21/27 torsion bars with stock shocks

[cantdrv55]

Any problems with running stiff torsion bars along with stock shocks? I'm thinking of going back to stock shocks from Bilstein Sports on all four wheels but leaving the 21/27 torsion bars alone. The ride is just too stiff in the weekend cruiser and have no plans to autocross it. Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.

Chris

[BGCarrera32]

I have 21/27 and Bilstein HD (standard shocks) at all 4 wheels. Your stiffness is from the torsion bars...my setup is noticeably stiffer than when I had the factory bars. You could try leaving the Sports in the rear, and switching to the HD shocks up front to soften things up a bit. Do equal comparisons before and after you switch things out on the same stretch of road with equivalent fuel in the tank to get a realistic comparison.

-BG

[Zeke]

Shocks and bars are mated for optimum performance as you already know because you have the set up. A soft shock on a hard bar will not be too effective. The bar will over rule. Conversely, a stiff shock on a soft bar will not let the bar do it's work on the small bumps, and the car will behave funny beacuse the shocks will let the car roll over in the corners and maybe won't let it back up when it wants to.

Try the stock shocks, but if your car feels a little bouncy, the bars are working, but the shocks aren't keeping up managing the jounce and rebound.

[911-32]

I have Bilstein HDs with 22/29mm bars and find the ride is very acceptable - different but not worse than standard. I realise that I "should" run Sport shocks in the rear as they would be better matched to the spring rate but I just haven't done that yet. IMHO stiff shocks have a greater detrimental effect on ride quality than stiff t-bars. I think you could certainly change the front shocks to HDs (or similar) to get a much smoother ride. Some very smart Porsche people (like Steve Weiner @ Rennsport) recommend the HD/Sport shock combo when running bigger t-bars.

Richard

[ubiquity0]

I think 21/27 is fine with Bilstein HDs. Stiffer bars than that would need Bilstein Sports to match.