Just Curious - How Does Your 911 Drive in Windy Conditions?

[Tidybuoy]

I'm struggling with getting my '74 911 suspension fine tuned for street conditions. The prior owner was a big auto-x guy and the suspension is very stiff. The car has Koni Yellows and I'm somewhat certain that that is a contributing factor. Another problem is that the suspension is twitchy and I don't feel it tracks well in a straight line at high speed. I recently had it aligned when I got new tires and the only adjustment made was front toe. Everything else was in spec.

Yesterday, it was really windy; probably 40-50mph gusts and definately a steady 25mph wind. When I was driving on the highway, I felt like I was in a VW bus, blowing all over the place. Other cars were struggling too.

So, my question is: how does your car handle the wind? Is it possible that something in my car is not tight (like a ball joing ot tie-rod) and this could be part of my problem? I've only had the car 6 months so I'm still learning about it but it's in overall very good condition.

[911Freak]

With both spoilers my 911 felt planted. I have front spoiler and valance on my Targa now and it feels pretty planted in normal conditions to 25mph winds, anything over that I get blown around a little. When I had my early tail on it felt more stable in high winds then it does without a tail.
Ymmv

[kidrock]

No spoilers for me in windy West Texas. I get blown around a little, not too bad. Springtime winds around here average the numbers you posted.

I had an old splitty Bus back in the day and Holy Heck, that thing got blown around like a dandelion. It got blown like Bill Clinton by an intern. It got blown like....well alright, you probably get the picture.

[MMiller]

I'm running both front and rear (Whale) spoilers and the car is fairly well planted. Can get pushed around some when the winds are as high as you suggested. Here in Abq we also get very strong spring wind. I would think weight would play into this as well and my 88 is a bit of a pig compared to your 74 I would assume.

Mike

[canamfan]

What size wheels/rims and tires do you have? What tire pressures are you running? Hopefully all the tires match (they should all be the same make, tread pattern & preferrably the same speed rating). Tire pressures are critical in these 911's. Is the car's ride height respectful?(do you have somewhat of a "rake"?). Hopefully you're not "porpoising" in the wind, like your front end is higher than the rear and allowing an enormous amount of un-wanted air getting underneath creating a very un-stable ride/feeling. Tire type is important, too much soft side wall & it's bouncy & twitchy, way too hard could be skiddish & stiff. Do all the standard checks of yoursuspension bushings (sway bar especially). These cars can behave erratic with some of the simplest reasons yet also in return (with good set up) can be as stable at any speed like say....a Lotus Esprit from the same era. Of course, spoilers (mounted properly) do take their effect as others have mentioned. How about some pics

[Tidybuoy]

Canamfan: I have 16x6&7 with 195/55/16 and 205/50/16. All Bridgestone Potenza 750 Sports (not my most favorite but difficult to find tires in these sizes). I'm running 28lbs front, 32lbs rear. Keep in mind, my car is a narrow '74 and not much more will fit. Should I be running 205/50's in the front?

As far as suspension: Euro height (25" front, 24" rear which gives me about a 1" rake). Koni Yellows f/r, 20mm front sway, 19mm adjustable rear, camber is -1 1/2 front, -2 1/2 rear, caster at 6 degrees, zero toe rear, front toe was zero but was changed to 10 (degrees or seconds I think). No spoilers and my only real option would be to add a front chin spoiler.

Pic before I changed the tires and raised the rear about 1/2 inch:

[redstrosekNic]

My 911 isn't too bad, but when the winds get around 50ish like your situation, it can start to feel a bit skidish. My car has a Strosek front end and tail, which do a fairly nice job of keeping the car stable.

[canamfan]

Seems like you're pretty much there. I had a '76 near same (ran 205/55 6''x16'' front with 215/50 7"x16" rear, seemed pretty decent) before that I had 195/60 or 55 I forget, on the same 6"x16" fronts (that felt too bouncy) though I lowered the front by another 1/2" to get that 1" to 1 & 1/2" diff. with a rake downwards in/towards the front, making sure when going lower in front to not have bump steer (by installing a bump steer kit or basically proper spacers on steering rack) to keep proper angle & I chose to go a hair more neg. camber but usually not necess. (BTW any steering play?) playing with tire pressures from 26/27/28/29 front and 30/32/34/36 rear (back then they were V rated tires non directional circa' late eighties early nineties). Before mounting that front spoiler, try lowering only that nose a hair & taking it for some higway driving, play around, I think you'll get there, but by the pic looks like the nose is up alittle tiny bit just enough to get that bit of un-wanted air under the belly. Just me thoughts though Looks really nice & clean stock, sweet

[Canada Kev]

You might try giving yourself a bit more pressure in the rear tires, maybe 35 or 36 psi and even a bit more up front. As Canamfan said, your front may be a smidge (maybe about 1/2") high, or rear the same amount low. You've got lots of camber (but not outrageous, I think), but I don't know if that would affect your handling in windy conditions, and it looks like you need it for the rear. I'd try the easy stuff first, like tire pressure.

Sweet looking unit, BTW.

[Dave Colangelo]

I have never had much of an issue in my 78SC. I used to drive a minivan which would get knocked around like crazy the the 911 always felt very stable. When I started to drive the 911 more I came to notice it did get knocked around. That being said so does my 944, if a good 30MPH gust hits the side of any car you will feel it. Up here in the north east there is a lot of tree cover on most roads so the wind is never that bad, I always get knocked around going over bridges a bit though. I have always felt that it is more a result of the cross section of the car not any of the suspension tuning or aero dynamics, as most of my knocking around is when a gust hits the side.

Regards
Dave

[DRACO A5OG]

+1, tail and spoiler, I am pretty planted. Recently it has been windy and on the freeway I get a little twitch but nothing to be alarmed about. Heck when I rented a 2012 Sentra, it was all over the place when the wind blew. Scary Poop

[Canada Kev]

I don't think I would want to put spoilers on that thing. It's just too pretty as it is.

[tazzieman]

My 911 loves windy conditions. The windier the better. Tasmanian roads are unsurpassed, and quiet too.
Oh , you mean wind? Well you just grip the wheel even harder