Gretch

Better said. and I have BTDT..........

donberry

tho I have never driven a 944, some of my previous cars included a 1994 dodge stealth(3000gt) and a 1970 corvette. Vette was a much harsher riding car. Stealth was okay, but it was front wheel drive and not nearly as reassuring.
the 928. tough to explain. even the 1st few times driving it you come away thinking it was okay..........it is one of those cars that the more you drive it, the more you appreciate it. Not sure if you have ever had a car like that, but this is one of them. At first you just notice the tightness of the car, how there is no body roll at all. In a MY81, while the speed is good, it does not wow you. Where it gets you is you just do not realize how fast you are going. I have a nice real curvy road leading to my home. In the Stealth, it was a blast driving it.......you could feel the car straining thru the corners. One particularly bad "s" corner, at 45 mph you could feel the car trying to slide thru.
In the 928, you look down and notice you are going 60 thru the corner and it never fazes the car. The only limits I have found are mine as I am scared to even try to put the car to it's limits on this part of the road. In the Stealth you could feel the weight straining to the outside of the curve....in the 928, you feel nothing...it is always totally balanced.
Every time I drive it (which it is a everyday driver for me) it always amazes me at some point at how easy it is going. I look down and am going 65-70 and it feels like 35 on the curvy roads.
I also ride a old motorcycle so I have found some great roads to drive on. Again, I am not evil knievel but I do enjoy speed and racing up the mountain roads. I have found that I go MUCH fatser in the 928 up these roads then I do on the motorcycle......and it is a comfortable speed, never a point where I am worried I will lose control.
I have read where the 944 was voted one of the 10 best handling cars. My guess is that the 928 handles as well plus you have so much more power at the ready.
I have had friends drive the car. At first it is just around the area, getting to know the car. It is usually the same. They talk nice, say how tight it feels, notice the smooth power curve........always impressed it is a 1981 but I never notice a "wow" factor. Then when we get to the mountain......by the time we get to the top.....they then realize what a special car this is. In total air conditioned comfort they learn they can scream up the mountain and never once feel out of control....

way to long....the only real way to know is to find a nice 928 owner and take one for a spin. Do not pass judgement though until you actually put it thru it's paces. My guess is if you find a nice curvy road, preferably in the mountains...you will have a big smile on your face when you are thru.

sweanders

They both handle extremely well, but the feeling is different but still in many ways very much the same..

A 928 is (for me) a car that handle just as well as a 944 or 968 but doesn't have the edgy feeling, it's a bit muted but still very responsive.

To answer if the 928 handles well you should ask the guy in a F355 that I smoked with 1½ second per lap on the latest Porsche Club event here in Sweden.

zmandan

Have both and drive both. 2 differant cars

944: go cart like, very light feeling, hard to make a mistake do to low power, suited for spirited local driving....and 24 mpg! now use for work

928: a heavy and powerful GT car, tires, shocks, corner balance makes a big difference in handling, my 928 needs rear shocks ..I think..because it tends to wallow abit..good for all types of roads and driving. my weekend ride....mpg 15-18

has anyone suffered hail damage yet...?

dan z

bd0nalds0n

I have both, too. Like Thaddeus, I have the Koni yellows, stock springs, turbo rims and the turbo anti-roll bars on my NA 1986 944 with 215k miles.

Things I like about the 944 better than the 928:

Smaller standard steering wheel
More responsive steering rack
Driver positioning is better (928 driver is situated closer to rear, 944 seems smack dab between both axles)
I will probably get flamed for this, but I think the seats are more comfortable and give better support in the 944, even though the 928 seats are prettier. The climate control in the 944 is also more flexible and less dated-looking. The infinitely-variable vent selectors work great.

I find that I it is much easier to drive my 944 to the absolute limits, get a nice drift going, etc. The 928 seems to want to understeer (correctable with throttle), and requires a lot more effort. I always seem to under-estimate what amount of wheel-turn is required to set up for a corner correctly--again, leading to the perception of understeer. I attribute this to the differences in driver position (i.e., due to where I sit in the 928 vs. the 944, driver inputs/perceptions are distorted), the larger steering wheel, and less-responsive steering rack. Plus, I've only driven my 928 for 10k miles or so, while I've racked up 150k on my 944.

It's nice to have the additional torque and power, though. The S4 doesn't feel much faster, until I drive the 944 again--especially when you're trying to pass someone on the highway.

I want a more aggressive suspension on the 928, but I sort of like the comfort of the stock suspension. Someone referred to the suspension as having "anti-dive" properties--I think my 928 dives a lot when you get on the brakes. Similar problems I had with the 944, and the Konis firmed things up a lot. Unfortunately, I have heard that the Konis for the 928 aren't analagous to the Koni yellows for the 944.

I would certainly entertain a 5sp Auto, if someone determines there's a good fix, and would also like to SC the car at some future date, once I don't need it to be my daily driver and have the sort of disposable income necessary to go down the lower-reliability trade-off road.

My 928 mileage tends to be 12-15...

JasonO

atb,

I'd love to go on one of the drives as long as you don't laugh at how dirty I keep my 928 . And how bad I drive... and how I need to change the fluids and such... She isn't perfect anymore (Hey, I had the car for FOUR years in high school), but I still love her.

I just like driving the 944 better (When it works.) 75% of it probably has to deal with the manual transmission and the fact the car is so weak you can't really get in trouble like was said. I learned my lesson the hard way in the 928...

As for the 19th drive- dunno if I can make it. I'm done with school on the 9th, moving by the 12th, and going to Cancun on the 22nd, all while working sometime in there. Probably will be a bit busy and poor. But if you guys ever do it some other time.. feel free to send me an email at jasono@u.washington.edu

-Jason

Weissach

You really can't compare the 944 to the 928. I have owned many of both and one thing stands out. The 944 is very lively and the 928 is pure competence. The 944 handles well under 110-mph, the 928 handles great all the way up to 170 mph.

The 944 is funner in some ways because the handling limits are so much lower. You can push it on the street and not worry about getting into trouble. But the 928s handling limits are so much higher that you would be crazy to push it on public roads. You can basically do the stupidest things under 120-mph, it's crazy.

Shane

I have found that the PacNW group is the most unpretentious collection of Porsche nuts around. Nobody there will give you a hard time, and will give as much support as you could want.