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According to the BAT listing, the car has no history prior to 2017 (when it was in Japan). Has it ever been checked for accident damage, either as part of a pre- or post-purchase inspection?
This was my first question, and while the car did not have a pre-purchase inspection, the reputation of the shop (Patrick Motorsport) that did all the work is what gave me the confidence to move forward. That said, the shop currently working on the car has 0 indications that the car has had any accident history and notes that the doing the alignment was very straightforward (no pun intended).
I watched this car as the BAT auction went along and thought impressive build. When I read your issue I thought of my only antidotinal experience. I drove someones 993 turbo that had a full elephant racing suspension mod with solid bushings, monoballs, etc. It was a challenge to keep on the road at minivan pace and I was totally white knuckled driving it. Others here (all of the above probably ) are more knowledgeable though if it were me I might rethink some of the mods and go the the best shop I could find to make a plan so I could enjoy the car. I love much of what you have, handling quirks not withstanding.
I’ve taken three cars through a PPI, bought the last one. All three inspections were pretty much worthless, if I hadn’t insisted on a leak down on the second, never would have found the bad cylinder. The third inspection was borderline fraud, I was lucky the car was in good shape.
There’s a reason why Porsche put the car at a certain height - I can understand ROW height, but your car is too low. I’d start there. Good news is that the car looks great. Once you sort this out, you’ll be fine.
I'd agree "too low" on an oem setup, but with bump steer correction, uprights and suspension, I don't think that is the culprit here. I am at 10mm below RS height - on oem uprights and I have a very solid handling car.
I do, however....have monoballs ready to be installed (front bushings are worn) - and after hearing of a few issues here am second guessing installing them. Sorry to hi-jack, but shouldn't monoballs create a more "planted" and solid driving experience? Anyone else with monoballs front and rear experience this?
I'd have a suspension expert check it out ... someone with racing / race car building experience.
Mine is similarly low but it handles like a dream ... cup 2 tires make it more challenging to drive on uneven roads but that is due to the tires.
Effectively the car has wildly inconsistent handling where the rear feels like it's aggressively wandering. The front also seems delayed in its response to steering input.
I didn’t see this mentioned, but has anyone checked the steering rack? A worn rack could also cause this, especially the delay in response. Speaking from experience with mine.
Also, if you don’t have directional tires, a simple thing to try is swapping wheels side to side. If the tires were worn in on one side, and then swapped sides, it could cause something similar. I had a wandering rear issue on braking and acceleration on a new to me car and the first thing the shop recommended was swapping the rear wheels around. Doing so resolved the issue.
Had similar issue few years back. Took it along to a well known 911 and GT4 setup guru here in the UK. One short drive and he said the lowering and geo had been focussed more on track use and yes, it will throw you off normal 'B roads' (variable surface, crests/brown, tight turns etc) and day and all day. I could also see his hands fighting the steering - just way too much road input to deal with. Small change in ride height and geo adjustments better suited to country back roads and it now handles like a dream - predictable.
Hope you nail the root cause - would be interested to know. BTW old or aging tyres will throw the car around too
Thanks for all the incredible comments and thoughts! I've compiled them and sent over to the shop it's currently at to dig in further. Fingers crossed we get to the bottom of it soon and i'm on the roads as a happy camper.
My 965 had similar issues, Once I replaced my engine mounts, all that went away. Changed my 965 completely. I went with the 996TT mounts. easy install. Do some research and you'll find that worn engine mounts make for really bad handling on the 964/993's
I hope this helps.
Helio
What Helio said ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Check your engine mounts.
But from looking at the BaT pics they look new...
Also check the engine carrier for cracks or warping.
From the pics it looks like everything has been changed and all nuts have been marked so at a glance you should be able to tell if there has been any movement or change.
Might be worth looking at all the markings to make sure, if you've not done already.
The only other thing I can think of, that I can't see from the pics, is the rear trailing arm bushes.
If these weren't replaced, with all the other goodies, these may have become the weakest link and be shot!
Just an idea...
I've literally just had a full suspension refresh with a near identical setup as you have on this car... Picked it up last week.
We just letting it settle and bed in, before I take it back to be checked and tweaked (lowered some more) but so far it's a dream, so don't see why your's can't be the same!
Good luck.
Just drove the car following a bit of additional setup work from the shop.
Much improved (will share their findings shortly), but the vague and delayed front end persists.
they think, as someone mentioned, it may be time to replace the steering rack. Any thoughts? Any consideration for swapping to a 993 rack or something else?
Just drove the car following a bit of additional setup work from the shop.
Much improved (will share their findings shortly), but the vague and delayed front end persists.
they think, as someone mentioned, it may be time to replace the steering rack. Any thoughts? Any consideration for swapping to a 993 rack or something else?
If you're looking to change to a 993 steering rack. Check out @Goughary thread below. Last time I spoke with him he said it's great.
That said...if you buy a new rebuilt rack, and the 993 rack is either not available or crazy expensive, I'd stick with a rebuilt 964 rack.
If your steering is vague- make sure your caster is set to max, and you have enough toe-in, and not too much negative camber in the front.
Then make sure your tie rods are good. The rs tie rods that tarret sells are the best out there, but not entirely necessary.
You should have polyurethane rack bushings, if you don't, make that swap. And make sure you have a rack brace as well.
And- has there been any mention of tires? Are you on new summer rubber? Or a 2012 date stamp tire? All season? 17 inch or 16 inch? Width ? All would have huge effect on that feeling of vagueness...
Wonky inconsistent- wandering - etc, means something is very wrong.
Vagueness can be dialed back and taken care of....
Make sure the alignment included caster, some shops will do a quick toe and camber assuming caster is fine.
What shock setup do you have and how low is the car? If the car is too low you can be bottoming the shock as the suspension loads up. You’ll get erratic and violent handling as the spring rate goes to infinity… it’s hard to tell how much travel you have by looking, it’s dynamic and covered by the boot. Do you have snubbers on the shafts? Are they beat to pieces?
03-21-2022, 07:00 PM
