Yellow Submarine

This is our Italian delivered 1992 Amazon Green 968 (manual, LSD, non-M030) with about 90k miles. We had since late 2017 and did 10k happy miles in it so far. Sticker says it ought to have 17" Cup rims but somebody must have replaced them with the 16". Out of frustration, I had them painted in copper color! Looks much cooler. I might swap to 17" cups once the tires are due, which is not very soon.

It came with the infamous whine in the gearbox, hence I had it revised and it now works as new. Car was repainted but not to a very good standard, so that needs addressed sometime. Namely on the plastic parts is the paint coming unstuck here and there. No worries though.

During it's annual inspection, it was pointed out to me that one of the rubbers of the front suspension is torn and needs to be replaced. This got me thinking... I like how the car handles, but I wonder if it can be bettered? After all, it is 27 years old. Should I just have the rubbers refreshed or do I get new shocks also? If so, which ones? Bilstein B6 is available here. What about GAZ Shocks, anyone experience these? Koni? I have no idea if the current shocks are actually from 92, but I suppose so.

Would swapping both sway bars for the thicker M030 items (with bushings) be a good idea? What I like is a suspension which feels planted, firm but not jarring. It does not need to be so low it becomes a nuisance. It's not a car for the track, but instead is enjoyed on all sorts of public roads, including our famous Belgian cobblestones!

I have a deposit down for a 718 GT4, so our 968 is our slightly softer go-everywhere car when my current daily Cayman is gone.

Any advice is welcome.

Eyeman

My 191k miles cabriolet just picked up the gearbox whine lately.

Last year I had my suspension pretty much fully redone, all bushings, struts, etc. I went back with Bilsteins that supposedly were the same was original. I've had the car since 1995, the suspension after the redo pretty much feels just like it did in 1995. I would not want it much stiffer for daily driving.

I have a coupe with 52k miles. The prior owner switched to Konis in the front (not sure which model). It rides noticeably softer.

Yogii

Hey Beatles Fan,

Love the color and the wheels! I like this look too:



Similar situation to mine. 1994 Coupe, 17" Cup 2's,LSD, stock Boge front struts, stock springs(I think), M030 sway bars front and rear(Non-OEM).
As my passengers say to me, "It rides notably firm, but not uncomfortably so." I have no desire to lower the ride hight. I really like it as it is.
I would start with the rims, sidewall difference alone will make a big difference.

-Yogii
AKA 968 Novice

LM964

Yes to M030 front/rear ARB's and Powerflex or SuperPro bushings. I also replaced the dampers with the M030 Koni adjustables which makes it easy to adjust for either fast road to track days. Car feels planted, firm but definitely not hard or over 'tight'.

Yellow Submarine

Thanks already, folks! I am especially curious if the M030 rear/front ARB influence the straight line comfort? It's obvious they reduce the body-roll in corners, but not sure how it would influence the ride for example when one wheel hits a bump or holle in the road?

Yogii

What did you guy do about the transaxle whine? Just replace the pinion gear or also the torque tube bearings.
Like that is out, how about a clutch change and a gearbox freshening? Where does it end?

-Yogii
AKA 968 Novice

Yellow Submarine

I am no expert in this but the mechanic told me I got it in an early enough stage. I noticed it during the testdrive before the bought it and it almost put me off buying the 968, but the seller reduced his price with 2700€ (but the front brake pads and disks were also due, these also have been renewed) He gave me a box of replaced parts, I can take a pic if you want. Cost was 1400€ ex VAT, ex building out/in the 968 and was done by Tonnie Vos in The Netherlands, a guy who does nothing else but revising Porsche and similar gearboxes. My Belgian mechanic told me the job was done excellent. It was done almost a year ago and we did about 10k km with it. It feels slightly mechanic when cold, but slick as butter after a few miles.

Clutch had been replaced early 2017 before we purchased the car late 2017.

LM964

M030 ARB in a straight line - no noticeable ride difference (that's not to say there isn't any difference, just that you barely notice it). However, with large potholes or one-sided road dips then some ARB 'twist' would be reduced with a thicker ARB (i.e. firmer). Translated into any handling feel it might seem a bit harder when you go over a pothole/dip but I wouldn't let that put me off any ARB upgrade - benefits outweigh the negatives imho. Someone else might come in with a more technical response [thumbs up]. As always it's entirely up to you as to what sort of ride or compromises you are happy with..

az968gpw

If you leave the stock springs in and just replace the sway bars it will ride the same as stock as far as stiffness but will ride flatter in curves. i used koni adjustables on my car, reduced rebound. Added a steering brace that improved the steering response. my wife loves the ride so that was an important consideration.

Yogii

Did you change the springs too? When you say, "steering brace" do you mean strut tower brace? If so, what kind did you get? I only know about the KLA one.

-Yogii
AKA 968 Virgin

az968gpw

I left the stock springs on so the car would not ride any stiffer than stock. I used a Design 1 Racing lower steering bar, it is a lower bar that runs between the castor blocks. Really tightened up the steering response. I also have a Design 1 shock tower brace. Both of those are NLA but I believe RSBarn has some very good comparables.

BTW, Yogi I thought you were no longer a 968 virgin? Lol

Yogii

Sometimes I know what I don't know about my car and other time I don't. For example: My car has a 30mm from sway bar and a three hole rear sway bar. When I lay a straight edge along the rear roof just in front of the antenna, And measure the height above a level surface, I get 48 inches. I understand that "normal" ride height for a non M 030 car should be 50 inches. Huh???
Do I have lowered springs? Are all my shocks/struts worn out? Passengers in the car say that it rides firmly , but not uncomfortably so.....
I have some under body dents that would indicate going off road or track at some point. My car has a bracket in front of the seats for a 3 point harness.
Do I have Koni inserts in my black strut housing? Is it set up for racing? Service records do not help.

How hard it it to change the intermittent wiper switch?

More questions than answers,

Yogii

-AKA 968 ???

LTCMontana

Recommend you bite the bullet and buy a set of service manuals. You'll need the 944 AND 968 manuals to have good. There are even references back to the 924 set if you go deep enough.

Ride height is measured under the car at various points. The service manual gives measurements for US/RoW and M030 cars.

Suspension recommendations are VERY subjective. I was in your shoes about 12 years ago and finally took advice from Pelican Parts guru and used Koni adjustable and am very pleased.

It's best to get under there and find out what you actually have before you start buying new stuff. If there are Koni already on there, they can be rebuilt and can save you some cash and heartache.

Here is a post on how to put inserts in. It will show you what to look for to see if you have Koni inserts.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsc...i-inserts.html
Easiest way to tell is to look at top of strut in the engine bay and see if it has what looks like a standard screw driver on the center. That is how you adjust the shock. If it is just a bolt head and a nut, then they are non-adjustable.

LM964

Went the original adj Koni route also and it just works so well. Was originally thinking down blind alleys on what dampers until a UK racing friend mentioned he knew the racer of the legend Richard Attwood's old 944 racer and this still races competitively with the adj Konis. If it's good enough for Sir Richard then it's good enough for me and my humble spirited driving

Yellow Submarine

I am a bit lost in translation here. The shock tower brace is the one on top of the engine, right? The lower steering bar however, is that also an addition, or a replacement? How does it look like?

Thx

I am booked for a first look underneath later next week but my mechanic is very conservative, he is reluctant to replace dampers if the old ones are not leaking or so. We will probably start with some new rubbers and the thicker antirol bars.