[campbellcj]

Hey Tim; I subscribe to both of the magazines and really enjoy them a lot! You have carved out a distinct niche that has not been well-served by the "mass market" automobile press. Keep up the good work!

Anyways, FWIW I would think that a car with stock-ish torsion bars and rear springs, with a 22mm front swaybar, would understeer like crazy!

Popular wisdom around these parts is that the first streetable performance upgrade is more like a 19mm front swaybar and 140lb rear springs! I ran that setup on my previous 914, a 73 2.0/four, and was very pleased with the results. I usually kept the factory rear swaybar connected.

My current car is borderline dedicated racecar, a 73 914-6 conversion, and has 22mm front torsion bars, 22mm swaybar and 225lb rear springs (no rear swaybar). That is a pretty well-balanced setup for our local tracks. The car's tendancies can be tweaked with small swaybar adjustments.

Regarding brakes, on my previous "stock-ish" 73 2.0, I found that pad selection made a -huge- difference, along with ensuring the entire system from m/c to rotors to lines was in as-new condition. I used completely stock hardware with the Porterfield R4 carbon-kevlar race pads and Ate Super Blue fluid, but there are other more street-friendly pads that might have comparable heat tolerance. Once I made the investment in overhauling the whole system, I never again experienced fade or sketchy moments in track events or canyon fun-runs. Another common tip is to use a smaller rear venting clearance setting than the stock recommendation. Lastly, with your 320i front calipers you could consider an adjustable proportioning valve or even a "tee" to eliminate the stock prop valve completely. (Sorry, I don't recall if you already tried these things.)

When you get to a certain point, the need for a bigger heat sink and friction surface becomes evident. My current car has 911SC front brakes with Pagid race pads all around, 19mm m/c, stainless lines, no prop valve, and brakes extremely well.

Obviously, good sticky tires help braking performance too. Here in SoCal, I have been running DOT-R tires on my Porsches year-round for quite a few years.

Cheers,