Suspension Project

[zevenbergena]

Hello everyone,
I have a 1980 SC with all stock suspension. There are green (Bilstein) struts up front.
This is my first season autocrossing, I will be doing about 10-15 events, and I've reached the point where I realise I need more out of my suspension. This car is 90% street, and the rest autocross, no track duty. Economically, a full dream rebuild is not an option, I'm looking at doing this piece by piece throughtout the next year or two.
Where should I start? The struts are still firm (car does not oscilate after bumps or when pushing on the bumper), the car handles and turns flat <30 mph, quicker sharper turns start to notice more body roll.
Friends have suggested starting with the stuts first, then probably torsion bars and then the sways last. Turbo tie rods at some point, and bushing replacement as I go along Im sure. Is there a 911 suspension specific book or resource available somewhere? It is something I am interested in but have no real understanding of how/why everything works.
Ive read about revalving struts, what is the benefit of this over just replacing them with new units? The fact that mine are 28 years old, should i even be learning about revalving or should I just get new struts? If I leave the struts and get a new sway bar, will I eliminate most of the body roll or do the struts play a pretty high function in that?
Lots of questions, I guess Im looking for the best place for resources
TIA
Aaron

[JeremyD]

Bruce Anderson has a good write up in his book -

check out (google) elephant racing - and also the racers group - sway away - taggert enterprises - rennline (I have their front monoballs)

read on here - lots of folks out here have done some sort of suspension work from partials to full rebuilds.

A few months ago there was an article in excellence with an SC that the guy did a full suspension set up for autocross - he did very well and there was a great write up on his progress.

[ttw18]

If you want to decrease body roll then start with the torsion bars. Some may say that you should buy the entire package at once (sways, torsion bars, shocks, etc) but if you modify incrementally you will have a better opportunity in realizing each piece's function. Revalving is a great service that is of relatively low cost which allows a buyer to have shocks built to their own unique specs. However, it has been a real pain waiting for Bilstein to complete mine. I am talking months not weeks. For a 90% street car I would recommend an off the shelf solution.

[KFC911]

What Jermey said...contact Chuck (Elephant Racing), Steve Weiner (Rennsport Systems), or one of other gurus for expert advice, but I'm going to thow my .02 in and suggest that your shocks are toast (after 28 years ), and I'd start there. FWIW, I didn't realize how bad my shocks were (the bounce test doesn't necessarily tell the whole story on these cars) until I put Bilstein HD/Sports on, and that alone made a BIG difference...then the journey began...

[ttw18]

One other thing I would add: don't underestimate the value of a good set of sticky tires. After my first few autocrosses I bought a new set and was amazed at how much they improved my handling, braking, and acceleration. Probably was my most effective modification (lowest reduction in lap time). This point was driven home to me when a driving instructor was kicking some butt in his '89 Ford Taurus wagon wearing a set of Hoosiers. I know you wouldn't be putting Hoosiers on your street car but I wanted to share just to illustrate a point.