Dorsia

Hi guys,

My first post, please go easy on me. I just finished up college, and bought an 87 944 NA with my signing bonus. Her name is Dorsia. At any rate, I love it but it's the first car I have ever driven with a manual transmission.

Everything seems to be going okay, but I'm having trouble quickly accelerating from 0 to 1st to 2nd gear (after 2nd it's no problem) at stop lights and such. I can no longer bear to be passed by a socer mom in a mini van (this is the first time I took her out, but still). I'd appreciate any tips or advice you guys could offer regarding quick acceleration from stationary.

Thanks,

JDurpi

Luis de Prat

Hi Dorsia, I won't be hard on you, but 944s are not the best cars "off the line," so to speak.

The transmission is smooth but the clutch pedal engagement is a bit long in these cars and you really need to let the pedal all the way up before pushing it down again to change gears.

OTOH, you can hold the clutch in a bit for a peppier start, but this is quite hard on the clutch and generally not a good idea.

Lastly, any records on the car? Do you know if the clutch has been replaced? The stock clutch on the NA (normally aspirated) cars had a rubber puck in the disc that tends to get brittle and come apart over time.

It's best to replace them with spring-centered disc clutches.

Have fun with your car, and welcome to Rennlist!

Bhj0887

I hate to say it as well, but a Honda Oddessy will give you a good run. Off the line acceleration isn't the beauty of these cars, it's the excellent balance and handling.

And, before you get to the "How can I turbo my N/A" just buy a 951 if you want a turbo (some one was gonna say it anyway if you asked). There also aren't many power adders for the N/A, so you'll have to bear with ~130 hp unless you have alot of extra $$$.

PorscheDoc

Yup, N/A off the line will get beat by most soccer moms....don't worry, you'll walk all over them once you hit 3rd

will951

Yeah....I would take it easy in first gear. Trust me....you'd rather have the clutch last longer than beat a soccer mom. Once you hit second though....you should pass her no problem!

If I were you I would invest some cash in a chip ~ $100 and makes a very noticeable difference. Search on Ebay for one....I bought mine for $85 3 years ago. Also, do a general tune up on the car. Plugs, wires, rotor, cap, air filter....all these things will make your car run pretty smooth (unless they've already been replaced recently).

Congrats on the purchase and good luck with the car.

PS....do you know when your belts were last replaced?

Dave

Yeah, don't, unless you like to change transmissions. The R&P in a NA trans is not very stout and it doesn't stand up very well to hard launches. Do your homework before you buy a chip, most do little or nothing but there are a few good ones that can add ~5hp.

Mike in Chi

Porsche built a great car for every track in the world, except ddrag strips.

ckathens

Exactly.. If I wanted a drag car, I would have bought one of my father-in-law's 351 Mustangs instead... But a bit more pep in 1st would have been nice, nonetheless.

Tom

Learn to be gnetle with your clutch, replacement is about $1500-2000.

xsboost90

1. apply vaseline to clutch pedal

2. apply right foot to accelerator hard

3.engage first gear, move foot towards edge of clutch pedal

4.get a shovel, pic up pieces of trans from center of road.

Mongo

if you are so concerned about stop light racing, hard acceleration, i think its best you get a 911 Turbo, 928 or a muscle car...

The 944 is not built for acceleration, but rather for the edge of handling you have over many cars on the road, even corvettes. It is the perfect weekend warrior for autocrossing and in the hands of a good driver can be a formidable opponent for some early 911s on the track or cone-filled parking lot.

Be careful with these cars, they can be expensive to repair. And Good Luck.

Andy

Porsche-O-Phile

LOL!!! Funny but true.

Awww geez, take it easy on him man - he's new here. . .

Yabo

i kind of beg to differ. no soccer moms beat me off the line. i know from my trip to boston today. I had to out accelerate so many taxi's who drive like asses from stoplights to swithc lanes, and i did it fine. i think first gear at least is plenty quick enough, if you learn where your clutch wants to be let out.

Porsche-O-Phile

The NA cars are what I call "nicely adequate". They don't have blistering off-the-line performance (but it's adequate for most things - it's decent) and there are a lot of cars that will absolutely kill them off the line (typically anything with a large displacement engine). Once they get going, they handle amazingly well and will pull pretty hard into triple digit territory - and stay there without a hiccup, rattle, squeak, or shimmy. THAT is the advantage of the Porsche over a lot of other cars out there. It will also outhandle damn near anything on the road - newer cars included. If you really want a car that will be fast off the line - get a Mustang 5.0. If you want a car that's going to handle better than a sport bike, get a 944.

For REAL fun, join the world of forced induction and either get a 951, supercharger, or turbo.

Adam Roberts

This reminds me....

Someone was saying a few threads ago about swapping the 1st & 2nd gears from a 924 transmission would give you more 'off the line' acceleration. the only downside would be quicker shifts at slower speeds.

Did we ever find out if that was doable or not?

Anyway.. never been passed by a Soccer mom while accelerating.. although I have been passed by a rusty old Buick.