What do I need to make this work

[EvilOval]

Here's the story....I'm almost done with gathering all the bits and pieces to do the 944 swap for my 1302. I've got the complete rear disc setup from a 84 n/a....and I've got the whole setup (strut to rotor) in the front from the same car. I've got a set of 1303 control arms....the balljoints....swaybar....and Maxx Struts. I just got a sweet deal on a front and rear set of 944T calipers (fantastic looking....and in excellant condition for 1/2 the price of (1) caliper brand new). How can I mount these in place of the single pot N/A units. Correct me if I'm wrong...but I think I've read some where that the rear caliper will bolt on....but the front doesn't look like it will....the hole pattern seems alittle larger. Can I fashion a bracket that will mount this caliper to the existing spindle (or will I have to change it to the turbo spindle)? And can I run the N/A rotors....or do I have to use the Turbo ones? Any help on this would be great.

Thank you,

This is where Porsche let us VW people down. They changed the 944 suspension, front and rear, in 1986. The late rear parts do interchange with the early car but the front is a different story. The late mounting flange, on the spindle, was changed for the strut mount. Also, the caliper mount was increased from 76mm to 94mm (as you said it's wider). Some 944's even have a 19mm ball joint! The Turbo spindles don't bolt to our struts. To answer your question in order to make this work modifications/fabrication will be needed.

[EvilOval]

I figured that I would have to fabricate an adapter for the front caliper to mount. All the parts I have are from an 84 so....my thought was to go ahead with the the changeover and use the single pot calipers for the time being until I was ready to change them over to the 4 pot. The main questions are:

-Has anyone made a caliper adapter/mount....or have any ideas on a design? I'm sort of thinking a similar bracket to Michael Ghia's (I hope I spelled that right) but I may have to put a notch in it to realign it with the rotor.

-And speaking of rotors....which one would I use for the front? Would an 86' turbo rotor bolt to the early setup or will I have to use the N/A rotor and center the caliper (I believe that the N/A ones are thinner and smaller than the Turbo rotors).

You just need to fabricate something like this or buy it from MBT.



I don't know if the NA disc will fit the Turbo hub but I will check for you since I have these parts in stock. However, it will be next week sometime because I will go out of town tomorrow and not return until Monday... or so.

Okay, the bolt pattern for the 951 & 944 disc/hub are the same so yes it will bolt up. However, the 951 disc is thicker than the 944 and the 944 hub is thicker than the 951. I take this that the 944 thicker hub together with the 951 thicker disc would be too thick for the spindle offset to allow the caliper to be centered over the disc, that is if it would all bolt together in the first place. In short, it doesn't look like it would work.

944 = 944 NA
951 = 944 Turbo

[EvilOval]

Thanks for your reply Superman....For the time being I'm going to stick to the single pot calipers (these are more than enough to slow down the car). I would rather keep the car/myself and anyone else on the road in (1) piece then to pull something stupid...just for looks (4-pots in my opinion are overkill when it comes down to a street car)...the only benefits other than the improved braking and looks is the fact that its lighter than the single pot units. I've heard of people mounting the 4-pots on the 83-85 944 N/A rotors....with the warning to check the pads more often for wear (supposely they would just fall out of the caliper if they were to wear down to a certain point) I wouldn't be interested in this conversion if this was the case....but if there was an alternative pad the would compensate for the difference I would love to know about it. And thank you for the pic of the bracket for the calipers.

Originally posted by EvilOval
single pot calipers (these are more than enough to slow down the car)

just for looks (4-pots in my opinion are overkill when it comes down to a street car)

These statements are more true than people understand. In my opinion the single piston calipers and discs of the regular 944 are overkill.

[chigger]

I agree! Even though I am running 4 pot Wilwood calipers front and rear. I did it just to see if it could be done.

[Alex]

I agree to disagree.

If you think that way you could say that a 200hp motor is overkill too compared to a 120hp motor.

You will still have better braking....you get something in return.
The race beetle won against the race Porsche because of its brakes.

Alex

[MattKab]

Too much braking? Overkill? Bull****.

Traction and energy transfer. It's a case of performance potential. When getting 'tested' my stopping distances are measured in Angstroms :silly: (as is wear12months daily)

Every car can go 70mph, Biggest anchor wins in an emergency stop (CHECK MIRRORS)

Single pots don't do this:

[Sandeep]

Here we go again !

I think before you decide on what brakes you need, you have to look at your driving habits and what kind of life your GL will lead.

For a daily driver that doesn't see any track/autocross use, the single pots would be more than enough (even for autocrosses)

If you are going to be track racing your daily driver every weekend, then the 4 pots would suit you.

My .02

Sandeep

[MattKab]

It's the +>2" wheels that first set a GL Bug off, catch the eye. Big wheels need big brakes for those who step close. I blame my choice on watching the old germanlook.com screensaver for hours on end....

Sorry for the bad language earlier

Matt

[hot66]

matt, out of interest are those tyres your running 205/40's?

[MattKab]

215/40 and 225/45 at the back.

I have a good spreadsheet for tire dimensions, I can't remember where it is from. I could email it to you. PM me your address if you're interested through VZi or what ever.

Matt