mikemiller69gs

I purchased my first Porsche a couple of weeks back and thought I would give a intro and a few pics. I've owned and tracked a few Corvettes over the last few years, aC4 and an FRC. Kids sports really slowed things down and I decided to sell the Vette and buy/build a Miata for street and track days. They are impressive but still a Miata. I sold it and had a 944 within days. It's an 86 NA with 119k. While the belt only had a few thousand miles, it was 8 years old, so I had a Porsche specialist do the obligatory belt/water pump replacement. The seats had some wear so for the short time I ordered some Iggees covers. I used them on my C4 and they looked fine. Some great info on this site but I'm sure I'll have tons of questions. I would like to upgrade to Koni's and some Hawk pads and get it on track and go from there. Any advice for 944 specific track advise would great. Thanks

Mike.

951and944S

So, you've got a tow vehicle already and it seems from what you are saying, you are over the hump with kids re. sports....?

What do you think your honest expectations are that "track days" might lead to competitive racing....? 50/50...? 80/20....?

Reason I'm asking, you only want to go down the suspension road once.
If you freshen everything up, track for a few events, then decide you want to race, you might be redoing the whole project.

Either way, you'll get as many varying answers around here as a debate about "best motor oil".

Think hard and state with as much certainty what you think your eventual goals will be and you will get better, less confusing replies.

In the meantime, check for and repair all oil/fluid leaks.
Go over the whole car like a pre-track inspection, ball joint play, bushing wear, steering shaft, etc.
Do a track day or some off the beaten path spirited driving as-is to push it and make sure you have no cooling/overheating problems.

T

mikemiller69gs

Thanks for the response. I don't see me going "wheel 2 wheel racing" anytime soon. I want a balanced car that is streetable but capable for track days and test and tune days. I've put Koni Yellows on my last three cars and I liked them. Do you upgrade bars and springs? Are Koni's the right answer for the 944? Are the stock calipers with good pads (Hawk/Carbotech/etc) OK?

951and944S

Ok, Last part 1st, yes, the stock calipers are good enough with good pads.
New stainless braided lines in place of the F/R rubber hoses will take a little sponginess out (old hoses swell under pressure).

You have tons of options on the suspension, Koni included, what's your budget window...?

T

951and944S

First order for me as a minimum is a way to corner balance the car, each corner carrying appropriate weight load and a way to adjust that. A car that is corner balanced is night and day compared to one that isn't.

The factory has a built in range for ride height adjustment with the rear torsion bar. Stock NA bars are pretty soft though so you will probably want to upgrade those. If you want to delete the rear torsion bar, you will need a dedicated rear coilover shock with spring that can either aid the existing torsion bar or completely replace it.
You will need an adjustable thread perch strut for the front if you want ride height adjustability so you can corner balance.
Yours can be converted to a Koni "sport" insert and during the process you can install a threaded collar that uses a smaller diameter spring, top spring hat and perch. Comes as a kit.
Upgrade the sway bars with new/used factory MO30 option, front 30mm, rear 19mm. We race these....more than capable. The Lindsey Racing rear has selectable holes for attaching rear link for varying stiffness to dial balance once you are close with springs.

Now....stiffness.

Seat of pants is different person to person as to what is too stiff for street but I think you know what you are getting into with the Miata build, Vettes, etc.

400#F with 30mm rear torsion bars is going to be a balanced, stiff, setup for the street that won't leave you lacking at the track days. If you delete the rear torsion bar in exchange for the proper coilover, 625-650# (350-364# effective rate) should be a good match for the fronts effective rate of 376#.
I have a rear pair of Leda coilovers that are valved for use of 650# springs that I would let go for about the same as you'd spend for new torsion bars + shocks.

Call Jason at Paragon Products or browse around their site for pricing and ideas.

Post here or PM me if you need more info.



T

mikemiller69gs

Great info. Thanks