ringo951

All right I am happy with the performance I am getting from the 951, now on to the suspension. Where should I start, what should I do, and in what order. Mostly street, some DE/Autocross ability. I am looking at the coilover conversion cutting original struts from paragon, with #400 to #450 springs. Weltmeister or 968 cup sways. Don't know exactly what to do in the rear, maybe 30 mm torsion bars. As I am not purchasing everything at once, progressively upgrading, I would like to know what to do first and what to follow with.

Fixn2xlr8

I also would like to know. Springs are my next mod but Id like some input as to brand and what lb spring is acceptable for street. I would almost like to be somewhere right at the edge of race setup but still decent enough for me to drive to the office.

cheetah chrome

i went w/ 968 M030 f/r sways (think they're about $500 now w/ all the bushings you'll need)...thats a good start. i'd give some advise on spring rates but im still contemplating what im going to go w/: #400/#350 w/ t bars or #350/#450 w/o t bars. right now i have the rears in w/ #350 hypercoil springs (im pretty sure theres no difference between spring manufacturers... go w/ either eibach or hypercoil) and hal shocks (huntley coilovers) and factory t bars. on the street w/ the shocks set to their softest point its stiff....which doesnt bother me at all but if your a person that likes cruising around in his car rather than performance driving it maybe an overkill. as for fronts im going to be looking for a set at hershey, if not i'll go w/ the paragon kit...i've only heard good things about it. my big dilemma in the whole process is the valving for the shocks...i want the valving to match the spring rates because its the shocks that are going to push you out of the corners not the springs.

Charles

I have weltmeister 250# springs in front with koni adjustables in front and rear, I love it... But I'm looking at the coil-over kit from paragon.

joseph mitro

ringo - when i added springs and konis to my 951, the handling difference was immediate. sway bars certainly help but i think i would start with the coilovers and torsion bars first then move on to the sway bars.

just my opinion. my 87 944S now has bigger sway bars all around but they don't make a huge difference if the springs and struts/shocks can't handle it. (ie, i need new shocks)

ringo951

As far as spring rates, I am looking for something pretty aggresive but I do mostly street/highway driving. I just don't want to kill the ride daily.

Z-man

My $0.42:
400-450 # springs will probably make the car too harsh for street driving. Plus: what class do you plan on running in autox? Regardless of what club you run with, the suspension mods you are looking at will probably bump you up in class. Also: how much seat time do you have? Are you maxing out your car's suspension at autox and on the track? If not, you may want to hold off on upgradnig for the time being.

If you're getting coil-overs in the back, leave the torsion bars stock (especially if you plan on getting into PCA club racing).

Regarding sway bars: I have a rear 19mm M030 968 3-way set to full firm. Front sway is stock (IIRC, the 944S2's stock front sway is the same are the 951's: 27mm). But I only have the factory installed sport shocks (Option 474: Sport Shock Absorberts) in the front. I am not sure if you need a thicker front sway to match the heavier springs.

Truthfully, I think that mods you mention are a bit overkill for a street/DE/autocross car.

-Zoltan.

Skip

I'm agreeing with Z-man - 400# springs and 30mm T-bars are GREAT for the track, but I really dislike the highway ride. Having driven in several configurations, I think the best "compromise" setup for street/de/ax is 250-300 fronts and 28mm t-bars. Sways don't affect the straight line highway ride too much, so no worries upgrading those. It all depends on you, and your relationship with your dentist and chiropracter

OTOH, if your commute has you travelling good roads for relatively short distances, the stiff setup can be more fun. I find myself driving 100+ miles to track events regularly and over the much dreaded stretch of I-5 between Seattle and Tacoma... bump-bump-crash-bang-brrrrrrr-bump. On the bright side, my CD player remixes every song so I won't get bored with them in their originally intended format. "and the beat goes on..., and the beat goes on..." <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

ringo951

The roads are not the best down here, so you would suggest 300# up front. What are the stock t-bars on an 87 turbo. And then upgrade my sways. What would you suggest for sway bars.

OZ951

I put 300lb coilovers up front and 29mm torsion bars in back. The sreet ride is fine for most of my driving around town and on the highway, its only when I am on uneven/bumpy backroads that I notice the stiffness in the suspension.

User 41221

My $.02 worth...

Step 1: Start with 968 M030 bars, and the M030 caster blocks for the back side of the control arms. Most people forget about the caster blocks, the stock one leaves a LOT of room for play in the back, and goes a long way towards negating the effects of the bigger sway bars. Stick with rubber bushings all the way around, but make sure they are in good shape.

Step 2: Upgrade to either Bilsteins struts(my personal fav) or Koni adjustables up front, along with Jason's coil over kit and 250# springs (anything higher than that is too much for a street/DE car, IMHO).

Step 3: Upgrade the torsion bars and get matching shocks for what ever you are running up front.

Step 5: Get the KLA strut brace. In my opinion, it really does make a difference.

Step 6: Move up a level in brake pads. I run Pagid Orange all the time, which are a little cold blooded when you start out on street driving, and are terrible for auto-x as they never get warm enough, but warmed up, they will stop your car as quick as anything. Augment this with brake vents to keep them cool, and get the 5/33 proportioning valve from Jason to get all four brakes into the act.

Step 7: Lastly, get the lightest weight STRONG wheel you can get for your car. I personally prefer 16" wheels to anything larger, as they weigh less and give a less harsh ride on the street.

If you set your car up the way I have described, it will be YEARS before your driving performance will come anywhere near the ability your suspension will have, and by the time it does, you will be wanting a dedicated track only car that you can move up to the next level in mods on. To be honest, most people (myself included) can't keep up with what the stock suspension offers, but it is fun to upgrade! lol

YMMV!

Regards,

User 41221

By the way, you are probably going to find that the 951 doesn't make the best Auto-x car. That doesn't mean its not fun to participate, but from my experience, my '84 with a FR Wilk chip in it is a LOT more fun to Auto-x in than my 951.

Having said that, if I had to choose, I would rather build up a good street/DE machine and deal with the compromises at the auto-x, rather than build a good auto-x machine and deal with compromises at a DE.

Regards,