oldoutboardjim

Okay. I'm considering my first Porsche 944. Here's my question: How different is the acceleration performance between a NA 944, a 944S, and a 944 Turbo (951)? Anybody have any numbers - especially from original road tests that were made by the car mags?

apierce918

meh

mediocre

and holy $hit depending on mods accordingly

knfeparty

The NA from the 1989 MY with the 2.7L has a bit more kick off the line. But nothing compared to the turbo kicking in...Haven't driven an S or S2 yet so I dunno about those.

Andial951

ha ha.......the turbo just isnt in the same class as far as acceleration.

SD Porsche Fan

Welcome to Rennlist! You've come to the right place to get your questions answered.

Don't buy an NA or 16 valve for acceleration. Buy them to be an extremely well balanced adequately powered sports car.

The 951 is a hoot on the road because of it's poise and power. But again, don't buy one because you want to shoot 1/4 traps at the strip. Unless of course you have very deep pockets and enjoy replacing clutches and/or CV joints.

Techno Duck

Ive had a chance to drive all with the exception of a 968. Here is my take on it.

8v 2.5L n/a is a fun car, but slow as heck. 0-60 in roughly the mid 8 second range. Runs out of breath by 4500 rpm.

8v 2.7L n/a has a little more low end grunt and a little better top end power over the 2.5L engine, but not by much.

16v 2.5L S is not a low end car, but has a very good top end. At low RPM it feels similar to the 8v but pulls much better from 4500rpm up till the redline. You really need to rev high to get the power from it.

16v 3.0L S2 has great low end power and a pretty decent higher end power. It pulls strong all the way from 2000rpm. There is no lapse of power or anything like the 8v or 2.5L 16v motor. Buy an S2 if you do not like waiting for your power. I personally love the torque of this engine.

8v Turbo in stock form in my opinion feels similar to a 8v non turbo at low end up till about 2500rpm, but once the turbo spools up its a completely different ball game.

Something else to take into consideration. You would be lucky to get at most 25hp from mods to any of the n/a cars. Even then your looking at alot of money to get that power. With the turbo, the sky is the limit.

V2Rocket

It's been discussed hundreds of trillions of times here...there's just not much you can do the the 8v NA motor without spending ridiculous amounts of money and time to get some more power. If you want a fun car that's reliable as hell, go for an NA. If you want to haul *** and keep up with Mustangs on your stock setup, get a Turbo. Turbos have more mods possible, but they will get very expensive very fast.

With an NA, all you can really do is find a way to get more air into and out of it (headers/intake work) and just cut down weight. Putting your 944 on a diet is the easiest and cheapest way to improve speed.

oldoutboardjim

Thanks for all the responses. I will check the one web site that was recommended.
While I greatly value good handling, it is nice to have the oomph to accelerate well. IMHO, good handling is wasted if you don't have the power to take advantage of it. I'm not looking to race Hemi Cuda's for the ¼ mile, but a kick in the seat when the pedal is depressed is a good thing!
By the way, my last two daily drivers were a '92 Integra GS-R, and an '04 SVT Focus. I would want a car that has at least as much power as these do.
PS: I am pushing 59 years old, so I'm not into jack rabbit starts with squealing tires (been there, done that, in the 60's & 70's). But once I get the thing rolling, I want some snort! Is that okay? You're darn right it's okay!

ilikemy944

SVT focus is what, 160 hp? I wouldn't want to pick on an SVT focus in my S - though it may be a good match.
You'll want a 944S2 or 944 Turbo.
S2 for around town torque, 944 Turbo if you want the asphalt to melt (after some mods of course ).

V2Rocket

Or go nuts and get an S2 motor, bore it out and stroke it to 3.5L, put the biggest honking hybrid (small exhaust/large intake) turbo you can find on it, with a 3.5" downpipe and 3" exhaust all the way back, 55+ lb injectors and a chipped computer and make a million HP.

Then mount it in your 944.

ilikemy944

3.5" downpipe to 3" exhaust - yes it sounds like a wonderful idea to reduce the piping size after the turbo.

V2Rocket

For shizzle.

I forgot to type that extra .5" thing. I apologize sir.

SD Porsche Fan

The 951 is all about snort once you're rolling!

wjk_glynn

Yup, see http://www.weissach.net/924-944-968_...stSummary.html

Karl.

Mighty Shilling

the 944 NA is like "Ok, we're moving, full throttle, WTF!? A MINIVAN JUST PASSED ME!"

the 944 S, I dunno. never driven one.

the 951, is like, "Ok, we're moving, full throttle, nothing... nothing, that minivan is approaching, nothing, the minivan is starting to pass, HOLY ****!! OMG i'M GOING SO FAST! BYE MINIVAN! SCREW YOU JERKBAG! AH!" And then you get pulled over and your license revoked...