Rear chassis flex. What do you think?, Discovery prepping for Road America next week |
|
Porsche, and the Porsche crest are registered trademarks of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG.
This site is not affiliated with Porsche in any way. Its only purpose is to provide an online forum for car enthusiasts. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. |
|
Rear chassis flex. What do you think?, Discovery prepping for Road America next week |
vintage914racer |
Jul 7 2023, 08:34 PM
Post
#1
|
Member Group: Members Posts: 436 Joined: 28-December 03 From: Minneapolis, MN Member No.: 1,473 |
Paranoia has set in as I'm nut and bolting the 914 before Road America next week. I'm hoping I can some second opinions.
A little background. My 914 has been a track car for nearly the entirely of it's life. She's been used and abused, but generally has been a reliable steed. Over the years chassis reinforcement and modifications have been made. Notably, the RR (pass) rear suspension console was replaced after the original tore (which is seemingly pretty normal). What I'm noticing. After getting my car up on stands and prepping/inspecting for the next event I noticed a small amount of tire wear on my inner driver's left fender. I initially attributed it to bumping up to wider tires last Fall (225 Hoosiers vs. 205 Kumhos), but started investigating further to make sure there wasn't something else upstream. When I have the car on jack stands and put pressure on the LR wheel, there's what I consider quite a bit of flex at the outer A-arm mount and forward into the rear long. You can see it in the attached video. As a point of comparison, when I do the same on the RR/passenger rear wheel there is some flex, but not as much. It should be noted that I had the inner suspension console replaced on the passenger side a few years ago after the old one tore, so in theory it should be stronger. The LR doesn't show any signs of tearing. It's also reinforced with stress bars on the outside and inside. Left Rear Flex Video (the side I'm worried about): https://youtu.be/NZDbDg22dFI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZDbDg22dFI Right Rear Flex Video (the "control" if you will): https://youtu.be/bQMBecKZ6Yc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQMBecKZ6Yc My questions are as follows: 1) How much flex is normal? Is this outside what is normal? 2) My flex test doesn't necessarily translate to how torsion is applied to the chassis when the car is on the ground, so am I worrying about something that isn't relevant? Wouldn't the applicable stress while driving get suppressed in part by the rear shock? 3) Would you be concerned about running the car? Mid-term I'm going to get the LR console replaced for peace of mind, get the reinforcements cleaned up and tidy. The question is, should I forego my race and get it repaired before running. |
vintage914racer |
Jul 19 2023, 10:31 AM
Post
#2
|
Member Group: Members Posts: 436 Joined: 28-December 03 From: Minneapolis, MN Member No.: 1,473 |
Quick update after attending the WeatherTech International Challenge at Road America last weekend.
The car ran and handled phenomenally. Road America was repaved last fall and is incredibly smooth. And fast. I consistently ran my best laps there ever. Not a huge surprise, but the cars handling was as consistent as ever, now that it's no longer a flex-flyer. |
Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 22nd November 2024 - 07:55 AM |
All rights reserved 914World.com © since 2002 |
914World.com is the fastest growing online 914 community! We have it all, classifieds, events, forums, vendors, parts, autocross, racing, technical articles, events calendar, newsletter, restoration, gallery, archives, history and more for your Porsche 914 ... |