968 castor mounts

[appletonn]

This may not be news to the more experienced 944'ers amongst you, but I have just ordered some 968 castor mounts to better control the 18" rims on my turbo and it turns out that these are the only type now available for the 944 - cannot buy the old type any more.

That came from Berlyn and having checked the latest PET listing, it is the 968 part that is listed - 951 341 023 01.

Or was I the only person who didn't know that gem of information...??![8D]

 

[edh]

quite topical...

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/showthread.php?t=409512

 

[morris944s2john]

I'm thinking I might as well change those too when i have the wishbones off for refurbishment of the ball joints.

 

[Hilux]

I have just ordered some 968 castor mounts to better control the 18" rims on my turbo

They dont offer anything more than less rubber so less movement. This will not correct out of alignment wheels or geometry (so you may not se a benefit however it is considered that larger wheels exaggerate any deficiencies and the original mount allows greater movement.

 

[appletonn]

ORIGINAL: Hilux

I have just ordered some 968 castor mounts to better control the 18" rims on my turbo

They dont offer anything more than less rubber so less movement. This will not correct out of alignment wheels or geometry (so you may not se a benefit however it is considered that larger wheels exaggerate any deficiencies and the original mount allows greater movement.

No alignment deficiencies as such but just looking to tighten up the front end response, especially in light of those 18" wheels.

Cheers

 

[Diver944]

Here's a pic showing the difference between the old caster mount at the bottom and the new version at the top. The old one has twice as much rubber and allows the rear of the wishbone to wander much more than the new version. How much is Bert selling them for now Nick? I bought mine about 5 years ago and they were £30 each back then.

IIRC they only fit the post 85.5 cars that have alloy wishbones and oval dashes (double check that point before buying)

 

[Big Dave]

Once youve fitted them,. Its wise to get the alighnment checked, as it does alter the caster etc..All 944/968,s benefit from getting it checked, they drive SO much better afterwards.....After all, 18" tyres dont come cheap....[][]
Yes its a common upgrade.....

 

[sawood12]

It's a no-brainer for me. Your current bushes are probably way way past their best and for £60 it's a cheap upgrade and takes about 20mins to install. Best to do an alignment check afterwards but not essential. Increasing castor is not going to massively effect anything, though your toe might be slightly affected, but as Paul H said - unless you've had it checked recently you're probably way overdue for checking the alignment anyway.

Don't expect a night and day differece (unless your previous bushes are absolutely shot) but I'm sure I detected a slight improvement in the sharpness at initial turn-in.

 

[mik_ok]

Ours was night & day from a tramlining perspective. Less movement in the bush stops the wheel reacting to cambers excessively.

Tramlining fully banished with new front boots, and front end response was excellent thereafter.

 

[appletonn]

Bert has them for £32 plus vat

Having new steering shaft so front wheel alignment being checked anyway[]

 

[Tam Lin]

Has anyone fitted the castor-mount brace (i.e. a brace under the car connecting the castor mounts together?) I believe KLA sell something like that, and various people in the US (on Pelican and Rennlist) seem quite enthusiastic.

 

[Big Dave]

Its actually RS Barn that sell the castor brace.. ive got one on order....[][][]

 

[Peter Empson]

Nice one Dave, please let us know how you get on with it.

 

[Big Dave]

Will Do.....[][][][]

 

[appletonn]

Ok, so new steering shaft and 968 castor mounts now fitted![]

Old mounts didn't look too bad on first inspection but the rubber had definitely started to age and crack when you looked closely. It is striking just how much less rubber (thus compliance) there is in the new type of mounts compared to the old type, as Paul highlighted.

First impressions are that there is less tendency to tramline now and the steering is definitely more 'fluid', which is probably the steering shaft as the old one was pretty tired and the UJs were tending to bind slightly at certain points.

I have also had the toe in changed slightly, with a little more of a track bias for better turn in but without going too extreme and thus becoming too 'darty' for road use

It's now even better that before.[][]

Oh and have also fitted the 3 bar fuel regulator for a little more peace of mind[8|]

 

[Suffolk944]

I refer the honourable gentleman to this thread of a couple of days ago....

http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=587594

 

[Diver944]

I would definitely do it Scotty and you will notice a difference. The original 21 year old bushes have quite a thick layer of rubber inside the mount and this will have degraded quite badly so that your wishbone 'wanders' around as you drive along. That design has actually been discontinued now and replaced with what we call the '968' bushes. You can see from the picture below that the new design has much less rubber, this means that your wishbone is secured more firmly and your car will drive much more consistently, regardless of what wheel size you have fitted.

The old design is the bottom one in this picture

 

[JamesBall]

My MOT tester* last week said that there was "movement at the top of the suspension turret" at the front of my Turbo. Would this be caused degraded caster mounts?

* It wasn't a failure point, or even an advisory

 

[Diver944]

ORIGINAL: James Ball

Would this be caused degraded caster mounts?

No, that's more likely just to be the standard way that the top mounts move when you swing the steering from side to side. If you look closely at them they are a huge rubber bung and there is a lot of movement as you move the wheel

 

[zcacogp]

Sc0tty,

If you have the £100 or so spare to do it, it is WELL worth while. The mounts hold the back of the front wishbones (and hence the front wheels) much more steady when on the road. It may not sound like much, but a couple of mm of movement there makes a large difference to the 'feel' of the car. 968 mounts are more rigid and hold things where they should be much more tightly.

(Beware tho' - your car will no longer be standard!)


Oli.