inactiveuser92616

its more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow. In the city driving I preferred my old geo storm to my 944. Why? Because I could run to redline in 2-3 gears before backing off, the engine screamed, and I had fun. The 944 I often have to back off before I get all the way through 1st. Go get a japanese car if you want a quick car.

L8 APEKS

Judging by the cars I can keep up with/smoke, I am running somewhere in the ballpark of 175hp with the mods in my sig (there may be a couple things not listed). I can beat lightly modded 160hp Civic Si's, and I was able to hang with (dead ***** even) a brand new BMW 530i (225hp?) and my buddy's Stage 4 Corrado G60 (~190hp).

However, at this point, my mods get pretty expensive. Next on my list is a cam, which is supposedly good for ~190hp+ combined with what I have done already. It's going to take a totally stripped car and maybe another 20hp...along with a perfect launch to get it down to a sub-15 sec 1/4. No, I don't drag race the car much, but this is pretty much the accepted way to measure how "fast" a car is. I just thought the poster could use some real answers from someone else on the quest to make the N/A less of a pig.

Mighty Shilling

There isn't a lot you can do... without spending boatloads of cash... how much money ya got? The 944 NA isn't the fastest thing around, but Damn, it puts a smile on my face anywhere I go... on or off the track. Honestly, my first car had a 0-60 speed of 25 seconds... it was a Nissan 200SX... then I went to a Nissan Maxima, then to the Porsche... the Porsche is SLIGHTLY faster than the Maxima... and infinately more satisfiying to drive. Do whatever man... the NA's are fabulous.

The turbo on the other hand...

Blue S2

www.powerhaus.com They can put your car wherever you want! Only one deciding factor...the wallet!

Speedforceracing.com Check out their stuff. Especially their superchargers. Pricey...but not THAT bad, especially for their quality. You will see a diffrence big time.

mnypit944

Why is it so hard to beleive that people want more HP out of a car they love??? This negativity has just about made me decide to just get rid of the 944 and start modding my 99 328. With M3 suspension it handles as good as my 944 and is far faster.

Why is it unreasonable to want closer to 180 to 200hp instead of the pathetic HP it has now. I actually had a minivan pull away from me getting on the interstate a couple weeks ago. That is just wrong.

Can you get a header, exhaust, intake, cam etc?? If so where? Who can reprogram the computer for the new parts?? I cant beleive that for far less than a nice turbo car that you cant get decent power from an NA. The answer is always, DONT BOTHER. I want more power. I love the car, I have upgraded the suspension with used parts and new wear items to the big sways and KONI suspension. I plan to upgrade the brakes next.

I know I know, the next argument is the weak tranny. So when it breaks we replace it with a Turbo or S2 unit. There are plenty of good used parts out there.

M758

The 944 NA is a wonderfull and fast car. It is just not very fast in a straight line.

There are alot of mods you can do to make the 944 NA faster. However not many that generate hp. The problem is kids buy these cars thinking they are "wicked fast" since they are Porsches. Well I learned years ago that in straight line they are just plain slow under acceleration. There is not alot that you can do to change that. However the cars are still wonderful cars and if you can get past the HP thing they will surprize you in how good they are.

The other thing is once you have gotten experience driving on track you learn how little importance pure hp really is. Any idiot can blast down a straight away fast in big hp car. Learning to get through the corners fast is epitome of fast driving and learning this and how to use all the 944 has will lead you to believe how fast the car really is.

Blue S2

It's not that people are negative about the N/A cars...its just that after 20 years people have pretty much tried most options and still not seen the gains they are looking for.

Its easy to attach headers, a catback, intake, a chip, lighten the car, etc... but after spending a couple thousand...all you get is like 15 or 20 hp??? Without boost, a new chip won't do that much. You will need to start boring out, aggressive cams, intake, throttle body...etc.. etc... To gain anymore. Most people find it too much trouble for the equivalent gains.

Its been 20 years at least, and if there was some easy upgrade or modification to make monsters out of the N/A, it would have been uncovered by now. People are making monsters out of Turbos. And you can get Turbos just as cheap as some N/As. And they already come with beefier suspension and brakes.
Its just an overexhuasted topic.

mbonner

How much lighter are the 83's like mine compared to later N/A 944 cars? I do not have much power accessories, and it seems to go quickly and handles very well on the road. I would like an S2 though, they look so much nicer and have more zip.
Mike

L8 APEKS

I don't know about that one...I'm willing to bet that very few people have actually tried all the options on the N/As. I am willing to bet that people have been saying "just buy a Turbo" since around '87 or so. I used to work for a very big VW performance company, and I was amazed how LITTLE had changed in the industry with the popular mods and popular models after looking through 15-year old ads from the company. For the most part, the mods and the prices and the suggesions were the same 15 years ago as they are today. I think the same thing applies to the 944, from what I've seen in all my old VW & Porsche mags from the 80's and early 90's.

And I can honestly say that 15-20hp has made a HELL of a difference in my car. It was certainly not capable of beating VTEC Hondas when I bought it. Now I can smoke half of them. I have tried to be careful to make worthwhile mods to my car, and so far, I have not regretted any of my mods. The car is much quicker and much more enjoyable in a straight line, and I no longer fear getting smoked by soccer moms in minivans. I will let you know when I have a cam installed, and I will dyno at that point.

porshaowner

I hope that 944cs reads this because he really needs to comment. He brought his black 944na to pocono raceway in the begining of april. It sounded different than any 944 I've ever heard and was very fast. It would shoot flames when he shifted but it was not a turbo. He wouldn't tell me how much horsepower it made but watching how many kinds of cars he was passing in the straight aways it must have been over 275.

Blue S2

I'de be very curious to know what was done too!

ljibis

You'll eventually either wreck it, lose interest in driving it as your taste moves on to something else, or neglect it and let it fall into disrepair like so many of the '44's out there. The worst part about the 944 is that almost anyone can afford one these days, leading to lots of them dying and leaving circulation for good. Ergo, the price of mint condition, well-cared-for 944's will eventually go up as the model becomes more and more rare.

Owning a Porsche of any kind is a serious and potentially very expensive venture. They are heavily engineered, heavily involving machines. I spent $2500 this spring, just in parts, restoring and rebuilding parts of my 944 that simply wore out due to age, and my car has never been driven hard or subjected to the abuses of a 16 or 17 year old driver. This is basic money for maintenance given the age of these cars.

So by all means, get a 944...serious enthusiasts everywhere will eventually thank you for lifting the prices of our cars.

UDPride

If I were you Id get something like this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/33-00...QQcmdZViewItem

Probably a lot cheaper to drive too. Fun cars. Great handlers.

grayhem

they have great potential to be a fun car to drive!

edit: if none of the other posts have dissuaded you, think of it this way:
making an NA 944 fast isn't a necessarily bad idea. sure, you can throw on a maf, aggressive cam, some fancy headers and an exhaust and get a few hp. You could get a valve job done, have the crank worked, rotating assembly balanced, yada yada yada, up to custom dry-sump systems and titanium conrods if you like! the deterrent from doing all this work is that there are always cheaper alternatives. for the price of just bumping the power up to the level of a 2.5 16v, you could buy a nice turbo car or s2. your car might sound better at that point than the stock s2 or turbo, but it won't be as powerful or have the nicer suspension/ brakes/ trans/ bodywork etc etc etc.

silverBean

I'd like to chime in a bit here. COnsidering I am a "young'in" and all that jazz. My first car was a 95 camaro, 3.4 motor with a 5 speed. It would get up and go, and somebody plowed me and estroyed her affter having her for 7 months. I thought it was so cool, cuz it got up and I could break the tires loose whenerv i wanted. Keep in mind, I was 16(asbetos shiled up!). Being carless for a while was bad. But you know what, the camaro drove like crap. Couldn't turn because i would lose traction, and not from hitting the go pedal. When I finally had the money, I got the 44. That was two years ago on May 29!! The first thing I noticed when driving her, slower than the camaro. As soon as I hit a bend on the freeway on the way home, I fell in LOVE!! The 944's aren't "fast" by any means, and I am perfectly fine with that. I love that My car responds to what I want her to do, not what I hope she does. I have avoided several accidents jjust because of the way she handles.
As far as speed goes, they do have pep. A went for a few drives with a fellow lister with a modded 951. He dynoed it at 294 whp a few months ago. I could actually keep pace with him so long as he didn't gun it. HE even told me that he was inpressed with how well i could keep up. And he loved the way it handled when I took him for a drive.
I admit, an extra 15 or 20 hp would be nnice, but hell, I don't need it. You gotta ask yourself, do you REALLY need to be the guy who pulls ahead, just because that little testosterone competition bug hits you and you feel like less of a man if a car pulls past you. If you do, stay away from me because I really don't feel like getting into a wreck. There are plenty of cars thhat are faster than my 944, but i can GUARANTEE you I can outdrive almost anyone my age who has a rice-mobile. It's all in the handling. EVen my friend Tommy didn't think much of my acceleration. But I hit an empty freeway onramp with his friend tailing in an 03 Impala with a 3.8, lost him. Not gonna tell you how fast I was going, but I wouldn't try it in any other car!! IF you want fast/ quarter mile car/ drop the clutch at the light vehicle, don't get one of these.
I don't appreciate it when the older gents, and ladies, flame the youngsters. I DO understand it though considering how most of "us" drive. If you want a solid vehicle that is a lot of fun, get the 44, just don't expect it to haul serious @$$ unless you plan on dumping a lot of money, and by that I mean more than the large sums already promised with the purchase, into it.
Ok, I think I am done now. Good Luck.