best way to lower and stiffen 944
07-15-2002, 04:12 PM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
best way to lower and stiffen 944
what is the best and cheapest way to lower my 944? I also want a stiffer ride for autocross.
in the excellence article they sort of go the pricey route, so any other way?
in the excellence article they sort of go the pricey route, so any other way?
07-15-2002, 04:17 PM
#2
Addict
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Lifetime Member
Rennlist
Lifetime Member
200 or 250lbs springs from Paragon-products.com
I got them and love 'em (200lbs). I don't have the funds for the koni rebuild setup, but the springs work great by themselves. 100 bucks IIRC.
You'll love em.
-Matt
I got them and love 'em (200lbs). I don't have the funds for the koni rebuild setup, but the springs work great by themselves. 100 bucks IIRC.
You'll love em.
-Matt
07-15-2002, 04:29 PM
#3
Race Director
Here's a great set-up for Auto-X that is somewhat stiff, but not too overly harsh for on the street (IMHO):
1.250lb front Weltmeister springs from Paragon.
2.Lower the rear with the eccentric bolts.
3.Use 968 M030 front and rear sway bars (I think Paragon has these as well).
4. Koni Yellows at all four corners.
Hope this helps!
Tifo
1.250lb front Weltmeister springs from Paragon.
2.Lower the rear with the eccentric bolts.
3.Use 968 M030 front and rear sway bars (I think Paragon has these as well).
4. Koni Yellows at all four corners.
Hope this helps!
Tifo
07-15-2002, 04:43 PM
#4
Race Director
Just a word of warning:
Lowering a 944 will add more stress on the front A-arms. A failed A-arm & ball joint can result in catastrophic results: you can tear off the whole axle!
Make sure your A-arms and ball joints are in proper working order before you lower your car!
If you don't have the M030 968 sway bars, I suggest you install those, and then determine if you need more stiffness. You may also want to check with the club you autocross with to make sure what you do to your car won't put you into a higher class where you wouldn't be competitive.
If you plan on getting a front strut tower brace: then don't! It really doesn't do that good a job, and will only get in the way when you need to work on your engine.
Also: stiffening up the front of the car can result in more understeer, which our cars already have a lot of! If you stiffen the rear a little more than the front, you can dial in a little more neutral handling.
Our cars exhibit a lot of body lean, but still handle terrific.
-Z-man.
Lowering a 944 will add more stress on the front A-arms. A failed A-arm & ball joint can result in catastrophic results: you can tear off the whole axle!
Make sure your A-arms and ball joints are in proper working order before you lower your car!
If you don't have the M030 968 sway bars, I suggest you install those, and then determine if you need more stiffness. You may also want to check with the club you autocross with to make sure what you do to your car won't put you into a higher class where you wouldn't be competitive.
If you plan on getting a front strut tower brace: then don't! It really doesn't do that good a job, and will only get in the way when you need to work on your engine.
Also: stiffening up the front of the car can result in more understeer, which our cars already have a lot of! If you stiffen the rear a little more than the front, you can dial in a little more neutral handling.
Our cars exhibit a lot of body lean, but still handle terrific.
-Z-man.
07-15-2002, 07:22 PM
#5
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Yeh, I second that on checking the rules. I would love to go to the 968 M030 bars on my S2, but for PCA Zone 8 (in Street Stock), it's a no-no. Of course, I could run them and probably no one would be the wiser, but I'd have trouble sleeping at night! <img src="graemlins/sleep.gif" border="0" alt="[sleep]" />
07-15-2002, 07:25 PM
#6
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I just completed this work on my car (83 944). I installed the following:
1. 250lb front lowering springs with Koni Yellow strut inserts
2. Upgraded rear torsion bars from 23.5mm to 25.5mm (968 non-M030 bars)
3. Upgraded rear swaybar from 14mm to 18mm
4. Lowered front ride height to 13" from center of wheel to fender lip
5. Lowered rear ~3/4" - ~1"
I did not change the front stock swaybar.
After everything was done my car was still rather soft in the rear. I had bought some used rear Bilsteins a year ago, but they seemed pretty soft (although they passed the "bounce" test). I bit the bullet and purchased a brand new set of Bilstein performance shocks. It made a huge difference in the stiffness of the rear.
Costs you ask? I already bought the Koni fronts used. I picked up the torsion bars and rear sway bar cheap at Hershey ($95 total). Luckily my ace mechanic friend did the lion's share of work. Torsion bar replacement and indexing was a LOT of work! We also had to make some spacers for the top of the front struts to get the ride height correct.
I tested the car out at the Zone 1 DE at Watkins Glen a couple of weeks ago. Turn is was much quicker. The car felt planted in all the corners and flying through esses and back straight. We also dialed in a bit more negative camber front and rear. I couldn't go too wild because I still drive the car on the street. I am very happy with how the car handles. It is a little harsher on the street, but that's a small price to pay for the handling improvement. Color me happy!
1. 250lb front lowering springs with Koni Yellow strut inserts
2. Upgraded rear torsion bars from 23.5mm to 25.5mm (968 non-M030 bars)
3. Upgraded rear swaybar from 14mm to 18mm
4. Lowered front ride height to 13" from center of wheel to fender lip
5. Lowered rear ~3/4" - ~1"
I did not change the front stock swaybar.
After everything was done my car was still rather soft in the rear. I had bought some used rear Bilsteins a year ago, but they seemed pretty soft (although they passed the "bounce" test). I bit the bullet and purchased a brand new set of Bilstein performance shocks. It made a huge difference in the stiffness of the rear.
Costs you ask? I already bought the Koni fronts used. I picked up the torsion bars and rear sway bar cheap at Hershey ($95 total). Luckily my ace mechanic friend did the lion's share of work. Torsion bar replacement and indexing was a LOT of work! We also had to make some spacers for the top of the front struts to get the ride height correct.
I tested the car out at the Zone 1 DE at Watkins Glen a couple of weeks ago. Turn is was much quicker. The car felt planted in all the corners and flying through esses and back straight. We also dialed in a bit more negative camber front and rear. I couldn't go too wild because I still drive the car on the street. I am very happy with how the car handles. It is a little harsher on the street, but that's a small price to pay for the handling improvement. Color me happy!
