New Daily driver, 88 Porsche 944 Turbo S Options

[LT4Firehawk]

Well, I flew down this morning to look at it, and drove it home today. Yes, it does have some cosmetic flaws (the nose piece in particular can use some work), and a few repair needs: AC condenser needs replacing (car comes with new condenser), and at least one motor mount is bad (vibration at idle). Yes, it was in an accident (front) at about 4000 miles (now has 67,000) but it appears that mechanically there either weren't many repairs needed or they were done very well. Finally, it does need all the maintenance done on it too: belts, waterpump, wires, plugs, etc.

Now on to the good parts:
I got it for only $6500!! (NADA average is $10,500) The guy said he'd had over 30 calls on the car, and several buyers who were willing to wire him the money without even seeing it in person first. Lucky me, I got my dibs in first, and he felt more comfortable deeling with someone relatively close (he's in Dallas).

The car runs and drives great. No vibrations, shimmy, pulling or any other issues while driving. Car feels reasonably tight and handles very well. Brakes are good (although their is an Antilock warning showing up). The motor runs well and pulls strong all the way to redline. The car does have a manual boost controller, which I think was set just a tad too high (got loss of power under full throttle once), so I've dialed it back just a little. The owner also had Autothority Stage II chips that he hadn't installed yet. Once I get all the maintenance done, I'll probably install those. I haven't had time to thoroughly examine it otherwise yet, so there may be a few extras lurking on the car (blowoff valve maybe to go with the boost controller?), but otherwise it looks fairly stock.

Anyway, here's a link to the pics:
http://www.LT1.net/951.htm

For those of you not familiar with Porsches or the 944 Turbo, the 88 944 Turbo S was a limited production model that was much more hardcore than a regular 944 Turbo. More HP (250 vs. 217), bigger brakes, upgraded suspension (factory Konis), and a host of other improvements. With a curb weight of only 2758lbs and 250HP, it can be a real blast to drive. Of course it's a dog under 3000, but man o man what a kick when the turbo spools up! (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/burnout.gif)

I'm going to use the Porsche for a daily driver, so I won't be putting near as many miles on the Hawk now. Besides, that means I can leave race tires (probably Nitto 555R/RIIs) on full time. I'll probably keep using the Hawk for my track days, but I'll have to try out the Porsche to see how it does. The last one I had (regular 86 944 Turbo) wasn't that great on the track, but all the Porsche folks say the S is a night and day difference.

[trackbird]

Nice. That is a car that's high on my list of things to own soon. Not sure how soon, but soon.

Looks like a great toy.

[GaryK]

Cool! I've secretly been looking at those cars. I can't help it, the things are awesome track cars. Took one for a 1.5 hour test drive the other night.

[LT4Firehawk]

I originally bought my 86 944 Turbo that I used to have because of all the great things I heard about them for track use. Turns out that a regular 944 Turbo really isn't all that great for track use and needs a good bit of upgrading to be really good. The 88 Turbo S and 89 Turbos (same spec as 88 Turbo S), however, got all the needed upgrades stock. A regular 944 Turbo in stock form makes a really fun daily driver, but I wouldn't really recommend them for track use. You'd be much better off finding an 88 Turbo S or 89 Turbo. It'll take you a lot more looking (and more money up front), but it'll be worth it in the long run.

Here's a couple of really good links for you:
http://www.connact.com/~kgross/FAQ/944faq.html
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Pit/4786/

[GaryK]

I agree with you about the standard ones not being that great. But, I'd start with the standard turbo and just mod the hell out of it.

Either way, there's one thing all those cars have big over certain others (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) : weight. That's one thing that you're always up against, especially on the track.

[Teutonic Speedra...]

Weight, weight, weight, weight, weight!!! It's our enemy! (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[TxAgZ28]

I can hear the Sixteen Candles music playing in the background (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

Congrats on the car, I've always liked 944's (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/cool.gif)

[GaryK]

I'll take one with an LS1 in it (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

[slowTA]

Screw the LS1... I'll hold out for a 6 liter LS2!

[LT4Firehawk]

Forget the LS1 or LS2, just give me a huge honking turbo. :leaving:

[smellya]

Forget the LS1 or LS2, just give me a huge honking turbo.  :leaving:

ls2 and hooking turbo :drive: