onewhippedpuppy

Inevitably, this is one hell of a loaded question, but I'd like people that have owned/ driven both to give some opinions. I'm maybe interested in a '86.5 5speed, still kind of on the fence about it. The one big question I do have though, is the 928 back seat bigger than a 951? I know it's not big, but is it bigger? How will the driving experience vary? I'm going to try to get a ride in one here locally, but I'd like some opinions. Thanks!

bigs

OK. I'll stick my neck out here.

I've owned more than one of both - see my sig.

The back seats are sixes. I honestly don't think there's any advantage, one over the other.

The 928 will have a more comfortable ride. Better for long cruising, since it is, after all, a GT car.

The 951 will have a more firm ride. The 951 will out-handle and out-corner the 928 - barely. Being lighter, the 951 will be a little more nimble in the twisties.

The 928 will have much more torque off the line. If you have a bone stock 951, a Civic will beat you across the intersection! With the 951, you gotta wait for the turbo to spool up. Then it's fun!

Bottom line: See my sig! I like my 928 because when I want to take it for a spirited drive, its limits are far higher than mine are as a driver! But the large majority of my driving is just plain standard around town driving. For that, it's more comfortable and a nicer ride.

If you'll be doing a lot of spirited driving at higher speeds where you can keep the car on boost, the 951 is a lot of fun. Around town, it's a little bit of a sluggard.

sweanders

It is more about taste than sense when it comes to choosing a 951 or a 928, at least for me.

I have done a lot of high speed driving and daily driving in both cars and I would take a 951 over a 928 any day of the week since I just can't find an as comfortable driving position in a 928 as in a 944 for some reason. For me a manual gearbox 928 doesn't make very much sense when doing street driving so if it is a car that is ment to be enjoyed daily in traffic a nice auto 928 is something I would love to have along with my 951 track car...

tammons

Okay I have owned about 5 928's, two of them turbocharged and now I have a 87 951.

The cars are drastically different. The 928 is very expensive to mantain, heavier and more of a cruiser. Very comfortable and the rear seats are bigger and it has more leg room. Turbocharged or supercharged its awsome but that is very expensive to do right. My last car was a 86.5 5 speed.

The 951 is smaller, more agile, better balanced, probably a little cheaper to work on, like radiators are $300 vs 1G for a 928. Actually I never thought I would like a 951, but after owning one for a while its just fine with me. What I dont like about them the most is it is impossible to get to anything on the engine, as everything is very tight. The 928 has a lot of room in the engine bay. The shop time to do a clutch on a 951 is about 24 hours, and I can drop a 928 clutch in about 1.5 hours.

There are more performace upgrades for 951's, but a turbo or supercharged V8 is an awsome ride.

Personally I think it depends on what you expect. If you dont mind dishing out $300-400 a month on maintenence and want a highway ride like a cadilac, I would go for a low milage 928 with records. If you want a car you can throw around corners a 951 is the ticket.

See if you know someone that has one of each you can drive. The first time I drove a 928 coming from a 633 bmw I fell in love with it.

onewhippedpuppy

I currently own an '87 951, so that part of the comparo won't be a problem. I love it, but the lag is annoying around town, boost on the highway is awesome though. I do all my own work, are just the parts for a 928 significantly more expensive than a 951?

tammons

Some are much more expensive, some are about the same. Go on Vertex and do a comparison. the dual discs clutches are prone to problems too. I have had a few clutch nightmares, here and there. Autos are more reliable IMO, but filling one happens under the car.
Auto Radiator 1G +
If you do the clutch right, sit down. Intermediate plate, 2 clutch discs, PP TO bearing etc. At least you dont have to drop the drivetrain to do it.
The 32V engines are very complicated too. Much more complicated than an early 16V. The later cars like 85? and 86 and on have blade fuses that are better than the older ceramic fuses.

All in all they are cruisers, and are high maintenece vehicles. They are great on trips though. You can crise at 90 all day long. Those cars just kindof float along.

sweanders

With a free flowing exhaust, chips and an Accuboost you can build 15 psi as early as 2800 rpm with very little lag.

jyoon

i've had two 951's and currently own an 1984 euro 928 5 speed. i like the 951's much better. they seem to handle much better and were alot faster (chipped). i think many of the people on this board would like to or have upgraded their suspension to something a little stiffer. i think the back seat of the 944 may be more comfortable for 1 larger passenger since you can sit kind of sideways whereas the 928 has the center console in the middle of the rear seats. the gear box on my 84 is slow (old design) and more difficult to shift quickly than the 951. i think the parts are much more expensive for the 928 than on the 951 and proper offset wheels are tough to find. i would say some parts for the 928 are somewhat rediculously priced. one example i can think of is the porsche clutch release bearing, $350 iirc. there are also far fewer performance parts available and they are much more expensive. you can do burnouts much easier in the 928 if that's your style. the lag on the 951 never really bothered me as i'm not in a big city and i don't care to go zipping around the one i live in.

Mark

I currently own one of each.They are two VERY DIFFERENT animals!!! It is not fair to compare them, as they were designed for different objectives.

The 928 is a WORLD CLASS GT. The 951 is a *****-to-the-wall sports car.

Which one is right for you depends on your intended purpose.

Tho - I am QUITE partial to the sharks looks.

If the 928 is an elegant HIGH CLASS "lady of the evening"...the 951 is a rough riding redneck girl on spanish fly! Sorry - but that is the best analogy I can come up with!

onewhippedpuppy

Anders, I have Weltmeisters, a LBE, shimmed wastegate, and a test pipe, I get 15psi a bit after 3k. It is a rush, although sometimes I just find myself wishing for a bit more torque, rarely do I get the chance to truly uncork the 951 to where it really shines. I suppose if I got it on a track I might appreciate it more, but then there's the extra costs involved in that. It's possible this is a case of the grass always being greener.....

Abby Normal

I have had an outstanding example of both. My 951 had 53,xxx miles on it and was as nice as any you could ever see. It was an 86 #16 sent to the US. I didn't find it was sluggish of the line at all. If you rev'd and spooled and dumped it it would break the tires and leave hard. In fact, I found I could launch my 951 easier than my 928. If I don't hit it just right on the shark, it smokes the tireds down pretty hard and goes nowhere.. In a drag race the cars would be close if the shark can get off the line.. I think a stock 951 would take the stock 86.5 in a drag race but not by much 1-2 car lengths at most.

I think a 86.5 would catch and pass a 951 after the 1/4 though...still real close.

I'll say this for sure. A 928 goes fast better. It feels way more stable and the ride is way better along with the comfort of the car. I found repairs and parts to be about the same. A 951 is much easier to mod. Good examples of both cars are becoming more and more rare. The 86.5 5speed is rare all the way around, and most 951's are either ragged or modded like crazy. I really regret selling my 951 amd could have likely kept it and had both.... Oh well.

bigs

Yeah. Actually the real solution is one of each!

Mark

onewhippedpuppy

So what you're saying is I should just go buy some lottery tickets?

Schocki

Ever driven a 944 S2 or 968? No annoying turbo lag at all. I used to drive a 1987 951 and would not go back. If you love low rpm torque and you like to shift take the 968.