G Man

I am considering 951 ownership. I know very little about the 944/951 as I am a 928 owner at this time. Is there a particular year / years I should avoid? Which year would be the best to look for? Thanks.

theedge

Goal? Besides getting into a much much better Porsche

FRporscheman

The 89 is the best year overall, since it has the 88's "turbo S" package as standard equipment on all models, and is the youngest one available.

The 86 has some pros and cons. It is the only year of 951 that used the early offset (i.e. you can use Fuchs). However there's obviously then no ABS. The 86 also has a poor vacuum hose system which will need updating. I'm not a turbo guy, so that's all I can think of right now.

UDPride

best example you can find for budget, then live with whatever year and trim you find and learn to love it.

Darwantae951

86's arent the best as far as upgrading very easily, but they're all great cars! Like UDPride said, just get the best example you can afford. You can't go wrong with that.

-Darwin

billthe3

Just for general knowledge since you're a 928 guy, the cars went through a mid-life makeover in the middle of the 85 model year, so a lot of times you'll see people refer to their cars as an 85.5 for the second half of the model year. Not much done on the outside, but the interior of the later cars is much more modern looking.

The turbo was also introduced in the 86 model year (the first ones were made in late 85), and then went through some minor updates every year it was around: in 87 they switched the axles so the car has "late" offset wheels, which allow it to run a lot of the modern porsche wheels, they added airbags and abs; 88 (or was it 87?) showed the introduction of the turbo s, which makes ~40hp more due to a larger turbo, as well as having the coveted m030 suspension as an option; in 89 they go rid of the turbo s designation because all cars sold were turbo s specs.

If any of that is wrong, someone please correct me.

TheRealLefty

More than the model year, I think a savvy new-to-951 buyer should pay more attention to the exact equipment on the seller's car. Any 951 between 86 and 89 that has fresh suspension with M030 specs or better, M030 sway bars, dual port waste gate with appropriate controls and chips and an LSD tranny is going to be a good one to look at. Options codes would be M030 and M220 for sport suspenion and LSD tranny as OE equipment. Beyond that value comes mostly from cosmetics.

Value also can come from a number of 968 upgrades, including rear coil overs, stiffer front control arm caster blocks, 30 mm front sway bar and those trick control arm mounted air diverters to cool the front brakes.

The 88/89 Turbo S models described above are the most robust as delivered, with larger front calipers (from the 928 S4), full M030 suspension with adjustable front perches, stiffer rear torsion bars, stiffer front chassis and the best tranny featuring stronger first and second gears, LSD and external cooling. In factory spec the S models turn out about 25-30 more hp using a larger 26/28 KKK turbo which holds boost better into higher RPMs.

Once you get familiar with the breed, however, I think you'll quickly discover that any well refurbed and performance upgraded 951 may match or exceed the factory mods that made the S models so special in their day.

EdC

What he said above.

Sparky_NY

The previous posts pretty well cover the issues. Depending on the budget, the 88 turbo-S or the 89 is the hot ticket. The S versions of these cars have all the goodies done at the factory. The only problem is the S versions are hard to find and often asking wild prices.
I have a 89 turbo S which I love, its a fantastic car and if I had to do it again it would be the same choice. Unfortunately, I don't get to use the car much anymore and will be selling it soon.

harrisonrick

what they said.

billthe3

One thing to realize is that a lot of the parts are interchangable between the different models - people have put 951 engines in 968's, 968 engines is 944's, 968 6speed trannys in 951's, 968 cosmetic pieces are usually put on 944's and 951's (mirrors and door handles), people with 944's put on the 951 bumpers, etc, etc. Depending upon your monetary situation you really can make whatever kind of car you want given enough time/labor and having a sound car to start with. (But then I suppose thats true with any car.)

Tom R.

on all but the 89 and 88 S ABS is an option just like LSD is an option.

Andial951

86 of course

Catfood

If you plan on adding power LSD is a must have.

G Man

Thanks for the advice!