I converted my car to RWD a couple of weeks ago. I took about 4 hours or so and was not in a hurry. I didn't have a lift just a couple of jack stands. I saved my original axles intact. Boots are still pliable and look like new, as does everything I removed. With the 3 plastic under panels removed all the hoses and lines looked new as well. My car has 28K miles, has see a slight rain once or twice in going on 6 years of my ownership and is from Las Vegas before that.

Everything was fairly simple to remove but more work than I originally thought. all those screws and clips, cross members and such. It seems when working lying on my back I'd just had a couple of cups of strong coffee, just like working up side down removing my clutch booster spring.

Anyway, I've had a chance to drive my car a few times and rather aggressively to get a feel for it. I like it overall a lot better. The steering feels more like my C2 but still slightly heavier and I think it has something to do with the wider rear track and wider tires. Still a lot less trucky and heavy feeling than the AWD. I don't know how C4, C4S guys can like the way their cars handle. That was my major ***** since the day I bought my car.

The power and throttle response is amazingly very noticeably better. The car will break traction quite easily under throttle and the rear weight bias is more noticeable. The car feels more 911ish which is what I like and why I bought it. The Metzger motor, the Cabriolet and the 996 were what I wanted this time in a Porsche. The AWD was a liability to be dealt with later. The Turbo wasn't a necessity but the GT3 motor wasn't available in a Cab, so Turbo it was.

So, mod wise, I did the coil overs, made my dog bones, lowered about 1 3/4" all around, rear stiffer adjustable sway bar, clutch booster spring delete, 996 SSK, and now RWD. Everything else is all stock and easily put back 100% for future sale.

As a former motorcycle road race pilot with hundreds of races under my belt over a decade, I feel I have what's needed to determine how my car responds under very aggressive driving situations. I love driving fast and am relaxed and composed doing so. I'll find out where any short comings are on the street or in the canyons for my driving style. Let me emphasize that I don't take chances or drive recklessly or drive aggressively where some one can witness me doing so, unless it's just with one other driver who consents.

I did notice with the weight loss up front that my headlights aim slightly higher and more like stock. The went lower when I did the coil overs and lowering. I think the rake angle increases which may have slowed the steering a tad, although as stated before it is lighter and more responsive. I may raise the rear up 1/8 to 1/4" to quicken the steering a bit and see how it feels.

All things considered I like it much better as a RWD car.

 

i think it better suits the car this way. it certainly increases the "fun quotient". congrats on a job well done.

 

put a wavetrac lsd and then you will truly love how much fun the rwd conversion is!

 

holy cow. rwd w/out lsd and open diff is a recipe for wheelspinning backward retardation. must have an lsd.

2nd the wavertrac for durability, price, and superior function for any dual duty/street car running rwd.

 

I've searched all over and I cannot find a tutorial for the front drive delete that is complete.
Apparently their are two types of deletes. An easy one where you just remove the drive shaft and front drive and another which I hear is the right way where you remove all this stuff and the replace hubs with GT 2 hubs and new adjustable shocks and a Wavetrac diff. I can do everything but the Wavetrac my self. Anyone know where I can find a very detailed tutorial on this? Thank you.

 

they must be all over the site, although sometimes an actual google search of the topic returns thread results better than the 6psd ones. odd but true.

as for me, i originally simply removed the cardan shaft which is the "poor man's" 996 turbo rendition of going "rwd" but to date have found nothing wrong with it, the caveat being that once i discovered the joys and efficiencies relative to power to the ground in my daily driving condition, it became immediately apparent that the LSD of ONE TYPE ( gear/clutch plate ) or another was absolutely essential for maximizing this new found power to the wheels efficiency. so i installed the wavetrac after much research and the realization i did not "need" a $4000.00 guard to go with my "stock" g'box ( albeit minty fresh so again, upon instantly realizing the frustrations and INefficiencies of running rwd open diff by simply removing the cardan, i opted to leave the front diff hanging and have not yet swapped out for the gt2/3 uprights/stubbed axles etc etc. this setup still suits my needs handily and is instantly reversible back to awd and would STILL retain the wavertrac rwd! ). win/win.

so.. while i DO have many of the ( gt2/3 ) parts in my possession to fully "complete" the rwd conversion "properly" as the geometry isn't 100% for the 996 turbo front end to be running rwd with the 96turbos cantilevered uprights ( different to accommodate the space the front diff requires? ) i am a bit on the fence about changing ALL the front bits out as a REVERSION back to stock is an hour job as i sit today, and i actually favor the weight of the front end with the diff there given i have removed the spare/tools etc ) and i don't need any further "lightness" up front ( in the way i drive ) as i have much power to the fully 2WD ( as opposed to 1 wheel drive lol ) of the car running with simply the cardan removed, and no rear lsd and the front weight in corners adds stability, particularly since i lost a 1/2 inch going back to 8.5 from my previous 9" front wheel.

anyway.. rwd must include an lsd but not "necessarily" a full stubbed axle/uprights/coilover conversion, but for tracking, yeah. for canyon carving and fwy onramps? nah.

this post was brought to you by a minor overdose of caffeine. hope it helps somewhat. just my .02

 

Very good description Mark, love the "minor caffeine overdose" bit.
Well just had my hit its 5.40am here and my off to join another 6 buddies with their cars to carve up some country roads for the next 6 hours.

 

I found the RWD FULL conversion one of the most noticeable mods I did to my car. I found the lack of traction to be the most annoying. With your RWD conversion, the car is a "1 wheel squeal" now. Anything over 550rwhp, will be useless for any aggressive driving...and a terror in the rain. As was said, invest in a LSD and good tires, and the car will be an animal.

 

Wow! What a reply. Thanks 02996TTX50. I think I'll do the same set up as you. Wavetrac about $1300. right? BTW I always enjoy reading your posts here and on RL--constantly brilliant and witty!
Can I send you a pound of Graffeo coffee?

 

its my pleasure to help, if i can. i'm helped a lot here myself. though there is no help for my continual post count

but yes, you'll be astonished at the wavetrac and rwd, and the transformative difference. yes, it's about $1300, plus install. please just share your results once done!

cheers! and thanks for the kind words

 

What is the part number for the wavetrac lsd? The website was a little confusing when i was looking. Thanks!!

 

From memory its the 6MT gearbox order and tell them ur model u will get the right diff. Best mod ive done.

 

+1. some manage to inadvertently order the one for n/a 996? which is not the one. not sure why. this is what you'll want. part# 40.309.160WK

http://www.wavetrac.net/application.htm

 

thx man.. get the wavetrac and you'll cut your drive time down to five hours! lol

 

This is so true ^ he does this without even thinking about it.

Perfect example right here below.