From 944 to 928...
Discussion
I was wondering aloud here a few months ago about the wisdom of moving from my 944S2 to something a little more brutal, and having now taken the plunge, I thought I would pass on my first impressions. I am sure I was not alone in liking my 944, but not being entirely convinced by its performance...
So... my 944S2 was OK, quick enough but there was something missing. After a bit of hunting, I have bought a "good" (fingers crossed) 928GT - 330horses, 17" cups, well loved from an owner that also had a 1928 Bentley, a light weight e-type, Astons, Loti, etc... And had replaced the 928 by a 996 two years ago. Actually, he doesn't think the 996 is a step forward, but that is another thread.
So ownwards onto 928GT ownership - many thumbs up... A steel sports exhaust, the V8 cackle (on the overrun it sounds monstrous), the burble when I declutch (the engine blips sometimes), or the second & third gear rush. 4th is not so slow either. My 944 was quick, but in a straight line I dont remember ever accidentally spinning the wheels in second or third... I guess the electronic LSD has some uses. In traffic, brushing the loud pedal gently seems to be the key.
Perhaps in the twisities my 944 might be as quick(quicker?). However, I am not totally convinced. The suspension on this seems firmer than the S2 (its much more of a jarring ride), and no complaints on the handling so far.
Equipment wise & build wise there is no competition... This has a computer, flashing displays that tell me that the tyre sensors are missing, instant MPG is fun (although seeing 7mpg does nothing for my enviromental cred), digital speedo, backlit instrument binacle that matches the brighteness to ambient lighting, the binacle is moveable also. Whether the fins on the blower of the centre console, or the centre console itself needs to be leather bound is questionable. The key is in a different league to that of the 944. The seats are certainly heavier, plusher, more comfortable & with more buttons to press...
On the road it doesn't seem so much bigger, it is 8" longer & 4" wider, but its not an issue after a while. Fitting into the garage is a different story.
I know that Dogsharks & Co (respect to Derestrictor) wax lyrical about the 928, but generally they seem to me to be a well kept secret. In the back of my mind, I had been thinking about supercharging this in the future. However, after a day in the rain I am less sure its a good idea.
On a final note, the history has a copy of the original bill of sale with the car. The first buyer paid £67500 for it in 1991... I appreciate that 928 ownership may not be a cheap venture, so far so good though.
>>> Edited by danielw on Monday 19th April 22:37
So... my 944S2 was OK, quick enough but there was something missing. After a bit of hunting, I have bought a "good" (fingers crossed) 928GT - 330horses, 17" cups, well loved from an owner that also had a 1928 Bentley, a light weight e-type, Astons, Loti, etc... And had replaced the 928 by a 996 two years ago. Actually, he doesn't think the 996 is a step forward, but that is another thread.
So ownwards onto 928GT ownership - many thumbs up... A steel sports exhaust, the V8 cackle (on the overrun it sounds monstrous), the burble when I declutch (the engine blips sometimes), or the second & third gear rush. 4th is not so slow either. My 944 was quick, but in a straight line I dont remember ever accidentally spinning the wheels in second or third... I guess the electronic LSD has some uses. In traffic, brushing the loud pedal gently seems to be the key.
Perhaps in the twisities my 944 might be as quick(quicker?). However, I am not totally convinced. The suspension on this seems firmer than the S2 (its much more of a jarring ride), and no complaints on the handling so far.
Equipment wise & build wise there is no competition... This has a computer, flashing displays that tell me that the tyre sensors are missing, instant MPG is fun (although seeing 7mpg does nothing for my enviromental cred), digital speedo, backlit instrument binacle that matches the brighteness to ambient lighting, the binacle is moveable also. Whether the fins on the blower of the centre console, or the centre console itself needs to be leather bound is questionable. The key is in a different league to that of the 944. The seats are certainly heavier, plusher, more comfortable & with more buttons to press...
On the road it doesn't seem so much bigger, it is 8" longer & 4" wider, but its not an issue after a while. Fitting into the garage is a different story.
I know that Dogsharks & Co (respect to Derestrictor) wax lyrical about the 928, but generally they seem to me to be a well kept secret. In the back of my mind, I had been thinking about supercharging this in the future. However, after a day in the rain I am less sure its a good idea.
On a final note, the history has a copy of the original bill of sale with the car. The first buyer paid £67500 for it in 1991... I appreciate that 928 ownership may not be a cheap venture, so far so good though.
>>> Edited by danielw on Monday 19th April 22:37
Well you cant write a post like that, raving about your beast of a car, then give us no pictures! 
I'm really hankering after a 928GTS at the moment, and this one really makes me dribble:
www.pistonheads.com/sales/detail.asp?i=21450&s=80
Must resist temptation! (its good that I havent got that kind of money atm!)
I'm really hankering after a 928GTS at the moment, and this one really makes me dribble:
www.pistonheads.com/sales/detail.asp?i=21450&s=80
Must resist temptation! (its good that I havent got that kind of money atm!)
Congrats for finding one of the best kept secrets in the sporting automobile world. There are many who will comment on the 928, but it seems that few have ever spent enough time behind the wheel, or "any" time behind the wheel of one.
Mine is slower than yours but still essentially the same car. Since you have the five speed, you have a rather rare car that is "brutal" indeed. The five speed makes the car a real beast, whereas the automatic makes it as one web host has described, "like a jet fighter plane", turbine smooth and fast. Personally, I like the manual, but I am sure I could love the auto too.
By all means, keep posting here, but I suggest you visit http://members3.boardhost.com/928s4vr/ for good tech info. I go by the name of "P" there for simplicity, by the way,
Since I also have a 944 and a 944S2, you can see I'm hooked on the handling of these cars. Anyone who suggests the 928 is too heavy to handle properly simply is speaking from a position of, how should we say, "lack of information" :-)
Regards,
Dogsharks
a/k/a "P"
Mine is slower than yours but still essentially the same car. Since you have the five speed, you have a rather rare car that is "brutal" indeed. The five speed makes the car a real beast, whereas the automatic makes it as one web host has described, "like a jet fighter plane", turbine smooth and fast. Personally, I like the manual, but I am sure I could love the auto too.
By all means, keep posting here, but I suggest you visit http://members3.boardhost.com/928s4vr/ for good tech info. I go by the name of "P" there for simplicity, by the way,
Since I also have a 944 and a 944S2, you can see I'm hooked on the handling of these cars. Anyone who suggests the 928 is too heavy to handle properly simply is speaking from a position of, how should we say, "lack of information" :-)
Regards,
Dogsharks
a/k/a "P"
I must confess that the idea is growing on me too (as, finances allowing, a stable mate for the 944 turbo).
However I've been searching in classifieds here and there and I never found a manual GTS. Were they all autos? I know the GT is manual by default and the S4 mostly autos. I've never driven any car with autobox least alone a 928 but I suspect it will be not my cup of tea. And those GTS's with curved rear wheel archs, 17", 350 bhp ...hmmmm
However I've been searching in classifieds here and there and I never found a manual GTS. Were they all autos? I know the GT is manual by default and the S4 mostly autos. I've never driven any car with autobox least alone a 928 but I suspect it will be not my cup of tea. And those GTS's with curved rear wheel archs, 17", 350 bhp ...hmmmm
Thanks for all of the replies.
In answer to one of the questions, I paid a little less than £10K for my car. As we know there are quite passable 944S2's (passable by a 928 anyway!) for sale at around £5k. In my mind, there really is no competition between the two.
Dogsharks is correct about the perception of 928's as being big & cumbersome, but once you get behind the wheel it quickly turns out not to be the case.
There is a 944S2 thread at the moment, and someone is talking about spending 9K on one. I'm tempted to chime in but in deference to Rubystone I wont ;-)
Practically the 928GT's were as fast as the 928GTS's, but all of them are manuals and they are currently about half the price... 928GTS manuals, there are a few but they dont seem to turn up often. Have a look on www.928.org.uk there is one for sale there.
In answer to one of the questions, I paid a little less than £10K for my car. As we know there are quite passable 944S2's (passable by a 928 anyway!) for sale at around £5k. In my mind, there really is no competition between the two.
Dogsharks is correct about the perception of 928's as being big & cumbersome, but once you get behind the wheel it quickly turns out not to be the case.
There is a 944S2 thread at the moment, and someone is talking about spending 9K on one. I'm tempted to chime in but in deference to Rubystone I wont ;-)
Practically the 928GT's were as fast as the 928GTS's, but all of them are manuals and they are currently about half the price... 928GTS manuals, there are a few but they dont seem to turn up often. Have a look on www.928.org.uk there is one for sale there.
By default I think most GTS were auto. I've driven both manual & auto and both were swift to say the least - the auto was the fastest automatic car I've ever driven (but then I've only ever drive 2 autos in my life - Austin A40 Farina & Riley Elf)....
Seems a good price Daniel - there were a couple of intergalactic mileage GTs for sale at sub £10k a couple of months ago.
Seems a good price Daniel - there were a couple of intergalactic mileage GTs for sale at sub £10k a couple of months ago.
Thom said:
Practically the 928GT's were as fast as the 928GTS's
Really ?
Buddy who trades them reckons the GTS is significantly faster even though it's even heavier than the last S4s/GTs.
On paper yes, but I had a little convoy with a 928 GT, a 928 SE and my 982 S2 on a privately owned three lane track which terminates in London back in December. The 928 GT is 330Bhp, the SE is 330Bhp and the S2 is 310Bhp. Of all three, Porsche understated the output of the S2 the most... Had no trouble staying in the middle of the convoy up to indicated 160mph. I guess then I would have topped out, but how many places in the UK do you get to do these speeds anyway?
I don't know about UK, but there were only seven-hundred-forty-five 928 cars imported into the US during the last 5 years of production
That is such a low number as to make them practially non-existant, so any comparison in spec to those cars is kind of like looking at the moon. They are superb machines, but quite rare.
Dogsharks
That is such a low number as to make them practially non-existant, so any comparison in spec to those cars is kind of like looking at the moon. They are superb machines, but quite rare.
Dogsharks
danielw said:
Dogsharks is correct about the perception of 928's as being big & cumbersome, but once you get behind the wheel it quickly turns out not to be the case.
I guess that depends on what you're comparing it against...
I test drove a 928GT at the time I had my 968CS, and it deed feel significantly heavier and less agile than my 968CS (not completely standard it must be said), though I do accept that this may 'wear off' to some extent as the Dog has said...
I did however find dog-leg box a real handful, not because of the layout (familiar with E30 M3s) but because it was just straight baulky, notchy and nasty, but as the car was 12 yrs old maybe the box had had unsympathetic owners and was due a rebuild...
Fox
---
Gassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff