Shocks for an 86 944 N/A swap

[Humble]

Well, racing season is just around the corner, and after completing the 944 swap last year, I want to refine it before the first race. I'm attempting to do the same mod that Super did with his struts, 86 944 n/a strut body with a ground control threaded collar and an eibach 1200.250.0080 spring (12" tall, 2.5" id, 80#) but I can't remember what type of strut to use. I am racing the beetle in autox and hillclimbs so I'm looking for performance parts. I tried searching the forums but came up empty handed. What is everyone else using for their swaps?

<public service announcement>
BTW, for all those who are using (or are going to use) beetle springs with the 944 parts for the front suspention..... don't. Follow Super's advice and do it right the first time. I've had problems with the steering and the spring moving ever so slightly in the porsche spring seat. 5mm isn't that much, but when the steering binds, and you're racing up a mountain road with no gaurd rails..... yeah. I didn't wreck but easily could have.
</public service announcement>

You can use, for a coil-over kit, either the 1303/924/944/171 strut housing since their main difference is the spring diameter on the perch but that is cut off. (171 = Rabbit/Golf I).

Thanks for the PSA and I didn't mean to point you out as an example but just don't want anyone to get hurt.

[Humble]

Originally Posted by Superman

Thanks for the PSA and I didn't mean to point you out as an example but just don't want anyone to get hurt.

that's ok, i'm stubborn. and sometimes i just have to learn the hardway. i'm a tech inspector for our scca region as of last year, and doing a safety steward class this year, so i should know better in the future that to get away with stuff like that.

so i could use a front strut cartridge from a 924/944/1303/171 etc. and it would work just fine the the 944 n/a strut housing?

They all differ slightly but most will interchange, the 171 housings are about 4" shorter for example... and as for the shock insert I suggest those made for a Rabbit.

[Humble]

okay, parts are ordered and on their way. beetle kyb's for the rear, rabbit kyb's up front, and the ground control kit. everything goes together on friday, also re-indexing the rear 1 outter spline to bring it down a bit.

Can't wait to test it over a 3 day weekend!

[Humble]

Here's an update on my suspension setup.

In order to use the rabbit shocks in the 944 struts, the strut bodies were shortened by about 3-4" and the spring seat trimmed out of the way. The threaded collars i got look like anodized aluminum and have wide threads to them. They have 5" or so of adjustability. I aslo got the rear torsion bars re-indexed so the car has a much better stance now.

The bad news... the springs I got are a tad too big. I bought the 12" tall spring and I should have bought the 10". Right now the adjustable perch is bottomed out as low as it'll go and the ride height is perfect, but no adjustability. Also, once the car was lowered in the front, I had it re-aligned (never a bad thing when you change your setup). With the camber bolts maxed out (lower control arm and strut housing) I ended up with 0 degrees on the driver side front and +0.5 degrees on the passenger side front. In the rear I set it for -1.0 degrees camber.

It looks like camber plates are in my future.

Handling wise... it's a world of difference. Much, much softer than before, that's right, softer. I preloaded the rear a bit much, and forcing the beetle springs in the porsche struts preloaded them a good ammount too. Now the car doesn't have snap over-steer issues like it did before and there is more of a gradual loss of traction that is much easier to predict. I learn a little more about the handling once I can push the car legally in a safe envirmonment.

[randyj]

Originally Posted by Humble

Here's an update on my suspension setup.

In order to use the rabbit shocks in the 944 struts, the strut bodies were shortened by about 3-4" and the spring seat trimmed out of the way.

Humble,

I thought that the strut body had a screw-on cap to hold the strut insert into the strut body. Does this mean that you do not have the cap anymore to keep the strut insert in the body?

Thanks,
Randy

[Humble]

Originally Posted by randyj

Humble,

I thought that the strut body had a screw-on cap to hold the strut insert into the strut body. Does this mean that you do not have the cap anymore to keep the strut insert in the body?

Thanks,
Randy

Not exactly. Basically the strut body has a section cut out and the threaded piece welded back on so i can keep the struts where they belong

Originally Posted by Humble

In order to use the rabbit shocks in the 944 struts, the strut bodies were shortened by about 3-4"

Actually the thing to do here is just use Rabbit strut housings to bein with, as they are already 3" or so shorter. I suggest you rid yourself of the hacked and welded 944 housings and replace them with some Rabbit ones.

Originally Posted by Superman

They all differ slightly but most will interchange, the 171 housings are about 4" shorter for example... and as for the shock insert I suggest those made for a Rabbit.

...sorry, the above is what I meant way back when it was posted.

[Humble]

Originally Posted by Superman

...sorry, the above is what I meant way back when it was posted.

ahhh... ok that makes sense now. damn, could've saved a little bit of money there. I'll have to keep my eyes open for some rabbit strut housings now

Sorry about that, my fault, I should have been more descriptive.

[randyj]

Originally Posted by Superman

...sorry, the above is what I meant way back when it was posted.

Superman,

I am confused again. Are you saying that a rabbit strut housing will fit on a 951 spindle?

Randy

Not at all Randy, the 171 (Golf/Rabbit), 1303, and 944 (not Turbo) all have the same design where the strut flange bolts to the spindle; these will interchange as the bolt pattern and dimensions are the same. The 951 strut is the only one that will directly bolt to a 951 spindle... the Turbo spindles have their own unique design apart from the NA cars.

[randyj]

Originally Posted by Superman

Not at all Randy, the 171 (Golf/Rabbit), 1303, and 944 (not Turbo) all have the same design where the strut flange bolts to the spindle; these will interchange as the bolt pattern and dimensions are the same. The 951 strut is the only one that will directly bolt to a 951 spindle... the Turbo spindles have their own unique design apart from the NA cars.

Thanks for the quick reply Superman.

Randy