id really like to change the suspension on my 72 1.7

its all stock now

id really like to put kino yellows on it and a front sway bar

what else would i need besides shocks?
what size rear springs would i wanna put in?
what about struts?

Others will chime in...but for a fun street/autoz setup.

New front and rear adjustable Koni Shocks.
22mm adjustable front sway bar.
140lb progressive rear springs.


Rich

Koni yellows at all four corners, adjustable rear perches, and rear springs will run you $1000. Add a nice big SMART front bar for $500. And while you've got it all off, do Mueller bearings, new ball joints and turbo tie rods. If you can't do it all at once, do it in stages. But save your money for the good stuff, instead of wasting it on mediocre parts. That's just my take on things.

QUOTE (McMark @ Nov 3 2005, 06:51 PM)

Koni yellows at all four corners, adjustable rear perches, and rear springs will run you $1000.

that's my setup. get some turbo tie rods on there while you're at it. my 914 is ugly, but handles beautifully.

~a

What do you want the car to be? You could do worse than keeping the torsion bars and springs stock, putting on some new shocks (Boges are "nice", but you can go harder) and putting on a stock or ~19mm aftermarket front sway bar. The ride should be pretty good, and if you go aftermarket on the bar you can tweak the oversteer/understeer balance of the car with the bar's adjustments.

Or you can start going with stiffer components...

--DD

i want it to lay perfectly flat

and i want it to hug everything

im working on building up cash so it wont be for awhile but id like to know what to aim for

im gonna keep it a 1.7 so there isnt a ton of power but i want it flat

i have head konis are the best is that true?

I also have a 1.7L that I daily drive and I AX. Here is the set-up that I find keeps up with the 2.0L guys. Granted, this set-up is on a budget...but it works great.

Bilsteins all around (non-adjustable perchs...they are the clip type to adjust)
140lb rear springs.
Front 22mm Weltmeister adjustable bar.
Stock rear bar.
Falken Tires on Fuchs.
Competition alignment.
Braided Brake lines.

If you want the car flat, you will need both a front and rear bar. You will also need to get stiffer rear springs. If you want the car to handle, add good tires and a good alignment. You can use the front bar to dial in the rear bar. On high speed AX courses where you have a bit of oversteer, tighten the front bar. On low speed courses with understeer is an issue, loosen the front bar.

In my opinion, the adjustable shocks are not necessarily worth it. While they give you a bit more adjustment, I feel it is better to get the above list parts in entirety and LEARN HOW TO DRIVE. You can play with the tire pressure for fine tuning and achieve the same adjustments for the level that you are at.

Last thing, make sure you brakes are bleed well. I suggest the brake lines because my stock ones split in half on me. I bleed my brakes, rotate my tires, check oil level, adjust the valves regularly, before every AX.

Also, don't believe everyone who says to need a bigger motor to go faster. Just don't use the brakes much.

That is my 2 cents and has worked great for me...ask some of the guys I AX with.

-Britain

One more thing...I know that you want it perfectly flat...but remember that the best suspension is one that works with you, not against you.

For the suspension to work, it needs to travel. If you want it to be flat, just sit the car on the bump stops and drive around. The ride will suck, but it will be flat. If you put everything on full hard, the car will be a bitch to drive. Let the suspension move, get a good feel of how it is working with you as you turn in and exit corners.

FYI, I ran my car without sway bars (front or rear) at AX's for 6 months and learned a lot about how to control the car and drive very smooth. Granted, I was running some decent tires (Yoko Advants) but it was an awakening. Try it out and add the parts slowly so you can learn what each part does for you and how it can be tweak to work with you.

-Britain

QUOTE

i want it to lay perfectly flat

No problem...My car runs flat all the time.

31mm Smart bar is $700 ( BTW ) This is the heart of my set-up.
Rear bar is mandatory.
Koni's- I really like the fact that i can run full firm on a smooth surfaced track or soften them up for the bumpy ones. ( JP would say a course that is "bumpy as a cob" ).

Shocks on full-soft is actually quite bearable, even with 200# rear springs.

My 150#er's were great when the car was FOUR powered. ( for sale )

Turbo tie rod ends, bump spacers, comp alignment and the inner long stiff kit from Engman.

Package deal.

Yes, Britain can drive. We had some great battles.

All these mods add up $$$.


KT

This is one of my favorite pics. Flat enough?

Top of 2nd gear is 56 mph. Whoohoo!

I did

Bilsteins all 4 corners, 125# rear springs with coil-overs

Stock front tortion bars

Wesmienster front bar

Good tires

She

You say you want the car to be a turn hugging handling machine. But in what context? Is it a for fun car that is also a daily driver? Or is it a race car? The two are often, but not always, mutually exclusive.

A car that is set up to maximum performance in race trim will generally not be very comfortable on the street for more than a little while. And a two hour drive will leave your fillings and kidneys looking for relief.

A car that is set up to be nice all around performing car, and moderately comfortable to drive, will not neccessarilly be the ultimate setup for the track/autox.

My car:

Koni's and Poly bushings
21 mm Torsion Bars
22 mm Front Sway Bar
200# Rear Coils
Competition alignment
225/45-15 DOT race tires on 8" wheels.

The car, when it was running and the engine was still in one piece, handled fantastically. Still had -some- body roll, but not much. You -want- the suspension to maintain independence. Too stiff, and the car will skitter and skate over the slightest bump. At that point, you're too stiff, and going slower because of it.

For a street car and daily driver, I'd probably go a little lighter on the springs...

-Josh2

what i really want is a daily driver that i could if i wanted ax and have it keep up with the others

i really want to reduce body roll

i want ti to hug corners but im not willing to do a 5 bolt conversion and i dont wanna change wheels
right now i have pedrinis 15'' tires are michelin pilot xgt vt's hard compound 205's
i think thats the biggest i can get on there

has anyone else had their stock break lines split?


what size bar is the most effective and the best value?

what are better konis or bilsteins?

QUOTE (double-a @ Nov 3 2005, 08:19 PM)

QUOTE (McMark @ Nov 3 2005, 06:51 PM) Koni yellows at all four corners, adjustable rear perches, and rear springs will run you $1000. that's my setup. get some turbo tie rods on there while you're at it. my 914 is ugly, but handles beautifully. ~a

Ugly, how so, from what I've seen of your car on this site it's looking GREAT. Just needs some new orange plaid seatcovers and you're set!!!

QUOTE (shaggy @ Nov 4 2005, 02:25 PM)

what i really want is a daily driver that i could if i wanted ax and have it keep up with the others i really want to reduce body roll i want ti to hug corners but im not willing to do a 5 bolt conversion and i dont wanna change wheels right now i have pedrinis 15'' tires are michelin pilot xgt vt's hard compound 205's i think thats the biggest i can get on there has anyone else had their stock break lines split? what size bar is the most effective and the best value? what are better konis or bilsteins?

I don't think anyone said you need a 5-lug conversion. Just stick with the stock 15" rims or similar and put a 205/50/15 on there. Get a set of Falken's and blam...your there.

I stated my opinion on the bar above...the 22mm Welt adjustable bar I got used for $200. The SmartRacing bar or the Tarret set-up is up over $400-$500 bucks. Get a stock rear bar, I got one complete with droplinks for $75.

Get a set of Bilsteins Sports, not sure of the price on those, but they are half of the price of Koni's IIRC. The Koni's are better if you plan on making adjustments, but not worth the price if you don't know how to use them. I would just get the Bilsteins.

As for the brake lines, if yours are original...replace them with something!! Also, replace your fuel filter and fuel lines if they are hard and brittle. The last thing you want is to go up in flames.

Remember, you are putting your 35 year old car under much more stress than it has had in a while. If there is anything marginal on the car, it will break eventually. Avoid a serious situation in a place without jackstands!

-Britain

QUOTE (JmuRiz @ Nov 4 2005, 01:35 PM)

Ugly, how so, from what I've seen of your car on this site it's looking GREAT.  Just needs some new orange plaid seatcovers and you're set!!!

workin on that. i'm actually considering getting some bf torino seats with custom orange plaid fabric.

i call it ugly because there isn't a body panel without a dent or two. or three. and the drivers front fender is still smashed in pretty good. i'll get it all fixed... eventually. the wcc 06 looms, so i better hurry.

~a