Ultimate RUF Conversion Thread

[jasonlee]

Glad this thread is till alive. Not sure why I didn't post my car earlier. Still want to get some Ruf wheels, but overall I am happy with it. Sorry about the photo quality. Shot with my iPhone

[4flyboy]

Hey Jason,

Very clean install. Great looking car. What did you use for a ' SMILE'. The rubber between the front bumper and air dam?

Thanks buddy,

Scott

[jasonlee]

Thanks for the kind worlds. When I bought the bumpers from Dave at TRE he mentioned a smile from a 964, so I bought one of those too.

[4flyboy]

Yeah Jason well deserved....... that aspect of the RUF bumper has always bothered me aesthetically. The slab like bumper up against the hood just looked too block like. You've created a very elegant solution...... looks factory to my eye.

Thanks for the quick reply,

Scott

[wolfrennen]

Here are pics of my old aluminum splitter before I lost it during an agricultural excursion at Putnam Park's Turn 9.

Bob Farmer of Farmer Automotive (Greenfield, Indiana) fabbed it from raw aluminum and a jig saw back in 2003. He fastened the splitter to the fiberglass with bolts. It wasn't pretty, but it worked to keep the nose planted at high speed. Farmer made that splitter as a one-off fab job for my car's original owner, and Bob was not interested in making another one.

With the splitter option gone, I was forced to go with Ruf's original front air dam Alois used on his original Yellow Bird. I'm using Ed's version (via Bill Verberg) of a Ruf front air dam using 4-in wide x 0.22-in thick conveyor belt material sandwiched between aluminum backing and the fiberglass. I'm going with Ed's suggested 3-inch reveal rather than Ruf's 2 inch reveal for maximum lift cancellation at high speed. The conveyor belt material apparently flexes for driveway curbing, but doesn't deflect at 130+ mph speeds.

A big "thank you" to Ed for the front air dam fabrication instructions!

I will post pics of my front air dam when the body shop finishes my car hopefully by mid-June.

Originally Posted by umgang

Has anyone ever figured away to put a splitter on a Ruf front bumper in
lieu of the air dam?

[Wavey]

Hey Manny (wolfrennen) - sorry I haven't sent the pics and destription yet, but it sounds like you've got it covered. Oddly enough, mine is at the body shop right now, getting a bumper/hood/fenders/paint after a collision with a deer.

I did almost exactly the same thing as Bill and Ed. 4" X .25" conveyor belt material from a farm supply store, 1" X .125" aluminum bar from Lowe's, stainless allen head hardware. Pics below. The aluminum was relatively easy to form to the bumper (bumper has to have the vertical lip at the back, some don't). I installed with about 2.5" exposed, leaving about 2" ground clearance with my lowered ride height. Wrapped the belt around the sides and radiussed the ends.

I found this worked really well - gave me a little give for parking curbs and road debris, but didn't deform at speed. The difference in the car, with this and the 3.0 Carrera tail, was very noticeable - really settled it down, and it just got better with speed. I saw +/- 150 a few times and the car was rock solid.

[paulgtr]

are you screwing right into the fiberglass, or drilling it first?

[Wavey]

Oh no, definitely drilled first! I have a special set of bits that are made for Plexiglass, worked like a charm - super clean hole even for FG. The hardware is 1/4-20 stainless Allen/button head with a fender washer and self-lock nut on the inside.

[paulgtr]

Ok, I see, the valance turns up so you have a lip to mount on....

[Wavey]

Correct - they don't all have the lip. For the bumpers from BW Motorsport, the ones with fog lamp holes do not have the lip, the ones with brake ducts do have the lip.

[paulgtr]

I'll have to check mine. I plan to do a track day at lime rock. highest speed I can manage there is about 115 so not sure if I even need the lip...

[Wavey]

Do you have a tail? My setup improved the stability even at much lower speeds, like at 90 with a crosswind or headwind. Highly recommended.

[paulgtr]

I have an ma shaw ducktail. I just got a front oil cooler and the ruf replica valence in place of the stock valence with the lip spoiler

[wolfrennen]

Thanks for the follow up, Wavey. Feel free to send your pics to my personal email address. Good point about needing a lip for the aluminum backing to mount the air dam to!

Originally Posted by Wavey

Hey Manny (wolfrennen) - sorry I haven't sent the pics and destription yet, but it sounds like you've got it covered. Oddly enough, mine is at the body shop right now, getting a bumper/hood/fenders/paint after a collision with a deer.

I did almost exactly the same thing as Bill and Ed. 4" X .25" conveyor belt material from a farm supply store, 1" X .125" aluminum bar from Lowe's, stainless allen head hardware. Pics below. The aluminum was relatively easy to form to the bumper (bumper has to have the vertical lip at the back, some don't). I installed with about 2.5" exposed, leaving about 2" ground clearance with my lowered ride height. Wrapped the belt around the sides and radiussed the ends.

I found this worked really well - gave me a little give for parking curbs and road debris, but didn't deform at speed. The difference in the car, with this and the 3.0 Carrera tail, was very noticeable - really settled it down, and it just got better with speed. I saw +/- 150 a few times and the car was rock solid.

[wolfrennen]

I copied this pic from Rennspeed's site. Their Ruf CTR replica front bumper doesn't look like it has a vertical lip.

Originally Posted by wolfrennen

Thanks for the follow up, Wavey. Feel free to send your pics to my personal email address. Good point about needing a lip for the aluminum backing to mount the air dam to!

[onboost]

Forgot to post this one I did for a friend about 12yrs ago. Car is an 83 SC w/Bumpers from Brad. Color is fact Hellbronze met

[spuggy]

Originally Posted by wolfrennen

I copied this pic from Rennspeed's site. Their Ruf CTR replica front bumper doesn't look like it has a vertical lip.

I have a Rennspeed cap, and it does not. PO pop-riveted small L-shaped brackets made from aluminum strip to bolt the splitter/alu backing strip to. Worked fine for years, and hidden by the splitter once fitted.

My car is quite low and street-driven as well - the backing strip on the splitter hung up navigating ramps when the driveway was being re-concreted, so isn't presently fitted - but I really didn't notice any front-end lightness down the back straight at Pacific Raceways last week...

[pete917]

Originally Posted by alwaysflat6s

Regardinig Ruf CTRs and flares, as well as the rear fender vents-or lack of.... and Ruf body parts. In the early-mid 90s I spent silly piles of money and time building what would be as close as possible to a California legal CTR. In a nutshell, there was no way, with the technoligy available in the early 90s, to duplicate one. I have first hand experience here so, here goes.

1- ALL authentic CTRs have, as a basic component, Ruf CTR flares. These are exactly 1" wider than SC/Carrera flares. To use these, you have to either expensively modify your existing rockers or purchase the specific CTR rockers [had I to do again, it would be cheaper to buy the expensive Ruf parts]. The rear bumper is also different for a genuine CTR and the parts made in USA are for SC/Carrera flares. This 1" difference makes a much much bigger difference on fitting components than you may think. The funny part is that the differnce is very subtle and unless you are parked very close to a stock SC/Carrera few people will notice. I cannot tell you how many times I had guys at Porsche specific events study my car and comment that they did not realize that Ruf 10x17s would fit under stock Carrera flares......

2-CTR rear bumper/side panels: The CTR used twin turbos and elegantly mounted the 'chargers on the sides of the engine and ran the air straight into the intercoolers which were, indeed, fitted into large openings on each side of the engine compartment It made the engine compartment wonderfully clean and easy to work on.

The first version of the CTR had the aero ducting above the rear flares[I think ugly] to get air moving through the side intercoolers. The later design used those extra vents on the "bumper" panels to suck air out and give adequate flow through the intercoolers. Buyers could order their cars as desired throughout production.

The bottom center vents helped evacuate air out from the under/rear of the car and was common to all CTRs. These were first seen on the Porsche factory prototype 930 in 1974.

If you look carefully, you will notice that the factory CTR front end has a rubber lip firmly attached to the bottom. You could optionally use factory fog lights/grilles/or the taped round duct for front brake cooling. The rubber lip made condiderable differene at serious speeds. None of the replica front ends have provision for this. I have had discussion with a notable supplier but it is felt that most buyers are after "the look" and do not want to pay extra for the genuine aero superiority

Also, Ruf used the stock Carrera rear engine lid. It was far cleaner and neater AND provided less drag- but at a loss of 100lb of downforce compared to a Factory 930 tail. If you look at the side profile of a CTR compared to a Factory 930, you will probably agree that the CTR has a much cleaner and aero look. The bulge for the intercooler and the built up rubber side stakes on the 930 rear adds considerable bulk to the back end. As the intercoolers were on the sides of the engine compartment, there was no need for the extra bulk. If you look...really... carefully you may notice that the CTR had a slight forward rake at speed. This probably helped that smaller tail to provide a bit more rear downforce. Either way it definitely made the cars look great.

The CTRs top speed secrets? Excellent and well thought out aerodynamics, low frontal area [look how big that piggish 959 is by comparison!!], and last,.... but certainly not least.... Herr Ruf very definitely understates his HP figures. Last, no one has noticed the CTR mirrors and the very suble shaving of the rain gutters? [You have to have a well integrated roll cage if you do this!] Both make a differnce to drag and reduce frontal area. He also supplies small inserts that can be glued into the front of existing rain gutters to help lower drag. These are straight copies of 935 bits.

If you think that these low drag pieces do not make *that* much difference you are incorrect. I have had the opportunity to try a variety of 930s at higher speeds. The REAL difference comes in starting at about 140. At 150, the difference is just astounding. FYI- a factory 930 with all the stock body parts becomes noticeably slowed by all the drag at about 140. Up to this point they go pretty well. A narrow body 930 [yes, they are rare but they actually exist] using SC/Carrera body as a base is noticeably slowed at about 150-160. The Ruf... It was really a matter of running out of RPMs, coming up on traffic [you would be shocked at how quickly this happens when you nail it a high speeds on a flat terrain with absolutely no visible traffic], or just running out of nerve.... Another subject we know little of here is that there are still no tires that withstand a constant speed over 200. People running the Nevada open road races can attest to this. Tire blow outs are the constant fear.

The authentic CTR pieces vs the present aftermarket. The Ruf parts are very high quality pieces. A close inspection of these compared to your aftermarket items is revealing. The Ruf pieces fit almost 100% perfectly. The quality of the glass, the fitment inside for the alll of the different light fixtures is well designed and substancial...and definitely time consuming to make. None of the aftermarket pieces is anywhere near the quality/detail work/robustness. [I presently have examples of the aftermarket pieces and they look nice but are not even in the same catagory as far as quality. Think Fiat vs Porsche.]

The genuine Ruf CTR is a definite animal. It is a barely steetable race car. It is NOT a comfy crusing machine. It is intended for one purpose only, to be as fast and responsive as possible. It still has performance levels that would worry the very best preening new supercars. I would own one in a second if I could figure out how to legally drive on on the streets here in California. [And don't bother with suggestions. Every option has been looked at- repeatedly- over the years. I am aware of how to get one here and registered... but there is no ...legal.... way one would be able to drive it, in its intended configuration on the streets here.]

BTW: You sometimes find beautiful examples of these cars appear in Europe for between $85-160k US. The big reason for the price variation is that 50% were built from bodies-in-white and have entirely Ruf vin numbers and the other 50% were built from existing SC/Carreras after the Factory ran out of bare chassis to supply and have Porsche vins with suplemental Ruf vins. People with big money want the all-Ruf cars. People like me don't give and damn and would just love the all Ruf bear of a perfromance car!

Even the replica bits make the cars look much nicer and cleaner. Don't stop playing with them!

Godspeed all

John Rice

356 Speedster/911 total bastard hot rod
73 RS/74 RSR ex-racer-still in race trim...bastard too
74 Carrera-not ruined yet [uhh, probably because I don't have it yet!]
79 930 Fact. Lt.weight Swiss/Euro Hillclimb champ when new. Street car.
new Audi allroad = MY opinion of the Cayenne

That was a great read. Thanks for taking the time.

So do you believe that the aftermarket RUF front and rear bumpers improve the areodynamic performance of an SC/Carrera with standard rear flares?

[spuggy]

Originally Posted by 4flyboy

that aspect of the RUF bumper has always bothered me aesthetically. The slab like bumper up against the hood just looked too block like.

Me too.

In fact, what really bothers me is that if you look at pictures of the real Ruf, their front caps don't seem to have the flat surface on top that all the after market caps seem to - rather, the top surface of the Ruf cap seems to be shaped to mimic the line of the original factory impact bumper - which is curved there.

It bothered me so much, I bought a used Ruf under-bumper valance, and am collecting parts & considering re-fitting the front bumper...

[wolfrennen]

Thanks, spuggy. I guess my bodyshop manager will need to install the L-shape brackets. as a work-around for the Rennspeed cap.

Originally Posted by spuggy

I have a Rennspeed cap, and it does not. PO pop-riveted small L-shaped brackets made from aluminum strip to bolt the splitter/alu backing strip to. Worked fine for years, and hidden by the splitter once fitted.

My car is quite low and street-driven as well - the backing strip on the splitter hung up navigating ramps when the driveway was being re-concreted, so isn't presently fitted - but I really didn't notice any front-end lightness down the back straight at Pacific Raceways last week...