castorjs

Hi,

I have a 1986 944 Turbo with 132k miles,which is completely stock except the cat that was removed by the previous owner. I discussed doing some basic modifications with my mechanic and he said that I need to replace the head gasket with the widefire gasket to be safe before I do anything. My questions is, Are there any modifications that are safe, like a chip, etc. to do without first replacing the head gasket?

Thanks,

Jon
1986 944 Turbo

Zuba951

The widefire headgasket is not really any different than the stock one..I just put one on my car...If you want to mod this car there are a lot of things you need to do besides a headgasket...a chip will allow you to turn up the boost...which increases Power. If the engine is not tight, your problems will be more frequent and more expensive...

Brian
86 951

buxton

No need to repl. the headgasket unless it is bad. Your basic modifications which give you the best bang for the buck are chips, 3 bar fuel pressure regulator, manual boost controller, K&N filter, and shim wastegate. More than likely you need a new recirculation valve/blow off valve if it has not been replaced. A little more money and buy a new Tial 38 wastegate and cat bypass pipe. With these basic mods that are all fairly easy to bolt on I would estimate an hp increase at the crank of 70 hp or so.

Nurburger

Agreed - spend money on ensuring your engine is up to containing/handling any extra power. Do you have good service records & history of preventative maintenance? If not, have a compression test done & go from there.

castorjs

Thanks for the responses. I recently did the waterpump, belts, seals, etc. So what is the first mod then, chips? And if so, what is the best chip which you can use to build on to use in conjuction with other mods in the future and not after to replace the chip later?

buxton

LOTS of information on chips and modifications in search. But many are happy with 951 MAX chips by Russell who is a member here. Semi custom chips at a very fair price. I have some and they work very well.

castorjs

By the way, if the engine has been properly maintained and is healthy, do those modifications effect reliability?

castorjs

What is the website for the 951 MAX chips? Is there a particular 951 MAX chip that is better or more versatile than another?

Zuba951

Reliability...no but a high performance motor needs closer maintenance intervals, stuff is wearing out faster.

Blueman33

Castor JS.

Reliable
High Performance
Cheap

Pick any two, you will not get all three. What really sucks is somtimes you don't even get two.

I would first spend money to make sure I had a decent suspension, brakes, clutch, and tight engine.

Next, a basic chip (most use 3 bar fpr), a LBE (inexpensive mbc), and bursh test pipe ($100 used, maybe $240 new) will be a balance of a good increase in hp, with decent reliability and moderate price.

After that, the sky it the limit, but the truth is that many people are obsessed with hp and ignore the other important things.

Honestly, what good is 240-250 rwhp, which is what to expect from the modifications to a 217 bhp, perhaps 185-190 rwhp, if your tires are crap or if your cabin fills with exhaust due to a bad hatch, or your brakes are weak, clutch slips, or you have to push start your engine down a hill every morning?

The cars are great. With modification they can ALL be high performance. Some can be high performance and reliable. Very few are cheap in the long run.

Mine is 87 which i bought for $8500 in great condition.

I also bought an 01 M Roadster for $16,500.

On the face of it, I paid twice as much for the beemer......................NOT.............

Ballistic-Chapman

Go to Lindseyracing.com. Click on the 944 section and check out the "package deals" The RWHP section has your basic first upgrades. Picking a company will be your decision.

eniac

Headgaskets in our cars blow because of poor installation from previous work, or bad tuning. If a compression and leak down test shows good results then don't worry about the headgasket until you need to remove the head for other work. Concentrate on good tuning while adding some boost.