel safer with my old 924 than with the 951.

Any ideas about upgrading the ride? Sway bars, suspension, rods, etc. I'm completely a newbie about this....

Thanks in advance.

Clint's 944

That really depends how much you want to spend and what kind of performance you desire. There are dozens of choices ranging from $500 up to $5000.
Set a price and your expectations and I'm sure someone will chime in with a setup.

whalebird

welcome. What a great car you have, The possibilities are endless

pjburges

Switch your progressive springs out for a constant spring rate - a 250lb spring should be plenty stiff (coilover style so you will need some spring collars), replace the torsions in the rear to match or be slightly more than that rate - check all your bushings and balljoints - the OEM replacements are just fine - though the 968 caster blocks are a nice OEM upgrade. Replace all your shocks with a new set of koni yellows, or have koni rebuild yours. Solid bushings and drop links on the sway-bars makes a big difference - I personally would not upgrade to the 30mm/19mm M030 setup - the 26.8 and 18mm are plenty stiff with solid bushings. This should give you a very nice, moderately tunable ride that isnt too rough - thats my 2cents. Count on A LOT of money if you arent doing your own labor though...

Oh, and you can get a quick idea of the price of the aformentioned parts at www.paragon-products.com

Tom R.

90 951. Whew, that has to be one of a handful if he is in the US.

J Berk

yeah...I read it and I was thinking..."1990 951" does that even exist?

Pretty cool if it's a rare bird !

xsboost90

in europe i believe they made them till 91. I would look into some stiffer front springs and larger rear torsion bars or rear coilovers. If you have worn out shocks/struts KONI is the only way i would go but others prefer different brands. Measure the sway bars you have and see what OD they are- MO30 968 bars are 30mm front and 19mm rear adjustable which is a popular upgrade.

Mig17

Thanks to all.

This guards red 951 is in Spain (Europe). It's the very late model with the 968 wing, not the rubber one. It's in pretty mind condition, with 90.000Km (55.000 miles) and with all the book checked. And I'm the 2nd owner. I'll post photos later.

I don't know how to explain the feelings when i'm cornering in fast turns. It feels like the limit is very narrow; you have completely controlled the car, and one step away you're losing your back.... It's annoying because I don't know exactly where the limits are.

I also have a '85 924 and I don't have this feeling, but the 924 is a snail compared with the 951. For example, I have also a 190 2.5-16v with pneumatic suspension front/rear, and in the "track" setup I feel safer than with the 951....

Luis de Prat

Hola Mig17, welcome to Rennlist!

You need some 968 M030 sway bars on that car, trust me.

PCNA sold a few 1990 and 1991 944 Turbos in Canada, IIRC.

Mig17

Luis, it's good to see you here. I've read your post about the 968 M030 sway bars in soloporsche.com.

What I don't know is wheter to upgrade the springs/shocks as well....

Luis de Prat

I would leave the springs alone. You might consider replacing the shocks, but at 90K km, I doubt it's necessary.

If you're having cornering problems you might have a loose balljoint in one of the front control arms. I had this problem at around 100K km and rebuilt both arms with new balljoints and metal bushings from SSI Auto.

To check for loose ball joints, raise the front end and try to shake each wheel left to right. If there's any looseness, the balljoint may be suspect. Good luck!

Mig17

Luis, and wouldn't be better upgrading to a lower suspension kit? Or with my ride height, upgrading the bars, will be ok? It's because if I replace shocks with the standard height, if I want to lower the car, I'll have to change shocks again...

Luis de Prat

These cars corner extremely well for their age and I would be surprised if yours didn't do the same in perfect state of repair.

Shocks and sways should not affect ride height. Springs will. Lower springs usually put excess stress on control arm ball joints. Especially if the car is tracked. This is why many track cars replace the arms with billet aluminum versions such as Charley arms.

How is the rear ride height on your car? It's also possible that it needs adjustment via the excentric on the rear suspension trailing arm. Looking at the car from behind, does it sit squarely at the same height on each wheel?

If I were you, I would check the front balljoints and spend € 300 on 968 M030 sways and take it from there. If you're fearing oversteer, you will love these bars. The only suspension part I would consider replacing on such a "new" car are the rear shocks.