I've been trying to decide what to do with this car pretty much since I got it, and I finally figured it out. In this video, I install coilovers, tires, and lights to turn my 944 into a pretty solid base for a "safari" car.
Yeah, the longer I have this thing, the more I notice it’s not nearly as clean as I thought it was when I bought it. So naturally, let’s give it a slow death by gravel.
Amazing video. I’ve been wanting a Porsche 944 for awhile now and wanted to lift it. I’ve never done any mechanical work though, but I’ll give it a go 👀
BRO you made me so happy today! like im mid build AGAIN on my sick obsission the 944 since highschool and its become a safari build issue! 944 fest 2023 i blew the motor and been working on that and rebuilding the bushings and everything else for RALLY!
You have those front jack stand on the rails they use to hold the car on the factory floor assembly line not for jack stands they are further in and closer to the engine. The back ones are fine but apparently the other points have been know to some what fail/collapse. Just don't want a fellow 944 drive to get hurt or have to do a bunch of unnecessary body work
Good call, thanks for the heads up. I'll start using those inner frame rails. On my car, the frame rails are a little deformed, presumably from someone using them incorrectly, which is why I didn't want to use them again. But I just looked on Clark's Garage, and you're right.
Good call on leaving the torsion bars in. I've seen guys with catastrophic suspension failure converting to coilovers and removing their TB. I also kept my TB when converting to YellowSpeed Gravel Coilovers. At least you can "limp" home if the bottom shock mount snaps bc the TB will still hold the weight of the vehicle. Enjoy your newly lifted 944!
Ah, that’s good (not for those people) to hear that my concern is valid. And yeah, even if it’s not taking all the weight, a lower bolt failure with the TB in can still be driven.
@tfrasca142 definitely can, my buddy broke his at the Rallycross event at 944fest last year and he has the same setup as me. He was able to drive his car 9hrs back home with only 3 coilovers 😳
Love it. If you haven’t re indexed the rear torsion bars for the new ride height the cantilever bolt will be taking the majority of the bump before the torsion bar engages. Keep an eye on the bolts bending. Also, unless you have set those coil over spring rates appropriately you might have a lot more rear wheel spring rate than front. This could make it oversteer.
I thought about that bolt still taking more than it would at stock ride height, but figured it’s still better than no torsion bar. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on the bolt. Also, you’d think the rear spring+torsion bar would be much stiffer than the front, but it doesn’t feel that way. Again, I haven’t been able to put many miles on it as it’s not aligned yet. But I do think I’ll end up with softer springs all around, eventually.
@@tfrasca142 You can help the bolt resist bending by putting a larger outer diameter spacer in the position between the shock and suspension - the spacer will provide additional support when the bolt starts to flex. As it is, I don't think that spacer is too thin to resist shock loading from big hits very well, as the mating surface on the torsion bar is much larger and it looks like just a thin aluminum assembly. The ideal setup would be a shoulder bolt with the minimum amount of threaded length in the spacer itself - I'd start with an outer diameter matching the clean area on the suspension assembly and step it down to mating side of the shock at the end. Then the majority of the loading under hard hits would transfer into the spacer and then the suspension assembly, as opposed to relying mostly on the bolt.
i like builds that are just "what if i went thru with this dumb idea". love offroad cars that shouldnt be offroad cars, love the 944 so this is real good
I figure they’re still doing a little, and as the car sags further into the travel, they’ll be doing more to help take at least some of the load off the lower shock bolt. I’m thinking of it as almost a progressive bump stop, if you will.
Great video. Question - if you raise the ride height (I assume by using longer shocks and longer springs) don't you end up changing the geometry of the suspension?
Definitely. As the ride height goes up, the camber goes more positive, and the toe goes in. Castor will also be affected, but the hope is that it can all be corrected with an alignment. Once I get the tie rods in and get it aligned, I'll make an update on the ride height and what (if anything) I had to change.
Yeah, longer front control arms would help with camber, but I won't be doing that on this car. Playing around with the camber plates on the front, I was able to get visually more negative camber than needed, so I think it'll work out. I don't know about the rear, though. Will have to wait to see what the alignment tech says. @@chappardababbar
@@tfrasca142 Germans believe in purity, Ferdinand Porche engendered that car to road race not to go mudding its ruined. Ach du bist ja nicht mehr so viel Spaß gemacht und Schlaf schön meine süße Träume und Schlaf.
@@Workerbee-zy5nx that’s the cool thing about owning a vehicle. You can do whatever you want with it. How is your 944 set up? Also “Germans believed in purity” isn’t the best hill to die on…
@@Workerbee-zy5nx first of all, a non-turbo 944 base model isn’t a rare or particularly sought after car. And secondly, I already have a 4x4 Land Rover. The fact that you’re equating a sports car with mild all terrain tires to a purpose built off-road 4x4 tells me you don’t know much about off-road vehicles. Enjoy keeping your 944 stock, like Ferdinand intended.
