Optimal front sway for a 1.7 ? Options

[Literati914]

I believe, if I’m not mistaken, there was a 13mm front sway bar for the 912 cars.. and I was wondering if that wouldn’t be more appropriate for a 1.7L 914 rather than the stock oem 15mm. I’m not sure if anyone bothers with a ARB on a 1.7L, but the 13mm ones are fairly easy to come by, cause everyone upgrades to bigger. So that’s a plus. Thoughts?


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[roblav1]

Pete, adding LSD will make the car push coming out of corners. The primary reason for LSD is to prevent inside wheelspin while hard on throttle out of a tight corner. If no wheelspin, then why bother? The car will rotate better without one.

We all have preferences... mine is spring rate before ARB rate. Good to know about the 987.2 Boxster Spyder going with a lot more rear spring. Too bad they're crazy expensive!

[horizontally-opposed]

Pete, adding LSD will make the car push coming out of corners. The primary reason for LSD is to prevent inside wheelspin while hard on throttle out of a tight corner. If no wheelspin, then why bother? The car will rotate better without one.

We all have preferences... mine is spring rate before ARB rate. Good to know about the 987.2 Boxster Spyder going with a lot more rear spring. Too bad they're crazy expensive!

Yep, felt that with Paul Sayegh's 914 3.6—though I wondered how much of that was due to his type of diff (torque-biasing, I think?), tire/outer track width, and suspension setup.

Have a lot of time in cars with and without LSD, and in a lot of situations. Depending on how they're set up, they can not only cancel inside rear wheelspin when leaving a turn, they can add supreme confidence on the brakes on the way into a turn. ARBs and other elements need to be working in concert to avoid understeer, but I've driven a lot of rear- and mid-engined cars where all elements of the suspension are doing just that—and the feeling is tremendous. And pretty rare. Getting to it adds up quickly, and the fact is a 914 (1.7 too) with nothing more than stock-ish front torsion bars, a front ARB, 140lb rear springs, good dampers, and good tires is a seriously effective car—and a ton of fun too. Probably 85-95% of the ability & fun factor for a lot less money. Maybe that's why the simple recipe for the 914 was/is so popular. All of the above can be done for roughly the price of adding an LSD.

You brought something up I hadn't really thought about: While I got crazy inside rear wheelspin in a lightly modded, 320~hp 987.1 Cayman S with an open diff on back roads years ago—to the point I finally had to turn PSM off and manage it myself, deleting a safety net that rarely intrudes otherwise—I don't think I'm getting much if any wheelspin with 200~hp in my 914. I do want to add short gears, though… (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

But back to the OP's question: For a 1.7, my vote is something like the old Weltmeister front ARB and no rear ARB with stock front torsion bars & 140lb rear springs on adjustable perches. Good dampers, too (Koni reds if you can find or rebuild some). Dead simple setup, simpler than mounting a rear ARB, and can be corner balanced. More than enough for most drivers and most 914s—rides nice, works for autocross, and even good enough for occasional track use. Will work well with tall sidewalls, or short ones. And ready for double the power if/when you get around to it.