W. MITTY

I can't count how many times I have checked Rennlist to get technical/mechanical help; I now keep my computer with me in the garage whenever I go to wrenching. It occurred to me the other day that it would probably be good karma if I actually tried to contribute something. As a preface, I recently stumbled upon a true survivor; a 993 C4 with about 20,000 miles on it . This car was truly a sunny day car for its previous owner, and it had been lovingly stored for nearly six years following his death. I came upon it while looking for a project car, in preparation for an assault on 200 mph. True to form, I went ahead and bought the car that was the most expensive and least appropriate to the task. Slippery slope, indeed.

Any way, I have installed KW V3s on a couple of my previous top speed cars of other makes, and have been very satisfied with the combination of ride quality and the range of adjustment they provide. I bought a set for the aforementioned C4 and, once again, came upon the problem of how to properly torque the upper mount to the rod end. As you know, when one goes to tighten the nut at the rod end, the rod simply turns inside of the shock tube, making it impossible to apply torque. KW machines/attaches a 10mm hex head to the rod end to hold it while torquing the nut, but its impossible to get to it when a socket is over the nut. To get around this, one is immediately tempted to simply grab the rod end below the upper mount with a pair of vise grips, This stupid act, however, would result in marring the machined surface of the rod, which would adversely effect all of the internals over time. The next thought is to try to hold the rod with a strap. This never works, so don't waste your time. The common solution is to just go full-on grease monkey and hit the nut with a impact wrench, hoping that the inertia of the anvil will overcome the rod's tenancy to spin. However, assuming for the sake of argument that this would actually work, it would have to be seat of the pants instinct to get proper torque applied.

Of course, there is a tool for this. Its a Schwaben socket with a window cut into it allowing access to the rod end while also allowing the ability to tighten the upper mount nut at the same time. I never remember this little tool until I am in the middle of the install, of course. I don't ever want to wait for a tool part to arrive in the mail, so I came up with this work around:

1. Go to Harbor Freight and buy a cheap offset box end wrench. In this case, its a 22mm.
2. Take the wrench straight to your bench grinder. It won't work if you don't modify it. Don't try. It will make you cuss if you do.
3. Grind a bunch of the wrench away as shown in the picture.
4. Now the box end of your modified wrench will drop right down into the cavity of the upper mount, while still allowing access to the 10mm hex head of the rod end. You'll need to compress the helper spring by hand for maximum access, but this is easy, even for an office wimp like me.
5. Using a torque wrench, you can now properly apply the exact torque to the mount nut. (Actually, you will be holding the nut and torquing the rod).The zen factor is awesome, knowing that you actually followed the torque specs for the first time in your life.

Churchill

All this and you don't say whether you've managed to build a 200MPH 993??

W. MITTY

Just taking the first baby steps on the project. After looking at some of the EPIC build threads on here, any attempt on my part to post a meaningful build thread would be pitiful, at best. However, I would love to hear whether anyone has attempted 200 in an air-cooled, street driven 911. I am familiar with the RUF Yellowbird, of course, and that is the inspiration for the project.

The lynchpin of the attempt will be the engine. I am focusing on an aftermarket twin turbo, which, in the narrow body C4, should be ideal for the task. Having made multiple 200 mph runs in my other cars, there is one thing that is certain; the difference between 190 mph and the magic 200 is all about horsepower. (This presumes you have a modicum of aerodynamic efficiency, although last time we were out, tow stock Charger Hellcats hit 201!). The tricky part for the 993 NB is calculating the horsepower required to accomplish the task. Right now, I'm wondering whether 500 crank horsepower will be sufficient. We run out at Cape Canaveral on the Space Shuttle landing facility, so the attempt will at sea level.

JB 911

Have you found a source for the aftermarket twin turbo?

pp000830

To torque, the strut top-nut just get a spark plug socket that has hex faces already cast in it, slip it over the nut and turn it with a box wrench while holding the rod down the center of the socket with an Allen wrench. I never knew why spark plug sockets had the wrench faces on them until I stumbled across this while replacing my struts.

W. MITTY

Brilliant solution for the standard Allen key approach! The KW does not use an Allen key, unfortunately, and I'm not sure why. Its a 10 mm bolt head. Not sure if you could get at it through the hole in the spark plug socket...

W. MITTY

I've talked with Turbo Kraft and visited their shop. I'd love to hear ideas...

W. MITTY

Tip #2: when installing the front coil overs, don't worry about positioning the top mount until you've got both bolts through the lower brackets. The suspension, at full droop, will be all out of whack, and once the coilover is mounted in the bottom location, you can use the leverage of the assembled coil over to gently work the geometry back into shape as you lift it toward the upper mounting position. Then lift the suspension with a floor jack and guid the top mount gently into its holes. Left side took me an hour to figure this out. Right side took five minutes.

Tip #3: The KW comes with its own eccentric, which is mounted in the top holes of the lower mounting bracket. Make sure that you attach the nyloc cinch nut facing the rear of the car, into the open space of the wheel well. (See photo). There is not enough room to torque it to spec if you face it toward the front of the car. Plus, the guy who sets the camber will laugh at you, and call you an amateur, which in all honesty, I certainly am.

W. MITTY

Here's an image of the proper tool. It arrived in the mail today, twenty hours after I invented my own tool.

IHTFP

Coleman

Cheers, quick question for anybody with a 993 and KW V3's .. does anybody have a problem with bottoming out if you're running @ RS ride height? I'm looking to buy a pair today, (to take advantage of a rebate) I had heard that people with the 964's are better off with the clubsport shock body, as it's shorter and it reduces the amount of bottoming out at lower ride heights, I'm wondering if this is the same on the 993?

Thanks!

LimeyBoy

OP - thanks for contributing - please keep the updates coming on your mph project. I've always been surprised how easy it is for a NB to get to the end of the factory speedo, but realise it is an exponential thing. You sound experianced, would love to see all the little details it takes to get there.

imdvs

I'm reviving this thread because I'm really confused about mounting the front coilovers on my C2.
I bought all new bolts and captive nuts as required by Porsche. If I use the eccentric bolt supplied by KW this eliminates the captive nut correct?
So what bolt and nut combination do I use at the bottom of the coilover, if I can't use the captive nut? Specialty bolt and nut combo again and does it require a washer?
KW's installation instructions are a joke, really, they should be embarrassed at the lack info they provide.

The new bolts and captive nuts that are required, according to Porsche, were stupidly priced.. Now I find I maybe don't even use them? Arrrgh...