frodolives84

Hey guys, I am a forever Corvette enthusiast (no bad remarks please). I have a good friend who is also a corvette guy from way back and a huge porsche fan. He has a very nice '87 944 and has really gotten my porsche fever up. I just recently bought a 99 Grand Prix GTP fully loaded that i thought was the car of my dreams, and it really is. However, now that my sports car fever is back up I have been looking at the 944's...dont shut me out yet I have recently been looking at the 968 and I LOVE it. It really seems to be what i want and the prices for a 92 seem comparable to the value of my car. Would you all please tell me about the 968 and any problems i might run into that im not used to?

frodolives84

Also tell me about the Tiptronic tranny, and if you think that the 968 is a good starter car? -- thanks

craig001

Well, the 968 was the of the front engine water cooled so it is the most refined of the bunch. The variocam helps get you 238 horsepower. The interior is basically late 944. I can't say about the tip tranny. I know there were pinion gear problems with the 6 speed manual trannys. The 968 is a real nice ride and I have friends that do well in the DE's and AutoX's with them. The maintenace issues are basically the same as with the late 944's; timing beltand cam chain tensioners are the biggies. Good hunting.

wjk_glynn

The best 968 site in general is <a href="http://www.968.net" target="_blank">968.net</a>. That's a good starting point.

The best forum for 968 discussion is <a href="http://63.136.85.109/forum/default.asp" target="_blank">968.net Forums</a>. Loads of 968 enthuasasts at that site.

I'd recommend getting the following book. Its a collection of road-tests on the 968. Its very interesting to read reviews of the car when it was new.

<a href="http://63.136.85.109/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3285" target="_blank">http://63.136.85.109/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3285</a>

I've compiled a summary of performance numbers for 924/944/968 models at the following link:

<a href="http://www.weissach.net/924-944-968_RoadTestSummary.html" target="_blank">http://www.weissach.net/924-944-968_RoadTestSummary.html</a>

There's only one entry for a 968 Tip and you can see there's a large performance penalty to pay with that transmission (or indeed all automatic transmissions).

For further reading, I recommend looking throught the FAQs listed at the following URL:

<a href="http://www.weissach.net/924-944-968_FAQs.html" target="_blank">http://www.weissach.net/924-944-968_FAQs.html</a>

And finally, a particularly nice example of a 968:

<img src="http://www.weissach.net/images/968_Silver_Speedlines.jpg" alt=" - " />

Karl.

Dan de Gruchy

The 968 is a good choice. Its fairly quick, handles great, comfy, and rare. The tip is ok, it is slower, but if you want an automatic for daily driving you'll be happy with it. The car is lots more fun with a 6spd though.
The early 6spds did have the ring/pinion problem, but if they have mileage in the upper range, this has probably been fixed. Service intervals are fairly strict with the P-car. It requires a lot more care regularly than your Pontiac. That isn't to say its not worth it though. The 968 just feels right. An excellent car in wet or dry.
Since you're a corvette junky (I have one too, I understand the love) you'll need to know that the 968 is gonna be a totally different animal. Not better, not worse, but different.
If you are looking to increase the performance of the 968, it will cost you $$$. Porsche does their homework pretty well, and squeezes pretty much all the juice they can out of the N/A motors.
Good luck with your search. If you do become a p-car owner, you're gonna love it!

Damian in NJ

Just an FYI, the photo car has what looks to be 3 or 4 grand worth of add on's-Turbo S splitter, wheels, etc.