Christopher Zach

Having owned an 87 944S for 30 years I can say they are exceptional cars.

The engine is a different experience from the regular 944: It comes on nicely but at about 4k RPM the car just accelerates like a rocket. Turbos have lower end torque but the 944S will wind up to redline quite nicely and be pulling full power when you hit the rev limit. A stock 944 just kind of goes "meh" between 4k and 6k.

The knock sensors are nice, and it can run on 89 octane fuel without complaining. Put in 92-93 octane and yes you get more power.

I think they were expensive to make as they used a 928 head and camshaft system so they were limited in number. Maintenance is not a big deal (mine has well over 200k miles on it) but there are two issues:
1) Belts. The original -00 belt was bad design and broke a lot. I have not heard of an .02 belt breaking. Even when the head explodes
2) Timing chain tensioner pads. There is a tensioner hidden in the head. At 180k miles or so the pads will break and it will wrap the cams around the chain, breaking the head. Big pain. Fortunately you can take a 928S head, stick it on, and be back in business in about a year or so of work from 3am to 4am in the morning. :-)

The car is easier on the drivetrain than the turbos, and the transmission is geared to take advantage of the extra torque and RPMs.

Moral: If you drive one you will never be able to drive a stock 944 again. I've drive turbos and prefer the S. And they're cheap because everyone says they are a step child.....

Otto Mechanic

I've been very happy with the 16V S2 and haven't had parts difficulty at all so I can easily recommend it, though it also wasn't made in large numbers compared with other versions of the platform. A few other folks have mentioned the continuous power band lacking in both the N/A and Turbo models, it's very satisfying even thought the stock turbo has it outclassed at the top of the HP range. It isn't as rare as the 968 and parts are appropriately cheaper and easier to find than for that engine.

I liked the S2 best of all as a road and track car as compared to the 951 since for my style of driving it's better to be able to brake hard into a turn and accelerate equally hard out of it, which the S2 excels at compared with the 951. The 951 will easily beat me in the straits, but I don't enjoy driving highways or strait tracks. If that ever changes, I can put a 2.7L 8V head on the S2, mate it to bolt on 951 plumbing, and smoke just about anything on the road.

Christopher Zach

Well that brings up a question: Anyone ever put a supercharger on a 944S? Shouldn't be any reason not to; 928's regularly get screw type or blower based superchargers and there's not a lot of changes needed. Given the fact that the 944S (and probably S2) already has knock sensors and timing retard this might not be too impossible.....

Hm (wheels turning)

911Dave

The same can be said for the air cooled SC and Carrera on the 911 side of the world. They come on cam around 3.5-4k RPM. Based on that I wouldn't have any problem with the S engine torque characteristics. And on the theory that it's more fun to drive a slow car fast, I'm by no means dead set on a turbo.

Several times now people (including you and mrgreenjeans in an earlier post) have mentioned heads breaking, cracking, exploding or otherwise failing. Am I to understand that this is a common problem? Is it avoidable? Is it just the 16V engines that I need to worry about?

Otto Mechanic

Never heard of the 16V 3L or 32V 5L breaking heads, cracking or exploding myself. Are you certain that was specific to the 4 valve/cylinder engines? My 928 S3 uses pretty much the same head (2 of them of course) and it isn't known for failures of that type.

Christopher Zach

As discussed I think the timing belt thing has been fixed. Even the 928 guys can't point to a belt that failed by itself. Usually it's the water pump seizing and making a hell of a noise till you shut down.

The weakness is the cam chain tensioner pads. They eventually wear down and when they do the chain can catch on the tensioner. Which rips the tensioner from the head, and puts it into the cam gears. Which shear, making a mess.

928's don't seem to have this hit as much because at 60mph the 928S is loafing at 2k rpm while the 944S is at 3k rpm. Less stress.

I think the 968 engine has a dynamic tensioner, bit different.

Tom R.

I beat this dead horse about 16 years ago. Went on the 928 forum for their input. A group of us who were S2 owners and had red about all the failures came up with the belt & suspenders solution of suggesting the pad get replaced at about 100k or something like ten to fifteen years (remember the cars were only about 12 years old then) because of fear the plastic/nylon top pad would become brittle, and then on the next swap replace the whole assembly. The pad was an expensive part unless you pulled the 928 part number I think, or got the aftermarket that I think Zims made. Search is your friend, it hates me. I know I wasted quite a few billable hours looking for the magic definite answer and the best we cold come up with was something like what I just posted from memory.

azerite

i threw up a post on working on my 944s if you want to see what i changed. Granted that was to get it to a daily driver, the primary things i noticed when i took everything apart is:

1) The 944s is a 944, with turbo parts.
2) The 944s2 is a 944 turbo with turbo parts.

Needless to say, bother are more robust than an 8v 944.

I know i'm over simplifying, but i was very surprised at how many parts it shares with the turbo. No the power isn't super fast, but it's noticeably faster than my old 944 (8v) and if you goal is to row gears near red line, it's great to drive. You won't be racing anybody, but i drive the car around New York City, and each and every time i get on the highway someone doesn't matter the car wants to race.

Partwise, take a look at everything i replaced in my thread. It was very very easy to find parts, and they were no more expensive than a regular 944. The only unique things from what i recall were the timing chain, pad tensioner, two knock sensors. If you use the right oil, and change the pad tensioner in a reasonable time, you'll be fine with the head. The other stuff referenced (belts etc.) you'll have to use on the other 944's also, just different lengths (number of teeth).

Tom R.

What turbo parts are on a S? Not the brakes, not the sway bars, not the head, not even the wheels. Definitely not the steering wheel unless it is a S with the airbag option. They do have the same doors and hood.
What standard turbo parts are on the S2? 1988 sway bars, brakes, bumper, header, steering wheel, rear diffuser. Don't forget the spare tire. What standard S2 part is not on the turbo (at least not on the 88 turbo unless added as an option)? ABS

Spokayman

V2Rocket

my understanding with the 928 vs 944 chain tensioner is the following:

1) 928s mostly came with automatics and don't get RPM'd like a manual 944S/S2 would as often.
2) the manual 928 DOHC cars are rare and tend to be well taken care of and maintenance not deferred.
3) 928 DOHC i believe has a different oil restrictor system to the heads - prolonged high-RPM driving literally fills the heads and cam covers with engine oil that can't drain to the sump fast enough.
.....so the tensioners and chains are likely bathed in a greater qty of oil than 944, which lubes and cools better.
4) specific output on the 944S is a lot higher than the 928S4, GT, or even GTS - more stress, more heat, more revs, more of the time.

KevinGross

Basically correct: the five-spoke classic Fuchs were available only for the early-offset 944 series, and did not fit the 87-forward cars with the longer offset. However, I believe the "sewer lid" forged wheels that were available for the later 944 series cars were in fact made by Fuchs. The phone dials were standard equipment. There was a platinum tint wheel that could be ordered before production began, but Porsche dropped the option as production began and it was never made available. (I think I ordered them. My car was a tourist delivery, in theory. Story there.)

I still have (and track) an early production MY87 944S. It's a 944, so it handles really well and is a lot of fun. It does have more power than the eight-valve, aspiros, which is noticeable and adds to the enjoyment. Also shares the brakes with them, and they are marginal on some high-speed tracks no matter how carefully you cool and maintain them.

The British magazine "911 and Porsche World" once put the 944S on its list of the "Ten Worst Porsches of All Time," crediting its torque curve with "a flat spot the width of Albania." Oh well, you can't please 'em all. When introduced, the 944S was priced only a little more than the base 944, and quite a bit less than the 951.

Tom R.

Sewer lids being the forged wheels on the 88 951S and 89 951, not the D90s that looked similar. We had a set of D90s on the 944S with stock brakes. They didn't get cooling on the track (the wheels got way too hot) so we put the stickies on the phone dials and the street tires on the D90s.

KevinGross

These guys:

Otto Mechanic

I've always called them manhole covers rather than sewer lids but I supposed it's the same idea. What I don't much like about them is they don't seem to cool the brakes well. I have them on my '85 928 and they're fine on the street but not so much on the track.