L8 APEKS

Yeah, I should have said this in my 1st post...but unless you have deep wallets, a 944 isn't the best first car. They do get expensive to maintain. If you can get that covered, then it IS a good first car IMHO.

You guys got me wondering how much it really costs to make a 944 quick. Here's what I've spent, off the top of my head...

Lightened flywheel, $155
Nology coil, ~$90 retail
Nology wires, ~$150 retail
Shaved head, ~$40 (removed and installed at home)
Autothority clone chip, $25
Custom exhaust, ~$300
Adjustable cam gear, $275
K&N, $30
Throttle cam, $25

PARTS TOTAL: $1,090

Truth be told...that really isn't *THAT* bad for the gains I've gotten. I didn't list the DF clutch ($275), labor for said clutch ($650), or the blueprinting of the fuel injectors ($96) as these could be considered maintenance...they aren't solely go-fast items.

The cam will set me back $450, bringing the total to about $1,540 in go-fast goodies. At this point, it should theoretically be between 190 and 200hp according to reputable sources who have dyno'd similar setups. On par with an S, and close to that of an S2 power-wise.

While it's true that $1500 will get you a lot more power-per-dollar on a 951, I don't think this is a huge amount invested so far. I have certainly spent WAY more on other cars. Not to mention, if someone chooses to mod differently, they could have spent much more for the same thing or less (ie, spending $750 on a flashy exhaust, or $600 on rims, or $500 on a 951 nose/valance conversion.)

I think my theoretical cap is $2500, because I want to leave the option of a MAF kit open after I get my cam. Dialing in the A/F at that point could net another ~15hp, bringing it pretty much on par HP-wise with a 951 (granted, it won't have the TQ).

In the end, I guess I could have just "sold it and bought a 951". But why? I'll have a one-of-a-kind 944 that very few other people will have ever had. It will certainly break into 14's in a 1/4 mile sprint...not too bad considering I paid $2400 for the car. That's under $5k for a 14-sec 944, car included (but maintenance NOT included!). When I think of it that way, it's really not that bad.

To go BEYOND this point in tuning will start to cost a bit more money, and I think that's the "practical" wall...IMHO.

Blue S2

L8 Apeks... is that at the wheels or at the flywheel?????

If thats all you did to your car for that gain then I must have been lying to myself when I saw what Ive done hasn't done anything! HAHA. I can't wait for the dyno this year. I was going to get dynoed now, but our PCA region is having a dyno for charity so Im going to wait for that. I was going to do coil and wires, and new fuel injectors this summer. I figured that would just keep it clean.

Then again, I see your profile lists your car as looking pretty light on weight too. That plays a major role in these cars.

Campeck

what i always thought would be a fun project is cut the intake manifold runners in half and remake it. then make a 4-1 exhaust and tune it to mate up with the pulses in the intake. then dial in the cam for the same rpm. and tune. that would be a fun car.

Fishey

I know of a much cheaper way to get into the 13s let alone 14s in a 944

L8 APEKS

That's flywheel. I imagine when I'm done, it should be in the ballpark of 165 @ wheels. I like to estimate low so I'm not disappointed.

I thought about it, but I don't want temporary power.

Tony K

I suggest the person who started this thread buy a beater 944 Turbo for the price of a decent NA, act like he is a cut above because he chose a Porsh, show off his ****box to his friends, do a bunch of holeshots, street race some Japanese cars and Mustangs who hang out at Taco Bell, and break something on the car that he can't afford to repair. Then he can come on here and ask stupid questions that center around the theme of 'what is the absolute cheapest way I can get this thing back on the road', and then a bunch of people who don't know a valve seat from a valve guide can give him bad advice based on what their friends told them or what cheap fix didn't work on their car when they tried.

I highly recommend a Turbo for this gentleman. He will never be happy with an NA. An NA is just not enough for some people.

camelot

I had the pleasure of being able to drive my 85NA for a week ,as I've been working on it a lot. When I laid it up for a rear hatch reseal due to weather I jumped in my Exploder. First highway curved off ramp my words were.."Oh $hhhhheeeeeeit" Some times you don't know when you got it good.

jgporsche

I have both, although my n/a is a 16v instead of an 8v, but nothing compares to my n/a. I love driving it. Yes, my turbo throws you back in the seat and accelerates fast as hell, but my n/a is just as fun in a different way. Hitting 4000rpms on an on ramp and accelerating onto the highway letting the tach hit 6800rpms before shifting and falling in with the rest of the traffic.

I can't do that with my turbo because if I were to hit redline I would have to slow WAY down before merging onto the highway. Nothing beats the smoothness of my n/a.

Mighty Shilling

Amen!

Blue S2

L8, ok, I was assuming that was flywheel! If you had found someway to put an n/a beyond S2 territory with just those mods I was about to bow down and then start modding away!

S2 seems 208 flywheel stock from the factory, so ide be impressed to be pushing 215-220 flywheel after some tweaks this summer combined with what ive already done. I wish I had the 250 the 968 puts down, but having been in one...it doesn't really feel all that different. I'de love to strip the car...but I don't have the heart to do it to mine! I'de love another one eventually though.

iloveporsches

Yeah, but it isn't the easiest thing to tune an equal-length exhaust to the correct length. And why would you cut the intake runners in half?

yellowline

Hope you're not downshifting at 6800.

jgporsche

Of course I am, I have a 10,000 rpm rev limit!!



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mnypit944

For the guy that says you can find a Turbo for about what some NAs go for, show me one. I bought a nearly perfect 83 for $3000. After a few hundred more in seat repairs, timing belt etc, and a/c repair it is even that much nicer. Where am I going to find a nearly perfect Turbo for under $4000? The least I have found a turbo for in this condition has been $12000 and they were asking $13500.

L8apecs has shown me that for relatively little money I can achieve close to 200hp. I think you will find that most asking these questions will be perfectly happy with these gains per dollar. I will be.

And for whoever said that people wanting more power are going to get bored with the car or neglect it, you are nuts. Mine sits in the garage most of the time. I drove it today to the tune of about 50 miles, but it will sit for another couple weeks only being started to move it closer to the center of the garage to polish something.

If someone here wants to sell me a Clean 944 Turbo for $4000 please let me know. I will stop asking how to mod my NA immediately and buy the Turbo in a heartbeat. Hell if I can find one that costs less than $7000 in the condition of my car, please let me know. AGAIN I will not want to mod my NA anymore. I figure for $3000 in mods I should be able to achieve over 200hp and have a unique car, especially if I am patient and wait for the right deals to come along, like I did on the suspension. Remember I am not paying some overpaid Zelot too much money to work on it, so labor is free. And while I am doing this I still have a fairly awesome car to drive.

So next time some poor slob comes on here asking about mods, how about you tell him about what can be achieved instead of the normal response of "just buy a turbo, it will cost as the same amount", because it wont. AND remember that not everybody looking for more power is some 17 year old pencil necked geek looking to street race Hondas. Some have been around the block a few times and knows a bit about mods.

John in Deland
83 NA
99 328iC

Campeck

shorter runners = higher rpm TQ/HP.
well..shorter and fatter...