Thaddeus

I would go with the 8 valve unit for (relative) reliability.

Thaddeus

drew

The most common cause of the head replacement
is not replacing the chain tensioner when it's needed. Costs around 500 to 700 to replace after that enjoy the additional revs and HP. Check in your area for the cost of the chain tensioner.

Greg Hammond

If budget is one of your primary concerns, I would stick with the 8V 944. The performance difference, as mentioned previously, is marginal at best. The cost of a rebuilt head and hassle of additional diagnostics and maintenance relating to the chain tensioner is something you can avoid entirely with an 8V motor.

If you're after a significant performance increase, you should look seriously at a 944S2 or Turbo. Of course, it's back to budget - none of these cars are going to be cheap to maintain, and none are all that forgiving of people to neglect that maintenance.

The Great Rebuild is an example of what bad things can happen to a otherwise good-looking car. $14,000 in rebuilds and upgrades later, I still have much to do.

Greg

rfuerst

I have owned a 944S for a little over a year and it has been a great car,the only additional maint. item on these cars compared to the 8V cars is the cam chain tensioner to my knowledge,which if you shop around can be purchased for under $300.00,other than that you have to watch timing belt,balance shaft belt,water pump,oil cooler seals,steering rack leaks and so on just like the 8V cars.The best advice is get the cleanest car you can for the money you have to spend.

aka 951

first of all you won't be blowing by any stangs or vettes with an "S" - not unless they're sitting on the side of the road. VR6 GTIs will be dusting you instead. The "S" performance is not really noticeably greater than a normal 8-valve.

second the problem with the head is not merely the tensioner. one problem lies in the cams and they're profile. Getting 190 hp out of 2.5L without variable valve or cam timing was a tall order in 1987. As such, the cams are not suited well for idle or low-end response.

A big stop sign in my mind is the fact that the "S" motors have to be reved very high to make decent power (over 5000 rpm). The problem is that the 944 oiling system, while great at low rpms and general use is marginal at best when the car is stressed. What ends up happening when you drive an "S" as its supposed to be driven is that you increase your likliehood of losing the #2 rod bearing because of poor-oiling at high rpms and around corners. I lost mine and blew the motor at about 7000 rpm around a corner on the street. How's that for reliability? Once again though its your decision and your money but the smart money is on an 8-valve or S2 ($$$) if you must have an NA.

Lemon Yellow 87 n/a

Man, its true about vettes and stangs but golfs?? Wow, I tore a done up(ok, it was lowered) vr6 gti to pieces on the highway. And no, from what I could tell it was a stick shift.

951and944S

Man, enough already......!

What's the deal...? The "S" is a graet car, means "SUPER" in other words Porsche decided it was SUPER in comparison to the regular car so they put an S on it.

The car, has the exact same recommended, maintinece schedule, as the NA car.
If your lucky, you get anti-lock brakes, Koni yellow struts and shocks, and the big swaybars, like mine, look at the option codes in the decklid, before buying ANY Porsche...!

You get all this, with, what an additional 40Hp and 40 ftlbs. torque, what gives....?

I've owned an "S" model for 8 years, and it's never given touble of any major mechanical nature since I repaired the original damage to valves due to a neglected water pump. Same happens to all 944s if neglected..

Everyday drivability..? Stoplight to stoplight...? Come on, at 4000 revs, where the cylinder head's 4 valves per make a difference, it will pull 1/2 a car length, each time you go through the rev range, versus ANY stock NA 944.. Period.

The same people who slam the 944S, say "Man I sure would like to have a 16 valve head on my turbo"... But if the head is on an S car. it's crap right...?

Most already know, but for those who don't, the head comes from, the 928S4, and use on the original 924 GT racing car, which raced at LeMans...Yep 24hrs... Are the 928S4's crap also...?
The origins of the 951 owe itself to the sucessful 924 GT, so it's crap, I suppose..?
So te oiling system is different on the s2 is it..?
The "S" has an intake manifold like no other 944 to deal with the low rev power and idle issue's mentioned above.! Two knock sensors, to eliminate detonation, due to the 10.9:1 compression, mine is 11:1 static with NO problems.! Has a higher output fuel pump, and the DME is as good as any model. Cheaper insurance than the 951. I have 2 951's also! The 951 is the car of choice here, but compared to an 8-valve...? No contest...!

If you can't properly adjust the cams, (which is a technical feat) don't blame it on the design please....! Porshe continued it til mid 90's in the 928, unless I'm mistaken ..

Sorry for the Flame Guy's, but WTF...?

Get the "S" or save another one for me....!

Terry

Operator

:: go Terry, go Terry, its your birthday ::

951and944S

OperatorSX, Dude I just don't get, that this car gets such a bad rap...?

Post after post about blown head gaskets, water/oil mixing, surging, turbo's smoking, boost problems, and the "S" get bashed...?

I love em, and the 951....!!!!

Another thread talks about the brakes, but on the street, with anti-lock braking the normal driver will rarely need more than the stock "S" brakes. I scare the shyte out of people every day, with stock "S" brakes.
Yeah, the turbo needs the 4-piston Brembo's, but an "S" won't do 165mph either...

Owning an "S" and two 951's makes everyday my birthday...LOL

Cheers

Lemon Yellow 87 n/a

"you get all this, with, what an additional 40Hp and 40ftlbs. torque, what gives....?"

951and944S, havent you been reading? I'll tell you what gives, every post on this topic (and similar topics) before yours gives buddy.

Lemon Yellow 87 n/a

Oh yeah guy, and as far as the "but if the head is on an S car its crap" goes, everyone here has some sort of affection toward the S2. The turbo guys could actually USE a 16 valve head. The S obviously does not. The S2 is where the 16v head should have gone in the first place.

spidey

This debate will go on endlessly, but the best advice (if your really interested in any 944) is to buy the best example that you can afford. If you find two examples that are at the same level, drive them both and pick one, its very simple. You will like which ever one you pick if it is a well maintained car. I liked the extra-oomph at the top end of my S, because that's what I like, not because its necessarily better than an 8v model. The first time I got my car "on-cam" I fell in love with it. Drive every car that you can and you will fall in love with one too (just stay in budget).

Jeff928S4

From what I can tell (and I'm an S owners also), the ONLY main difference between the S and N/A is the extra worry about the Cam Tensioner. It used to cost $300 for the whole Tensioner, but now you can just buy the plastic rails that fail and they are cheap, cheap, cheap.

So, it will cost about an extra $500-800 to keep the S reliable. VS that against the extra boost at higher revs and other positives of the S and make a decision.

Also, don't forget - the tranny in a 944 N/A is weak compared to that of the S. The tranny is the "achilles heel" of the 944 N/A (as quoted from the 944 Frequently Asked Questions page) and it cost wayyyyy more to fix that than to do preventative maintainance on a S Cam tensioner. You can't really do preventative maintainance on the tranny (other than double-clutching all the time) as easily as doing the Pre.Main. on the Cam Tensioners.

I think it all balances out - but this wish-wash about the S head blowing out of the blue I think is coming from some people who wish they had 16 valves instead of 8.

I'll take that back when the head "just blows" on my S from driving it hard.

Longtime76

Thanks Terry and Prince for standing up for the S. I can't really understand why everyone was trashing the S so much. Spidey has a good point about buying the best example you can afford. That is about the best advice you can go with.

drew

I'll second that, proper maintenance including records and general condition are paramount to any 944 purchase including the S. As you can tell the "S" debate has been raging for some time. There is a S2 Porsche page around somewhere that describes the tensioner issue well along with replacement procedure etc. If I can find the link I'll post it later. Should take the mystery out of the head.