what year 944 turbo to buy
02-05-2008, 07:56 PM
#61
Either way 89 or 86 you will end up paying a similar amt, what you save on an 86 you can upgrade to the same level if not better in some aspects to 89. What I feel is important is the service history and have an thorough inspection by someone who knows these cars., get the wrong car with electrical, mechanical, or alignment issues you will understand the cost of these cars. Sometimes you get lucky and sometimes not.
That said I have an 86 that I have been happy with, but I would not if i did not have someone who relly knows these cars to advise me.
Steve
also was posted,
The 86's have the early offset (23.3 mm vs. 65 or so on the 87+), no ABS, no airbags, they're lighter, and have the one pice crossover (although mine also has the 2 piece so there may be some credence to the theory that late 86's have a two piece). The turbo S has the k27 turbo while the non S cars have the k26. If you're gonna buy it and drive it - go with the S. If you think the mod bug'll bite, go with the cheaper 86 as it allows you some cash to upgrade
I thought the turbo S had 26/8 while the non s had 26/6 , Did it com w/ K27???
That said I have an 86 that I have been happy with, but I would not if i did not have someone who relly knows these cars to advise me.
Steve
also was posted,
The 86's have the early offset (23.3 mm vs. 65 or so on the 87+), no ABS, no airbags, they're lighter, and have the one pice crossover (although mine also has the 2 piece so there may be some credence to the theory that late 86's have a two piece). The turbo S has the k27 turbo while the non S cars have the k26. If you're gonna buy it and drive it - go with the S. If you think the mod bug'll bite, go with the cheaper 86 as it allows you some cash to upgrade
I thought the turbo S had 26/8 while the non s had 26/6 , Did it com w/ K27???
02-06-2008, 09:05 AM
#62
Burning Brakes
Regarding the comment "Uuuuummmmmm........aren't you doing the same thing vis a vis the 89?"
Absolutely not. Remember I had an 87 which already had upgrades over the 86 such as the ABS and spring tensioner. Airbags no LSD.
I am speaking from actual experience, playing with these cars for many years and torturing them at the track.
I was doing a lot of DE in those days and was getting into clubracing.
I had many choices, stay with the 87 and upgrade, switch to an 89, switch to a 968, switch to 911's. I went through all the pro's and cons and figured I would be better off starting with an 89. I made my choice and am very happy with it. If I had my choice again, I would actually select an S2 as its one of the most competetive, reliable and cost effective club race cars. Next choice would be a 968. I love Turbo's but reliability even in stock form can be very taxing. An S2 can be just as quick with the right mods and the right track.
There are a few pretty expensive differences between the early cars and the S.
The S's had the best tranny's with the hardened gear, upgraded LSD and trans oil cooler all as standard. Its the best of the 944/968 transmissions. If an early car doesn't have LSD or cooler then to upgrade to S is very expensive.
S's had the koni adjustable coilover shocks up front, but most importantly they have the big black calipers and matching spindles, which again are the best of the 944/968 series. If its a street car then it doesn't matter but for a track or DE car the brakes alone are a big improvement. Again to upgrade correctly is very expensive, spindles alone are in the $1K range if you can find them, and struts and calipers/rotors are another typically $1k or more used. Yes you can put much better struts and calipers on like big reds but that's much more expensive again.
The Turbo and DME/KLR are worth 30+HP for a reliable 250HP. To get the same reliable power from an early car is going to be expensive (unless you just crank the boost and compromise reliability), If your going to swap out Turbo's and engine controls etc then it doesn't matter.
Rolled fenders and chassis stiffening doesn't matter for a street car.
Absolutely not. Remember I had an 87 which already had upgrades over the 86 such as the ABS and spring tensioner. Airbags no LSD.
I am speaking from actual experience, playing with these cars for many years and torturing them at the track.
I was doing a lot of DE in those days and was getting into clubracing.
I had many choices, stay with the 87 and upgrade, switch to an 89, switch to a 968, switch to 911's. I went through all the pro's and cons and figured I would be better off starting with an 89. I made my choice and am very happy with it. If I had my choice again, I would actually select an S2 as its one of the most competetive, reliable and cost effective club race cars. Next choice would be a 968. I love Turbo's but reliability even in stock form can be very taxing. An S2 can be just as quick with the right mods and the right track.
There are a few pretty expensive differences between the early cars and the S.
The S's had the best tranny's with the hardened gear, upgraded LSD and trans oil cooler all as standard. Its the best of the 944/968 transmissions. If an early car doesn't have LSD or cooler then to upgrade to S is very expensive.
S's had the koni adjustable coilover shocks up front, but most importantly they have the big black calipers and matching spindles, which again are the best of the 944/968 series. If its a street car then it doesn't matter but for a track or DE car the brakes alone are a big improvement. Again to upgrade correctly is very expensive, spindles alone are in the $1K range if you can find them, and struts and calipers/rotors are another typically $1k or more used. Yes you can put much better struts and calipers on like big reds but that's much more expensive again.
The Turbo and DME/KLR are worth 30+HP for a reliable 250HP. To get the same reliable power from an early car is going to be expensive (unless you just crank the boost and compromise reliability), If your going to swap out Turbo's and engine controls etc then it doesn't matter.
Rolled fenders and chassis stiffening doesn't matter for a street car.
02-06-2008, 09:19 AM
#63
Rennlist Member
i have an 86- and ive worked on a ton of 86's. My car was made in 85 and it had a one piece x-over and header. Others i have worked on had a variety of the two- one was an early 86 car w/ a one piece header and two piece x-over, one was a late 86 car w/ updated header and x-over. I think they started changing those mid-year or started updating them during clutch changes at the dealership.
-forged rods- in 86 the rods were all superceded to forged if i remember correctly. Just because they dont say forged for every year doesnt mean they arent- porsche usually just says ok from this year on out we are doing "this" and dont mention it again. Im sure they all have forged rods.
-Why buy an 89 if you have to strip weight out to make it light as an 86? what are you going to pull out, the airbags, stereo and bracing? Nothing wrong w/ the late cars dont get me wrong. I would love a nice 89ts - but like others have said depends on what your doing w/ the car. Im pretty happy w/ my 86 but if i had to buy a street only car it would be a TS.
HP was the same for 86 as 87-88 IIRC. 220 crank hp.
-forged rods- in 86 the rods were all superceded to forged if i remember correctly. Just because they dont say forged for every year doesnt mean they arent- porsche usually just says ok from this year on out we are doing "this" and dont mention it again. Im sure they all have forged rods.
-Why buy an 89 if you have to strip weight out to make it light as an 86? what are you going to pull out, the airbags, stereo and bracing? Nothing wrong w/ the late cars dont get me wrong. I would love a nice 89ts - but like others have said depends on what your doing w/ the car. Im pretty happy w/ my 86 but if i had to buy a street only car it would be a TS.
HP was the same for 86 as 87-88 IIRC. 220 crank hp.
02-06-2008, 12:01 PM
#65
Rennlist Member
One thing mentioned several times already, but I would like to say again is early offset on 86 models. The nice thing about it is that you can get a lot more "lip" on your wheels than late offset, to me it makes it nice even though I have not taken advantage of that.
