TheSamba.com :: View topic - Porche 944 aluminum trailing arms on a Baja?

Wed Apr 03, 2013 6:30 pm

I know that the aluminum trailing arms off a Porche 944 can be fitted to an IRS pan. I've considered the possibility of mounting a set on the Baja, and I just found some in a junk yard. Problem is he wants $100 each. I've seen them for less but didn't get them in time.

Does anyone have experience putting these arms on a Baja?

What modifications do I need to make to the car or arms?

Would I have to use the Porche brakes, or could I mount the Empi style discs I already have?

Is any potential benefit worth the cost or work?

Is there anything you know I haven't considered?

Wed Apr 03, 2013 6:39 pm

i know they bolt right on.
since you can bolt the 944 brakes onto stock trailing arms, i dont see why you couldn't use empi brakes on the 944 arms.
i think all the aluminum trailing arms use micro stubs, with 100mm cv flanges. so you will have to probably get longer axles, and use type2/4 cv's atleast at the wheel.

Wed Apr 03, 2013 7:39 pm

Actually, the arms are not a bolt on deal. I seriously looked into doing this myself and decided it wasn't worth the hassle.

Quote: since you can bolt the 944 brakes onto stock trailing arms, i dont see why you couldn't use empi brakes on the 944 arms.

This only applies to the Porsche 924 and early non-turbo (pre 1985?) Porsche 944's, which all used the stamped steel trailing arms the same size as the bug. They also used the same bearing carrier which is why the brake parts are swappable. The aluminum arms are a totally different story.

The cool thing about the aluminum arms is that they are wider than the stamped steel trailing arms. If I recall, there are two different widths of the aluminum arms. Also, I believe they are all the same length as the stamped steel trailing arms.

Oh, and lets not forget that aluminum has serious fatigue issues. I have seen some Porsche aluminum trailing arms that have cracked due to fatigue.

To use the aluminum porsche arms you will have to make a custom spring plate...not hard to do if you cut down a bug swing axle spring plate. Then you will have to change the pivot bushing. Your axles will have to be changed so that they are long enough for the wider arms. Then of corse you will have to use the Porsche brake parts specific to the aluminum trailing arms, which are getting rare and expensive.

To do the conversion really isn't that hard...I just couldn't justify the cost of the conversion that really wouldn't gain me any performance. I would consider the conversion more of a show car kinda thing.

Wed Apr 03, 2013 9:46 pm

That's kind of what I was thinking.

The brakes are on the arms, and I wouldn't be opposed to running them, (they are obviously better quality than the Empi style) but they are junk yard parts. If the pads or rotors are bad, or if they need to be rebuilt, I'm paying Porshe prices. I've already put a bit of work into getting my current setup working properly.

I started thinking about doing this when I discovered I had a bent, stock arm a while back. I missed out on a cheap set of 944 arms, not knowing they may work. I ended up just replacing the bent arm, with another stock one.

Mostly I was interested in something stronger than stock untill I can afford a set of 3X3s . I didn't know about the cracking issue though. Since then I've gotten a cheap set of boxed arms, and was getting ready to figure out that setup, coupled with some 924 stub axles, when the wreck happened.