What Front Suspension Work Should I do this Winter?

[IAN]

I have a 72 911 T 2.4 MFI. The car is stock and I'm interested in keeping it that way. I don't race on the track and don't want to trick it out like or make it handle like a go-cart either. Just keep it stock with the relevant upgrages.

Last winter I pulled the engine and put in a new clutch, rear shocks, added rocker shaft seals, sonically cleaned the oil cooler, cleaned/re-packed CV joints, replaced Chain ramps and a bunch of other items.

It is winter time again and I want to work on the front suspension.

I'm thinking of doing:
1) Front shocks- I have KYB's that were replaced 10 years ago
2) Ball joints? how much of a PIA? Worth doing??
3) Turbo Tie Rods-? worth or not? I hear different things???
4) Wheel bearings? Worth doing?
5) Bushings? Which ones? How hard??
6) Anything else while I'm in there???


Thanks.

Ian

[HarryD]

Originally posted by IAN
I have a 72 911 T 2.4 MFI. The car is stock and I'm interested in keeping it that way. I don't race on the track and don't want to trick it out like or make it handle like a go-cart either. Just keep it stock with the relevant upgrages.

Last winter I pulled the engine and put in a new clutch, rear shocks, added rocker shaft seals, sonically cleaned the oil cooler, cleaned/re-packed CV joints, replaced Chain ramps and a bunch of other items.

It is winter time again and I want to work on the front suspension.

I'm thinking of doing:
1) Front shocks- I have KYB's that were replaced 10 years ago
2) Ball joints? how much of a PIA? Worth doing??
3) Turbo Tie Rods-? worth or not? I hear different things???
4) Wheel bearings? Worth doing?
5) Bushings? Which ones? How hard??
6) Anything else while I'm in there???


Thanks.

Ian

Hi Ian,

I went through the same thing last year here in Portland. PWD72S also refreshed his suspension last year to a nice street ride. You might want to look him up as well to see what he had done.

My $0.02. If you are doing suspension work, do the entire car to only pay for the alignment/corner balance once.

Shocks-Most likely an upggrade all the way around to Bilstiens would be an improvement.

Ball Joints-Unless worn, why bother?

Turbo Tie Rods-If your tie rods are shot, the extra $ to upgrade to turbos are worth it but you will not notice much of a change. If yours are good, leave them alone.

Wheel Bearings-If bad replace, if not, repack and party on.

Bushings-For a street car, ride comfort is the primary concern. Chances are the rears are (near) dead unless they were replaced in the last 20-30,000 miles. For the rears, factory rubber for the springplates or neatrix. Stay away from the hard urethane. For the fronts, if they are not dead, don;t touch them. The only choices you have are hard urethane, polybronze or new a-arms. Unless you have 200,000+ miles, chances are they still have some life left. If you have to repalce them, polybronze is the most DIY friendly.

Other things-Plan on a good alignment/corner balance. Having the car lowered a tad would also be a good thing to improve the fun factor. Be sure you go to a shop that specializes in Porsches for this so they know what they are doing. If there is a race shop near you that sets up Posches, I would suggest you check them out. They should know more than the shops that do street cars about how to get you set up. I had a local race shop do my alignment etc and am very happy with what they did. The cost was about the same as any other competent shop in the area and I got the expertise of a former Le Mans Crew Chief of the year.

For all these upgrades, do a search to get more info.

Good luck.

[Jeff Higgins]

Ian, It looks like we have the same car. I have been going through the suspension on mine over the last year or so. From the items on your list, I saw the biggest change in going from the KYB's to Koni Specials (the red Konis, as opposed to the yellow "Sports"). The struts themselves will determine if you need to go with Koni's or Biltsein's. Match whatever you put in the struts when you replace the rear shocks to maintain balanced dampening front to rear.

The other things are just wear items. I thinks that is kind of what Harry was getting at. If they are in good repair, you are good to go. Putting new ones in won't help.

Some items not on your list: Does it have sway bars? Many "T's" do not. Mine did not. A set of stock "S" sway bars can be had fairly cheap, and they make a huge difference in handling without really affecting the ride quality. The other item not on your list that made a huge difference on my car was the torsion bars. I just finished putting in a set of 22 front and 29 rear bars. Most will tell you that is way too stiff and will destroy the ride quality in a street car. Horse pucky. My wife didn't even notice a change. I think really stiff sway bars have more of an effect on ride quality.

So that is where I'm at with my suspension. I am very happy with the improvements in handling, without any real degradation of ride quality. It's all pretty basic tried-and-true stuff once the wear items have been addressed. Stiffer springing, better shocks, and sway bars. Worked for me.

[efhughes3]

"Unless you have 200,000+ miles, you have life left in the bushings?"

I don't think so! With the age of this car, even if it weren't driven, my guess would be that it is sagging in the bushings. The car will feel totally new with these refreshed, along with tie rods and ball joints.

[HarryD]

Originally posted by efhughes3
"Unless you have 200,000+ miles, you have life left in the bushings?"

I don't think so! With the age of this car, even if it weren't driven, my guess would be that it is sagging in the bushings. The car will feel totally new with these refreshed, along with tie rods and ball joints.

My statement was: "Unless you have 200,000+ miles, chances are they still have life left." I was pointing out that changing them is not a given and depending on condition/need, letting them stay may be the best solution for this person. I have spoken to those who have looked at many of these over the years and they pointed out that the loads on the front bushes are a fraction of the rear. As such, they tend to last much longer.

While the bushes may need replacement to get the precision needed for a track car, this person was looking for a comfy street ride. I was merely pointing out that the existing bushes may be adequate for his needs and why go through the expense and pain of the non-factory solutions that do not give the compliant ride one wants on the street?

[efhughes3]

I think tired bushings are too compliant. When I did mine (bushings, tierods, ball joints, polybronze by the way, the entire car felt like it was new. No matter the material, just having the front end together in it's geometry is work some mony to me.