Please Help, I want to improve handling

[J.HK]

I have a 72 911T Targa with a 2.4MFI

I've been working on the car quite a bit and now I want to improve handling.

The thing that bothers me the most with car is the amount of body sway I get with hard cornering.

I'm using 195 60 15 Pirelli P4000s which I dont think are working too well.

I'm thinking of going for those Yokohama intermediates and lowering the car to european specs. I don't want it super low, as I feel it looks silly for this year.

My next thought is suspension. I have receipts for KYB front and rear shocks ( pelican sells them #361004 and kg5542) which show they were pruchased in about 1987. The car has less than 20k miles since 1987. Do these wear out over time, mileage or both. When I push down on the car there is no bounce at all.

Any other ideas that might reduce the side to side sway with cornering???

Thanks,
j

[Randy W]

Your shocks are probably still OK. Your plan about tires and lowering sounds goods. You may want to consider 205/60-15 AVS Intermediates as a size for 6x15 Fuchs, and an alignment with some negative camber (-3/4 degree in front and -1 degree in the rear). 911s are very sensitive to suspension/tire changes, and these alone should make a significant difference.

[widebody911]

Do you have an objective in mind when you say "improve handling'? What are you going to use the car for? There are lots of things you can do to 'improve handling' which may or may not be acceptable in terms of the way you use your car.

[J.HK]

I drive agressively when possible on the street. Keeping safety in mind of course....

When I corner hard I notice a lot of body sway, I would like to get rid of what i can within reason. It makes the car seem very mushy which is not very good.

Thoughts???

[911pcars]

J.HK,
I'm assuming you have front and rear sway bars already - probably do, but take a look under the car to verify. If so, I would then suggest installing slightly larger torsion bars (21/26mm), then lower the car to around Euro height. Some owners opt for large sway bars with stock torsion bars, but I think the best route is to go with torsion bars first. If you want more roll stiffness, you can always go with larger/fancy sway bars later (with a loss of ride quality).

Go with Randy's tire suggestions too.

There are many things you can do to make it handle even better. It's just a matter of how much better and your budget, but this should get you started.

Sherwood Lee
http://members.rennlist.org/911pcars
www.seinesystems.com

[J.HK]

Actually I don't have sway bars.

I just was given a front sway bar from a good friend and I was planning on installing it tomorrow. Will this make a big difference??

Any tips/thoughts on installing this sway bar? I was thinking about replacing the bushings, they look a little (not too bad) old.

thanks,
j

[Zeke]

Although I have a 914 now and not a 911, it has a 911 front suspension. The fundementals of the suspension are that the torsion bars hold the car up from full compression and absorb uneveness in road surface. The shocks control the rate of compression and rebound of each torsion bar.

When cornering, the torsion bars are compressed on the outside of the turn while the inside are rebounding due to weight transfer. The sway bars transfer some of the compression energy to the oposite side while transfering some of the rebound energy the other way. The effect is trying to level the car from side to side. This controls body lean. The thicker the bar and/or shorter leverage will enhance this effect.

In order to get the maximum benefit from the sway bar, the bushings must not be sloppy as flex in the mounts negate the energy transfer. A sway bar that is not bound up in the bushings should not have any negetive effect on straight line driving unless there are extreme road contours in which case the bar would be welcome.

The 911 guys will have to take it from here as the 914 uses little or no sway bar in the rear, but I'm sure the rear engine 911 needs both front and rear. The optimum handling will be attained by balancing the effects of the bars from front to rear through sizing and adjustment.