The '89 Carrera 4 and the '90-94 Carrera 2/4, type 964, marks the first significant change to the 911 since it's original design in 1965. Even though the look of the car is similar - if not identical (bumpers excluded) from the previous model, the car is about 90% new. By comparison, the 993 which appears completely different is only about 10% new from the 964. For the first time the 964 model has eliminated the torsion bar (other than the 959) which is a huge improvement over previous models. Other significant improvements are a new chassis design, better aerodynamics, a new more powerful 3.6 liter engine, the best braking system to date with ABS, and an AC/Climate control system that really works! Other changes include details such as the backlit gauges, power steering and dual airbags.

We recently obtained a '91 Carrera 2 to show owners what can be done to their 964's to modify and customize these cars.

We installed the "Big Red" brakes. These are the same brakes that are on the 3.6 Turbo with the exception of the rear rotors which are from the 964 RS and the M030 968. A shim is installed in the rear to make-up for the rotor thickness. The Big Red kit, which require 17" wheels, includes 4 piston calipers, drilled & vented front rotors, drilled rear rotors, pads, front caliper adapters, vibration dampers, stainless braided brake hoses, and all of the necessary hardware. The main reason to do the upgrade: if you have a high mileage car and require caliper replacement, or overhaul, and may be in need of pad and rotor replacement, or you just like the look of the 'reds' which is fantastic. The cost difference to switch to the Big Reds is not much over rebuilding the standard parts if the pads and rotors require replacement. Other choices would include a 993 caliper upgrade which will give you the drilled rotors and the calipers that can be painted in any color you choose with your choice of script on the caliper - Carrera, Carrera 4, Porsche, 964, etc. You can also choose to use the Brembo Performance Brake System which include 14" front floating rotors!

The factory European lights with an upgraded Hella Optilux bulb approach the performance of the Xenon lights for a fraction of the cost and the visual difference is dramatic. There are some aftermarket Xenon light conversions available but we have not found these to be very reliable. We used the Euro H4 headlights with matching trim rings painted to match the exterior color. The lighting performance increase is significant using 55/65W H4 Hella Optilux Xenon White Bulbs. We also replaced the fog lights, considering the mileage on the car the lenses were badly pitted; we replaced these bulbs with 55W H3 Hella Optilux Xenon White Bulbs. The bumperettes were remove and the factory European trim pieces were installed. This requires the removal of the bumper cover - the parts are available as a kit. To finish off the front we installed the clear turn signal and side marker lenses. The look is a matter of taste but we felt the white offset the color of the car nicely. We wired the front of the car as a European car, parking lights functional in the headlights and the low beams and fog lights stay on with the high beams, and eliminated the side marker lights. The harness is a simple do-it-yourself modification and the bridge is an inexpensive replacement part on the fuse panel. We did retain the parking light in the turn signal lens as the only exception to the Euro lighting.

Our project car had already had some suspension modifications - and to say the least it was a poor job. The stock shocks had been kept and a set of H&R springs added with the biggest adjustable rear sway bar (22mm, 3-way adjustable) that I have ever seen set at full tight. The ride height was set extremely low and the result was a very low, poor handling car with absolutely no shock travel. The first thing we did in the short term was to raise the car up to a reasonable ride height. We removed the H & R springs and replaced them with RoW M030 springs and installed our adjustable RS sway bar set. This includes a tubular, 24mm, 5-way adjustable front bar and a 18mm, 3-way adjustable rear bar. There are larger rear bars available but this gets into some chassis "tuning" to find the proper set-up for your driving style and a good balance for ride quality. This is something I take seriously since the roads tend to be quite bad and it is no fun to spend a lot of money on a suspension system only to take it off when you realize the ride on the street is killing you! We set the rear bar to full tight and the front bar is one from full soft. We also installed our FVD strut tower brace. The result gave us some shock travel back, softened up the ride and it actually handles a lot better. It did increase the under steer a bit but for the street the balance is far better and you can throttle steer the car on the slower corners. Our next modification will be to install our FVD Bilstein/Eibach package or the Bilstein PSS-9 system.