Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

I have a new (to me) 944 on the way soon. I will start a thread as soon as I take delivery.

I am planning some mild upgrades, not performance, just astethics. I am planning to start with headlights.

I understand that early 944s shared a lot of parts with the humble golf. Can the headlights be upgraded? Any one here managed?
I found this on-line. http://www.carid.com/porsche-944-headlights/

A lot of mega cheesy headlights, but a few subtle - like crystals. These could be nice. Does anyone have experience of these?

And - whilst we are here, what other cheap and cheefful mods make the 944 a better place to be?

Have to say, I've never seen the point of blingy headlights on a car. Maybe it's just my old fart side coming out.

I've seen even less point in having blingy headlights on a 944 as they are hidden 95% of the time. And 'aesthetic modification' to a 944 looks fairly tasteless to my eyes as well.

So I guess I'm saying don't do it! Putting better bulbs, with relays, in the standard lights IS a good idea though as it improves the functionality without changing the appearance.

Other 'cheap and cheerful mods'? Stiffer rear wishbone mounts on the front suspension are worth doing. As it replacing all the worn suspension parts with new ones (although that's not 'cheap'). A good service? A really good clean and polish? A nicer head unit which will take a memory card (or does bluetooth) and some replacement speakers? A decent Momo steering wheel? Refurbishing the wheels?


Oli.

I never have checked my lights but they seem fine. In conclusion I expect previous owner put some halogens in as I did with my wifes MX5 which was awful before.

I think that all 944's had halogen headlamps - non-halogens were phased out in about 1978, which predates 944 production.

Do you mean higher-wattage (halogen) bulbs? If so then this is possible, although I'd be hoping they put some switching relays in as well to minimise the current flow in the loom. Or it could just be that they are as good as any other standard 944 (i.e. not great) but you are happy with it!


Oli.

Along with the other good suggestions posted here, I would strongly advise a refurbishment of the gear shift mechanism - mainly at the rear - and preferably with a 'short-shift' item. Makes a huge difference and not too expensive or to complete yourself.

Dave
CT

Good idea Dave. It's a nice little DIY project to do both ends and you can get change from £20 if you buy online. I wouldn't bother with the 'short shift' stuff as returning it all to standard gives a precise and short enough throw, but each to their own.


Oli.

IMHO the Crystal lights only get praise as a result of a few things:

1) The lights removed were in a poor state so almost anything would be an improvement
2) There are a plethora of cheap aftermarket shite out on the market. I got some 'Autopal' headlights in my Triumph Stag and in all honesty they were not alot better than new sealed beams. In my Dolly Sprint which also came to me with the same lights it was the same story (as another owner found who went from new sealed beams to Halogens) ; The Spitfire on Wipac Quadoptics? HUGE difference ;even without relays that car rivalled moderns for light output. The new owner of the Stag splashed out on Cibies and also noticed a marked improvement
3) Owners being too tight - Sorry, but what does one really expect to get for a light that cost beer money? We are our own worst enemy (myself included!).

There was a price difference however :£30 including bulbs for the Autopals (sold by every specialist) and almost £60 for the Wipacs ; Cibies are meant to be even more (around £70).

In short, if your lights are fine, leave them . Polish the glass up with glass polish and keep them clean. If you really want to improve them add relays to boost the voltage output. If that doesn't help, get new OE spec bulbs (Halfords now sell these as GE items, but they are cheap on a trade card ; I really should have taken a pic showing the difference ; it was surprising;)).

And if that is not enough, get an LED conversion or HID conversion from a Defender from the Land Rover Specialists. The looks are not for everything but they are bright and E-marked making them 'more' legal and with a decent cut off:).



What this man said. The last 3 cars of mine had had Bluetooth HUs in and it really does make life nicer when using the phone as a Sat Nav or simply playing a load of music off it .

If I had a 944 I'd do the following:

-Only944 Shifter kit
-Meguars 3M UV coated spray for the dash - it will help slow down any cracking and does not leave the dash shiny
-Decent brakes pad ; Either the best quality that ECP offers or something like Carbon Lorrain RC5+ pads ; the latter would probably be be better if you went on track
-New tyres - On most cars I have owned this has always made a big difference to the drive of the car, including the BMW I briefly owned, my first S2, and my RS Turbo which was on 10 year old Toyo T1-S with full tread. It will also be safer. It's the one thing many owners seem to scrape on in the classic car scene, probably down to the cost they will not get back and for the mileage they cover in the car.
-Throttle response cam - this makes the 944 a nicer place to be and drive. It is not pricey either.

That's all I can think of for now.

Ah yes, Chas's biggest failing .... when ARE you going to get another 944 Chas?


Oli.

All the 'round headed' Ferraris' had Cibies - the 308s etc. The 365/512 Boxers had a dual pod - sometimes the client wanted extra, so we re-wired the duals to dip/main beam - crikey - those lights shone for miles - down the A3 (long time before the cameras....)

Dave
Modena
East Horsley
Sy

Rav -

Upgrade suggestion: Bit odd - but it works: I have a Ford Fiesta 2007 wiper blade attached to my driver's side wiper arm - I think the normal is 18inc but this is 22inc. Works a treat...

Dave
CT

It will be soon I suspect but I think I may deviate and sample them in the S3 format . As you have probably gathered I do like alot of cars and like trying them out. While my 951 was one of the best cars I have owned others were pretty good too and I always like change in the car world.

Now, if only I could do this in reality (work etc.).

Put it this way. I knew Citroen DSs were good but not until I drove one. Some call the engine wheezy, I found it immaterial. What a driving experience. Manufacturers could learn a thing of two by looking in the past. OTOH I was spoilt ; the car had a 2.1 EFI engine, a rare thing in the DS world of carbs. Until driving it I would have not commited to possibly adding it to the list of cars to buy.

New 7" LED Trucklites or similar would be best, but theyre still very expensive. Id start by rewiring the lamps directly (currently the voltage goes through the switch), even if I was changing the lamp type.

Hi Rav...not knowing which model your thinking of I won't say much on mods...if you get a turbo I could probably write a book. However I will comment on lights....I upgraded mine to LED's and have to say I'm very pleased with them, both their light output and the way they look, I changed headlights, foglights and sidelights...I don't have the details of which make to hand but could find out later...

Here is my car with all lights on..


cheers

Pete

That looks great Pete! If you wouldn't mind posting what and where you bought the LEDs that'd be great. My 944 lights aren't great, and with it being a white car I don't think yellowy bulbs do the appearance any favours

hi

Sorry for late reply......fog and sidelights were from here...... http://woodypeck.com/ they do headlights too but I had already bought some off eBay...

cheers

Pete