Upgrades & replacements (warning - long)

[cduke]

First off, my 85.5 944 is stock except for a K&N filter and has shot shocks and is in need of some body work and paint. I've decided to go with performance before asthetics so I'll try to get the suspension up to my needs now and work on paint in the summer. I'm interested in getting into driver's ed and autox in the spring.

Now that my 2nd to last semester of college is out I'm about to get some of the upgrades done I've been waiting on. Let me know what you think:

Koni sports - $540 from shox.com
250lb springs - $130 wherever
Upgraded front sway bar and rear sway bar which i don't have (85.0 M030 i think) - $0 (a friend)

So I'll have a bit of cash left over and I'm wondering what to do. Should i go with some wheels & sticky tires or what? I've got 15" phonedials with strange unbranded tires and am interested in 951 or 928 used wheels. Suggestions?

What would you do next?

Before I order the Koni Boge strut inserts, can someone tell me how to check whether or not my Boges are sealed or not?

[Bob's944]

We have the same year model car. I am goin to be doing the same thing. Sounds like your doing the right changes. I would change out the rear torsion bars to match what you have done in the front with the 250# springs, otherwise you'll be loose in the rear alittle. 27mm-28mm torsion bars should be a good match. Only problem with that is it is a very tough job to do i hear, you might need help with it , or might need to take it to someone to do.

For wheels... I want to find 16" Fuchs from an '86 951 to match my 15" ones, only 7" fronts and 8" rears. Plans are to run 225/50/16s front and 245/45/16s rear and most likely track tires on those rims, keep the original 15's shod with regular road tires so I can drive in any weather, and go out and play with real serious traction (yes I know the race tires wear out very fast). Since you would be running factory 16" wheels, it won't cause you any problems with class qualification for racing like 17" wheels would, and 16" rubber is cheaper than 17" rubber (225/50/16 is a common size too).

I'd go with the 5 position adjustable Koni's too, not sure how to tell you if the ones you are looking at are the ones that will work with your car, but they do make them. I heard the 4 position is good for racing with the set up you are building, and the '1' position around town is slightly stiffer that factory.

I'm just going to do chip, intake and exhaust improvements, and spark enhancement on the engine. Losing the cat is a cheap boost in power, the chip adds 500 rpm to redline and I already use premium gas w/ octane booster sometimes (your gonna live in the upper rpms racing anyway, might as well have that extra 500 rpm). You can get to about 180 hp total with bolt-ons without going inside the engine.

Then work on lightening the car. Racing seats cut about 40# each from factory leather seats weights. Lose rear seats, get your roll bar inplace instead. No heavy stereos, lose the spare and tools.

[Z-man]

My suggestion, especially if you're just STARTING to get into DE and autox: if your gonna tweak your car, do only MILD adjustments/modifications! And: don't do them all at once. If something doesn't work for you, you won't know what component needs to be changed.

Bear in mind that if you plan on autox'ing, once you do your mods, you won't be able to run in stock classes. And there's always someone in the improved/modified/street prepared classes that have more tweaks than you do. Bottom line: in these classes, it takes more money and driver ability to be competitive.

Ideally, newbies into DE and autox should start with bone stock setups. You have plenty of suspension to play with: you're far away from using your car's full potential: that comes after a couple of years of serious SEAT TIME.

But cduke, since your suspension needs to be swapped out anyway, it is wise to plan ahead: just don't plan TOO FAR ahead.

Also: while sticky tires will help in autox (and DE), you're better off without them: you'll learn your car's handling characteristics quicker with regular tires: the stickies almost offer too much grip, and you won't maximize the tire when you're just starting out. Learn to drive your car at the limits with street tires first: get an idea of how slip angles work, and how you can use your rear to steer the car around a course. Then you can graduate to the stickies! Plus, staying with street rubber will save you some $$.

Just my $0.42.
-Zoltan.
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[Bob's944]

As long as you do the koni's that you could get stock, add optional stock sway bars and wheels like you are... you should be able to stay in stock class.

[cduke]

Thanks for the replies! It sounds like I should consider using my stock springs instead of 250# lowered ones and stay in a lower autox class. I guess since i'll be doing my own labor it'll only be the difference in the cost of an alignment to wait for springs.
Bob's944 - nice car...mine's white too. (well, mostly...it'll get there)

so how about the struts...how do i tell if they're rebuildable? Is it something i can just look behind the wheel to see?

[cduke]

nevermind! i found it:
http://www.ccinternet.net/bluwav/dr_koni/
That's a pretty neeto source if info on struts.

CD

[cduke]

So do i need some new suspension snubbers while i'm in there? Should i replace the strut cap too? Any advice on where to get the spring compressors?

CD