Daily Slideshow: Master Tuning: Porsche Edition Part 1
Heres everything you need to know:
Rear Sway Bars are VERY Important
Due its famous rear-mounted flat six the 911 has a weight distribution that is very rear bias. Because of this, the way you tune is slightly unconventional. Robi explains: Chassis stability starts at the back of the car, not the front of the car. It’s so important for the rear of the 911 to have a good sway bar. It’s the stiffest part of the chassis and allows the car to stay flat. Most of your sway bar tuning on a 911 is going to be done at the rear.
Tip: Rear bar tuning is the foundation for many handling characteristics. Keep reading to find out how…
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Set the Bar Higher
As in previous issues, the accomplished tuner gives the nod to OEM Porsche racing parts over anything else. Robi: You want the blade adjustable cup sway bar from Porsche for several reasons. The main one is that it’s easy to adjust. The easier something is to adjust the more often you will adjust it looking for speed. If it’s tough to adjust you’ll probably just leave it alone.
Tip: If you’re building a project car or installing any part that you might need to get access to at the track make it as easy as possible to get to! This will free up your brain to focus on driving faster!
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Costs?
After doing a little digging on my own a set of adjustable bladed bars were found for around $1,600 to $2,000 new. If you’re relatively new to the sport this is good information to know, but not exactly necessary. A bladed bar is for the more seasoned racer who knows how to change the setup of the car based on track conditions and a host of other factors. Robi elaborates…
Tip: Don’t buy junk!
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Surface Grip and Traction
Robi: The bar I mentioned before is designed around a car that weighs 2,500lbs with 500 horsepower. IMSA Cup Spec with full slick tires. With any race car you’re going to generally start on a softer setting at the rear and as you get the rear stiffer and stiffer it will start to slide into the corner. You bring the rear stiffness up until you are comfortable with the rate the rear slides.
Tip: Slightly “loose” cars are usually driven by guys who run up front. It takes time to get comfortable with a setup like this. Always start soft and make gradual adjustments. The more testing and seat time the better!
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Corner Exit and Adjustments (continued)
Robi: You want the front bar to unwind slightly faster than the rear bar. This allows the car under throttle to gently push as it exits the corner. It’s easier to drive a light push off the corner than it is to drive oversteer off the corner.
Tip: A ton of push is bad, but slides kill just as much time on the stopwatch. The bladed bars allow you to fine tune handling not only to driving ability and tire grip but also track conditions and unexpected weather.
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Conclusions
After speaking to Robi for several hours and diving into some of the finer points of Porsche tuning it’s pretty clear that a bladed bar is the way to go for the more serious racer. If you’re serious about driving fast these are the types of things you have to start to consider. Ranges of adjustability are important in the quest to extract seconds off the clock in real time and allow a driver to go faster than the next guy. What do you want to know about when it comes to Porsche tuning? Let me know in the comments below!
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For help keeping your Porsche running right, please see our how-to section in the forum.