[flash]

lol - from my perspective, if there are any complications, then it did not go well. wrong bolts. had to grind the brackets. that's not good. in the first batch, i failed to compensate for failed motor mounts. but since then, there have been no complications. this is the first. i'm pretty bummed.



can you take a close up shot of the caster block, showing the face of it? i'm curious to see if somebody installed something from an earlier model, because none of the other installations required any grinding.

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[tamathumper]

Will do. I'll be pretty cheesed off if there are funky parts on there.

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[tamathumper]

Test drive for a half hour indicates the car is much more "solid" and/or "rigid", e.g. it has a very "planted" feel to it now. This sort of thing is hard to describe, of course.



The rigidity has its pluses and minuses, as it transmits more road vibration through the steering wheel and I sense more vibration through the shifter, not unlike a very mild balance shaft misalignment Another way to put it might be "harsher", as road surface imperfections are more apparent and the radar detector tends to dance on the windshield a bit more now. This is the trade-off for the car being much more responsive and holding the corners better, as I took an empty rotary at high speed without changing lanes or any tire-squealing drama, and the car took it with unmitigated aplomb. The back end slipped just a bit, but very predictably, and there was very little body rolling. Some is to be expected with 16" tires.



This is the fourth and final brace, and with the 17" wheels being installed next week, it will probably be about as "solid" as I am willing to put up with.

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[tamathumper]

flash, there is "a website" with better pictures of the caster mounts than I would be able to take. I've verified these are the mounts on my car, and it shows them compared to a newer part number that has since replaced the originals.



It's at "http://members.you-know-what-list.com/menelaos/castermounts.html"



... and here's a picture from that site...







I'll probably be replacing my mounts anyway because I'm putting on the 17" wheels and the rubber in them looks aged. Hopefully the 70mm bolts will still be appropriate.



The Technical Service Bulletin which calls for upgrading the caster mounts when installing 17" wheels is for 944-series cars, and I'm assuming I already have (or will receive) the appropriate mounts when I order new ones. I also believe I have the appropriate eccentric and nut. There are some posts on other forums about RS Barn not recommending the 968 mounts as they are prone to failure, but I don't see that other ones are available nowadays.



If that is not the case, would someone kindly let me know?

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[flash]

the 968 mounts are not "prone" to failure. being a webbed design, they are more compliant than the solid rubber block. this allows for less steering issues, but also means that the rubber will get a lot more exercise. that generally means they don't last as long. it is pretty much the design that other manufacturers have gone to as well.



that does explain the issue you had though.

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[flash]

by the way, i am happy you noted the improvement in handling. the bracing can make certain other rattles and such suddenly make themselves known, but they are generally easy to deal with, and in the end, you have a quieter car.

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[tamathumper]

UPDATE: I took the car in for an alignment two weeks ago and I want to make the observation for anyone else wondering about this, that you should *definitely* ensure your shop is savvy about your braces before they begin work aligning your car. I actually recommend *removing* the braces before taking it in.



The Porsche dealer was unable to get the caster settings I wanted, because IMHO they failed to loosen the lower brace, and in any event they would not have known to take up the slack plus 1/2 turn without my instructions anyway.



Since being aligned, my car was exhibiting what I believe to be "cowl shake" for the first time. It never shook with the 16's on, nor with the 17's prior to the alignment. When I verified my brace settings yesterday, the lower brace was at an unknown setting, but I firmed it up correctly. Then I adjusted the top brace (having loosened it before doing the lower one) and found that it was actually 2 turns or more into tension vs. the recommended 1. I've not had the opportunity to test it more than the drive to work this morning, but I think getting my braces back to recommended settings has done a lot to eliminate the cowl shake I was experiencing.



I believe I'm describing cowl shake correctly - it is the feeling that the front of the car is shaking alternately left and right, or sometimes the feeling that one or both of the front tires is bouncing like a ball. A bit like a wheel out of balance, but more left-to-right than that, and more felt through the car than through the steering wheel.



I was taking a rotary at a spirited pace last week, and it's a complicated and fun bit of roadway in that the rotary is tight, and transitions from banked inward to banked outward and a sharp downhill turn to the right all at the same time. I came onto the gas at the bank transition and the top of the drop, and the front end started shaking quite a lot - very unnerving... I'll probably go take that same stretch of road in the next week or so, and if the car isn't sorted I'll report back.

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[flash]

actually, the 1/2 turn is only to take up slack, it is not to take up slack, and then add preload. that's why the instructions say to do it by hand. you get a better feel for it that way.



all adjustments of the braces, especially the strut tower brace, need to be done with the car's weight on its wheels. 2 turns is huge. i am actually going to amend the instructions to clearly state the car must be on its wheels, and i think i am going to eliminate instruction regarding preload turns, as it tends to lead to over-tightening. i've heard people say that if a little is good then more is better, and it isn't. all i want to do is eliminate slack, and very slightly predispose the brace to flex in the direction that is least likely to hit anything, which is generally in the upward direction.



as for not getting the amount of caster you might be looking for, sometimes you have to actually loosen the bolts on the caster blocks and move the blocks themselves. i just went through this, and regardless of having marked the block locations, and having put them in "exactly" the same spot per the marks, we ended up short on caster, and had to actually move the blocks outward to give it more.



regarding the cowl shake, that sounds odd but is not that odd if you think about it. preload of braces is a problem. they had to add weights to the tops of the strut mounts to deal with a bit of this shake issue. it seems that the strut towers are not as supple as they might want to be. this is one of the reasons i was so careful in designing the brace. i had to work with something that should have been beefed up to begin with.

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[tamathumper]

I did take up the slack by hand and continue 1/2 turn, as directed. I do want to double-check the upper brace now, however, to ensure it's correct with the weight on the wheels.



The mechanic indicated that he did loosen the caster blocks to try to get more caster, but even then he was unable to meet my specs, which were the "moderate" ones from your post many moons ago. As I recall, they were (in my words) stock | minimal | moderate | maximum.

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[flash]

hmmm - you should not have a problem getting that much caster if nothing is bent or damaged. what did you end up with?

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[tamathumper]

I'll have to grab the sheet later tonight. As you recall, it was different enough from side to side that I need to see if I can adjust the caster tab on the driver's side.



Update: I re-did the upper brace just now, and I believe it was under just a bit of compression as opposed to tension, because I had the car hanging in the air when I tightened it before... time for *another* test drive.

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[mbardeen]

[quote name='tamathumper' timestamp='1347311843' post='132485']

Update: I re-did the upper brace just now, and I believe it was under just a bit of compression as opposed to tension, because I had the car hanging in the air when I tightened it before... time for *another* test drive.

[/quote]



I love tinkering with my car, exactly for this reason.. Just so I can take it for "test drives"! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/3gears.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/EmoticonCar.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[judge]

Well done Tama! From your post of July 22 with your To Do list.....Oill Cooler Duct???? What gives?

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[Cloud9...68]

[quote name='judge' timestamp='1347317200' post='132488']

Well done Tama! From your post of July 22 with your To Do list.....Oill Cooler Duct???? What gives?

[/quote]

I can't speak for Tama, but my oil cooler duct was cracked in a couple of places (I replaced my oil cooler with Pete's dual cooler set-up, which required fabricating new, larger ducts).

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[tamathumper]

Don't know what's up with the oil cooler duct being cracked, it was that way when I got it. The oil cooler *itself* is fine, just the plastic duct that leads to it is cracked. I've had the new part in a box for months, but I haven't had to take the batwing (front apron) off since this spring, so I haven't dug into it just for that one little piece. Getting the front screws off is easy, but those two bolt/nuts in front of the wheels are a real PITA.

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[tamathumper]

Final Update: The steering and handling is *perfect* now. With the braces (re)adjusted, there is no drama at all, no wobble, no cowl shake. Everything is balanced and predictable, better than ever.

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[flash]

i love it when a plan comes together

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[vliegwielolaf1234]

Installed the D1R brace together with the SC , and to see what a difference it makes , went for a drive today .





Since i have to behave 4000rpm and half throttle max , stopped half way and loosend the brace on one side and drove off again , then installed and preloaded it according the instructions , DID THIS TO FEEL THE DIFFERENCE .



I really did not expected that much from a brace ,but it really makes a difference and the front end feels a lot better .

So now i have an other problem , should i get the lower brace as well ??



An other thing with this brace , it looks great , most of these braces are steel ugly and a poor fit , at least the ones have seen for the 944/968 .



<img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/clap.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/clap.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/3gears.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[Rap]

I did and again you will feel the difference. If its not your daily drive and depending on what you drive you will be disappointed in that car because it is so loose!

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[DaveN]

Definitely have to install the lower brace to complement the upper one. It's like a bra with only one boob, it sort of works but could be much better when used properly ;-)

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