944 Everything? + History

[Mysticle31]

I'm wondering if you can bolt up 944 late front control arms, shocks, speindles, springs..etc.

My train of thought is this. Get all the 944 stuff (mabey even ABS)
(or even get the 'standard' performace parts for the 944 (275lb springs, 968 rear SB, 944 Turbo front SB, 911 roters, 16" 'phone dial' wheels, konis)
And bolt it to the superbeetle. Then see if I can get more weight in the front! (radio, sandbags..etc)

My logic is this: The 944 has 50.7/49.3 weight dist. and if the SB could be made to have the same weight dist. Yes it's lighter, but it's lighter all around. Like puting 944 stuff on the rear!? Plus you get the track width.

No, you can not use the 944 control arms (which are actually from a VW Rabbit, for 83-85 944). The combo of parts are: 1303 control arm, tie rod & end, and strut bolted (via a Kerscher 17 mm ball joint) to the 83-85 944 steering knuckle (spindle) with brakes.

The near perfect weight distribution of the 944 has nothing to do with the suspension but rather the fact that the (Audi 5000) transmission is mounted in the rear of the car and the engine (Volkswagen LT Truck) is mounted in the front.

Mysticle31, don't take this the wrong way but you're going over board a little, and there is nothing wrong with that if you have thousands of dollars and mucho time along with a full shop and plenty of knowledge. This German Look thing has been around for about 10 years and these methods have been proven to work. Keep it simple, bolt on a few 944 items to upgrade your suspension, otherwise just buy a 944... and I do mean that in a sincere manner.

Originally Posted by Mysticle31

I'm wondering if you can bolt up 944 late front control arms, shocks, speindles, springs..etc.

Sure you could, but you'd have to complete redesign the entire front clip of the car with a new or modified frame head and a lot of work to intergrate the strut towers at the correct angle.

Originally Posted by Mysticle31

My train of thought is this. 944 (275lb springs)
And bolt it to the superbeetle. Then see if I can get more weight in the front! (sandbags..etc)

There's no nice or easy way to say this but your thinking above is not logical.

[Mysticle31]

Gotcha. Just for curiostity sake, what are the later control amrs from?

The engine is from a VW truck?

I'm just conserned about the weight dist, using a suspension from the rear of a great handling car (do to balence, and design) and not having good front suspension.

It's interesting that the 944 (early) had control arms from a rabbit, becouse they are so short, so as the control arms move up the camber change on the wheel is greater change becouse of the shorter distance. And change in roll center when lowered. I thought longer arms would have been better choice.

Then again, people say the later the 944 the better!

Yes, Volkswagen had a mid-sized light duty work truck sold in Europe called the LT and that is where the 924/944 got the engine (it was 477 when it was a VW project). The whole 477 car was built with in stock parts. The suspension from the Super Beetle, the drive train from Audi (but their engine design fell through so the engine came from the truck) and all the other parts of the car were from the Rabbit/Bug. Almost everything on that car but the body were parts that were already designed from other cars.

Yes, the later the 944 the better, and the more 'Porsche' that it is because in mid-85 the majority of the VW parts on the car, including the engine, were designed and replaced with true Porsche components. The whole suspension was redesigned by Porsche as well as the dash and interior. Most Porsche people don't consider the 944 a true Porsche until 1986 and that is correct because the 924/944 (up to 85) was in fact a Volkswagen.

[Mysticle31]

That thing is one overgrown vanagon!!

So I take it a kick butt street/track setup is:

944 rear arms, spring plates? rear torson bars, brakes on all 4 corners (911 rotors are used as upgrades for 944 people? are 4 piston calipers worth it?), wheels (I think 944 guys like "phone dial" wheels. What are those fuchs? Sence I'm puting on all these heavy suspension parts I'd like to find the lightest streetable wheels I can muster), Max struts front (What about Ground control? Or is max prety firm? I think they said the struts were only 10%. I saw Super Ninjas SB and I don't thing those were 10% unless I'm just REALLY off base on my spring rate vs front end weight (I don't doubt it))

What about Swaybars and the Superbeetles weight dist? Those consern me..

Considering I have 3 inch wider fenders to fill. What's considered the widest tire I can put on a SB of similer specs to the above without hurting the ability to keep the tire on the ground and upseting sprung to unsprung weight much?

Originally Posted by Mysticle31

What about the Superbeetles weight dist? Those consern me..

I would need a 6 year engineering degree and about a half million dollars worth of equipment to be able to answer that question.

[Mysticle31]

How did I get a + History added to the title of this thread? What is a good suspension set up for this car?

It seems the featured cars mostly like 915 trannys, 944 brakes and suspension (mabey 911 rotors, are they worth it? Mabey 4 piston or big brembo calipers)

What is the widest wheel I can put on before I hurt performace?