Blueman33

I currently drive a 951 on a curvy track with only two straights, the fastest of which you can get 110 mph.

The 951 flies top of 4000 rpms, but doesn't have much low end umph. As a beginner driver on a ton of curves, this kills me with slow pickup through corners and sometimes necessary downshifts.

The 951 with nothing more than upgraded sway bars handles very well through the corners.

i am thinking of a 928 which has more torque. But it also has more weight and more probably less equal distribution of weight.

Does anyone have experience with the 928 and the 951?

How does a 928 handle in comparison?

Is the 928 relatively bullet proof and easy to maintain?

Is $7500 for an 87 928S4 a reasonable price?

Any input to describe the 928 and the experience of owning it would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Blueman

Sean79 5spd

To answer two of your questions :

The 928 has almost perfect 50/50 front rear weight distribution.

The main mechanical components of the 928 are relatively bullet proof. THe accessories and electrics are another story.

Thaddeus

The 928 feels heftier. Because it is. But mine will take curves within a hair of as fast as my modded 951. It's a different animal. But the 951 feels more nimble. The 928 was designed to be a Grand Tourer-- all day long on the autobahn at 140... not a "sports car" per se.

The 951 is a chore to keep in the power band, that's for sure... but there are things you can do to bring the power on lower in the RPM's, and make it more forgiving in that respect.

7500 for an S4 seems low... way low. And they are harder to maintain than a 951, I think. More complicated. Parts cost more. Fewer sources for parts.

Drive the S4 and see what you think. That's the best way to know if one is right for you.

That's my take.

Thaddeus

Jim bailey - 928 International

Blueman yes you could shift less with the 928 but the additional weight makes it less suited for twisty relatively slow tracks . If you get comfortable with your downshifts the 944T should be quicker. Try following a regular 944 with good driver and see what speed you can carry in the corners. Lacking power they are momentum cars.

heinrich

Just go try one. It is a very personal thing. And btw that price if the 928 is in good shape is excellent.

bigs

Blueman -

First of all, greetings to New Ahlins. I did my medical school there at Tulane back in the 70's. (Sheesh! How old am I?) Anyway, I've owned both models. The 951 is indeed more nimble in the corners - more tossable. Another option, if you're racing in a format where engine mods are allowed, is to upgrade your 951's engine and torque. I don't know much about that myself, but the mechanics I use here in Utah do race mods on 951's. They've got a bunch of bored-out 951 engine blocks. You might want to call and talk to Garrity Repta or Dave Lomas at Motorsport in Salt Lake City. (801) 487-6733.

macreel

blueman... check the Pelican board, too.

G'luck

Brent 89-GT

I have had both on the track. The track I was on had a very fast front section and a tighter back section. The 928 is far more forgiving above 120 mph than the 951. The 951 is a no brainer in the tight stuff and the 928 requires much more deliberate placement and seems slower to react in transitions. Definately a function of the extra 500lbs.

I agree with Jim B on this one. Learning to drive the 951 better will make you happier than switching cars. As much as I love my 928, and even though I was able to lap within 1 second of my much more powerful 951, I think the 951 is the better track car.

Now back to playing the other side. If you want to mod the suspension for track use the 928 is hands down the easier and cheaper car to change. I swapped to stiff springs and shocks in a matter of hours on my 928. Just try that with the stupid torsion bars on the rear of a 951. Then if you ever have to do a clutch, I'd do 5 928s in the time it takes to do a 951. So each have merits.

For a dedicated track car I might swing back to a 928. You can gut them down to 3000 lbs fairly easily. This also eliminates the aformentioned troublesome electronics....gone! The 928 has a better suspension design period. Getting the wieght down is all it really needs, that and a cure for the bearing failure issue An Accusump would probably do it though.

Then for a dedicated road car...right back to the 928....the sound.... the fury...the wicked V8

Different animals as stated. I really want one of each myself....or do I just want two 928s? One for track, one for street.

puyi

I didnot experience tracks, but for sure, the bigger problem of the 951 is not the torque but the gear box. Actually, the torque of a 951 is not so bad under 3000 rpm, But the gear box is very long and make it difficult to enhance good performance on slow tracks.

So, after all the stuffs possibly made on the 951 engine like guru racing chips or vitesse stage 2 for exemple, perhaps, the adaptation of a 6 speed 968 gear box should make sense.

Puyi

heinrich

Not if you haven't experienced anything more torquey, like a 911 or especially 928. Remember a 951 is nothing but a 944 with far lower compression until the turbo gets into its torque band, ie over 3x000 RPM.

My experiences in driving a 951 and 944 have been that the 951 requires a radicallly unusual driving style because it has almost no torque under the range where the turbo starts pulling hard. And when it does, you can easily break tyres loose if you just stand on the gas.

A 928 by comparison has a steady torque curve, and delivers comparatively even torque all through the rev range. For a newbie who wants to drive harder, the 928 is a much easier car. However ... no Porsche is a good learning car because of lift-throttle oversteer; weight transfer; high torque; deceptively high speed and acceleration; high horsepower and such. Whatever your Porsche, it is very important that you learn to know the car intimately, including brakes, suspension and what happens when things go wrong, such as in a decreasing radius turn; bump steer; etc.

Abby Normal

Contact me off line and we can meet up and discuss. I was going to NPR this weekend but I think the weather will be bad. I can provide some insight to your question and also let you feel the difference of a Shark.

Cameron

My only insight is that at the last Sebring DE that I was at, there was a 951 in my group. I was faster. I don't think I could have been driving better because it was my first time driving Blue group. So even if it was the 951 driver's first day as a Blue, we would have about the same track experience. If he has been driving Blue for a while, my ability to overtake him was more likely due to the abilities of the car.

Yes, I know. Totally subjective.

.....Cameron
'91 Euro GT

Brent 89-GT

That sounds about right Cameron. The stock 951 (non S version) is likely going to trail 928GT. My 951 was faster due to a fair number of mods.

Jim bailey - 928 International

Perhaps worth while to repeat the initial post ..."951 on a curvy track with only two straights, the fastest of which you can get 110 mph." The more time you spend turning and braking the less time you have the go pedal to the floor which favors a lighter car. If you strip the 928 down to 3,000 lbs like the very brown 1980 you then must also consider stripping down the 951. With either car more track time practice is far better than speeding money on the car for most people.

adam928

Im not a very experienced driver (yet). I have driven about 30-35 track meetings this summer.
I agree on what most of the ppl here say. I have yet to drive a 944 or a 951 on the track but I have driven my 928 together with 951/944s on the track a couple of times.

My home track is a 2km long very twisty track with one 500m straight (downhill with a deadly 180 degree curve in the end... a real brake killer...) and some shorter straights.



The 944 and the 951 are more quick in the twisty curves on the track. Most of the time they pull away here. Actually this goes for some of the 911s to.

On the straights or fast curves (se north west curve in image) none of them could pass if I wouldnt let em...

I believe this can be applyed to most of the cars I have accompanyed on the track.