Noahs944

What's better as a daily driver, part time track beast... when keeping stock?

DasSilberWedge

S2 but I'm biased


Probably easier to find a well used Turbo and save the hassle but depends. I was set on an S2 hell or high water for nearly a year before I found my perfect one, nearly pulling the trigger on a Turbo as well out of frustration.


With an S2 you don't have to worry about turbo lag (I think it's fun but appreciate the N/A power band) or bigger maintenance costs with the complexity. I get killer mileage with it usually (short highway drives to get to work or for weekend getaways) & there's lots of low end torque for putting around town. Not sure what the Turbo is like off boost & at lower speed as I've never been in one but the S2 doesn't really leave you regretting or missing anything. If you ever get the chance to ride or drive an S2, leave it in 2nd gear, get up to 50km/h or 4000rpm on the dot & maintain it for a couple seconds & then absolutely nail it to the floor! One of it's better party tricks. Really sold me on the car afterwards. They're killer at Auto-X too as you stay in 2nd the 99% of the time.

PaulD_944S2

S2 is a smooth continuous linear build of acceleration.
Pulls from any rpm, even below 1500.

Turbo kicks in midrange and all hell breaks loose.
Turbo easier to modify for more power.

If you had to drive it all day, the S2 will be an easier ride.

Noahs944

Yeah AutoX is big on the list.

Humboldtgrin

How much money do you want to spend? Not much and have a very nice car then an S2. Now the question how much $ do you have because you can buy a turbo, and they are very very fun, but they cost a lot more money under the hood. The stock S2 engine is real close to a stock turbo in performance, but once you have a turbo then modify it, it's a whole new ball game! The transaxle is also much stronger in the turbo due to a bigger pinion gear and stronger case which should be considered. If you find an S2 you could swap in a turbo transaxle and turbocharge the 3.0. That would be a daily driver in my book.

JustinL

I can speak to track use on the S2, n/a, and 951. The 951 has the highest potential because of the power. It can be a real rocket when turned up a bit. I would say that it's almost too fast for the street. Even at 350rwhp and under 3000lbs you don't get to use too much of that around town. On track though you'll always want more power. For autocross, it's not really in its element unless it's a really wide open track.

The S2 is simpler, easier to drive, but slower. For racing it's my weapon of choice because it's reliable and easier to maintain. I also don't care about keeping it original or streetable.

The n/a is a great starter car for the track. Simple, easy to drive, but just slower than the other two.

944hal

For both track and street, the S2, as long as you are not looking for max speed on the track. Anytime you are trying to do both street and track, you'll need to compromise. If you go for the best track performance, then you'll need to take it off the street.

And.....as JustinL stated, the S2, or any NA for that matter, is more reliable and easier to maintain than a Turbo. Just not as fast. And, if you are just doing DE's, max speed doesn't matter. It doesn't matter who is the fastest at a DE, it's the fun factor that counts most, plus the fact you are learning how to drive.

black944 turbo

It depends on what you like. Do you like the rush of turbo acceleration once on boost and don't mind giving up some low end power or do you like very linear power across the board? They are both great cars, I prefer the rush of boost, but I love the s2 for what it is. In my opinion the s2 is a great daily car, but the turbo is a better toy.

Noahs944

Great answers... Right now I can live vicariously through you guys

DasSilberWedge

With the S2 you get the exclusivity factor too

400hp944

I have owned both models and tracked both. The S2 is by far the better daily driver in terms of drivability and maintenance. Yes it's slower than the turbo, but so much nicer to drive around town. You can chip the S2 and put on a new intake and exhaust and see a little gain in HP, but that's about all you're going to get. The turbo on the other hand has so much more potential to make "go fast', but at the expense of drivability and headaches. I know all of this first hand. If you don't want to hassle with things, go S2 or 968.

I never should have sold my S2 and regret it to this day. While I enjoyed building and racing my turbo, the S2 was still so wonderful to drive. I did autocross and time trial my S2 and it was very good for that in street form. Drive to the track and drive home without worries. The turbo can be a slippery slope for sure. I caught the "go fast" bug bad and put nearly $20 grand into my motor at which time I turned it into a race car. Raced it wheel to wheel for a few years but became very costly so I sold it moved to a 944 Spec race car. best decision I ever made from a racing stand point.

Go for the S2 or a nice 968. You will not regret it.

Fishey

S2 hands down is the better designed motor and package for someone who is looking to drive the car on the street/daily.

That being said the S2 is to damn slow by standards of today.

Paulyy

i would rather an s2 for a daily, but i know there would be times i'd rather be in the turbo. My turbo sounds like no other, and has a crazy roar when i push the loud pedal and for that reason i like the turbo

V2Rocket

luckily, with a MAF/MAP conversion and some hotter cams, waaaay more power isn't terribly hard to achieve.

the S2 is a magnificent engine with a lot of power potential, with a cork stuck in the intake pipes.

djantlive

Why would you get turbo as the s2 is about as fast.

Turbo s would be something else. But I actually would get 968 if you are spending nearly $20k for a cream puff