Will

My '87 Carrera is a very nice track car, and has the following modifications: Larger torsion bars, Racer's Group adjustable ARB's, sport shocks, cat bypass, Fikse wheels w/sticky rubber (also have Fuchs w/semi-sticky rubber), race pads/fluid w/stock Carrera calipers, turbo tie rod ends, adjustable camber mounts (?), DAS roll bar, Sparco seats w/5-point harnesses. It's very well dialed in and tons of fun, but I'm ready to tweak it a bit more for the best track performance. I'm getting lots of seat time and instruction, so I'll continue with that, too. Here's what I'm thinking of, and perhaps you can help me choose the next step:

(Note: I almost never drive this car on the street - it's become pretty much a track-only car. I drive it to a local track, Waterford Hills, but tow it elsewhere. The Carrera S pictured to the left is for the street!)

1. Race suspension bushings w/Sway-A-Way adjustable swing plates. It handles well now, but I've heard this is a worthwhile upgrade. What has your experience been on the benefits of this? Cost projections anyone?

2. Brakes. A perpetual pain in the neck; I go through pads and rotors fairly quickly, and I always feel like my brakes are the weakest link in my setup. I've looked into 930 and big red upgrades, but they're expensive and I'm not sure I want to go that way. Approximate cost including installation/machining/etc. for all four: $3500-5000. Ouch. That'll buy a lot of Carrera rotors, pads, and caliper rebuilds.

3. Exhaust and/or intake. Right now, I have the stock exhaust except for the cat bypass pipe. I imagine changes here will have the least effect, but might have the benefit of a nicer sound.

4. Anything I'm missing that you think I should consider?

Thanks for your thoughts!

Will

Sloth

Do you do any club racing? If so, whatever mods you plan, make sure of how they fit into the rules.

If you have to maintain a "Stock" class car. I have driven a similarly setup 87 Carrera for PCA club races (F Stock class) and have found the brakes to be the weak point as well. If you have not already, add some brake cooling ducts that come in through the foglights. I think you can also swap out for some drilled/slotted or cryo rotors as long as they are the same size.

If the car is DE only, and you have no plans to race... go for the BR's.

Will

Sloth,

Nope, no club racing - DE only. I've got brake cooling ducts, too, although not through the fog lights.

Will

Sloth

I ran the Carrera at two events, Sebring and Road Atlanta PCA club races. I toasted the brakes something awful at Sebring, even after the addition of air ducts that picked up under the car. At Road Atlanta they swithced the ducts to pick up through the fog lights and installed some cross drilled rotors. I had no problem with the brakes at that event. Did the ducts through the fog lights help, perhaps a little. It is difficult to make a direct comparison.

Perhaps you could do 930 or S4 brakes for less than the BR's.

richard glickel

so long as club racing is not a consideration, I'd go with early 930 braking system, including the master, etc. I've got the floating calipers. Recently added a cool brake kit from AJ/USA, The car has awesome braking.

Before my 3.6L conversion, I added SSI's with a Dansk dual in, DUAL OUT exhaust. Your 3.2 will rev more freely, you'll feel it. The twin outlet exhaust pipes make a difference.

And, there's the Unichip. Allows you to maximize the tuning of your carrera engine, it really works!

None of the above are inexpensive, sorry.

richard
'87 Carrera-3.6L

James Achard

Will, No Club Racing for you??? I was hoping to have a fellow rookie in F next year !! By the way, I might be interested in selling my Alcon's if you are still considering a brake upgrade.

Cheers, James

Will

James,

I'd love to get out there with you, but I'm just not ready for club racing yet. I'm having a lot of fun at various DE-type events and open track days, which give me lots of seat time. I'm sure I'll try it some day. How's your first season going? Does your car have upgraded bushings? Tell us about the Alcon brakes. Also, if you're in F-stock, doesn't that mean you had to go back to Carrera calipers/rotors?

Richard, with your 930's, did you do front and rear? Whose rotors/hats are you using? Steve Weiner's, VCI's, etc.? Details would be appreciated. Thanks for the tips on exhaust; I might try that.

Will

James Achard

Will, I'm still doing DE's this year and will start Club Racing next year. I will have to ditch the Alcon's if I go into F class. I am considering however, going up to E and really getting a thrashing...I'm going to see how my laptimes look after next week at The Glen and make my decision from that data...THe Alcon's are great brakes, they have the equivalent swept area of the 930 brakes. They are really well made and have done me well...I have the car really dialed in well now and have been using the new Michelin Pilot Sport Cups with great results. I will be putting in a fully custom cage this winter and a fire suppression system so we'll see how that affects the car. I've also been "upgrading" the driver by getting on an agressive weight lifting and cardio vascular program. That probably has made the biggest difference. While I was at the Glen for four days when it was 95 deg, I felt great!!!

Cheers, James

BlueMax

How about loosing some weight? If you don't have to fit into a specific racing class, then loosing weight is the cheapest performance upgrade you can make. My Carrera went from 2780 (no fuel) to 2450,
measured on scales while having it corner balanced.
That 300 lbs is equal to approx. 30 more horsepower (power/weight) and it is VERY noticeable.

Paul

richard glickel.

Paul,

Other than cutting down on fatty foods (hee, hee), what did you do to take off wait from your 911?

My AC is out of the car, but I've yet to yank the radio and speakers (door speakers are gone when I installed RS door panels), since I still drive the car on the street. I haven't removed interior components, like the rear seats or headliner, and still have the engine sound proofing.

What have you done?

richard
'87 Carrera-3.6L

James Achard

I put on a Carbon Fibre tail, Recaro seats, RSR front bumper...The car is pretty light now.....

James

Will

Hmm. Weight reduction.

I've lost ten pounds, but the car doesn't appear faster.

James, do the Alcon brakes use standard Carrera rotors or what? I don't want to do an upgrade that doesn't involve bigger rotors than what I've got - the heat capacity of the Carrera rotors is the basic problem.

Guys, I just found out I won a professional award that comes with a $5k cash honorarium. I'm going to treat myself and blow all of it on the Carrera! Help me spend it!



Will

James Achard

Will, The Alcon's have there own cross drilled rotors, nice and big and beefy, I'll try to snap a picture this weekend for you.

Cheers, James

Will

Thanks, James, I might be interested in them. Are the rotors easy to obtain? The pads? Are they fronts only? If so, do you have any brake bias issues?

Cheers,

Will