Jfrahm

Back in those days it was not realistic to tune for low end and high end. It's still not easy but now we have variable valve timing, variable geometry intake manifolds, active header collectors, etc. The 928S4 has a flapper in the intake manifold to allow for better intake charge velocity at low RPM but few other cars of that age did anything like that. It was pretty exotic at the time.

-Joel.

jgporsche

i've hard this many times....but i don't believe it. my custom air intake made 8WHP 4WTQ(across the board.... DYNO PROVEN) over stock after tuning. i would believe it for the S2/968 though.

82-T/A

jgPorsche, I completely agree with you. I know the 944 is a Porsche, but that doesn't mean that they've eeked out every bit of power and that it's impossible to get more power out of it. In nearly every car circle I've been in, there are proven things that work, but there are always people who say that you just can't get any more power out of a certain motor (or that it's not worth it). While it may seem illogical to spend $5000+ to get 30 more hp out of a 2.5 Porsche motor, I am not apposed to trying different things to see what works, and what doesn't.

The only thing I'm concerned with though, is that the 2.5 NA Porsche 944 has this very distinct sound to it. I know it's not quick, but it has this subdued, yet exotic sound to it. A 4 cyl motor, by virtue of what it is, has horrible engine harmonics. One of the main reasons why most performance 4 cyl motors sound like rice burners is because of the exhaust. Porsche (in my opinion) did an absolutely AWESOME job designing the 944's exhaust system. I LOVE the sound from the stock exhaust. It's got a very decent sound, but at higher rpms, you don't get that vibration from the exhaust that other cars normally would.

I would love to know how to build more power in the Porsche, while still maintaining the more sophisticated sound. For example, I killed all aspects of that in my 2006 Pontiac Solstice. I ordered my Solstice before they offered the turbo, so I ended up with the 2.4 VVT which on a good day, allows the car to run a low 7 second 0-60 with a quarter mile time of mid 15s. I've put a few decent items on the car (shorty ceramic coated header, hi-flow catalytic converter, bored throttle body, and a cold-air intake). It screams now (at least as far as I'm concerned) and I average high-mid 14s in the quarter with my G-tech. It performs really well, but it sounds something God aweful. It really depends at what point I floor it. If I'm laying into it from a dead stop, it's usually not that bad, but any other time, there is a resonance in the exhaust that makes it sound like the absolute WORST riced out Honda you could possibly find. I mean, it's God aweful. I'd like to try to do some of the same things to the 944, but I just don't want it to sound like that.

In every group, there are usually a few "tricks" that people have learned to get some decent power. What are those for the NA 944? I refuse to accept the typical response (install a good set of plugs, do the maintenance, and a good synthetic oil). That's crap... that's how I treat all my cars, all the time. I mean performance items. I refuse to accept the fact that Porsche thought of everything. I know it's a Porsche, but we sometimes have to remind ourselves that the 944 was built by Porsche to help fund it's research & development for their more upscale models. The 944 was their cash cow.

Todd,
2006 Pontiac Solstice
2004 VW Beetle Convertible (Wife's)
2002 Ford Crown Victoria LX-P74
1987 Pontiac Fiero SE / V6
1984 Porsche 944
1981 Pontiac TransAm WS6
1974 Volkswagen 412 Type-4 Estate Wagon
1973 Volkswagen Type-2 Transporter