Brent 89 - GT

I am considering a 3.6 Turbo as an addition to my garage. It would be mostly street driven with maybe three DE events a year. I would probably run street tires and not get real serious about it. I am wondering what type of mods are appropriate on these cars. Are they coil overs on all four corners stock? What kind of spring rates would you use? Do the anti-roll bars need upgrading? Do all 964s have power steering? Tell me what works for you. Thanks guys

Mr Michael B

Brent,

951, nice machine. Ya know, years ago I would have said "Brent... You will not find a better track set up for that 911 that will ever suit you - now that you have been in that 951..."

But now, I will honestly tell you that the 964 turbo chassis is the best "feeling" 911 that I have driven yet. Talk about neutral, yum.

I have driven them all, and I mean it when I say you will be thrilled w/ a 964 turbo when aggressively driven (it can even out perform that great 951).

Now, for changes...

All 964's have adjustable spring perches on all 4 corners. You can adjust the stock suspension & get a minor ride height change or precisely corner balance it by using those same adjustments. There are small gains to be had w/ that alone.

Why don't you try the stock set up before starting to tear into the car? You may be thrilled w/ the neutral handling & the cars abilities as is. If you want the car lower, then drop it on the factory adjustments. If that still wont be enough, then go w/ an H&R spring or some other brand (if not a factory hot rod Porsche set) and hold off on the sway bars.

These cars handle very well. Do not think its mandatory to change them!

BTW. Yes, all 964's (other than RS America etc.) have power assisted steering.

Brent 89 - GT

Thanks Mike! I know the 951 is a hot set up on the track. I plan to keep it as a track car. You are probably right on the mods to start out with. Euro ride hieght will probably happen early on though. I can't help myself sometimes! Glad to hear you guys love this model. I have dumped endless thousands into maintaining the 951. It sounds like it will be a refreshing change to own the 964 turbo. I considered an F355, but I fear that will put me back into a HIGH maint car. This sounds pretty good, looking forward to being an air cooled owner!

fc-racer

Hey Brent, nice to see you over here I'm also looking for a refreshing chance to a more reliable rocket. However, in my searches, I've found a number of 3.3T motors with broken head stud problems. Several people have done or are doing rebuilds to fix that problem.

I have no idea what it costs, but I bet it's expensive. Keep that in mind when you do your search. You might want to check out Michael's car. I'm trying hard to buy it, but with the exchange rate, duties, taxes, etc., it's pushing my budget to the limit. He's done all the right mods.

Farzaan

Adrian

Dear Farzaan,
Please tell me/us more about these 3.3T engine problems you have uncovered. Sources etc. This is a new one for me so more information is requested,
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4

Adrian

Dear Brent,
An improvement you can do to a USA version of the Turbo 3.6 is to lower it to ROW specs. If you want to go lower you may have to spend some serious money and give it some thought first. For road use the Turbo 3.6 set at ROW specs is a major machine.
To lower to ROW specs you use the front perches and change the rear springs to ROW part number. Well we hope so, we need somebody to test the theory for us.
You should also be aware that the wheel alignment specs for the ROW are slightly different to the USA version.
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4

PS: previous threads on this forum cover some of this already.
PSS: The 964s without power steering are,
964 RS, 964 RS 3.8, RS America, Carrera Cup.

pig4bill

Whatever you do, DON'T DRIVE ONE!



It's a hard addiction to kick. That's how I know I'll never ever get a new TT, because if I ever got that much scratch up, it would surely go towards a high maintenance Italian.

fc-racer

Really? You haven't heard of any of these problems? I've been seriously interested in about five C2 Turbos, one from Seattle, Michael's car (which I want to buy so badly but am having a hard time swallowing the duties, taxes to bring it up here), two local cars and one from the deep south. Of those five, two have had rebuilds due to the head stud problem.

My local shop said that they've done 2-3 snapped head stud replacements. The labour and parts aren't very expensive (C$3000), but most owners elect to do several other things while they're in there. That's how it ends up becoming a $10-15k rebuild.

The other common problem is the early dual mass flywheel. I always thought that only happend on the 3.6L NA motor cars, but it seems all of them have either had the update done or they are running the lightweight flywheel.

The C2 Turbo I test drove did not impress me too much. The power seemed ok, but not as quick as my chipped 944TS. Michael thinks it's because of the 964T's solidness, the speed isn't felt as much as in the 944. I have to admit that i also had three people in the car which wouldn't help.

Farzaan

Brent 89 - GT

pig4bill, Jeez, don't talk like that! You are making me want to go drive one now. I scaled back a bit from a twin turbo. I am not a big fan of the awd, that is how I came to the 3.6T. I just don't care for the idea of having to spend $10k every 15,000 miles on the F355, no matter how great the car is. So the lower maint on the Porsche along with better performance is keeping me from straying to the high strung Italian.

JBH

Brent:

The C2 Turbo 3.3 and 3.6 are great cars offering a solid platform for further handing and performance improvements.

Addition of freeflow header and muffler is a good place to start. Replacement of the stock turbo with a K27 or K29 is also a straightforward and significant improvement.

You can add springs to lower the car a bit, and stiffen the suspension. Add a 1 bar spring and fuel enrichment and you probably have just about everything you need.

The stock intercooler is very good so no need to spend money there. I also would not change the swaybars until you drive the car on the track and see how it behaves to your style of driving. At that point, you are probably in a better position to decide what is needed.

I have not heard of broken headstuds in these cars as being a problem and I don't see why it would be a problem. At any rate, a good PPI would pick this up.