Suspension swap, Swap 911/930 front suspension to my 914 Options

[spyder9014]

What are the benefits of using 911/930 front suspension on a 914.
I have installed gas shocks, turbo tie rods but I have seen it recommended to use the 930 front suspension. Is this just to get the brakes or is this for struts/brakes/torsion bars?
If I upgrade the calipers and rotors will it be just as good as a complete swap?

[rickyhgarcia]

QUOTE

I think what you have is a neat setup. I also think you're misleading people when you say a 911 front end makes a 914 ride harsh. It's simply not true. For me, custom valved Koni's are a much more viable and much less expensive alternative

Eric,

Thanks about the neat setup comment.

I am sorry if I was misunderstood. All along I was trying to send the message that the off-the-shelf 911 INSERTS are not ideal for 914´s. This is very true.

Isn´t it also misleading to say that a 911 front end swap is just a bolt-on upgrade? This statement sounds to me that you swap the front end, and that´s it. Most buyers will buy these expensive complete front suspension setups expecting a plug and play improvements in the handling qualities of the car, when actually dampers from another car with very different characteristic has been introduced. When I originally did the swap I felt let down because I did not feel an improvement in handling and actually got an uncomfortable ride.

I think most people that would install a 911 front end will either keep whatever inserts came with the suspension, or buy the direct replacement for model and year 911 the suspension came from, again thinking that this is an improvement in suspension and ride characteristics. I did. It is great information to know that the 914 insert directly fits inside the 911 Boge strut, honestly, this I did not know.

After all this interchange, however, I would recommend anyone contemplating this upgrade to avoid 911 suspension setups with Koni or Bilstein struts. I myself made the mistake of buying a 911SC setup with Bilstein struts just because I did not know.

When thinking about these upgrades, I also investigated the valving of the Bilstein inserts in my 911SC front end because at the time I had sports Bilstein rear shocks, however, there was a long wait for this process, I had to provide the parameters for the revalving (which I did not know...again before 914world.com days), and set the car on jackstands while it was done. I chose the easiest route, and the one that would get me where I wanted.

Rich did all that work for about $750 plus my SC strut cores. A complete 911 front end, I been reading in this forum, goes for about $1200, so pricewise is about the same. Of course, when I started all this I already owned a complete 911 front end...i.e. brakes, calipers, 5-bolt conversion pieces, etc.; I guess these parts will have to be considered in the pricing of the final product. The cost of these components in used condition, however, is affordable...I just sold a pair of recently rebuilt SC calipers in the classifieds for $150. But if the intend is to lower the car also by displacing the spindle (I got it right this time), then this is not so outrageous.

When I replaced the Bilstein 911SC inserts with the Koni 914 inserts, there was a lot of improvement in ride quality and the handling of the car.