What: An Elephant Racing quick release front strut bar
Why: The 911 was designed in 1964 and todays performance tires can exert a lot more force than anything the car was designed to see in normal operation. I am tracking the car and working on my auto-x chops and that means a lot of hard cornering with modern sticky tires. The issue is the tower tops will try and squeeze together in a corner, reducing negative camber when you need it most. Back then the factory used these kinds of supports when using the car in racing situations. One nice thing about running a 34 year old car is the equipment that is still for sale has generally been proven out over the years.
We've opted for the quick release style here in case the bar is noisy just driving around, gets in the way of stuff we need to stow in the frunk or does something unhelpful to the car's competitive class at a specific event. We can remove the bar in minutes with no tools this way as needed, whatever the reason.
The overall process is very simple, there are just a few key things to keep in mind that I will try to hit in the pics below.
Tools:
* dead-blow hammer
* screw driver (big and dull, ideally.)
* 8mm hex key to remove stock bolts
* 6mm hex key to install new bolts & torque wrench for the 6mm wrench
Basic process:
* Car should be on a flat surface with a full tank of gas. (21 gal @ 7lbs per gal is 147lbs) point being any pre-bias or misalignment you have at rest will be "enforced" by the strut bar once it is in. So make sure it is sitting how it really sits. Some folks have a full tank of gas and a driver on board.
* Remove rear mounting plates from the front shock towers.
* Clean up any residual "gunk" so that the new plates will make good contact.
* Bolt the new plates on
* Mount the bar, expanding it such that there is no pre-load. Pre-load would be mounting the bar under pressure (pushing out, or puling in) and you would have a hard time getting the pins in and out. The holes in the clevis and the mount should line up cleanly.
Pics:
Move the carpet out of the way. You will remove the 2 REAR bolts, not the front bolt. If you remove the front bolt you get to re-do the alignment. It's your call.
The bolts and plate will lift off, but the residual gummy stuff will likely be in the way of mounting the new plate
To remove excess "gunk", use a dead-blow hammer and the dullest screw driver you have around. Why? Deadblow hammers don't bounce. You're inside the frunk, you do not want to wreck the paint, dent the hood or hurt yourself. (do you?) Go slow, using the screwdriver on it's side you can tap gently and get the gunk out of the way. Slow and gentle is the key. Maybe wrap the screwdriver in painter's tape.
There we go...
This is what you have removed, roughly.
The new plates mount with the raised tab towards the rear (windshield). The only trick here is to make sure that the special Schnorr washers are placed with their convex side UP towards the head of the bolt. You can see the asymmetry in the washers below. They look like tiny ring gears, don't they? If you do drop one, just don't drop it on the driver's side where it will instantly get lost with the wiring harness, fuel filler, brakes and ventilation system. I don't even know what made me think of that... :)
Torque the new 6mm hex bolts to the value specified on the instructions.
Then, rotating the tube, expand the bar such that the clevis overlaps the hole in the mount and then place the pin through the hole. Do this on both sides and you're all set. The threads are opposing at each end so turning the tube will lengthen or shorten both ends at once. Magic.
And there we are. All done.
Follow Up:
It finally stopped raining here and I was able to take the car on errands this morning. The steering feels quicker and more accurate. I'll need to drive with the bar in and out to really see if it's confirmation bias or if we have really accomplished something. No rattles or other issues to report, pre-load is still 0. I can pull the pins out with minimal effort.
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