Modern trailing arms for the 914?, 986 carriers/calipers/e-brake, more adjustability, more tire? |
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Modern trailing arms for the 914?, 986 carriers/calipers/e-brake, more adjustability, more tire? |
horizontally-opposed |
Jan 26 2021, 12:21 PM
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#1
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Advanced Member Group: Members Posts: 3,431 Joined: 12-May 04 From: San Francisco Member No.: 2,058 Region Association: None |
I've been reviewing past discussions on these (links below) off and on, having test fit a 215/60R15 Pirelli P6000 on a 911R wheel into both rear fenders of my narrow-body 914. It seems doable, but it's going to take some massaging on the outer fender, custom spacers, and—maybe—narrowed trailing arms. Which got me to thinking about the current state of the 914 trailing arm, which is the same it's been since 1970.
Basically, those heavy, non-adjustable steel trailing arms are one of the very few things on the 914 that hasn't been addressed or evolved by the aftermarket. I'm running PMB-rebuilt trailing arms with PMB-rebuilt calipers, and can redo them again with reinforcements and/or some reshaping, but I wonder how hard would it be to do blade-type trailing arms of similar strength with less weight and/or more adjustment. Could a 911 spring plate, or a triangulated or otherwise reinforced version of it, be adapted? Looking at the basic design of the 914 arm, it doesn't look all that complicated, but I'm no engineer. EDIT: Possible use of a machined 986 wheel carrier, an aluminum casting by Brembo that incorporates the 986 e-brake and 986 four-piston caliper mounts, comes up later—a very interesting idea from @Chris914n6, particularly as the castings are available for $100-200ea used or new from Porsche. Bolting that carrier to a new steel trailing arm with a lower damper mount seems viable to me, but here to learn. The custom work to narrow factory 914 trailing arms looks extensive, but has been done by both @914timo and @sixnotfour as well as, it looks like, Rich Johnson. I could see doing it in the process of moving to 911 e-brakes and 986 2.5 brakes, maybe, but I wonder if a group buy might attract a 914 vendor we all want to support? Relevant threads: http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...p;#entry1247827 http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...ailing&st=0 http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...238144&st=0 http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...234391&st=0 |
rick 918-S |
Jan 28 2021, 07:39 AM
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#2
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Hey nice rack! -Celette Group: Members Posts: 20,443 Joined: 30-December 02 From: Now in Superior WI Member No.: 43 Region Association: Northstar Region |
I totally get the look. 15's with vintage looking tires are so period 914. It really sucks that the tire selection is so limited. I really liked the Yokohama's mounted on my 15X8's with 225/60's and 215/60's vintage cool. I ended up going to 16X8 and 16X9's running 275/50's and 225/50's Yokohama tires until they discontinued the 275's I am down to one tire selection and that will eventually evaporate too.
Question: I don't have a car here at the new house I can examine. Is the trailing arm the first obstacle inboard or is the body sheet metal the first point of contact? The trailing arms can be modified pretty easily really without going to a flat plate type arm if there is any benefit. |
horizontally-opposed |
Jan 28 2021, 09:54 AM
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#3
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Advanced Member Group: Members Posts: 3,431 Joined: 12-May 04 From: San Francisco Member No.: 2,058 Region Association: None |
I totally get the look. 15's with vintage looking tires are so period 914. It really sucks that the tire selection is so limited. I really liked the Yokohama's mounted on my 15X8's with 225/60's and 215/60's vintage cool. I ended up going to 16X8 and 16X9's running 275/50's and 225/50's Yokohama tires until they discontinued the 275's I am down to one tire selection and that will eventually evaporate too. Your car looked fantastic on the 15s—I hope you kept them? I am hearing more and more good things about the Radial T/A, which appears to be available in 215/60 and 225/60. I wrote them off as Trans-Am tires but some Porsche guys are running them out here and say they feel good. They were cheap for a long time, then went up considerably (still much cheaper than Avons or a lot of other tires). My guess is that Michelin, which owns BFG, may have updated the technology behind them or at least the compounds. May be worth a shot, with black letters out? And yes 16 choices are thin on the ground these days but better than they were a couple of years ago. Period P7s and a good Yokohama are out now, both of which would look great on a 914 with M471 flares, though they're 225/50 and 245/45. The fact that 15s went to near zero choices, sending many to 16s, suggests maybe the 16s will come around again too. I know people who buy and bag tires for old cars when they come available, as they're loathe to settle for all-seasons or worse, no tires at all—a big part of why I'm liking factory tire sizes. They not only look right, they're likely to be available in at least 1-2 sizes. Question: I don't have a car here at the new house I can examine. Is the trailing arm the first obstacle inboard or is the body sheet metal the first point of contact? The trailing arms can be modified pretty easily really without going to a flat plate type arm if there is any benefit. First point of contact is brake line & trailing arm—there's room at the inner fender, to my surprise with a 215, though not enough for the tire to move around under load. So pulling the outer fender and adding more spacer will help the inner fender more than the brake line & arm. Right solution probably needs to address both. Sounds like I might be shopping for a pair of good trailing arms… |
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