chrisp

I have a buddie who is looking to jump into DE's and racing. He's buying a 944 with a long term plan to convert it into a DE and then Race car. He thinks he'll be racing in 4-5 yrs.

Do you think 944 racing will be a thing of the past by then or will it still be a thriving series or at the very least still raced at most PCA race weekends?

mrepka

Boy I sure hope it's still around in a few years. For us budget guys it's the ONLY way that some of us can actually afford to go racing, It's my 3rd year in SP1 and the numbers here in the midwest have been increasing each year, slowly, but still increasing.

93 FireHawk 968

I think the 944 and 968 racing has longevity...... Parts are still widely available and the operating costs are relatively low compared to other Porsche's. Another option is Spec Boxter, that class is growing as well as F Class Boxter's with PCA.

Potomac-Greg

Spec E30 is another option. More donor cars available. And of course there is Spec Miata.

M758

944 spec has been around since 2002. It has been growing every year. Despite the growth of spec boxster the 944 class is still 10k or more cheaper.

That is not expected to change. It seems to me the only reason the 944 spec class will dry up is if the supply of used parts gets limited. So far that does not appear to be happening as one of the series directors I know we are being proactive to making sure the class has a long term future by being realistic with rules.

The good news is also that cars are long lived. Being generally lightly stressed based on the low hp levels, stock motors, smallish moderately sticky tires and lightweight the wear items generally tend to be the simple stuff like pads, rotors and tires. Most of the rest of chassis and engines seem to last or be easily rebuildable. I have 10 ears of track time on my 944 spec (it predates the class) and I don't see any need to replace the car barring some sort of crash.

originalmotorhead

I hope it's around for quite a while or I'll have wasted a lot of time and $ in my journey to race my 944.

Tom

GTgears

Based on the sales of our 944 LSD I would say that the 944 classes are thriving. Our sales are up 50% over last year with most of the guys I am talking to in their 2nd or 3rd year of seriously racing 944 spec. Each year you're seeing fewer and fewer 901 and 914 chassis and more and more 944s. It will still be here in 5 years.

Weston

944-Spec should continue going strong for some time to come. We've seen an explosion in growth over the past few years, and that's somewhat leveling off now, but not declining. I think that's to be expected, and the class has done decently in a bad economy. 944 parts are still pretty available at reasonable prices, and we're still finding donor cars to part out, so even the stuff that's a finite supply is not really a problem now or in the near future. It's actually harder to get ahold of new Toyo RA-1's at the moment, than it is to find a spare 944 motor, tranny, shell, etc. from the 1980's.

In my view, the biggest threat to the class at the present time is politics (spec tire, and other issues) and sort of a divide in mentalities of our racers, but I think you'll find that in any race class once it gets to a decent size. To overly simplify things, there are basically people who want to go all "Spec-Miata" and perhaps take a hobby a bit too seriously, and there are others who are out there to race and have fun, both on and off the track. There is some tension between the two mentalities, which has been escalated by some external political BS, and that's why you'll see lower 944-Spec participation at NASA Nationals this year, but I wouldn't let that deter you. It's growing pains, and we'll get through it one way or another...

Take a look at the class in your local region, talk to those racers, and see how you guys feel about things.

BostonDMD

A "buddie".... ahah......

Hope to see you on the racing circuit soon Chris........

Gary R.

Chris will be too old to race by then.....

Plavan

Imagine if Boxster Spec allowed LSD's. You would be loving that

I have a GT LSD and love it in my 901.

924RACR

I would be shocked to see 944Spec and such classes not still around in 5 years...

GTgears

Thanks for the kudos.

We stay out of the sanctioning politics, but it does amaze me that it's still not certified for that class of cars. They made us legal for the Cayman Interseries cars and the participants are really happy to have an alternative to the near useless factory LSD.

M758

GT...
Believe me the fact that some spec series do not allow your LSD is not a reflection of bad product. In fact is reflection of HOW GOOD your product is. It is soo good most guys will want to. Sadly it not a cheap product and there in lies the issue. Cost.. Any spec series needs to manage the cost of prep level with the goals of the class. Limited prep costs are key factor in the sucess of classes and some parts make the cut and others don't. I will flat out tell you that 944 spec should have been an open diff class. However that decisions was made back in 2002 and really cannot be reversed now without major probelms. So that is good for you in that you can sell more LSD units. Since many of the spec boxster founders came from our at least where very aware of the 944 spec class that have used us as an example in this area.

In any event you make a fine LSD unit and should be proud of that!

chrisp

paolo...this is truly for a friend but it just might be my path back in.

gary....WTH?....I think in 5 yrs I'll be younger than you are now.