what type of performance does the944 have?

[saab9kturbo]

Originally Posted by 930guy

I don't know why you say its not a winter car. I've driven one for 3 winters here in New Hampshire. With the trans axle in the rear and the engine up front its a great winter car, just spend the money for a good set(4) of snow tires. Don't run "all season" performance tires and expect it to work well in the snow or rain for that matter

i tend to think that RWD cars are not excellent winter cars for getting around. the rear ends fly all over, especially with inexperienced drivers. my father has some friends who own an import shop and drove some 924's and 944's in minneapolis in the winter and talk about how frightening it is. plus its low, so it can get stuck easily. finally, for someone like me at least, the 944 is my fun car that i dont want rust on, its hard enough to work on now as manufactured. i guess if i had money for a 930 i'd drive a 944 in the winter.

to each his own though, maybe with snow tires they are ok. give me an old 4wd subaru for 800 dollars and i'll call that a winter car.

[almostpro]

Well, i actually mean the 944 wasn't a winter car for starters... If you read the start of the topic, you'll notice the guy is 15... i know how i was when i first got my drivers license: put the pedal to the metal... and that's NOT a good idea with a porsche on a rainy road...

Just my 2 cents

[Some1else]

Originally Posted by ryanisfast

thanks for all your input. a 3000gt does sound nice.

Now you’re getting nuts! I have a Stealth (Same car as a 3000GT), and parts for it are outrageous!

While I really like the car, it is way more expensive to maintain then my 944, is bigger, heavier, with less cabin space, and does not corner as well or break as well.

I think some folks are leaving out an important point about your choices of cars, and that is the safety side. Personally, I would rather be in a Porsche then any of the other cars you ask about, in an accident. And, being a parent, I would rather have my child in a 944 then any of those other cars.

[87Porsche951]

3000GT is a pretty sweet car. Id only opt for a 3000GT VR4 since im a turbo man myself but as you know there pretty hard to find. They take well to mods, the stock gear ratio still has nough gearing left for more top end. They got Garret/Mitsubishi turbo stock so Id imagine you could swap in a T04 in it pretty easily. There pretty heavy and hear the handle like crap but if your going to mod it that isnt important since I would think you would upgrade that first anyway. The styling is great too.

951 has the total package though.

Both cars are great!

[mccormicwe]

This is just my imput adding to the pile but i am 16 and i just recently bought my 1987 944 n/a. I acquired it for cheap and it only had 45500 miles on it. But shortly thereafter the clutch needed replacing along with other general maintenance that cost me 2400 dollars!! they are expensive but very fun. My friend that had a camaro bashed it until i took him for the ride of his life and did a little bit of drifting with him inside of the car. If you have friends you need to prove yourself to this is the car to do it in but a notice that that aint the safest way to drive and i do not recommend it. But they are little jewels to drive. enjoy it if you get one.

[Ben944]

yeah i got my '83 944 really cheap, but it needed a new clutch, ($400 and 3 days on my back) new shocks, ball joints, tie rods, ctrl arm bushings, wheel bearings all around. (about $400 and another three days) thats almost done, (except rear wheel bearings) and now im ready to move on to the performance aspect. (the only time i took it to a shop was for an alignment) the only problem is, i should have waited to do the shocks, because when i did them, i didnt have enough money for bilsteins, so i got some really cheap ones that are horrible. Now im gonna get bilsteins and it will be a lot easier to put them in because i know what im doing.

[MetalHead-944]

My first car was an '87 5.0 F-150 with a 4-spd man. trans. Now that was grunt low end grunt!!! Now at 19 I have a N/A 944. And while I agree the 951 & S are the better car. Even my little N/A will rape a second gen Rx-7 on a nice twisty road. And early supras are a joke.
And just a side note: In rain the low hp N/A 944 will bite you quick if your not carefull. My torque monster of a truck was a demon in the rain so i thought 150rwhp would be like driving a shopping cart in the rain. well if the truck was a demon my 944 is satan himself. And i know how to drift!! so just becareful!!

[FabricGATOR]

Please define drifting...........

Kurt

[83-944]

FabricGATOR: This may help you out:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...lay.php?f=1158

AF has their own drifting section.

[xveganxcowboyx]

I just picked up a N/A 944. It's quite capable performance wise. It handles great and acceleration is good. Other cars might be faster, but speed really isn't the fun part. I could take my maxima to 150 no problem. It's not near as much fun as taking a corner at 50 in my 944. Speed gets boring, but great handling never does.

If you really need the speed I would actually say a markIII supra (87-92) is a good choice. They cost a lot to maintain, but a turbo model can be built really easily. 3-400 hp to the wheels as a daily driver on mostly stock parts is not uncommon.

Or pick up a 5.0 mustang. Easy power and they can be made to handle well.

[91HBSi]

If I were you I would consider a Turbo 300zx and also an early 90s Eagle Talon TSi AWD/Eclipse GSX. The Eclipse/DSMs are pretty easy to find, easy to work on, fast, handle relatively well (AWD), and are extremely cheap. The most you'll spend on one in good shape with 80k-120k miles is like $3200. I almost bought a '92 AWD Talon with 80k on it and it was in decent shape for $2200 a couple of months back. It sold before I decided on it or not though.

I'm actually looking into getting a 86ish 944 Turbo as a project car, but I don't think it would be practical for a 16 year old as a daily driver.

[gkinder951]

Well ryanisfast, how much money you got? You want performance, get a modified turbo, or even a stock turbo. Nothing like it. Relatively cheap to increase horsepower, extremely reliable German engineering, and even the stock Turbo runs fast (and no you don't have to be at 70+ miles per hour to know the difference between N/A and turbo). There are a lot of slightly modified 944T's out there and some that are flat out insane!

Personally, I would opt for the N/A at 15, see if you like the car it's handling and really learn the car. Then upgrade to a turbo, S or Turbo S. You will know the car already, understand the idiosyncrocies, and get more power. I believe that a well maintained 944 is a damned fine introduction (and inexpensive) to enter the sports car arena. It will also be the rule by which you judge all other cars.

btw - did I mention German engineering? They can be kind of weird ducks sometimes, but the Porsche build a car out of pure pride and it is made to last. You will not find that kind of thoughtful design work out of any of the Mazda's, or Mitsubishi's. A 944 will (and I am not joking) run to 300K miles when properly maintained. It's all in the design.

My vote - absolutely own a Porsche!

[kayotic]

i agree that awd cars are fast on take off especially the eclipse GSX (man i love that car) but your car is only as safe as the driver .

my car was in good condition but i got cocky now i have to replace the trans.. well you know. anyways i know one thing its gonna be a very long time before i give up my 944. a very long time .
by the way this is just me but i think 87 944T is the best 944

[87Porsche951]

What would make you think 87 951 is the best 944? You do know the only major differences between a 87 model and the earlier ones is ABS & Airbags option. I think ABS was standard after 1986 but not 100% sure. The best mass produced 944 in my opinion is 1989+ 951 sicne they were built to Turbo S specs and LSD was standard.

The best 944 in my opinion is the Cup Cars.

[gkinder951]

Performance for the buck$ - I go 951 (pick a year) as the best value in a "real" sports car today. You can nit pick over the year, but it's really the same car with the exception of the turbo S. Sure, there a couple of slight differences that barely show up on the radar. I mean a person that has an 87' is not going to be kicking himself (or even thinking about it) because he would really rather have a 89' straight turbo because that is so much better. So I think we are in violent agreement here.


Me, I'd like a 968 too. But not instead of - I am hooked on turbo like a crank addict looking for a fix. Although the S is elegant - it is no match for the pure adrenaline you get when at 3500 rpm and that car lays you back in every gear.

"Hi, my name is gkinder951 and I have a turbo problem."