1987 944S Alignment settings???

[autoxr]

I just scored a mint 1987 944S. I will be autocrossing the car mostly and driving like a maniac on the street whenever possible (just kidding).

I know that maximum negative camber is desirable since i dont care about tire wear, just maximum performance. How about maximum positive castor? Is it adjustable on the 944? I'm clueless about toe in/out but i would guess a drop out in front and a drop in in the rear might be prudent.

Help!? Also, is there ride height adjustability from the factory??

Thanks in advance

[Techno Duck]

No ride height adjustment from the factory in the front, the rear can be done with adjustment to the spring plate.

Caster is adjustable and typically i set it at maximum no matter what my intended use for the car. This will allow the wheel to return to center quicker. A very slight amount of toe out in the front will improve the cars turn in, the opposite works well in the backk. Slight toe in will give the car more stability under braking, this is more important on a track car i think and not as a big a deal on a auto-x car.

You can get about 2.5 degrees negative camber in the front. I was running 1.75 front, 1.5 rear with very slight toe out in the front and toe in for the rear. The car handled very well with this setup. I dont like to do to much camber on the rear, the biggest reasoning is a good portion of 944's do not have a LSD and spin the inside tire on tighter turns.

Tire wear is most dependent on toe settings. Toe out and camber will destroy the inside edge of your tires. Camber does have an effect, but not as much as you may think.

A few of the best things you can do right off the bat is even out the ride height. If you dont want to go with adjustable ride height in the front (might change your class), simply set the rear even with the front. From the factory, the cars came with a slight rear rake (rear end higher). But i have seen some cars sagging in the rear, mostly due to worn out shocks. Next up would be sway bars from a 951, or the factory M030 968 bars. There are a ton of options and some very good budget setups you can go with,

[autoxr]

Thanks!

I appreciate all that good info! I was checking out the Tarrett front bar, 28mm and nice and light. In stock class it's one of the few mods that could also result in shedding a few pounds, so i gotta take it where i can get it. But for $650 bones, it better be worth it.

See 'ya at the track

[Dave L]

a 30mm 968 bar is $300 and the matching 19mm adjustable rear bar is $150