okay, I have been looking at lowering my 944 using probably a 200Lb. spring.

question 1.

I use the car on the street as a daily driver, but I corner pretty hard a lot of the time. Would a 220 Lb. be too much for street (after college it will just be a "fun car")?

question 2.

What else should I do when this is done? should I need to do anything other than the springs (revalve struts, etc.) when this is done?

 

I've got 250lbs ones and they're definately not too much for street. It also depends a lot on your shocks, if you have koni yellows turned to full stiff it doesn't matter much what springs you run, it'll suck anyway

Are you going to lower the rear with the eccentrics?

 

All I've really looked at was Weltmeister. I haven't got into pricing too much yet. My tires have to go first, so that's the next project.

I have KYB shocks in the rear and stock struts up front, any opinions on those? I may go to a better strut (koni adjustables or Bilstein)

 

Suspension is one big system and a change in one area will usually need to be balanced out elsewhere.

Your car will understeer more than it currently does unless the rear is also stiffened up.

I don't know what the spring/wheel rates are on a 84 944NA but on a 951 it's ~127# front and rear. 200# spring would be a 57% increase in spring rate. In general street driving the car will be flatter but at the limit it will understeer a lot more.

There's no easy way to stiffen up the rear. You can see how far the rear eccentrics will drop the rear end so that you can use coil overs without pushing up the rear an inordinate amount or look into the big job of replacing the torsion bars.

 

And, another thing to keep in mind is, that if your old suspension is tired and saggy, you may not see a decrease in ride height with the new springs...

Tifo

 

I've had it redone a few times (shocks went out), but not the springs. I'm not too worried about the ride height though.

 

I heard the 951 fronts were 180#. I'm not sure where I heard it though, so don't trust me.

I have koni yellows, 375# springs, and matching torsion bars (30mm). It is very stiff, but not uncomfortable. I wouldn't want to drive to New York on this suspension, but for going to the track or driving around town, it's great.

 

951 fronts are ~127. 951S fronts are ~180.

 

951 fronts have a spring rate of 160lbs, with wheel rate of 144lbs. Look here for all of the #'s:

http://members.rennlist.org/dan10101/944SpringRates.htm


Hope that helps!

Tifo

 

I went with #250s and koni sports all the way around. With the K-S's on full stiff the car was tolerable (I like car's stiff), but the understeer was too much! On full soft in the front and half-stiff in the rear the car seems much more balanced and the ride is comfortable.

I do not recommend replacing the springs without upgrading the shocks. The shocks will hold out for a time, but they will wear out much quicker than with stock springs. Also, when I left the sachs on the car with the #250s in front (this is at the time when K-S fronts were unavailable), the wheels would rebound into the fender occasionally....which sucks. I recommend replacing the shocks and springs at the same time.

 

It's also easier to do it all at once, since you have to remove the same parts. And it's a good idea to get a professional alignment, once everything is back on.

 

I'm currently using 350lb springs in the front and 300lb helpers in the rear, and it is not to stiff for the street. This is on NY city streets. Actually I would go 400# if I had the option.
I had the 250lb progressive springs when I had my NA and it was a smoother ride then stock.
If your actually pushing the car to where you can feel it understeer, adding a little negative camber to the front will fix that without unevenly wearing your tires too much. But for the street it should be fine.

 

I used 350s on the front for a long time, I didnt think it was that bad. the 450s were pretty rough, but as stated with Koni Yellows on full stiff it didnt matter it was rough. Not unbearable but rough.
__________________
Best Car Insurance | Auto Protection Today | FREE Trade-In Quote

 

well, I may have to put more than I have right now, so this project will have to wait at least till I have time to research it and see what I really want to do. You just gotta love the handling of that car! ;-)

 

one more question:

How do your ball joints hold up - anyone with the car lowered about an inch to 1.5 inches?

(luckily they're not hard to change on the 84 944s)