thedyingiraffe

I always thought the S had a stronger transmission then the n/a. I thought the S had an S2 transmission?!

My mechanic today told me that it wans't the case. I am confused now. Can anyone shed some light on that?

My ring and pinion let go... this sucks.

Jonathan Martini

S = S

From the 944 FAQ

http://www.connact.com/~kgross/FAQ/944faq.html

"The S also received an updated transmission that featured a larger, meatier pinion gear, the Achilles' heal of its eight-valve older brothers. It had the same gearing as the 944 Turbo, but a shorter final ratio like the eight-valve, aspiros."

Rally Guy

So, what's in an S2 then??

I know the gearing is shorter (and I like that for the street).

It must be beefier still to handle the 200+hp?

RK

Fishey

The S2 tranny is built in the same way as the 1988 turbo Tranny.
But it has a shorter gearing and diffrent Ring and Pinion altho equaly as strong.

Sami951

I'd guess an N/A tranny would hold up just fine if you're not planning on doing anything really stupid with it. S2 transmission would work also, 5th gear would be a bit taller than what you had but no big deal. With a 951 tranny you would probably notice a decrease in acceleration.

Danno has all the gear ratios listed on his web page:
http://members.rennlist.com/951_racerx/

incessant

get the latest and best.. s2, latest year you can find.
Unlike many other car companies (mainly american), porsche constantly makes upgrades.. the later the better.

Oddjob

The S, S2, and Turbo have basically the same gear box and gears. The ring/pinion ratios are different:

S 3.889
S2 3.875
Turbo 3.3...something(.375?), I just drew a blank

The individual gears sets are all the same except for the S2 has a taller 5th gear set.

I wouldnt put an S2 or especially a Turbo trans in an S, you would notice the taller gearing (less acceleration).

I thought about using a plain 944 trans with a 924S 5th gear set for a track only 944S, but wouldnt recommend that for the street, unless you wouldnt mind the higher rpms at cruising speeds.

Waterguy

According to the Porsche Factory Manual, the 944S got the Type 083D transmission, which is identical to the 951 Type 016R transmission except for:

- no transmission oil pump available;
- final drive increased to 9:35;
- transmission casing with machined recess for ring gear;
- design distance "Ro" 58.15 mm.

The 944S2 got the Type 083F transmission, which is "the same in design and repairing procedures as the 944 S transmission 083D, except for a few deviations:

- longer 5th gear 36:28 i = 0.778
- final drive ratio 8:31 i = 3.875
- design distance "Ro" 59.65 mm
- stronger differential" (italics added by me.)

The factory seems to believe the 944S2 differential is stronger than the 944 / 944S differential. They replaced the R&P gears with physically smaller gears, while trying to keep the same final drive ratio (3.875 versus 3.889). I am not sure if machining the casing factors into the strength or not. HTH

EDIT: Both the 951 and 951S use 8:27 (i = 3.375) R&P gear, which is the same 8 tooth pinion gear. No strength issues. The 944S uses the same 9:35 R&P gears from the 944, so I think the FAQ is wrong on this issue. The real question might be if you can use the S2 R&P gears when rebuilding your S tranny.