1984porsche944

im a 19 year old student at uni and have an 84' N/A which i absolutely love... its a blast to drive at the PCA autocross, however i find that it is a bit under powered.

ive been on the treads for a while now looking at the best ways to get more power out of my 944, but i cant seem to find the best solution. i cant tell whether doing a v8 conversion (which im not too keen on), or swapping in a turbo 4cyl. is the better option....

i was wondering which is the best (and most affordable) way to bring my 944 up to speed.

cheers
Tom

mytrplseven

The upgrade to a 3.0 litre twin cam engine would be an easier and probably cheaper change. Less cutting, adapting and you can usually get the right dme, transmission (not sure the N/A trans will handle the power from and S2 car). There's a lot of info, as I'm sure you've found on the v-8 mod and if you do one, get a turbo trans to handle the obvious power upgrade and plan on an aluminum engine block to keep the balance correct.

Butters944

*Cue Odurandina with rant about V8 swaps*

Jamesr6967

In my opinion, if it's Autocross you want to do, the turbo wouldn't be my choice due to the response time for the turbo. You're better off with added displacement. Once again, power costs $, how much do you want to spend. PS. A small dose of nitrous is a cheap boost in power (50-75hp). Ideally you want forged rods and pistons, I'm not sure if the rods are forged on the '84. Spend a little extra and do the nitrous properly tho. My car had had safe guards in place so as not to burn a piston or the head.

Fara

It's hard to say what to recommend when we're not sure of your power goals:

Were you after something more "perky" for autocross or are you looking for something with a much higher top end? Did you want to go turbo or would you rather a smooth powerband? Did you want to try to stay in the same class for your events?

If it were me, I'd swap out to a 3L and replace the transaxle with that from a 968. It's a pretty work heavy job and will cost a fair amount. It'd be cheaper to sell your current car and purchase a 944 turbo in most cases rather than doing this level of swap.

odurandina

let's get autocross out of the discussion for a moment.

imo, there is very little that can be done in the Porsche engine context to add power without doling out significantly large sums of time and money... and virtually nothing you can do short of forced induction will ever satisfy your desire for the kind of power this car needs, or what most you'll eventually want (assumption, mine). worse, these cars need about 300 hp just to start feeling good... because there's no low-end torque.


if we look at the question like this;


1. go faster vs/ much faster.

2. go 100~150 k miles...

3. add up the costs to do both via Porsche vs Chevy power....


V8 swap route with a bargain LS1 vs doing anything in Porsche.... V8 wins.

V8 swap with LS3 crate motor... V8 still wins.


even doing the above with a 968 motor,

and going the 150 k miles is, imo, a considerable and daunting proposition.


the sooner you get Porsche out of your engine bay, (and out of your life) overall, the better.



month after month, we are getting closer and closer to the cliff.... and the Grim Reaper believes there are fewer and fewer people showing the dedication that is required to keep the fleet of 944s/944Ts going.... as a result, the numbers of 944Ts out in circulation continue to decline steadily. in fact, i believe many good cars are being neglected—and most of them will likely, eventually be discarded altogether.




.

xsboost90

If you are smart enough to work on a german car, and you keep the maintenance up in your german car, there is no reason to drop a chevy motor in there besides preference. You can build a 350+ hp turbo four cylinder for a fraction of a chevy swap, and it will be just as reliable- and you will be able to keep your factory brake system. I can swap a timing belt in the time it takes to change out the plugs in a v8 conversion- and i know this first hand.Nothing wrong with either, like i said, preference.

as for n/a power, c'mon nawwzz??? really? There are plenty of ideas to pull more hp out of n/a motors, MAF conversions, tuning etc just check what the racers do in like SP2 etc.... but the most bang for your buck will be loosing weight and improving suspension and learning how to drive.

MAGK944

Really, isn't a V8 swap done properly around $15k if you do it yourself or $20k with labor? I think I read that somewhere, oh yes...

From his post the OP really isn't in the situation of dropping $15-20k, what do you think? How do you think your answer helps him?

How about looking a MaxHp or FRWilk chip, maybe the N-Tune that's due for release soon (scaleable and tunable). A little bit more power (granted its only a little in the scheme of things) but it does make a difference in drivability...and all for well under $500.

The 3L swap is doable if you have a larger budget in mind and there have been a few turnkey 3L solutions selling recently under $3k. If your car is in cosmetically good condition (interior/paint) it basically comes down to what you want to spend and how much you can do yourself.

If your extends to a V8 swap, odurandina will be your bff

Fintro11

sell it and buy a boxster ....

Reimu

Chances are that even though the car is underpowered, it still has more potential at its current horsepower than you're capable of using to a high degree.

That said I swapped a turbo engine into my n/a, but that was more because it blew up and I got a good deal.

JnJNY

Not to be a downer, but I'm pretty sure that Nos at an autocross, PCA or otherwise is not allowed.

For anything else, do as you wish.

1984porsche944

well, i have only done a handful of autocross events and they arnt my primary goal when it comes to the car...

MAGK944 is right, i dont have 15-20k to spend on it. im planning on having this car the rest of my life, as sort of a project car to take to the track and whatnot. as of right now its my daily driver which i take to autocross meets.

the interior and exterior are mint, so im not too crazy on the idea of stripping it out to shave some pounds.

ive already sunk a ton of money into this car, purchased for 4500, timing belt etc. was a few grand.. then the tranny blew on me after a month of owning it... so spending even more isnt an option until i get a real job :P

what i really want something that has more pep while driving around, and allows me to take it to the track and not be completely blown away. like i said, im in love with this car. handling is shocking, but i just need a stronger power plant...

appreciate all the advice!

MAGK944

$250 944na Max HP
$TBN N-Tune (coming soon)

First is a good chip that will improve driveablility. Fit it with a new circular throttle cam (about $50) and you will definately feel the difference.

Second has been developed but not released yet, in the next month or two. Increased hp & torque throughout the range and gets rid of the troublesome afm. Expect it to be under $500

Please post some pictures of the car, we all like to see mint 944's.

GL

txhokie4life

Pretend the car has no brakes and learn to toss it into corners and modulate with throttle.

Yes you will loose in the straights -- but when you learn to avoid braking in corners and don't be intimidated by others taillights as they enter corners
the 944 can be surprisingly quick.

Pick up some Turbo suspension parts and good sway bars and set it up just a tad loose and learn to throttle steer.

When I brought my Chumps car to PCA DEs -- the 996 Turbo guys were amazed that I could keep up with them. They still refused to point me by tho :-)

Mike

odurandina

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