rop3

I am new to this site have a 944S2 cab and an 89 turboS track car. Wanted to give the S2 a power upgrade it's an ultra clean car used only on the street.

Have seen a few V8 conversion that look pretty professional, have been told weight is not an issue, maintenance costs reduced etc.

Could this effect the front end, steering feel etc?

Second option is Powerhaus, a lot more expensive almost double the cost and more complex but also somewhat more original. I would imagine more of a sudden power surge? I read somewhere about someone breaking the tires loose at 100mph which I would imagine is not good?

Thanks for any possible input.

gt37vgt

start considering low boost blower set up along with water injection

Cory9584

build the motor and turbo it

Porschefile

+2, turbo it. Get 16v turbo headers from someone like SFR (not cheap but oh well), some of the stock turbo system components from a 951 (crossover for example, or you could just get SFR stage 2 headers w/ crossover) and run a low boost turbo setup. That would be a heck of a lot better than a supercharger IMO.

rop3

Why are most not going with the V8 is there a downside other than american engine in a Porsche? Really am curious as it's much less expensive. Don't want to regret what I do.

Porschefile

Actually it's not really less expensive to do a v8 conversion. For the price of all the conversion parts and motor, your looking at well over $5k. Technically you could do a cheap turbo setup on the 16v if you were frugal about everything such as welding new flanges onto 951 headers, using a relatively stock 951 turbo setup, etc. I have nothing against v8's, they're just not my thing so I don't normally recommend them.

2bridges

I would not hesitate to seriously investigate V8 route. Biggest problem area I see is transmission/driveline. If I were considering would go minimum 500hp. With the massive torque curve would be an absolute terror.... on trannies too I expect

there is a conversion forum somewhere - thik this forum has more of the "straight laced" porsche crowd.

Darwantae951

I think the web address is something like www.porschev.com (Not exactly sure what the actual address is but I'll search for it)

-Darwin

TRP951

if you do a search you might find tonygs old post about a ls1 944 he made

gt37vgt

the low blower requires the blower a bracket a belt a water injectionkit (half hour 300 bucks ) then a chip maybe a set of injectors the car would never be off the road for more than half a day

Jfrahm

it's porschehybrids.com

The big issues I see are power brakes, cooling, and stuff like cracking headers. problems with conversion parts, etc. With an S2, the supercharger option looks pretty decent. A stock 951 intercooler can be fitted, water injection, maybe a thicker head gasket if you have the head off for freshening anyway.

I'd love 400 NA horses in my S2 but I'm not convinced the V8 swap is all there yet. Good for a track rat or a rolling project car but as a daily driver that has power brakes, power steering, good headlights and can go over speed bumps without dragging the radiator or crossmember? Not sure about that.

-Joel.

rop3

Joel,

Talking to my mechanic in Fla. he seems to think most of this stuff is worked out. The Ls1 uses original brake setup, not sure about power steering, but I know that this shop has been doing them for 3-4 years now, and new cars are rolling in.

I have not spoken with any owners, but I have seen several done, drive one of the originals from this shop the guy is real honest and knowledgable.

I am sure there is great inconsistantcy with the V8 jobs as many different engines are used parts fabrication and design varies from shop to shop as well as quality, detail etc.

Are there many guys on the board that have done them? And we all know Porsche cars are about the feel handling etc. my concern how much will handling/steering feel change if at all?

The Chevy engines new are proven, in expensive etc. the car I drove although only maybe 25 miles, all controls were good it felt seamless but it was a rougher track/street car. Open exhaust etc. so not that refined. hard to tell re: handling. It felt strange not having to downshift to power thru a turn.

I guess the other question wouldn't the chevy have a broader tourque band them one of the high end exotic turbo rebuilds? Therefore less of a sudden power off than blast effect?

Thanks,

Bob

ehall

NOt even close to less expensive.

Robby

Yes, I think most people are definately pulling your chain on the "cheaper" bit- it would run you a good $20k by the time all is said & done- now, IF you can do the work yourself, you may get by w/$12k or so, but people who claim $5k for the full conversion, etc, are fooling themselves. When Tony G said it would run ~$20k, he meant a turn-key conversion- that's great & all & when he said it was cheaper, he was comparing to a turbo-charged 3.1L 968 engine that would put out similar HP to a mildly modded V8- somewhere in the 500RWHP/TQ range... I love the idea, but then, super-charging your S2 could run you a good $10k if someone else does the work & this also depends on what condition the engine is in to begin with- IF you need to "freshen up" the engine, you could be in for another $5k on top of that... This is where I am on my turbo engine- wanting reliability & have 190k miles. I ALSO want more HP too, so by the time I buy all the turbo HP stuff, I'll be in for ~$4k & a fully built engine will be a good $5k & then the labor & all the "while we're in there" stuff & I'm seeing $15k & it's scaring me to the point of almost dropping the whole idea... But that's b/c I just don't have enough $ for all that- I need a new paint job too & that's another $3k, so for another $5k, I could have a brand new car... Maybe not as strong as a nicely modded 951, but still, new & trouble free, comparably... Hopefully something will come through though...

good luck either way...

rop3

It does get expensive, I guess you really have to love these cars. There solid well built some of the best handling etc. I was thinking 15k for the V8 with suspension but I might be misinformed.

Quoted 13-15 k less the sale of my drivetrain.

I was thinking 25k for a 3 litre turbo 8V head add suspension another 3k it seems like close to double the cost.

Cost is a concern but driveability is more as at either cost I want to be happy with the way the car "feels". It will have tons of power in either case.

Thanks,

Bob