I have a 78 911 in the shop right now and after fixing a few leaks and chasing a vibration in the front wheels, I took it for a test drive. The car has bilstein struts and stock Tbars upfront. Anyway, the car seems to float and bouncy in the front. I took it up and down one of my favorite test roads and hated it. The car never felt planted, it seemed like the front end wasn't really touching the ground. It is hard to describe, maybe it is a 911 thing but it didn't feel anywhere as planted and solid as my 914.

I really don't have a lot of driving experience with driving 911s so I don't have anything to compare it to.

Bad shocks? Funky alignment? Crappy tires? Tire pressures?

My Dad's '71 911 feels fine and doesn't foat. Its very connected to the road . . . that said, I've never driven a 914.

mine stays planted...of course it's lowered with a sport suspension and wider rims

before I added the chin spoiler mine got light over 100

Hey Brett-
my brother's 89 has bilsteins, stock Fuchs, and standard profile tires. It is very similar in turn in and suspension action to the 914. in fact, I was surprised how "Porsche" the teener feels. The car you drove is broken. What you describe is exactly what I felt when my 914's RR suspension pick up was breaking off. Of course, the taildragger has no hell hole isues, so it is something else. There is too much slop somewhere- I'm betting it is in the back, not the front.

When I first got my 911 the ride was crappy like you describe. I had old rotted tires, original Boge struts, and the previous owner had slammed the front suspension adjusters to the ground.

I raised it back up to Euro ride height, got new tires, and did new Koni reds all the way around and the ride is now awesome.

I was kinda thinking some of the same things and I am going to check that stuff out. It is lowered and it has some pretty bad bumpsteer, so I am definitely going to raise it up a little. It has new tires on Fuchs.

I just talked to a friend of mine who is a Porsche Master and Dealer tech trainer. He said it was kind of a 911 thing to feel like this. He feels they are fairly scary cars to begin with.

I think I will stick with the teener. Engine is in the right place.

All of the above and ADJUST the toe, all the 911 chassis will feel as though the front end is floating the closer the adjustment is to neautral .
A little cheat towards more toe in will probably settle the car down

I guess the one I have driven has just the right amount of toe-in. I wonder if tire pressures are OK...
The first time I was going to drive it, I worried about the tail-happy thing, too. Also, an 89 has had a lot of improvements implemnted over a 79 too.

My Mom's 411 felt exactly like that. But then they do have the same configuration, eh? We eventually threw 100 lbs of sand in the nose to settle it down.

I've driven many 911s and they don't feel like that normally. Sounds like allignment and maybe tires to me. I'm sorry to say that I disagree with your Porsche Mechanic buddy, the SC's I've driven have all been well maintained and correctly set up.

They can be tricky to drive fast, but shouldn't be scary unless one doesn't know what they are doing.

Nope.

Wimp!

Ok, I admit to being intimidated by my SC at first but after a weekend of PCA autocross school I was dialed in with the car and driving it right to the limit and then some.

In some ways the 911 is more fun to drive than the 914 because it's more difficult to drive. The 914 is easy - full gas, full brake, rinse, repeat. The 911 constantly requires you to modulate the throttle and brakes. I'm sure a 914 with a big engine and big brakes is similar.

mine sticks like glue...something is wrong!

Yup--My Attorney's 82 SC does not feel "floaty" at all. Sticks real nice, and is very communicative about what's going on at the rear contact patches.

--DD

Mine feels planted all the time. It's definitely lower than the factory settings, and even lower in the front than in the rear.

The only time I worry is when I'm driving some Pa. back roads where I crest a hill and I wonder if that light front end is going to get airborne. It hasn't happened yet, but I've done it enough times in Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed to know that you don't want to do it in real life.

Mine starts doing exactly the same thing you describe when it's above 140 mph.
Below that it's rock solid.
What you experienced is not normal at all.

As others have said, you may have some suspension issues... and probably do!

But as far as perceived differences go, let's not forget that they are not the same machine...

You know in a teener when you loose control and do a spinout, the pivot point is right under your (well puckered) butt. There just isn't much weight at either end of the car to resist turning, or a change in direction, kinda like a spinning top. Even if you're just driving down the street and suddenly turn, you can still sense the effect. You are centered and at the core of the change of direction and it happens very quick. Instant transient response. It's pretty stunning.

On the other hand, the 911,(cough assdragger), has a pivoting point somewhere right around where the front headlights are... or were a moment ago before you lifted

Driving down the street and rocking the steering wheel left and right, you can feel all of that engine weight behind the rear wheels working the entire car. It's unsettling.

But it makes a very light touch to the steering effort, and it's a nice feeling. And if you keep at it, you learn to use the rear weight bias to your advantage.

But you probably have some suspension issues...

i gotta go...