Help! 1st 930 track outing and...
 

well, let's just say the rear end was more than a little loose. I know, I've heard over and over about how tail happy these cars can be if you get off the gas in a corner or if the turbo kicks in before you've got her straightened out coming out of the turn, but this was unsettling. Way more than I expected.

For comparison, I have an '88 Carrera that feels quite a bit more planted. The Carrera is riding on Bilsteins with stock torsion bars, lowered and aligned, 17" wheels with Falken Azeni tires.

I just had the 930 lowered and its got 18" RH 3.6 wheels, 225f/265r Eagle F1s (probably a few years old). Also has Bilsteins.

Any ideas on how to get her more settled? I'm putting some adjustable sway bars on, will add a strut tower brace in the next week or two. I think I'm going to sell the 18"s and try to find some 17" wheels that I can put better rubber on. Any other ideas?

By the end of the day I had a better handle on the car. More than any other 911 I've driven, it NEEDS some throttle to keep the back tucked in through corners and you better get your braking done early, but, in addition to the driver getting some more seat time with her, I really think there must be some tweaking that would help out.

Thoughts appreciated!

My car handles real well as modded below. I think the bigger T-bars and sways made 90% of the difference and the rest was just icing (strut brace, monoballs, etc). My car was very good even before the rims and big tires.

How are your suspension bushings, mine were shot, you might start there for some cheap solutions before you get to the $$$

You didn't mention alignment on the 930. From experience I have changed several cars' behaviour with minor alignment changes. If you haven't checked and experimented with that yet I would strongly recommend before spending many dollars on wheels/tires.
Other thoughts: older 930 suspension is going to be more sensitive to 18" wheels than newer chasses due to the trailing arm camber change out back.

Check your camber and toe in settings and how much forward rake does your car have? Less rake means less oversteer. Letting air out of the rear tires or putting air in the fronts will help.

My car understeers and never gets loose the way you describe. I need to floor it to turn the car quickly.

The handling on these cars is supremely adjustable. Sway bars really help.

You mentioned your tires are a few years old. They could be a big part of it. Old tires are hard tires. If you have huge HP, you need to be easy on the gas until you are straight.

New struts/shocks (Bilstein, etc. ), bigger torsion bars, bigger and adj sway bars, check your alignment and bushings, lower it just a little, air pressure adjustments, wider rubber in back. All these will help.

Tires. I have huge HP and rear traction is never, ever, an issue.

Don't underestimate the impact of having the correct tire pressures. I found that with street tires this is even more important, especially if they have got hard after a couple of years. My 930 on street tires was a real handful this past weekend at MidOhio. I normally run on DOT-R tires but opted for the streets given a cold wet forecast. Took me several sessions to dial in where the tires needed to be set and even then took significantly more finesse with the throttle to get the front end to tuck in.

Thanks all. I think I'm going to start with sway bars and move to 17" wheels with better tires. I had the car lowered (gently) and aligned last week. I came across a strut tower brace that I'll add as well. I'll take it out again next month to see if that stuff helped.

Also, despite bleeding the brakes and using ATE Blue (just done by a mechanic), I had my brakes go away on me in the first session. Spent the rest of the day really pussy-footin' it. I had expected big things from the stock brakes. Besides upgrading pads, any other ideas to help keep them cool? I don't have this problem with my other cars so I don't think its my driving.

I am excited to do K-27/headers/intercooler but really want to feel like the handling is there before I add any more power.

You better get into the handling and solve the problems in that department before looking for more horses. Alignment and tires are key here. About the brakes, 930 OEM brakes are great and should not fade as you described - that is a must to fix - Check for discs tolerances and brake lines - could be old and blistery allowing for expansion = NOT good.

Make sure your calipers are not sticking, and put in some good pads,

Perhaps the previous owner put in some crap pads trying to eliminate squeel...

Textar makes a good street pad, Hawk or Pagid race pads are even better, although noisy

They should not have gone out on the first session get them fixed before you go back out. Youll be safer and have more fun. They are easy to swap out, try a set if Pagid yellows for the track. If you have the original rubber brake lines, install new ones. Braided are not mandatory. If you can get some brake ducting, it's always a plus.

Yep Yellows. They last a heck of a long time and don't have the corrosion/glumping issues the H pads can -

I have them: www.Rennstore.com