Would a 944 Turbo (S) make a good track car?

[nickb55]

hi... does anybody have any opinions/experience of this? Am trying to think of what to buy, which i could use on the road (short trips, not huge mileage), but would make for a good, fun car for occasional track days. Would be a 3rd car, so reliability would be important, but not 100% essential.

968 sport is an obvious alternative, but (and i know how this is going to sound...) i want something a bit quicker (straight line) for the road.

cheers
Nick

Edited by nickb55 on Sunday 16th September 10:53

[IMI A]

very very good track car with beautiful balance - porsche actually used these cars for its Cup series in 1988/1989. with a bit of pro max fettling (up to 450bhp but I would settle for 350bhp from reliability/cost point) think it would be quicker round track (with same driver) than most modern "track cars" like GT3, CSL etc

[diver944]

Yes they are a fantastic track car, I've done about 30 days in mine over the years and it never ceases to amaze me how balanced it is even when you upgrade it to silly power levels and leave the suspension basically standard.

It soaks up all the abuse and is still reliable enough to drive every day, take boot loads of crud down the tip and occasional passengers in the rear seats. Coming back to the boot, there is room in there for a complete spare set of wheels with full slick tyres if you get really track obsessed

[ted 191]

The best, and will be quicker than the GT3 with a bit of work

[nickb55]

many thanks guys. That's very encouraging. Have had a few 911's in the past, but want something older, bit more discrete, and can take some abuse! Someone suggested a 944 tbo, and when i looked it up to see if it was quick... i was astounded. As u say, there's some space in it too, and the tbo i believe relatively easy to increase output. Quite fancy having something that handles well, but take it toward say 300bhp, and it would be a bit of a "Q" car on the road.

Am going to take a serious look into this.

thanks again
Nick

[andy97]

I've used mine (250) on the track at Silverstone, Oulton Park and Cadwell Park. Its a great car and handles really well, the balance is just excellent and its really flattering to the driver. The power is more than adequate for most people, although it can be tuned realtively easily, I understand. Mine is standard in every respect - SE spec, I think (928 brakes,LSD but no MO30 suspension).

The suspension is considered a bit soft for real track use and a bit harsh for the road, probably means that its a good compromise then!

The brakes are more than up to the job, even with just standard pads.

Many observers and fellow track dayers were very complimentary about the car at Silverstone, in particular. Several people (inc the instructor I had with me) told me that they didn't realise that a 944 T was that fast and certainly, when I eventually managed to "nail" Stowe and Copse, it felt utterly fantastic and yet very secure.

The car wasn't quite so impressive at Cadwell - its a bit of a tight place. The car still handles very well but was off boost at "the mountain", until it started to come over the rise, when the turbo kicked in....an interesting experience on a damp track LOL!!!

All in all, a great car for raod and track. I'd recommend one and I can't believe that there are better cars out there for the money that they are fetching. Mine's about to be for sale to fund a house purchase and I'm gutted. If I was keeping it, I'd be investigating Promax chip upgrades and KW3 suspension.

[cuneus]

Yep mine was great too: http://www.944turbo.org.uk