bumpsy88

Getting ready to buy my second 944 tomorrow. I saw a real nice 87 944S and real nice 84 944. I've heard not so good stories about 944S, anybody got advice?

Dimi 944

Test drive the 944S and then work on the final decision would be my advise. They are more fun than the 944 IMO.

V2Rocket

as a just-for-fun car or a daily driver/commuter around town?

for a commuter car i'd take the sohc NA every day over the dohc S.
the S has literally no ***** to be found below 4000rpm, the 8v NA has more usable grunt down there. i have driven each model many many times and there is really no comparison.

as a fun wind-it-up-and-go car the S is faster if you have the open road to rev it out.

as far as maintenance they are more or less the same but on the 16v there is a lot more stuff in the way if youre doing intake work.

mattipuh

944S, nobrainer.

jhowell371

Save your money and buy an S2 over the S. JMHO

plumbum

I would take the later (all things being fair) S or even better an S2 if you can find a nice one

CVR_Rally

As someone who is rebuilding an S as a track car I would probably rather have done the 8v just because it is a lot less work on the top end. Do some research on the 16v issues.
Chris

Dino V

Drive both and see which one you like more, if both have been well maintained and go from there.

harrisonrick

I've had both, I prefer the S re more horsepower...just make sure to service the cam chain tensioner/pads/oil j tube and timing belt as per all 944s.

Enjoy.

SloMo228

I had an '84 NA and now I have an '87 S. I definitely prefer the S. I disagree with the statement that the S is gutless below 4,000 RPM - it's not, really. Both the 8V and the 16V engines have a well-defined powerband that starts at around this speed. I think the perception that the S is weaker when off the powerband is just that the S motor has a much bigger punch when you come into the powerband, making everything below seem that much weaker. Unfortunately I don't have a copy, but I have heard that the dyno charts for the SOHC and DOHC motors are basically the same below the powerband, so it's not like you're giving up power with the S, just getting more up top.

It is definitely a peakier motor than the SOHC, and I guess that could be considered a downside for some. I daily drive my S and don't mind it at all, though.

The 8V does have less to maintain, but I wouldn't let that scare you off the S. Changing out the cam chain tensioner pads is a fairly simple job that doesn't break the bank. If your tensioner has failed, that's a much more expensive proposition, sure, but I rarely hear about that happening. Otherwise, they're similar mechanically to the 8V engine. Everything below the head is pretty much the same.

Assuming the two cars are in the same state of repair, I'd opt for the S. Of course, I'd rather have a nice NA than a ragged-out S, but that's not really an apples to oranges comparison.