Arominus

I'm partial to the S, 30 more HP, the stronger late spindles, NA brakes (cheaper) and a stronger transaxle. I still love to drive mine even with an S2 in the stable that i use as my DD.

wilhit10

At that budget level, a higher mileage e36 M3 would be better. Considerably cheaper than the 944 to repair, especially if you are not fixing it yourself. It's also a lot easier to repair if you want to do it yourself. I love my 944 but, it costs about double to run than my previous M3's. It will also run circles around a s2.

OnlineAlias

E36's are freekin bulletproof too.

Todd951968

Except for their rear sub frame cracking problem, which affects all E36 and Z3 models.

L Cubed

I'm not really interested in a BMW at all. The rear-mounted transaxle and crisp handling balance are engineering notions that excite me since I studied vehicle dynamics at college and I've always loved the 944 since when I was younger.

Now another question for those who have driven a 944 N/A and S2 on track:
Is the S2 so much faster that it makes it hard to learn the momentum driving and proper cornering on track?

I'm curious because I have driven a small formula car in autocross for six years and at the last autocross I went to in my Jetta TDI I PAXed at 14 out of 80. So I think I have the basics down, though I know there is still a lot I can learn.

Here is pic of the formula car

Van

No, an S2 isn't "so much faster than a regular NA". It would just be a few seconds faster at any given track.

What's your budget again?

L Cubed

I am flexible on budget to some degree because I am willing to save up some more for the right car, but it is $5-$7.5K at the moment for just the car. This was based on doing some classified searching and seeing semi-prepared 944 N/A's and some street/sport 944S in this range.

The reason I am asking about an S2 is because there happens to be one close to me at $5500 OBO with LSD and sport suspension, I have not confirmed condition but it has been owned by this guy for 10 years as a daily driver and the clutch was just changed to a spring center clutch. So I am trying to decide if its worth pursuing as my track fun/learning tool assuming it is in as good a condition as I think it is.

Arominus

Pursue it as that's a decent price. The only catch would be how old that sport suspension is. If original it will need to be sent to a koni rebuilder. Is the car m030 or m474? The lsd probably would need a rebuild as well if the car has seen a lot of miles. These items plus the usual belts and such will add up quick. Are you doing your own work on the car?

L Cubed

I'm not sure, I'll contact the guy. He did mention in is had that recently updated the shocks and struts to new Koni Yellows. Outside of a PPI and a good test drive is there anything else in particular I should look at?

Arominus

The biggest time bombs are the timing belt and the cam pads that the cam chain rides on. The cam pads are plastic and need to be done on every 16v motor eventually. The valve cover has to come off to inspect the pads and if any cracks are seen in the plastic it must be done right away. The pads are $110 @ paragon. If he put yellows on it is likely a normal suspension car that was upgraded with the inserts up front which is fine. That's what I've done to all of my cars. If fuel lines in the engine compartment are old they need to be replaced immediately as well. Fire sucks. I did the Lindsey racing ones ($125ish).

Dougs951S

Fire super sucks...My 951 definitely caught fire because of a cracked fuel line. I was lucky because I had a fire extinguisher and quick reflexes (I slammed on the brakes in the middle of a road, hurled myself out of the car while popping the hood at the same time, and sprayed the whole left side of the motor down in one motion) I was lucky that the damage was pretty minor (just a burned harness that I had to rewire)

L Cubed

The car has M474 and M220. I would be doing all my own work up to the limit of engine machine work since I don't have knowledge/tools/equipment. Does this change the value of this S2 compared to building from a NA 944?

My practical/financial side chooses the NA 944, the thrill seeking car obsessed engineer in me wants the S2.... such a dilemma!

Arominus

Depends if he did the hack mod with inserts or if he had the struts rebuilt. That said $5500 is a decent price for the s2. If your doing your own work most parts are only a little more expensive than an NA. Better brakes and more power. The lsd is nice too. A great car to drive and De with.

racerbvd

We are thinning the B&B fleet, our cars are all street legal & well maintained.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...4959512&type=3

For Sale!!! 85 944 NASA Race Car
Taken at Down the Street from Hooters in OP, FL.
This is a NASA prepared car, still street legal, full cage, coil overs, big Welt Sway bars, just add race seat. Drives well and has a tight susp..Resent service....New radiator kTiming belt turbo upgrade water pump, Retensioned, Oil pressure relief valve, Gasket set Chip Almost new Toyo Proxy R1sNew hawk blues New SS Brake line set .High temp brake fluid, GT Racing fiberglass valance (removable) .... A very solid track car.. $8,500

944hal

I set the PCA track record at Road Atlanta this year by almost 2 seconds.

You probably were drafting me :-)