Pelican Parts Bulletin Boards

Name	Post
alan s	Does a FAQ exist on tracking a 914? I can't seem to find one. If one doesn't exist, then I'm looking for info on what to do to get a '76 914 ready for drivers ed. I've tracked a 911 and 944S2, so I'm not looking for change the brake fluid/sticky tires type of info. What I'm looking for is aux. oil cooler, 19mm master cylindar, etc. All info would be greatly appreciated. alan
Chuck Wills	Alan,I have not seen a 914 track FAQ, but I can probably lend some advice. Since you've done this before, I won't bore you with the "adjust your valves, change your oil" stuff. It's a pretty broad questions, and what it comes down to is : How much money do you have? There are lots of go-fast goodies for the 914 that you can throw money at. I'll just hit the basic stuff in this reply. Oil cooler: really good idea. Many kits available. I've heard conflicting opinion on the deep sump kits -- more oil = less oil starvation in corners, but much less ground clearance with these kits. It would suck to hit something and loose all of your oil. Get some killer brake pads, like PFC 83's and remove the splash sheilds from all 4 corners. Think about stiffer rear springs and a larger front sway bar. Get a good 4 wheel alignment: front: -2 deg camber, 6.5 deg caster 0 toe rear: -2 deg camber 1/16 toe in per side. These settings work pretty well for me. 19mm master is an o.k. upgrade, but it won't shorten your stopping distance - just make the pedal firmer. 5 pt harnesses are highly suggested. You can put them in without too much trouble. There are many other things you can do, but this is a good start. Street cars are full of compromises that keep them from being great track cars. How many compromises are you willing to deal with? --Chuck
JP Noonan	I don't know if they would work on a 914, but there is a pressurized resivoir thingy that holds about 2 quarts of oil. It is designed for American V8's which are also wet sump engines. Somehow it is plumed into the pressure side of the oil circut, fills will 1-2 qt. of oil, when oil pressure drops it dumps the oil in to the oil galley, then as pressure increases it resets itself with oil. They are not cheap $200-300 but they drop hang below the car and seem better than a deep sump, however a deep sump (more oil) will help cool down the engine. Leave a message if you want me to dig up who makes it and where to get it (Pelican of coarse).
MJHanna	There is a small cup that attaches to the bottom of the case. this is a must have item. In all the years I have be racing 914's I have yet to meet anyone who has hit anything with it ontheir engine. but I have meet several people with bad bearing do to no oil from not having one. The resever is called an Accusump it hold 3 qts oil and is added insurance. You should start with the supension first. Replace all of the bushings with plastic. Are you trying to make an autocross car or a true track car? Change your rear spring to a min of 140lbs. There are several torsion/sway bar combs you could try. Change the shocks. I run Koni Racing shocks, with adjustable rear holders, in order to weight balance the car.
Dave_Darling	These are all good suggestions. I would, however, like to take the opposite tack. What is the absolute minimum you can do to have a track-able 914? First and foremost, safety mods. Read the rules for each and every sanctioning body that you would like to race with. These will give you a list of the minimum safety equipment required. Likely items for the big track include driver's gear (driving suit, socks, SA-rated helmet, etc.) and a metal-to-metal mounted fire extinguisher. Since a 914 is capable of being an "open" car, a roll bar may also be required. Autocrossing will generally not require any safety equipment that wasn't on the car when it was built, unless you start to really modify your car. If there is something drastically wrong with your car (lots of flex from lots of rust, lots of oil leaks, bad alignment, etc.) you should fix that before you start using the car hard. Next, engine preservation. An Accusump or oil trap will keep your oil light from coming on in the turns. It is worthwhile, unless you don't mind tearing your engine down every couple of years. Again, read the rules. Some organizations don't allow this sort of stuff in some classes. For instance, this will put a 914 in CSP for SCCA Solo II, where an unmodified car will be totally uncompetitive. That is all you really have to do to your car. I autocross my car with the PCA in this configuration, and have a blast. I've done this for four years now, and still haven't moved up the modification ladder. I am now considering a couple of time trial events at the Big Tracks, with the car "set up" like this. Heck, I don't even have sticky tires! Speaking of tires and alignments, camber restrictions for my local stock class are -1 deg front, -1.5 deg rear. I find this keeps the tires wearing more or less evenly on the inner and outer shoulders. A stock 914 can be a blast to track. More money will usually make you go faster, but there's still a lot of fun factor to be had without! --DD
Wayne at Pelican Parts	Perhaps if we get enough input from everyone, we can turn this thread into a FAQ that can be published on the website? -Wayne
MJHanna	I don't know if a FAQ would be possible as DD points out it depends on the "Rules" as to what you can or can not do. There are basic setups and combinations that do work and could be used, check your local rulebook before spending money on any change. Yes, you can run a "Stock Car' with no modification and no sticky tires, however you will not be competitive. If your goal is to go put- putting around a track do not do any thing to your car. In fact, take your Suburban around the track cause you can't be competitive in it either. What you will find in any rulebook is that some modifications are allowed even in the Stock classes. If you talk to someone running in the stock class they will tell you the things that they have done to the car. Why? Because most people running like to have competition and if they can get another car on the track, Great! (at least in PCA). When I started setting up my car I ask several different people what to use such as torsion bars, springs, swaybars, etc. I did not have to reinvent the wheel to do this. 914's have been running on tracks for over 27 years. Does it cost money? Yes, do I have fun? Yes, next question. There is an order that you can start with before major tweaks they are: Tires, brakes (new Rotors, carbon pads), suspension bushings, sway bar, torsion bars and rear springs and shocks, you can add components as you go. All of this items are FREE in PCA rules, (I will restrict my comments to PCA not SCCA ok?) Any good running car in stock class will have these items done. However, if you can't drive they will NOT help. I am assuming you have a baseline on how the car handles without any modifications and that you
Dave_Darling	A couple of things. First, I forgot to mention that, if you drive your 914 hard, you should always overfill the oil by about 1/2 quart. This gives you just a bit more volume of oil to absorb heat from the motor, and also gives you just a little extra time before lateral G's can pull your oil away from the oil pickup tube. Second, autocrossing or tracking a totally-stock 914 is nothing like tootling around in a Suburban. In general, the main point of these events is to have FUN. The 914 is a heck of a lot of fun without any mods or sticky tires. Yes, it is more fun when you go faster. Yes, it is more fun if you are competing with similarly-prepared cars--especially if you beat them. But a stock 914 is still a very enjoyable drive. A decent driver in a stock 914 won't be able to take TToD by any stretch, but that is generally reserved for very good drivers who spend BUCKETS of money on their cars. But I regularly finish about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way up from the bottom in overal standings. There are people I beat regularly--some of whom drive much better-prepared cars than I do. Finally, I will reiterate the point about reading the rules. SCCA is different from PCA as already noted, but not all PCA Zones or Regions are the same. Zone 7 PCA has a stock class that is much more stock than even the SCCA rules allow. No sticky tires, alignment restrictions, and tire size restrictions. That is the category I compete in. And I have a couple of other drivers with similarly (non-)prepared cars to compete against. We enjoy ourselves, and are spending our time and money improving the loose nut behind the wheel--not the car. As I said, my suggestions were a minimum. All else is optional. It will give your car the potential of going faster, and of being more fun to drive. But that's just the potential. --DD
MJHanna	I just remembered why I did not want to post anything. I back to lurking, adios muchacho's :{)
Wayne at Pelican Parts	GONG Let Round Two Begin!!! I love this stuff! -Wayne
Chuck Wills	I think we are all giving specific answers to a vague questions. Maybe we could catergorize it like this: If you just want to go out and have fun, then overfill the crank case a 1/2 quart and go have a ball. I autocrossed my car for 2 years in stock condition with NO sway bars -- it had body roll just like a Suburban! It was fun and I didn't have a ton of money in it. If you want to be competitive, pick your rule book and max your car out to the class limits. This route is more expenive. Maybe a lot more expensive depending on whose rules you decide to conform to. Any more fun? --That's a judgement call you have to make for your self.