DangerIsland

Hi there, I hung out on the regular 944 boards, never knew this one existed until now!! I wrecked my 944 NA last month, and I've finished all the details for getting an '86 Turbo some time later this month! It's got 116k miles on it, and just had the head redone, pump, belts, clutch, and a new tranny with cooler.

It also has a 3 bar FPR and new injectors, which I think are stock. I don't know a lot more about what aftermarket things have been done to it, and I'd really like to find out. I guess the biggest question is the chips. I assume that I should be able to pop the DME out and check out the chips. Are most aftermarket ones labeled well? I hope so

After I fix some minor body issues I'd really like to start putting some $ into some minor mods, especially since the big expensive maintainence items are taken care of for now. I'm not looking for a monster, just some things that will help with reliability, driveability, and maybe a little extra kick. I'm considering the following, any advise would be great!

* vacuum line kit. Lindsey seems to have a good price for hoses and those little broze Ts.
* BOV. forged 993 one? Just want something that will be a little more reliable. Seems like this is a common thing to replace.
* Guru stuff. At the very least, get a boost enhancer, and maybe think about the MAP kit and chips. Guru's products all seem to be well liked and respected, so I think my $ would be well spent there.
* fuel lines. SFR braided stainless seem like a no-brainer, with all the fires people are having.
* gauges. a good fuel ratio and boost gauge seems like a good thing to make sure the car is running nicely and nothing blows up without me knowing about it. Are there some good kits for those?

I'm trying to be pragmatic about making a nice street car with good performance that won't decide to eat itself alive in a month and cost me $3k. The complexity of a turbo scares me a little, and I want to wade in slowly, and not get overwhelmed with everything. Of course, once I start driving it, I'm sure I'll be dropping $$$ for some serious power because it will be addictive. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

Perry 951

Research every mod you want until you are sure you understand it. Use the Rennlist search to bring up old posts. For the BOV, search BOV and see what happens. I bet there are hundreds. This forum seems to be more technical and 951 specific, whereas the main forum is a little of everything. Read peoples sites and ask about their experiences with the products they used.

The 951 is not very complex if you know what is what before you go after it with a wrench. That is a big problem I see from some users here. They want to fix it (great for you, you should fix it) but they do not research the problem, procedure, or product before they get after it.

Next thing you know... "HELP ME!" is your next topic.

Jaxon

Congrats... <img border="0" alt="[cheers]" title="" src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" />

I agree with Perry 951's comments. Research is critical with these cars. Why pay twice? Take the time to research, and get the right upgrades the first time. It takes as much time to prep for a mod than it does to actually implement it.

I'll give you an example. I owned my Turbo for two years and visited three shops before I knew what the turbo was supposed to sound like. I know that sounds stupid, but I hadn't ever been in one that was set-up properly. Apparently the techs who worked on it hadn't either. See if you can meet someone in your area who really knows them, and can take you out in one that is properly set up.

By the way the 951 turbo is more specific to our cars and is very active. I follow and enjoy both boards!

Good luck!

<img border="0" alt="[jumper]" title="" src="graemlins/jumper.gif" />

DangerIsland

Thanks Perry, I have started searching the archives and making some notes on some things.

I consider myself pretty good with the NA cars, I did a bunch of things myself. I would never tackle anything without researching the problem and getting it straight in my head before wildly unscrewing things.

I've read a lot about the things you went through with your rebuild, and other 951 repair stories. Hopefully I can "stand on the shoulders of giants" as they say and learn from everyone elses mistakes and solutions.

Perry 951

Just be prepared for anything. I did hundreds of hours of research on my mods. I think I picked the right ones, and the implimentation went fine.

I only did a little research on the motor itself, thinking I would be fine. I have built motors with my family since I was a kid, and I still managed to miss some critical items. The little things I did not read up on came back to haunt me.

A mis mounted idler on a new tensioner, oil gally plugs in my new crank, a cracked power lead... all things that could have been caught before bad things happened. If I would have read a little more on what to look for, I could have avoided many of my problems.

Before I started tearing into it after the fire, I read the paper manuals cover to cover, every volume and section. Next, I looked at every diagram in PET and knew them by heart. I have had very few problems tearing it down, and putting it back together.

My biggest downfall was some of the suppliers I delt with. Although I researched them a good amount, I did not ask the questions I should have. Take Garrity for instance. Everyone said he did the best machiene work. I agree the work he did was top end. No one said anything about how he ran his business, and I did not think to ask.

No matter how well the block was done, would it make up for the 7 months time it took? Nope.. not im my opinion.

Anyway... you get the idea. Read up, do your homework, and it will take less time and money to get it where you want it.