89 911 torsion bar/suspension question

[JonasJMac]

89 911 targa that I previously planned to track but after 1 weekend a few years ago decided better of it and found a salvage titled boxster. I replaced the entire suspension back then(3 yrs ago). elephant racing von street level 2 front and back and 22/31. torsion bars. the other day noticed that the driver front was way down on the tire, heard a snap after hitting a bump and car definitely not handling well. looked under to see the torsion cap came off bar but unfortunately not off the frame so could replace. spindles on torsion bar looked ok and the rest of the suspension looks good. was tough to get the cap back on but now firmly on there. my question is given this is street only car if I change the extreme 22/31 torsion bars to something smaller other than alignment what else needs to be done.

[tonythetarga]

You will need a corner balance if you replace the T-bars or even adjust them for ride height. Search corner balance and you will see that it is an essential part of the t-bar car drivability.

[old man neri]

What shocks/inserts do you have in there now?

[JonasJMac]

Von Street Level 3 front and rear

[911 SLANT]

How did your cap pop off? Did the adjustment screw fall off? I use lock tight on my adjustment screws.

[JonasJMac]

I assume since I have the whole suspension tuned to track/racing and stiff as a board when I hit a pothole thre was a huge increase in load on that left front end and the travel on the left torsion bar popped it off. I have it secured in place right now and driven and seems secure, main reason to soften suspension is that I worry this will happen again with the current set up

[911 SLANT]

I ask because I just did a full suspension upgrade. 23/30 Saunders Torsions with 22mm Tarett adjustable sways. Monoballs up top with strut bar. Sport Bilstiens. I wonder if I will have this problem.

[fanaudical]

I don't understand how the torsion bar cap can fall off the front while the adjuster screw is still installed. Can you post a picture of the other side?

[JonasJMac]

[fanaudical]

I'm still not sure how that cap could "leave" unless the adjuster screw sheared off or backed out.

It might make sense to reindex the front bars/cap so that it rests in the middle of the adjustment travel when on the ground - that provides a longer path for the adjustment screw to back out. (I think this is what the Porsche manual recommends.)

[Tremelune]

If you change your springs, you'll probably want to change your shocks, as they are matched to the spring rate...Do the Vons offer that level of adjustability? Elephant would know for sure.

Depending on what you have for sway bars, you may want to change them, too. I went from 23/33 to stock, and my track-focused sway bars became the dominant spring in the system, and the car was nearly as stiff as before until I removed them.

Indeed, before you spend much changing the bars, you may want to disconnect what's on there just to see what effect they're currently having (without removing the whole thing, it's a few bolts and maybe some zip ties).

[Driven97]

Originally Posted by JonasJMac

I assume since I have the whole suspension tuned to track/racing and stiff as a board when I hit a pothole thre was a huge increase in load on that left front end and the travel on the left torsion bar popped it off. I have it secured in place right now and driven and seems secure, main reason to soften suspension is that I worry this will happen again with the current set up

There's no more force, the car doesn't gain weight. Just the rate at which the force increases.