944 Turbo control castor blocks
 

I'm looking to buy a set of control arms for my 944 Turbo. I found a good factory set that are a only a few years old. Would the castor blocks be the updated 968 style? How can I differentiate them from the standard blocks that came on 951s?

Great, thanks for the picture.

I noticed that there is some slight cracking on the castor blocks on the arms I got. Are the Hamburg Technic okay or should I get the factory ones? Do the newer styles of castor blocks wear faster? The arms are factory rebuilds and are about 5 years old.

Due to less rubber on the new style blocks, I would think they are exposed to more stress since they don`t have as much material to cushion and flex. So they probably would wear out faster.

The ones with spherical bearing look nice, I wonder if they would cause more stress to the ball joints. Quite an expensive option... assuming you get the cartridge that goes on the crossmember side, and a ball joint rebuild kit, that`s about $800.

The newer style blocks are the Porsche recommended upgrades. I would say that they last longer and are firmer than the older style. The ones carried at the dealership would of course be the best, but, what is the name of the actual supplier...I have no idea.
Have heard of people removing the rubber from the old blocks and getting a polyurethane insert to replace it.

on the blue car i have the elephant racing caster blocks, as well as the front control arm bushings. while they make for a very tight feel, i would not recommend them for a daily driver. i am contemplating going back to the OEM caster blocks now that i am no longer tracking the car.

Hamburg Technic Brand Items are mostly made in China NOT Germany. Short lifetime products, but CHEAP in more ways than one. If you like doing the same work over and over go for them.

Cheers,
Larry

+1 on "Hamburg".... The only thing German about them is the city name they pilfered.
When my factory castors were dead, I read sev posts of disatisfaction over their short, short life.
I got.lucky and found an original set of 951 blocks.that were only recently unboxed
All that rubber makes for a lovely ride... While still gripping in the twisties.
FWIW.

Get the OEM ones, there is a thread on RL with alot of feed back on the hamburg ones. The general consensus is they don't last. May want to consider upgrading to the later style castor bolts also, they have a machined serrated surface on them to prevent them from loosening.

I wouldn't do sphericals for a street car. They transmit a surprising amount of road noise and harshness to the ride.

i haven't had the problem with road noise or harshness, but they are a bit unforgiving and result in more tramlining than i like. i think the car would behave better with the OEM mounts, and i am seriously considering changing back.

Be careful torquing the bolts
 

The torque spec is pretty low. Double check it and be careful. Ask me how I know...

correct - it is only 34 lb/ft on the 968. probably the same on the 944, but i'd have to check. if you over-torque those, they rip out of the frame, and it's a very nasty repair.

+1 on the above, be careful. I had to helicoil one of mine, my wrenching buddy stripped the threads on it... Helicoil works fine though, since it is oftenly a more precisely machined thread than the one you replace.