Come snow or rain...........944
Discussion
Hi guys and gals,
First post on this forum and I thought I'd better get down to brass tacks.
Basically I've got money burning a hole in my pocket and I've narrowed my decision down to either the 944 S2 (turbo if I could find a nice reasonably priced example) or a Celica GT4.
From a classic point of view the 944 wins hands down and I know it would retain it's value better. It would also be cheaper to insure and maintain. Basically more bang for my buck.
My question is what are they like in the rain and the snow? Are they a complete nightmare? The weather can get pretty bad up here in the North and I just want to make sure I can handle it once it starts to get nasty.
The GT4 would cope better but I'd much rather have the 944.
Has anyone got any advice.
Cheers
First post on this forum and I thought I'd better get down to brass tacks.
Basically I've got money burning a hole in my pocket and I've narrowed my decision down to either the 944 S2 (turbo if I could find a nice reasonably priced example) or a Celica GT4.
From a classic point of view the 944 wins hands down and I know it would retain it's value better. It would also be cheaper to insure and maintain. Basically more bang for my buck.
My question is what are they like in the rain and the snow? Are they a complete nightmare? The weather can get pretty bad up here in the North and I just want to make sure I can handle it once it starts to get nasty.
The GT4 would cope better but I'd much rather have the 944.
Has anyone got any advice.
Cheers
Welcome to PH 
I've never had a problem in the rain, but never driven it in snow. Like any RWD car you need to be careful where you put your foot down, but I've never had any moments - the 50/50 weight distribution mean they are very balanced and tend to drift rather than oversteer (unless you're really clumsy with the throttle!) The S2 is easier to drive that the turbo, so generally makes a better road car - the turbo can be tuned quite easily to give over 300BHP and will be more exciting to drive because of the booost that could catch you out, specially if you have a standard one as they tended to suffer from lag (there are methods of reducing this though).
I like a nice steady torque curve and a big engine though, so I bought an S2
I've never had a problem in the rain, but never driven it in snow. Like any RWD car you need to be careful where you put your foot down, but I've never had any moments - the 50/50 weight distribution mean they are very balanced and tend to drift rather than oversteer (unless you're really clumsy with the throttle!) The S2 is easier to drive that the turbo, so generally makes a better road car - the turbo can be tuned quite easily to give over 300BHP and will be more exciting to drive because of the booost
that could catch you out, specially if you have a standard one as they tended to suffer from lag (there are methods of reducing this though). I like a nice steady torque curve and a big engine though, so I bought an S2
S2= lovely in the wet, rear end is planted & secure, give it full beans out of a slow bend/roundabout etc & the tail will wag a tad but all nicely controlable.
Turbos with a with LSD's & esp MO30 do comand a tad more respect if you are not used to RWD, S2 a far easier car to drive hard in the wet.
Both leagues away from somat really tail happy in the wet- like a 325i E30 bmw tho.......
Celica GT4, behave will you worth a quick look at pre Evo E36 M3s too, lovely controlable rear on them too & priced just a bit above s2's if you look carefully.
Turbos with a with LSD's & esp MO30 do comand a tad more respect if you are not used to RWD, S2 a far easier car to drive hard in the wet.
Both leagues away from somat really tail happy in the wet- like a 325i E30 bmw tho.......
Celica GT4, behave will you
worth a quick look at pre Evo E36 M3s too, lovely controlable rear on them too & priced just a bit above s2's if you look carefully.Drove my S2 couple of times on the snow, which included losing all four wheels traction at 60 mph on a B road straight line for a good 100 meters - good fun when you are alone and there are no trees alongside the road, however I wouldn't be looking forward to doing it again.
Types of tyres will make a great difference on car control on slippery surfaces - in my case, S-O2 über alles.
>> Edited by Thom on Friday 18th June 09:50
Types of tyres will make a great difference on car control on slippery surfaces - in my case, S-O2 über alles.
>> Edited by Thom on Friday 18th June 09:50
No problem at all in the rain 
My S2 currently has snow tyres on (as part of a dodgy Ebay deal) and was totally fine in the two days of snow in the Midlands last winter. Turbo has normal tyres and was totally useable, as long as you fed in all the inputs gradually. I think it would struggle to start up anything but a gentle incline though, wide low profile tyres on packed snow is not ideal
My S2 currently has snow tyres on (as part of a dodgy Ebay deal) and was totally fine in the two days of snow in the Midlands last winter. Turbo has normal tyres and was totally useable, as long as you fed in all the inputs gradually. I think it would struggle to start up anything but a gentle incline though, wide low profile tyres on packed snow is not ideal
Thanks for the replies
I'm not too bothered about the rain, it's snow that concerns me. Up here in the North ie. Newcastle we got a fair bit of it last year and since this will be my daily driver then I want to make sure I can get wherever I need to be.
Nice looking cars at Shirley's Garage but they seem a little overpriced, especially the turbo...........
Do snow chains actually work very well?
I'm not too bothered about the rain, it's snow that concerns me. Up here in the North ie. Newcastle we got a fair bit of it last year and since this will be my daily driver then I want to make sure I can get wherever I need to be.
Nice looking cars at Shirley's Garage but they seem a little overpriced, especially the turbo...........
Do snow chains actually work very well?
the_boy said:
Nice looking cars at Shirley's Garage but they seem a little overpriced, especially the turbo...........
Yea £12k for a car with 170mph and sub 11 sec 0-100 potential. That cost the equivalent of £70k in todays money What are they thinking.
Good 944ts are more and more difficult to come by, go and buy the Celica as its even cheaper mate...
Even on modest 225/50 R 16's traction on an incline in snow will be a bit of a problem in a 944, as I found out last winter (biggest problem was reversing up hill cause all the weight transfers to the fron wheels).
Snow chains do work and carrying a set is mandatory in some parts of Germany during the winter. Also carrying a couple of bags of cemment in the boot and be prepared to use you'r floor matts for added grip if you get stuck !
Failing that just get your self an old 998cc mini on 145 tyres for snow use. It was unstoppable !
Snow chains do work and carrying a set is mandatory in some parts of Germany during the winter. Also carrying a couple of bags of cemment in the boot and be prepared to use you'r floor matts for added grip if you get stuck !
Failing that just get your self an old 998cc mini on 145 tyres for snow use. It was unstoppable !
slim_boy_fat said:
Yea £12k for a car with 170mph and sub 11 sec 0-100 potential. That cost the equivalent of £70k in todays money What are they thinking.
Good 944ts are more and more difficult to come by, go and buy the Celica as its even cheaper mate...
No need to get tartish, I just reckon 12k for a car that is 15 years old is a bit steep. Most of the turbos I have seen advertised were around the 9k barrier.
But you'd know better than me
I agree with the above comments– The 944 S2 is great in the wet, but not great in the snow. 
I live down south and it has only snowed once since I’ve had my S2 and I could not even get out of my road!!! But that was when it snowed, and then the snow melted and then it froze.
An idea may be to buy a spare set of wheels and tyres for snow? You can get a nice set of wheels from eBay for a few hundred pounds.
I live down south and it has only snowed once since I’ve had my S2 and I could not even get out of my road!!! But that was when it snowed, and then the snow melted and then it froze.
An idea may be to buy a spare set of wheels and tyres for snow? You can get a nice set of wheels from eBay for a few hundred pounds.
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