shmark

I've always wondered why so many 944s look like they are taking a crap. I'm not knocking other cars since mine has the same look. Must be something that happens over time, or someone indexes the torsion bars improperly, or...

I just think it's strange that 90% of them seem to do it. Mine has the Koni sports installed and I'm going to take a deeper look at the rear suspension, but the car would look so much better with the rear end raised an inch or so. "Rake" is good, but this is going the wrong direction.

RKD in OKC

The rear torsion bars get weak and the rear droops. It's a turbo boost thing. Just pay attention to what the car does in the rear when you go on boost. It squats like crazy. The 930s have a very similar problem.

When I got my 88 Turbo S it was a one owner and had 80K on it. The previous owner told me he really liked accelerating on the highway. The rear bars were so weak that it would bottom out the rear suspension, thunk, when I got on it. New rear torsion bars fixed it.

APKhaos

Yep That's it. I run 800# rear springs, and the front end still gets light on full throttle coming out of a corner.

azmi951

you gotta like that weight transfer. While other cars are spinning the wheels ours are putting it to the ground.

shmark

Anyone ever reverse the bars to counteract it? Trying to remember my metallurgy classes....

APKhaos

Put a pair of 31mm hollow Sanden bars in there. Reversing the stock bars is not a good idea - ride height issues and risk of breakage.

Alpine951

Reverse the bars and they break. WHy is rake good. I just put in bigger springs up front and bigger torsion bars. Now I am trying to figure out how to measure the car to determine if its level. ROW cars were level I think and only the US ones had a rake because of US bumber laws.

RKD in OKC

Don't measure ride height, corner balance and try to get the weight distribution as close to 50/50 as you can. Mine was at 51/49.

NZ951

Yup its a US thing, not because of the turbo or anything like that... my car was level at stock.

Ian Carr

But i love the squatting dog position

I actually think the cars look sweet with the rear end so low. As long as they are stiff who cares

shmark

Corner balancing is definitely the way to go. With my 914 I was running appx. 45f/55r and I loved the rear bias - made the car extremely lively and wicked fast in the corners. 944 weight distribution is a bit different of course, though I would still prefer a slight rear bias.

All that is for the track, and yes I'm a track driver at heart.. On the street, a slight rake just plain looks good. Nothing like a drag car, just a little to give the impression the car is on its toes and eager to run.

djazzy99

mine is raked in the rear, so opposite problem than you shmark, but on the track, it is a little more lively in the back end compared to my friends 951, which is pretty much level. I dont liek the raked look that much either...

TheRealLefty

Most 944/951 track cars squat for all the right reasons, mostly to fight push in the nose at entry and maxmize rear bite on exit.

Early last year, the set up on my NA was about 1.5 inches lower than US OE up front and stock US OE in the rear. Sweet Welt/Koni struts and lots of negative camber helped the car turn-in like a bandit, but I was loose out everywhere. Dropped the tail to lowest trailing arm right height adjustment, still turned-in nice, and hooked up much better on the way out.

My 951S is corner balanced, has 968 M030 with rear Koni coilovers and is running at Euro spec height all around. Haven't yet loosed the beast in competition so it's general handling tendency remains to the been seen, but man, does it feel like a different car than the NA....feels longer and stiffer, more akin to an F-Body GM or a 928 as compared to the slot car 2600 lb NA.