968 Castor Blocks on a 951S

[DJbrand1]

I have a 88 944 Turbo S that I bought some 968 Castor blocks for from the consensus of the online forums that they will be an upgrade. Less rubber than the older style should hold alignment better on the track. Seems resonable.  The car is over at the RS Barn now and Max told me that they actually prefer the older style which is on my car now.  I value their opinion as they obviously setup a lot of track cars and I am no expert, but it seems to contradict the overwhelming bias on the forums that the 968 blocks should be an upgrade.  Any thoughts??

[Larry Herman]

I would ask for a reason.  We put the 968 castor blocks on my sons 951 and they clearly have less flex.

[DJbrand1]

Well, they said since it's a turbo S it already has the Turbo Cup bushings that supposedly has a harder rubber in it.  Be that as it may, its 20+ year old rubber and the 968's look to have less overall.

[968SilverCab]

You must be the only person in the world going/wanting to go from the 951 Caster Blocks to the 968 Blocks. They are a known weak point of the 968. The thin rubber gaskets decay at a very quick rate. If you are planning on using them for a race car be prepared to change them every year, at least.

My "street" 968 was changed out to 951 Caster Blocks, at RS Barn.

Jay

[DJbrand1]

Sorry Jay, obviously not the only person in the world doing this. The 968 part number succeeds the 951 which is no longer made. Obviously, Porsche thought it was a good idea, and who am I to disagree with ze germans . If you look elsewhere, many owners find the 968 bushings to flex a lot less. Maybe they need to replaced sooner, but as the car only gets about 5k miles on it a year, if that, I don't think it will be for a while.

Do you have experience with the 968 castor blocks failing?

[968SilverCab]

Everyone has experience with 968 Caster Blocks failing. They tend to crack and break up until the eventual "thump" in cornering...

Sure as the leaking Power steering hose (and swollen sway bar bushing) and the missing clutch inspection port plug... Sure as the need to carry spare HCV and DME Relay... 

Jay