racer

Anyone out here running such a car? Is there a prefered year/model? (ie, '89 2.7? 88 924S? early (light) '83-84?

What are the prevailing set ups used? (suspension, shock, tb, sways, tires etc?)

Any idea how I can find out how these cars are doing relative in their class?

What are the main competitors in this class?

2002M3Drew

Ideally you would want (IMHO) a 924S no-option, no sunroof car, and retrofit the LSD unit that was available. We have one of these in our region (NNJR) and it is a beast. The LSD makes a big difference. It isn't all that fast, but it is balanced beautifully. It is owned by a former National SCCA Solo II Champion, and she drives it beautifully.

Alternately, a low-option '89 with the 2.7 is not a bad choice. Third choice would have to be an '83 944 with the sunroof delete option and few or no other options.

michel944

She must be Jodi Fordahl....
Any way don't go with an automatic !!!! I was 3 seconds back of the winning MR2 in E/S on a one minute course at the Devens National Tour event early June and broke the damper plate in Vermont on my way back to Quebec (it ended with a new part and a total bill of $2000...).

2002M3Drew

Nope...good guess, though. Stephanie Chang..2006 FPL Champion

pkt1213

I've been thinking about the same thing. I think I am going to get an 89 then whatever it's lacking add the options too it. If you read the rule book you can add things on that were optional as long as you do a complete upgrade that was with that package.

I'm still trying to figure out what options were available on the 89 so I can pick what to do. I'm not going to get one that's bare of options though cause this will be my daily driver too.

I'm thinking sport seats, LSD, and the swaybars and springs from the sport suspension package if they're different. Sunroof delete would be nice but I don't know if you could find any of those. Also need to see what wheels were available.

racer

Thanks for the feedback so far. Without undoing a few track friendly mods, it looks like my current 914 would run in DSP and I am not sure that 90HP and 2200+lbs is the right weapon to bring That said, I'm not sure a 150-165 924/44 is too much better in E Stock. Although it would be nice having a Porsche with a hard top and AC that works AND harrass the PCA/SCCA guys with another "NARP"

NJ-GT

I drove that 924S before selling it to Chris (my co-driver at the 2006 SCCA Solo Nationals) and wife (Steph , the National Champion).

The two Porsche events I ran, I got Stock Porsche FTD, and I was less than 2 secs from FTD. The FTD battle was in between cars with slicks (RickN and FrankenRob).

That same day we drove a base Cayman with new Hoosier A6. My Cayman time was 0.5 secs slower than my 924S time. The Cayman is classed in A-Stock. My Cayman time was the top time for a Challenge that included 10 drivers. Same tires, same course, same driver.

The 944 is wider and 200 lbs heavier, so it is at a disadvantage compared to the 924S. Best year is the 1988 due to the extra power, with M030, sunroof delete and LSD. The 924S weighs around 2,500 lbs with enough fuel for 3 autocross laps.

At the 2006 SCCA Solo Nationals, Jodi Fordahl won ES-L. Her time with a 944 was less than 0.3 secs slower than the winning time in the Open class.

2BWise

The 944 can be competitive. You can only upgrade the front bar per the rules, going any bigger would ruin the balance so you can use stock bars. Shocks - the best option would obviously be the Konis because of their adjustability but not necessary. The only thing I would say would be a necessity would be an LSD, otherwise you'll spin that inside wheel way too much.

JohnVitamvas

Wow, off topic, but in your avatar pic, the gray RX-8 with the yellow front bumper and Kodiak wheels is the car I drove from '04 to '06. Where was that picture taken? Looks like it might have been the Devens national tour one year.

John V

NJ-GT

Devens National Tour, under quite some rain back in 2006. We were running SM2, and we got abused on day 1 for not bringing rain tires.

Fortunately, a well setup car and dry conditions put us in 1st and 2nd place at the end of the competition.

knfeparty

It exists, except for not having sunroof delete.

I have it.

'89 2.7L, m030, delrin front swaybar bushings, LSD, driver's sport seat, cat-back borla xr-1 system. Again, it has a sunroof (sadly), but pretty much all 944s do. It was very difficult to find all of the m030 parts and an LSD, but I did it, and installed it (with the help of local certified porsche mech. marky522). The camber/lowering you can get with m030 is a real tire-saver. Also I went ahead and got silicone vacuum lines and upgraded ignition wires (also allowed).

Guy with an '83 said that not having PS in an autox was torture. He got rid of his car after I started showing up.

I still don't think it can catch the MR2s, but it sure is well-balanced! I agree about the front sway- I have the 26.8mm and it is perfect, even though legally you can go bigger. It is also true about the "package install" deal- as long as you do the whole thing, it's fine.

If someone wants to come look at the car sometime, feel free! It's standing in first place in ES in the Tarheel Sports Car Club right now.

As for tires, I put bfgoodrich gforce r-1s on the 16 x 7/8" phone dials. You can fit a lot of tire on the back of the 944. The stagger made the car a lot more manageable. The LSD also does help a lot.

racer

Perhaps my recollection is foggy, but I don't recall 8V 944s to have MO30.. Just the Turbo and maybe the S2. The 44 and 44S had "heavy duty" suspension option. Also, I thought the 924"SE" (or some such nomenclenture) was used in '88 only. That 924S came with 6/7" rims, and stiffer suspension as well, but I don't think it was officially "m030". Its hard to remember what came out 20 years ago though.

knfeparty

The 924 did not have "m030" you're correct. It had all the same type of stuff but wasn't called that. The fordahls ran one. The 8v 944s had it, but no one ordered it. Ever. If you really dig into some part numbers, though, some of the parts cross-reference, like the torsion bars and the struts even. Just look in some Porsche part catalogs and you'll see 8v 944 parts referenced as "m030."

J Silverman

The car youre referring to (see my avatar pic ) was option code 756. It was a special edition 924S that included the M030 suspension package, manual locks and windows, single side view mirror, lightweight fabric on the seats/interior etc. and the 6/7" wheels. Options were sunroof (mine has one unfortunately), LSD (dont have one unfortunately) and the mudflaps on the back. 500 were brought in to the US. 900 or so world wide so they arent exactly common. The 500 here in the states are all black, and there were 200 white cars for ROW. The curb weight according to porsche (at least on the plaque and my registration) is 2650 or so. Its a great car if you can find one, but luckily you can update/backdate any 924S to the the SE option package because they are on the same spec line and option package swaps are allowed in stock. The hard to come by parts are the side mirrors, and the M030 spring perches but you can find them. You can order the manual window conversion from pelican or paragon.

knfeparty

There's a "purely cosmetic modifications are okay" clause. If you just pulled off one of your side view mirrors but decided that you liked, for purely cosmetic reasons, your existing flag mirror over the SE one, I don't think you could get nailed on it.

Yeah m030 strut parts are a pain to find and in the wallet. It took me about 1/2 a year to find a set and I had to pay $600 for the pair, and (although they worked) they were very banged up. The upper strut mounts are $$$$$$ at least for late 944s.