Well I made it....I'm both a new (87) 951 owner and my son and I successfully made the drive from San Diego (where it was purchased) all the way back to Ohio in the new ride! It ran great and what a ride it was! The photo below shows her on the continental divide at Wolf Creek Pass -- 10,000 feet and passing everyone!

On to the question. After 2850 miles, the only issue I have with the car is a noticeable rear end pitch as I throw her into a tight corner. Once the rear end lands or sets, it holds tight. When I pushed a little harder and gave more throttle, I could feel it begin to drift (which is what I expected). If I turn the wheel back and forth while going straight, it's tight with no sway or drift in the rear. This "pitch" was most pronounced in the mountian switch backs. I know this is hard to describe, but if anyone has any ideas, please let me know.



Anyway, good to be part of the club! See you on the road!

 

Well let me be the 1st to say congrats! Looks like you killed your fair share of bugs on the way home too.

 

Check your front sway bar. I had to run without one for a couple weeks. It handled as you describe.

 

How many miles on the car? Maybe the shocks are a little soft.

Nice Car!

 

Yes, it's hard to make that drive and not pick up a few bugs and a bunch of dirt (you should have seen inside from the munchies and empty Red Bull cans). It did clean up fairly well upon our return, but I must admit that part of what you see is a fair amount of stone chips, which I think are typical of an original paint job on a car that has been driven.

The car has 102k miles. The shocks look fairly new, but I was not smart enough to get that piece of info from the previous owner.

I will check the front sway bar. It had not occurred to me that this would have the effect described.

Thanks!

 

Is it just me or is that back end a little low? Maybe its just the pic?

 

I'm guessing/hoping that the rear is weighted down with a fair amount of travel gear (tools, clothes, etc.)

Congrats on the new purchase. Welcome to the club. Now, donate $50 to every member (you might as well get used to forking over $$$$).
-Jon

 

Congrats!! Looks like yours is the same color as mine, Maraschino Red!!

 

Mike S & Jon,

Yea, we were a little loaded with camping gear, etc. for the trip. But, the handling did not change that much when unloaded (the rear end came up 1 1/5 to 2 inches). Looks similar to Mike S's photo, but I guess I'll have to wait a while for the Koni Yellows, since I just found out I owe $50 to each Rennlist member--- Yikes!!!!!

 

Jace:

I get that exact feeling. Mine is an '89, so it has the adjustable Konis in good shape. I did front bushings last winter and that didn't change the handling and feeling of "set" at the rear on entering corners. I don't know what the answer is, but I will be looking at my rear bushings next.

 

Waterguy,

Have you previously taken a look at your front sway bar as suggested by slevy951 above? I've not looked at mine yet, but if everything looks good in this area for you, then this might not be the answer either???

Hope someone else has another idea.

 

Going to a coil over setup, or installing larger torsion bars is about the only thing that is going to lessen the *** squat the 944 has. A larger rear sway will help some as well, but you do need to change the front along with it, or you will end up making the oversteer worse.

Short of that, check all bushings for obvious wear and tear, and make sure you have a good alignment (the rears too) a touch more agressive than stock.

 

Jace, I put all new stock sway bar bushings in up front. I have the Turbo S 26.8 mm front bar, 16 mm rear bar, firmer springs and larger torsion bars (the M030 suspension.) Car is level and about 1/2" below Eurospec ride hieght. Recent alignment to factory specs. Since my front end is tight, I am thinking of bushings, etc. in the rear end, or possibly larger rear sway bar.

 

Have the car aligned. And... get the rear ride height set properly. It's too low (at least it looks too low from the pictures).

The rear tires look a little big for the rear rims (possibly because the front and rear rims look the same, they could be the same width, but the rear tires look wider), which will cause the tire to "roll" before the side wall loads up.