5-Lug 911 Conversion, Caliper differences? Options

[Spoke]

I'm doing a 5-lug conversion for my new 914 and need some help understanding the differences in front 911 calipers. I've seen "A", "M", and "S" calipers referred to. What's the difference? Which one(s) should I try to get? Lastly, anybody got a set of front struts/rotors/calipers?

Thanks,
Spoke

PS: If this topic has been covered before, please forward the link to me.

[Eric_Shea]

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/agree.gif) What she said...

You might want to equate it to cars and struts while your searching.

Boge struts came with the 911T. They're the most common out there in the early car range (69 through 73). The had the 3" mount spacing and hence the M-Calipers

Koni and later Bilstein struts 'generally' came on various 911S models and could be ordered as an option. The S models in those years had the S-Caliper. They're aluminum and a bit pricey but you can find rebuildable examples for $100-200 each. I've never felt the flex but... others have. Some 914-6/GT's came with them and given the power ratio on a 76 930 (which also had them) They are good for 914's up to 240-250hp. DaveP had a friend who tried them all and said that anything beyond an S-Caliper (A-Caliper as well as an example) is overkill.

Later (911 and 911SC) front ends had the A-Caliper. As described above, same pad size (but not depth) as the S-Caliper. I like the earlier front ends as they're set up for through-body bars. That being said the late model front ends can be retro-fitted with the U-Tabs and all should be fine. And, to add to that, if you're just looking at struts and not complete front ends... you don't have to worry.

If you're going the 'strut only' route you'll need to make sure your ball joints match.

E.