five bolt suspension Q's

[RonD922]

Hello,

I have a few questions..

1. I have carrera rotors..Will these fit on the 914 struts if I re-drill them for 5 lug and will the 320I calipers work with such a fat rotor?

2. Is there any significant weight loss benefit by re-drilling 914 struts rather than going to 911?

3. What other calipers options for the rear do I have if I re-drill besides the stock rears or front 914 calipers?

I hope to put a six in..2.0-2.4 hopefully "E" or "S" spec so I hope to have between 160-190 HP...

Thanks,
Ron

[mike mueller]

1) no and no

2) no

3) you can keep the stock calipers for the front and the rear if you re-drill the hubs and rotors....

back to 1) if you re-drill the front /4 rotors, you don't need seperate rotors since you are drilling the original rotors
....you can save the Carrera rotors for paperweights or wait until you buy a Carrera front end or struts and have spare rotors.

[roadtrp204]

If you have a mill, lathe, and rotory table, what can be made to work is up to the limits of the operators knowledge and abilities.

The difference between 911 struts and 914 struts is the size of the spindle (911s use larger medium duty bearings, 914 use smaller light duty bearings) and spacing between caliper mounts. Early 911s had 3 inches between caliper mounts and the later (I believe 84-89) had 3.5 inches between caliper mounts.

The difference between 911 and 914 rotors is the 911 rotors are a vented composite or two piece design (the hub and rotor are two seperate pieces), while the 914 rotos are a solid one piece design.

To make a Carrera rotor fit on a stock 914/4 spindle would require a custom hub made from scratch or a modified 914/4 rotor. In reference to my first statement, it is possible but cost, time envolved, and the fact that you would be retaining the smaller light duty bearings would seem to be the factors for concern.

The bmw 320 caliper are designed for solid rotors. To make them fit a wider vented rotor, they would have to be split (if possible) and a spacer installed between the two halves to accomodate the wider rotor. Again this would be a custom fabrication.

I love fabrication and to think up new ways to do things but in this case, being that 911 struts are a bolt on piece, reinventing the the wheel or hub in this case is just not cost effective.

Spend some time looking for people parting out 911s. I was able to find a '73 front end assembly and 4 15X6 forged fuchs for $400. Its not the 84-89 3.5 inch large calipers that most are looking for, but my car doesn't have the power or the weight to really need the larger calipers so I am completely happy with my find.

Hope this helped and good luck with your project.