944 turbo, underrated?

[blade7]

The initial message was deleted from this topic on 31 October 2022 at 18:51

[randlemarcus]

Might be underrated, not sure they are undervalued...

[EGTE]

The biggest issue was the engine noise; it was just a loud whirr. Rest was great, but this let the car down badly, for me.

[rootsandculture]

I have a late 250hp turbo as my daily, I reckon they’re pretty underrated as a fun car to drive, easy to own, handle well and feel a bit more special than most things for the same money. I’ve driven plenty of pricier things with an eye on replacing it and never felt I wanted to let it go. That said, I’ve also driven some fairly ropey 944s so it’s really a case of finding a good’un and it’ll feel good value.

There’s lots of chat about 220 vs 250 models, personally I reckon you’ll notice things like a tight gearbox and keeping all the damping / bushings ect refreshed more than the 30hp. Don’t worry about mileage or owners, it’s all about good recent mechanical work and buy from an enthusiast.

‘The public’ seem to love it for what that is worth to you

[bigmowley]

Still a nice car but for me the worst bit is the driving position. It’s a bit like being sat in the bath. Very flat outstretched legs and an slightly odd steering wheel position.
Cue 50 people telling me I’ve got my head up my bum so IMHO of course

[randlemarcus]

bigmowley said:

Still a nice car but for me the worst bit is the driving position. It’s a bit like being sat in the bath. Very flat outstretched legs and an slightly odd steering wheel position.
Cue 50 people telling me I’ve got my head up my bum so IMHO of course

No, it's definitely an odd position, but I found it very comfortable, and made you feel hugely a part of the car.

[Caddyshack]

I picked up a lovely condition 2.5l auto 944 - early shape. I am mid way through turning it in to a turbo but using a 1.8t 20v mated to Manual 944 box via an adapter I made using a golf bellhousing.

[aka_kerrly]

944T is clearly a decent car with a big following, sadly the prices of a decent condition original late turbo one now makes them one of those cars that will probably escape me for now in less I go down the build a Frankenstein route.

t

Caddyshack said:

I picked up a lovely condition 2.5l auto 944 - early shape. I am mid way through turning it in to a turbo but using a 1.8t 20v
mated to Manual 944 box via an adapter I made using a golf bellhousing.

niiiiiiiiiice


One of my "crazy builds i'd like to do one day" ideas years ago when you could pick up 944/ s for <£2k was to do a VW VR6 conversion for around 220hp then once it's all settled in add a turbo/supercharger. There was a company in the USA that made bell housing conversions an piggy back ECUs to do vr an 4 cylinder 2.0 16vABF/ACE swaps to so it's definitely possible.

edit: 11111 post

[Caddyshack]

aka_kerrly said:

944T is clearly a decent car with a big following, sadly the prices of a decent condition original late turbo one now makes them one of those cars that will probably escape me for now in less I go down the build a Frankenstein route.

t

Caddyshack said:

I picked up a lovely condition 2.5l auto 944 - early shape. I am mid way through turning it in to a turbo but using a 1.8t 20v
mated to Manual 944 box via an adapter I made using a golf bellhousing.

niiiiiiiiiice


One of my "crazy builds i'd like to do one day" ideas years ago when you could pick up 944/ s for <£2k was to do a VW VR6 conversion for around 220hp then once it's all settled in add a turbo/supercharger. There was a company in the USA that made bell housing conversions an piggy back ECUs to do vr an 4 cylinder 2.0 16vABF/ACE swaps to so it's definitely possible.

edit: 11111 post

I paid £1000 for the 944 not long ago, it is rust free. The auto box had a bad vibration on the torque converter and the taxi driver owner (I was in his taxi) was saying his MRS had left him and he was fed up with all the people messing him around, he had it up for £3,500. I told him my MRS would go mad but I would give him £1k there and then and he took it.

[Magnum 475]

I had a 1989 944 turbo for 4 years from 98 to 02, used daily for about 15k / year. In that time it never let me down in any way, just had routine servicing and consumables. I probably over-serviced it, oil change every 6 months at least. It was also mildly modified to just under 300 bhp, with no impact on reliability.

Of all the cars I've sold, this one still ranks highly on the 'sellers regret' list - huge fun to drive and incredibly reliable.

[randlemarcus]

15 years ago, you could buy a clean, if not concours one for £5k. And sell it a few years later for £5k, thinking yourself ahead

[james.a.c.911]

I had a guards red 1986 Turbo for about 5 years and miss it a lot.
Was a great car. Nois was not the most fantastic but i like some turbo whine.
I i had a garage i would have kept it.

Midly tuned to closer to 300bhp. New koni suspension. It was really great to drive.

I hope one day i'll own one again.

[rootsandculture]

blade7 said:

I definitely wouldn't use mine as a daily. I only drive it when roads are dry and traffic is light. Haven't used the radio for over 10 years either.

Only when the roads are dry? I reckon you’re missing out!

Having said that, managed to put a parking ding in mine yesterday morning (to go with the multitude of stone chips).

[rootsandculture]

blade7 said:

Nah, there's a A4 quattro or Fiesta ST for that.

Fair enough! I like a bit of slippery B road squirm but you get it wrong before you get it right with a 951 for sure.

[IMI A]

blade7 said:

I have to admit the turbo feels quite ordinary until it comes on boost. Apparently a 3.0 conversion changes that though.

Post a pic of yours - love hat car

[IMI A]

In fact I may go and have look through the loft for a pic my beloved old black 944 turbo se which was a minter at 136k miles when i sold. Lucky to have covered 300k miles in 944 turbo and S2 as dd. There was a guy who used to race one in Porsche Club Championship. Was schooling air cooled 3.2 Carrera, 964 and 993 on track. Even when 996 came along was there some parity but GT3 needed 385bhp to overcome a 944 with 250bhp but the 944 turbo still kept on winning so was finally banned because Porsche could not admit their ancient 944 was better than any modern 911 around a track. This all from memory so if there are pedants 911 die hards who remember differently apologies in advance. I used to love watching Chris Heeley, Tim Rice and and Peter Chambers slugging it out only for Chris in his 944 to win some epic races

[ras62]

Plenty of tricks employed to get more boost back in those days IMIA;)

[IMI A]

ras62 said:

Plenty of tricks employed to get more boost back in those days IMIA;)

I knew someone say that Chris' 944 was standard. On cool days he had an advantage. Mid range on 944 unbeatable. You know standard 944 turbo s on slicks was quicker than a 959 round the ring?

It was marketed as a superior car to 3.2 Carrera and more expensive too.

[ras62]

They were a the future of Porsche back in the day and lacked for nothing technically. A complicated motor, more hours on a rebuild than a 3.2 car for sure.
I imagine a 959 on slicks would have plenty in hand to keep a turbo S at bay tbh but there's no doubt they are a quick car when on boost.

[IMI A]

ras62 said:

They were a the future of Porsche back in the day and lacked for nothing technically. A complicated motor, more hours on a rebuild than a 3.2 car for sure.
I imagine a 959 on slicks would have plenty in hand to keep a turbo S at bay tbh but there's no doubt they are a quick car when on boost.

i believe Porsche benchmarked both 959 and 944 back to back on slicks but not 100%. 944 quicker so the story went and came 5th at Le Mans that year. Could be hype from Porsche as it was when the 250bhp model was announced.