LoganTaylor

posting this in both the 944 and the 928 threads to avoid any biased, im wondering what car has better handling, im not asking about straight out speed im sure the 928 has that covered im looking to find out witch of the two is going to handle batter in the turns on a track or in the street. also, if the 944 does have better handling does it make up for the speed difference, would a 928 or a 944 turbo win on a windy track race?

JohnKoaWood

The 928 was meant to be a touring car, the 944 was meant to be a sporty, entry level car. Comparing the two is like asking people which they prefer, apples or watermelon.

Windy track race, in stock trim, 951 wins 9 out of 10.

Handling is worlds apart, and until the 928 S4/GT/GTS, the 944T (951) had the better power to weight ratio, even on the 86, 87, and 88 non-s models, 88S and 89 model 951 no comparison.

Two totally different cars, two different purposes.

If you want a track car, buy the 951 or 944 N/A, they can and are used as daily driver cars by many.
If you want a 2 door sedan buy a 928, not a good track car, not too many used as daily drivers.

So everyone can see this I will post it on the 944 thread as well.

928 guys feel free to disagree with me, but be careful... I have owned both.

Nicole

You should drive them both, and get the one that tickles you more.

cali4sun

You think 928 owners will show no bias This was last covered in Excellence Magazine February 2009 issue #171 head to head. I don't believe they did track, however the 928S4 came out ahead over the 951.....Logan you might want to pick up the back issue at www.excellence-mag.com I agree with Nicole take each one for a drive and you can decide for yourself....

'89 S4 GP White/Black
'912e Silver/Black sunroof

zoltan944

i think its useful to know how far your willing to go on the car and what type of racing.
I would never bother in a 928 at an auto-x, 944n/a best for the money there

If your going to take it to a not really needed daily driver or something the 928 starts making up serious ground with weight reduction. either turbo or 928 is pretty fun in the 'windy track day'

Road racing with more openess and such makes for an all out fun run in the V8 of the 928. I would certainly pick the right car for the job!

(ive owned several of all varieties!)

whiteNSXs

The 944 had been voted many times as the best handling Porsche in the 1980's by many magazines. With its much lighter weight and wide tracks, I don't doubt it. The 928 is a GT.
Steve

RKD in OKC

Well, I've owned, daily driven, tracked, and autocrossed 2 of each. 944 Turbo S, 928 GT, 944 Turbo S, and my current Porsche is a 928 GTS. AND I typically get FTD at autocrosses in the GTS. Actually typically got FTD in each of them. Since I am the fastest not the car, my opinion is the 928 is more comfortabl.e, sounds better and when hot rodded for more power is less trouble prone.

shmark

Well in Europe the 928 had 300hp starting in 1980 and went up to 345hp by the time the GTS came out. Figuring an average weight of 3500lbs over that time, that's a ratio of 11.67-10.1. In the US the 928 had 245hp from 1983, increasing to match euro levels by 1985. That's still 14.2 and it was at euro levels by the time the 951 appeared. The 951 came out in 1986 and started with 217hp, increasing to 250hp at the end, with an average weight of 3100lbs. That's a ratio of 14.2-12.4, so I'm not sure where that comment came from. Even if you add another 200lbs to the 928 it's still at 12.3, which better year-for-year against the 951.

That said, they are different horses for different courses. High speed touring the 928 wins hands-down. It will also give a 951 a serious run in an autocross - talk to a few members who have beaten them. And yes I have owned both, and my 951 was heavily modified. I own a 928 now.

tv

In Published test's by the top magazines done in the 80's the skidpad numbers were

944- .81 g
928 .89 g

That's with the factory equipment.

So what handles better - the 928


The 928 accelerates better from a stop, accelerates better once moving, has a higher top end. (there is a youtube video showing 2 951's, a 911, and a 928 in a drag, guess who wins?) The 928 has much better everything, as you would expect on the luxury flagship vs. the entry level model.


So this is a pointless question and a rehash of many other threads. Give it up. The 944's are some really nice looking and performing classic porsche's but they are not 928's not even close.

goodspeed928

It's in all of type of car YOU like to drive! I like big and fast (928), and little and fun (911, 914, 944)

Gary Knox

I actually do track a 928 a fair bit - no racing, just DE's. I've been doing this for 7-8 years, and am frequently the only 928 driver at the Porsche Club Region sponsored DE's. (also, among the older drivers!). My 928 is stock, except for some upgrades in suspension - just the OE stock engine with 125K miles on it. I've driven both automatic and manual 928's on the track during this time (an 88 auto, and now an '89 manual).

In my experience, it really has a lot to do with what track it is. On a really short/windy track (e.g. 2 miles or less with 10-15 turns), the 944 turbo/951 will definitely be faster. On a long track with 10-15 turns (e.g. Watkins Glen, Road America, VIR) that I've driven, the 928 will be essentially the same lap time - assuming no significant mods to either car). The one difference I've seen, however, over this period of time is the engine durability of the two cars is significantly different. The ONLY thing I've done to my cars (2 of them) during this period is change oil annually, and add some oil at the track. The engine and suspension are essentially bullet proof on the 928's. There usually is a good bit of maintenance going on at the track with some/many of the turbo charged 4 cylinder cars. Since I'm not terribly well acquainted with any of their issues, I don't know what problems they actually experience.

And - Nicole has it right. Drive both!!

Gary Knox

PS: I KNOW my car is capable of a lot more on the track than I am!!

WallyP

The 928 is very misleading where handling is concerned.

Back in the day, one of the major auto magazines was reviewing the 928. The article was almost finished when they decided to get their standard "handling photo", which was always a photo of the car under test at speed in a photogenic corner. They had several nice corners that they used - low traffic areas, pretty scenery, smooth pavement, etc. The goal was to get a photo of the car working hard - wheels cranked over, leaning, and an exciting photo.

They carried the photo crew and test crew to one of their favorite corners and the test driver sped thru the corner. Very unsatisfactory results - the 928 obviously wasn't working hard, and the photographer complained. The driver said that he could go faster, so they could get a better photo.

An hour later, the driver was going thru the corner much faster than before, but the photos still were not exciting. They finally gave up.

They had to rewrite the handling evaluation part of the article, and their conclusion was that the 928 would be faster than 99% of its drivers.

I don't think that has changed...

Lizard928

Having driven a lot of 924/931/944/951, and 928,S,S4,GT,GTS

The 924 line feels more go-karty. But the 928 is a far superior car.

I found that when pushed to 9/10ths, or 10/10ths, the 944s especially require some modification to the suspension so that they dont fall apart or rip the swaybar mounts off the chassis at the very least (with a stock bar). The 928 is light years ahead of them in this area with unequal length dual a-arms in the front, and the weissach rear axle.

Now that said, driving the 924 line it is much easier to get to the 9/10ths level than the 928, simply because of the speed differential. Not many people have the guts to actually use the full potential of the 928 due to the speed which you will be doing to get there.

I do agree to drive both and decide for yourself, but keep in mind that the 944+ models are far more maintenance than any 928 model.

ubercooper

comes down to preference, I used to have a 944 which handled like it was on rails but it lacked power so I got bored with it after a few years. The 928 has the power to keep me awake and entertained with handling to match the 944s (with a few mods/weight reduction)

Get whichever you would rather see in your garage

.02

edit: maintenance will be godawful on both cars so don't even try to throw that into your decision...

BC

The 944 is lighter, so people compare them in that light - (pun intended) - and say they 944 is a better handling car.

There are more complex issues at work and Colin touched on them - the 944 in most trims has stamped steel bits holding it up in certain areas. It has a swing arm rear axle, which as we know changes the wheel base in its swing.

The 928 feels heavier, so people compare it that way. The heaviness can be "tuned" out with proper alignment, steering pressure changes, and changing the way you interact with the pedals. The underpinnings are MUCH more robust, thereby allowing the driver to focus on improvement of other areas, instead of focusing on getting the stock car to stay together on the track.

All are 30 year old designs. New cars will consistently be better, but also more expensive.

We would all be driving 599xx F-cars if we had the money.