Rainmaker1990

I was told by another 944 owner that the 944 was detuned to be sold in the US. He said that you can put it back to European specs. In doing so it will gain 40 extra horsepower or so. So the tings you have to do is; advance the crank 5 teeth, turn the distributor slightly clockwise, and turn the **** on the ECU all the way to the left and then 3 clicks to the right. I know this sounds odd, believe me I have had a hard time typing this out. I am new to the 944 and I met this guy when I was picking up some parts. I want to know if there is any truth in this or if it's an old wives tale.

william_b_noble

first, it is impossible to do what that says, have you ever opened the hood of your engine and looked? why don't you do that and determine for yourself how you would implement the part about turning the distributor, then come back and give us your opinion about this tale. The other 944 owner clearly doesn't do any of his/her own work on the car.

V2Rocket

punch him in the throat and disassociate yourself with him for the rest of your life.

Tom M'Guinn

It was not detuned for the US market.

Not sure what "advance the crank" means, but the distributor cap does not move, and you would not want to advance the timing belt.

There is no "****" on the ECU. There is a small rotary switch in the ECU (called DME) to make minor adjustments to fuel and spark timing, but it is intended to adjust for various fuel qualities.

If you want 40 extra horsepower, get yourself a good set of performance chips for the DME and a test pipe, if legal, and you'll exceed your goal! That's if it is a turbo car. If it's N/A, then 40 horsepower is a much more challenging goal.

mytrplseven

Tell him that it might work with his Yugo but not with a Porsche 944.

Van

40 extra HP on an NA car will take about $20,000 of engine work.

sl2ner

lol ignore everything this person has told you. if it runs good dont mess with anything. if it dont, look up proper timing procedures and make sure everything is in order.

Arominus

Its cheaper than that, a 944S engine transplant will get you most of the way there. Whenever the rogue MAF comes out you get another 10hp at the wheels.

Bam 40hp over the 8v for way less coin

Van

OK - good point!

An LS3 will also be less than $20k.

konakat

The first several years were detuned with lower compression, but the only way to get that back is to swap the pistons.

V996

I'm a pretty amateur gearhead but even I got a good chuckle out of this thread.