Suspension Question
10-11-2007, 11:18 AM
#17
Hey Dan, replacing the bars isn't that bad of a job, getting them indexed correctly could be a nightmare. I got lucky when I did mine on the first shot. I would keep everything stock if I were you, and just upgrade the sways. You won’t see that much of a difference with slightly stiffer springs. Then when you’re ready you can go to full coilovers and a trailer. .
10-11-2007, 12:00 PM
#18
Race Car
Thread Starter
Hey Dan, replacing the bars isn't that bad of a job, getting them indexed correctly could be a nightmare. I got lucky when I did mine on the first shot. I would keep everything stock if I were you, and just upgrade the sways. You won’t see that much of a difference with slightly stiffer springs. Then when you’re ready you can go to full coilovers and a trailer. .
10-11-2007, 12:29 PM
#19
Springs don't go bad but struts do. You can have the Konis rebuit. Did you have the alignment checked? You may want to run a little more negative camber in the front to tuck the tires into the well. What's your current alignment specs? What size tires are you using?
10-11-2007, 12:35 PM
#20
Race Car
Thread Starter
running 245/45-16's all around. (the tires in the pic are 225/50-16 street tires. Had to use them cause the R-compounds were rubbing the tires didn't rub all season until the last autocross. The PO used the same tires and alignment withouth a problem so this is a recent thing.
10-11-2007, 12:46 PM
#21
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When I had my KW's installed I had the car lowered. It was lowered about 30mm at the front and a bit less at the rear so the car has a very slight nose-down attitude which apparently the 944 likes. It feels very good to me, much improved and I suspect alot of that is down to the fact the car has been lowered. It looks lower than the car pictured above on the trailer. I'm still running stock sway bars but upgraded TB's to M030. It feels like a completely different animal!
10-11-2007, 12:54 PM
#22
Dan, I would have your alignment place (you know who) check it out. The car is not made to run 245's with stock alignment. If you knocked it out a little it would certainly rub. Might as well have them do the whole alignment with something a little more aggressive while you are there. These cars get can’t hold an alignment and should be checked every season at a minimum.
10-11-2007, 01:07 PM
#23
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Does anyone know about the ground control coilovers
http://www.ground-control-store.com/...hp/II=696/CA=4
http://www.ground-control-store.com/...hp/II=696/CA=4
10-11-2007, 04:30 PM
#26
Rennlist Member
Springs are for carrying the weight of the car, struts ie., shocks, ie, dampers are one to keep the springs from bouncing, and two to adjust the rate at which the springs are loaded, compression and unloaded, rebound. I hear of way too many car setups where someone is trying to do the job of the springs with expensive dampers.
The best way of testing springs is with a spring dyno. However, the symptoms of bad springs is that they get softer (compress easier) and start sagging (ride lower). The t-bars don't really sag much when they wear out, but they do get softer. The technical term is work hardening. Like when you bend a wire back and forth, it gets easier and easier until it finally breaks.
On my 88 Turbo S with 80K the rear t-bars had gotten so soft the car would bottom out the rear on hard acceleration, and it rubbed off the corner on the part of the side skirt that comes down right in front of the rear tires in turns scraping the ground.
On my 89 Turbo S with 180K the front springs were so worn out that there was more than a inch difference in the ride height adjustment to level the car, AND the car would change camber and tow as the suspension traveled left to right at different rates. Accelerate and it would pull left, let off and it would pull right as the front dipped, then it would straight back out at constant speed.
The best way of testing springs is with a spring dyno. However, the symptoms of bad springs is that they get softer (compress easier) and start sagging (ride lower). The t-bars don't really sag much when they wear out, but they do get softer. The technical term is work hardening. Like when you bend a wire back and forth, it gets easier and easier until it finally breaks.
On my 88 Turbo S with 80K the rear t-bars had gotten so soft the car would bottom out the rear on hard acceleration, and it rubbed off the corner on the part of the side skirt that comes down right in front of the rear tires in turns scraping the ground.
On my 89 Turbo S with 180K the front springs were so worn out that there was more than a inch difference in the ride height adjustment to level the car, AND the car would change camber and tow as the suspension traveled left to right at different rates. Accelerate and it would pull left, let off and it would pull right as the front dipped, then it would straight back out at constant speed.
10-11-2007, 04:37 PM
#27
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Actually when metals work harden they get stiffer and more brittle, which is why when you work soft metals like copper you have to regularly anneal the material to restore it's granular structure and return the material to a softened state. You do this by heating up the material to a cherry red colour and let it cool slowly. If you don't anneal these materials they just get stiffer and stiffer and more brittle until they start to crack and eventually fracture.
But I agree, springs do get softer over time - i'm not sure what the metallurgical mechanism is, but it's a fact.
But I agree, springs do get softer over time - i'm not sure what the metallurgical mechanism is, but it's a fact.