Front end patter

[Bazzer]

Not having had my 77' 911sc long I am not sure of what to expect of the car when cornering, I am an ex bike racer so know plenty about bike suspension and would describe the feel I get as a front end patter, this occurs when turning into the corner, this makes the car feel very nervouse and possibly about to start running wide, not a lot of good on a right hander when the bank starts looming[]

I have been told about the feel from the rear but what about the front?.

I have heard about fitting Turbo front end parts does this cure the nervouse feel or is there something else I can look at, this may just be the feel of a 911sc but would appreciate any light you guy's could throw my way.

Cheers Baz

 

[Chris_911]

Assuming dampers and bushes are all in good condition I'd suggest you get an aligment check with a known specialist. Where are you in the UK?

Turbo tie rods are a popular upgrade and supposedly improve the feel of the front end. I have a strut brace on my car which gives me slightly more confidence in the front end.

What you're noticing isn't how it should be. In good condition and well set up I believe these cars feel fabulously good - you either love them or you hate them, but the way the car seems to pivot around the driver.........

I've also found my car sensitive to tyres. The Avons the PO had fitted didn't inspire confidence - though I'm talking about overall grip rather than a specific front or rear 'problem'. The Goodyears it now wears are noticeably better.

Some real SC fans over on www.impactbumpers.com.

 

[Bazzer]

Cheers Chris for the info, not sure of the condition of the dampers and so on so I will need to get these checked, I live in the south west near Bath and know of the odd specialist but am wary of what they may charge when I could probably do a fair bit of the work myself, can you recomend anyone in my area where I will know I am getting a reasonable deal?.

Cheers Baz

 

[Chris_911]

Hi Baz

I'm in Cheltenham so not too far from you. There are a number of specialists in/around Bristol but I have no direct experience of them. All the servicing work (and anything else I don't feel able to tackle) has been done on my car by Francis Tuthill's workshop nr Banbury.

Try a search for previous posts. Steve Bull in Devizes quite often gets a recommendation.

 

[jerry911sc]

Hi Baz, Sounds like you might be pushing fairly hard in the corners? However, I don't think it should patter unless the suface is rippled/ uneven or adverse cambered. My car does not do that - but it has decent front tyres, reasonable rears, reasonable Bilsteins, reasonable dampers and the rear suspension is fairly good.

I think the guys are right - look over the whole suspension and tyre package carefully - perhaps get a good specialist to give it a test drive and a once over. Previous owners may have tinkered with the geometry to ill effect eg lowered it badly, added wheel spaces, changed wheel or tyre sizes.

The handling is obviously senstive to weight distribution - petrol, and passengers make a fair difference. If you push the car you can feel the difference in corner balance with the tool kit and spare or without. Again it is possible but unlikely that someone has changed the weight distribution by taking weight out eg replacing or losing a bumper.

Unsprung weight can be a factor if someone has fitted wheel spacers.

The conversion you mention is a turbo track rod conversion. It tightens up the front of the car and is well worth it.

It could be anyone of a number of things, but from what you've said I would look first at the tyres, second at the, second at the shocks, third at the wheel camber, then at the geometry. It would also be interesting to see if it still does it with a full tank of petrol, spare and toolkit.

Good luck.

 

[flat6buster]

I would not take my car to anyone other than Steve Bull in Devizes - totally trustworthy and not badly priced. I have used other so-called 'specialists' within a 20/30 mile radius of Bath and would not send a 30 year old Skoda to some of them. I also used when I lived in Bath Henrietta Mews garage for MOTs and other teeny tiny jobs and found them to be very good also - I believe the owner used to work at OPC as did Steve Bull.

 

[Bazzer]

Cheers guy's for that, I think I will sart with the tyres as I know these are not at their best and have probably been on the car for years, the previouse owner had the car 8 years and only covered 200 miles in the last 3 years.
After that I will head to Steve bulls in Devizes as this is the second time he's been recommended, once again an invaluable site.

Cheers Baz

 

[BLD]

Tyres certainly affect the cornering characteristics of an SC. Some months ago I had a long and informative discussion on the matter with the clubs technical guru, Jack at Autofarm. I took his advice and changed from Dunlop to Continental. The difference was most noticeable.

 

[Bazzer]

A Marcus race car eh, my dad used to build the road and most probably the race cars when they were built in Bradford On Avon Wiltshire around if not just before this period, and an old friend of ours used to be the test driver for them, mainly at Castle Combe one heck of a motor car!!!!!!!
What pressures do you run in yours continentals BLD ?

 

[BLD]

Small world Bazzer.
Pressures: Good question. At present 36 but I'm not sure this is the best value. It's OK for the area I live in where we have mostly minor roads and tight slow corners.

 

[bones]

36 front? Are you kidding you want no more than 30 in the front of an SC, I run without the spare and a slightly lower ride height than stock and I put in 28, Handles great. Maybe it is time to experiment with pressures , put 32 in the rear and 29 in the front and go from there. Theses cars are race-like sensitive to tyre pressure changes and uneven pressures across the 'axles'. When you get used to the handling you will be able to detect small differences in presssure and notice the effect it has, don't go too high at the front you will wreck the handling.