Hi guys

I took my 914 rally car out to a track day this weekend and was amazed at the fact that it was competitive against all the modern Porsche offerings that turned up (read - kicked their ass ). So with this in mind and the fact that the rallying is really taking a toll on the bodywork of the old beast that I'm going to take up a form of racing that's a little less aggressive on the car. However, I'm going to need your help in converting it from a great rally car to an even better track car.

The 2 main things I want to start on are suspension and wheels (you could say they are one and the same )

The rally car was setup fairly soft, to absorb the bumps and undulations you find on a dirt track. The present setup is stock 914-4 torsion bars up front, Weltmeister anti-roll bar up front. 200lb springs at the back (height adjustable). Although the car handled beuatifully and predicatably on the track I did feel it was leaning too much in the corners. So I'm thinking of taking the simple step of upgrading to 914-4 21mm solid torsion bars at the front and leaving the rest as is.

This then brings me on to the wheels/tyres. The rallying regs meant that I counldn't go anything wider than 6 inch wide rim and 15 inch diameter. I also had to run 70 profile tyres. These were screeched to within an inch of their lives at the track. I'm almost certain that if I have more tyre for grip around the corners the lap times would have had a chunk taken out of them. So with the GT arches I have I offer up the 9inch wide rear and 7 inch wide fronts that I have on the beetle. BTW - these are NOT the wheels I'm considering, but I just wanted to see if that size of wheel/tyre combo fitted.






They needed a whole load of spacers to get them to sit far enough out towards the wings but they do seem to work. I need to keep at least the same overall diameter as the old rally setup as the gearbox is close ratio, with the old 4th gear now the new 5th gear. So what wheel/tyre combos do people use on the tracks that have 9 inch at the back and 7 at the front, and what ET do you run?

Not sure what you class limitations you have, but would suggest you add a splitter and bigger spoiler or wing in the back. I don't know the trick combination for track tires, but we have a lot of big time track guys on the forum that can chime in.

Yes on the 21mm torsion bars, but thinking you need heaver springs in back. On 222 I was running 240#, which worked for autox and hill climbs...easy guess is that you'll need at least 300# to start for the track. Also suggest you lower the car a bunch from your rally height.