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944 turbo...anybody have ownership experience?


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chenc544 -

 

Oops, my memory of the article was a bit fuzzy. 1993 was a long time ago too, though, and the 3S platform was greatly upgraded for 1994 and would do considerably better as shown by the later article. 20 horsepower, bigger brakes w/ 4 piston calipers, and a 6spd trans made a big difference.

 

Nice articles.

 

Not to threadjack, but its pretty damn cool that the awd "family" sedan that we all drive posts 0-60 and 1/4 times (not mph, handling or style) as good or better than most of the cars tested in the 93 article, which I have drooled over for years.

 

That's precisely why I chose the LGT to replace my Stealth. It was pretty nice in stock form and had a huge, proven potential. Before that I'd never even considered a Subaru.

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chenc544 -

 

Oops, my memory of the article was a bit fuzzy. 1993 was a long time ago too, though, and the 3S platform was greatly upgraded for 1994 and would do considerably better as shown by the later article. 20 horsepower, bigger brakes w/ 4 piston calipers, and a 6spd trans made a big difference.

 

 

 

That's precisely why I chose the LGT to replace my Stealth. It was pretty nice in stock form and had a huge, proven potential. Before that I'd never even considered a Subaru.

 

Yeah, the 94+ 3000GT was much improved. I always like the styling of the Stealth much better than the 3000GT. Before I decided on the Z, 3000GT/Stealth were a close contender but the Z won out for the styling and larger aftermarket support.

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I had a 89 944 Turbo S. I paid about $3500 for it. It wasn't at all a clean car and had some rust due to garbage body work. I replaced teh sunroof gears, driver's side window regulator, misc bulbs, the temp flap arm, t-stat. It still needed a radiator, timing belt service, new/welded exhaust manifold, and a lot of body work when I sold it for $4800 a year later.

 

88-89 944 Turbo S's are the most desirable of them. They were rated at around 250hp, had fully adjustable suspension, limited slip diff, and 928 brakes all from the factory. Out of all the cars I've ever owned that was probably the most fun one. When you have all the brakes working (rear pads tend to get siezed in the calipers) the sunroof out, its just a blast to drive. One thing that hasn't been said is that you will almost never loose money selling a Porsche. They hold their value very well. Last I heard Powerhaus is the place for 944 Turbo aftermarket stuff.

 

968's are also a lot of fun, but you loose the mod ability. You can chip them, but don't gain that much. There were factory 968 Turbos, but those were a european car only and not at all that many made.

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I had a 89 944 Turbo S. I paid about $3500 for it. It wasn't at all a clean car and had some rust due to garbage body work. I replaced teh sunroof gears, driver's side window regulator, misc bulbs, the temp flap arm, t-stat. It still needed a radiator, timing belt service, new/welded exhaust manifold, and a lot of body work when I sold it for $4800 a year later.

 

88-89 944 Turbo S's are the most desirable of them. They were rated at around 250hp, had fully adjustable suspension, limited slip diff, and 928 brakes all from the factory. Out of all the cars I've ever owned that was probably the most fun one. When you have all the brakes working (rear pads tend to get siezed in the calipers) the sunroof out, its just a blast to drive. One thing that hasn't been said is that you will almost never loose money selling a Porsche. They hold their value very well. Last I heard Powerhaus is the place for 944 Turbo aftermarket stuff.

 

968's are also a lot of fun, but you loose the mod ability. You can chip them, but don't gain that much. There were factory 968 Turbos, but those were a european car only and not at all that many made.

 

If I understand the 944 progression correctly, the 88 Turbo S and the 89 were both 3.0 litre engines up from the 2.5 litre of previous years. I can't remember (need to start taking notes) if an LSD and ABS was standard in 88-89 or not.

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If I understand the 944 progression correctly, the 88 Turbo S and the 89 were both 3.0 litre engines up from the 2.5 litre of previous years. I can't remember (need to start taking notes) if an LSD and ABS was standard in 88-89 or not.

 

Incorrect at least in the US. The 88 Silver Rose edition/ Turbo S and all 89's are Turbo S's are still the 2.5L with a larger turbocharger.LSD is standard for the Turbo S's and iirc abs is too. In 89 another version of the 944 came out with the same body as the turbo and it had the same designation(951) but this model was called the 944 S2. It had a 3.0L inline 4.

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Incorrect at least in the US. The 88 Silver Rose edition/ Turbo S and all 89's are Turbo S's are still the 2.5L with a larger turbocharger.LSD is standard for the Turbo S's and iirc abs is too. In 89 another version of the 944 came out with the same body as the turbo and it had the same designation(951) but this model was called the 944 S2. It had a 3.0L inline 4.

 

Got it. Did a quick Google and have it figured out. I would prefer an LSD but I'm not sure critical it is in a 944.

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IMO...for autox is would strongly consider a Mazda MX5. Cheap, available parts, easy to maintain, etc. 80s Porsches require allot of attention, parts are expensive and scarce. AutoX cources are tight. A Miata with suspension mods and a good set of sneakers will win every time.
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For chenc544:

 

http://www.moojohn.com/stealth/newpics/4front2.jpg

 

Just some of us going out to eat a few years ago. You can tell it's old because of the gas prices!

 

My friend's 300ZXTT with exhaust & a few Stillen parts; my Stealth; a blue 97 Supra BPU; and my brother's 505whp 94 Supra (18 psi on pump). The locals gave us a little more respect than your average ricers :D

 

The guy w/ the Z was the second owner at only 60k miles. The seller thought the engine was blown and sold the car for like $4k. I inspected it for him before he bought it and discovered the only problem was bad IC pipe couplers so I told him to buy it right away.

 

Unfortunately, the Z was rear-ended while waiting at a redlight and was totaled and parted out. He replaced it with a yellow Stealth TT that ran ~ 11.70s last time I heard.

 

For the OP - the pic may help your decision. The Z is a damn nice vehicle, and at least they don't pretend to be a 4 seater! If you can deal with traction issues it might be your car of choice.

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Very nice, thanks for the pic.

 

For the OP - the pic may help your decision. The Z is a damn nice vehicle, and at least they don't pretend to be a 4 seater! If you can deal with traction issues it might be your car of choice.

 

The traction issue John M is referring to is the inability to put down all that power from the stop. The Z is pretty light at the rear so there is limited traction there for launch. It's not the best drag car that's for sure.

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Another great thing the 944's have is that the sunroof is almost the entire roof of the car. Not only does it go into a vent position, but it is also removeable. With both windows down and the sunroof panel out its close to owning a convertable. Oh and for the "fake" backseat that the 944 has means cheaper insurance since it isn't grouped in with vette's and other two seaters which is also the main reason 911's have a backseat.
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Got it. I was wondering about the traction issue. Finding an unmolested Z is a bit of a challenge. Looks like a nice combo of initial price, reliability (should be anyway), and performance potential.

 

If you are serious about getting a Z go to twinturbo.net. Get in contact with your local Z enthusiasts, they would likely know if a good clean Z is up for sale.

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