Z-man

Note: this is posted here since my goal is to tune my car for DE/Track.

Ok, I just upgraded my sway bars (finally!) on my 944S2.

Old setup:
Front: Stock 27mm
Rear: M030 19mm set to full firm.

New setup:
Front: M030 30mm
Rear: Weltmeister 22mm set to a hair firmer than center.

The rest of the suspension remains stock, although my car did come with option 474 -- sport shock absorbers. (Yes, I know -- I need firmer springs and fresh shocks -- working on it!!)

Now, my question is this: Besides the fact that my door handles won't be scraping the tarmac anymore, is there anything I need to alter in the way I drive my boat? (Er, car, I mean!) Since the car should lean less, will I have a noticably quicker turn in?

I suspect that if I am able to attain the same balance between the two bars as I am used to (I like the balance to be a hint towards oversteer), I won't have to change anything in terms of my driving style.

Off to Lime Rock in two days to see how it works!!
-Z.

adrial

Yes, turn in should be quicker and the car should overall be more responsive.

Also means the car will be snappier, easier to lose it because with a stiffer car everything happens faster... I dont think it will be a very dramatic change in that respect though. Nothing Grandma Zoltan cant handle...

M758

Yep Adrial covered it.

Noticeable and you will probably need to be ready for the car to respond quicker, but not much different beyond that.

You should not have any trouble adjusting.

38D

The first upgrade I did on my former 914 (aptly named "Slow White") was to install larger swaybars. The body lean was reduced, but it still was not that stiff. The turn is was marginally better, but I think you will notice it more one the car takes a set...feels more hooked up. I think you'll feel this at the 2nd apex of big bend. The other thing you may notice is that the car will be a bit worse over bumps -- you'll probably notice this in the front straight braking zone, the uphill braking zone, and at the apex of the downhill.

JCP911S

Sway bars effectively introduce more spring rate in cornering situations. So effectily they act like putting in a heavier spring. In some respects they are a "cheat" in that if you put the exactly right springs in the car, you shouldn't need sway bars.

In the real world they are useful in fine-tuning the cornering balance of the car. As spring rate on one end of the car increases, it tends to shift weight to that corner of the car, and make the tire "work harder."

So if I have some understeer and want to neutralize the car a bit, I can tighten up the rear bar a bit and dial some more oversteer into the car. If it is oversteering a bit, I can tighten the front bar or loosen the back up and reduce the oversteer.

So in addition to reducing roll (which both make the car more responsive and reduces camber change) they let you fine tune the handling... clever little things...

Z-man

Thanks for the notes guys.

We'll see how it works at Lime Rock!
- Z.

Bull

Z-Man, how will i recognise you out there???? Will you still use the fog horn when coming about?

Z-man

Worry not, Bob. I took it out on the streets for a test run, and indeed, there is no sway bar alone that will compensate for the soft, 15 year old tired suspenion of my car. Next up: new springs and shocks!!

-Z.

PS: The Weltmeister bar does squeak and groan more than the OEM Porsche bars I've had on my car in the past. I'm assuming this is either normal, or the squeaking will go away after some time.

38D

Might just need to lube 'em up. I've had Weltmeister bars on prior cars, and they never squeaked.

Z-man

Update: Just got back from Lime Rock -- while the car still exhibits slight understeer in the slower corners, it corners much flatter! It is a notable improvement over my previous setup.

I probably won't do much tuning until I get more used to the bars. For now, the handling balance is similar to what I was used to, and the leaning is improved. Can't complain about that!

-Z.

JCP911S

Unsolicited opinion from a 911 guy, but I'd set the bars for nice neutral handling in the fast stuff, and live with some understeer in the slow stuff... there are alot of things you can do to adjust for that such as trail braking or throtle steer that won't scare the crap out of you at slower speeds.