Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

I will be updating this post everytime I do something to my 944 (Pixie)!

My aim is to turn my car into a fast road car, though being a student it's not going to happen overnight, I also drive my 944 as a daily driver whilst trying to keep her in top condition.

Being a Motorsport Engineering student the other aim is to complete all the work myself, it'll keep me occupied, give me a bit of experience and eventually I'll beable to say "I did that"!

Now the tyres have been done and she has a full MOT, I'm onto starting to think about suspension and brakes. Make your car stop and handle before you make it go (faster).

I'd rather not have any "buy and S2 / turbo it'll be cheaper" as I know it will buy the time I've finished but the only car I want is sitting outside.

Looking forward to looking back over this thread in a couple of years, for all the questions, advice, drama (theres bound to be some!) etc.

Nicola

Can't give much advice myself on the matter but would be interested to see the responses as I'd like to fit improved parts whilst I'm in the process of getting mine back on the road. Ideally mine is going to be a bit of fun and something I can take on track days/road trips etc.

Damn, that takes away my suggestion there!

Anyway, I'll say to go for the Boxster Calipers up front as I understand that it is easier for you to convert your car to accept them. That way, you also avoid issues with the dreaded plate lift that the Turbos and S2s suffer from.

To do it on a budget, I'd go with ATE discs, and something like Mintex 1144s, Ferodo DS2500s (apparently a very good medium for road and track) or Pagid Blues. Failing that, Stock Pagids will be ok and get you back up to the braking standard that it had out of the factory (if it's not already at that). Braided lines may also help too. The Fast road pads will also help quite a bit. Changing things like Brake fluid makes a bigger difference than most people think too.

Suspension wise I would change all of the bushes and put a new set of dampers on. This will not be cheap but a number of 944s irrespective of typre will be transformed by this treatment. Even if you stick to buying new Sachs shocks, springs up front, and new drop link bushes, the car will have the new car feel and feel much more taut in the corners and more confidence inspiring. My last Peugeot 306 responded very well to this treatment (Previous owner put on new Dampers/springs and drop links) and oddly enough the ride quality improved when I changed the last link (lower arms) in addition to getting better feel.

If I were on a budget for the above, and the suspension was MOT passable I'd probably change all of the dampers with new front springs, and get the 968 Castor mounts.

As for more power from the engine, I would be tempted to look around for a 2.7 engine or even a scrap 2.7 (and then break the rest for spares (Sorry, it's a little mean I know and I do like the 2.7s too)). That way you could take the engine out of that or even the head, get it rebuilt and put it onto your engine. The 2.7s have bigger valves, so rebuilding the head can get pricey (no other 944 used those valves). Failing that, get your head rebuilt (as J.J has) which will bring back a few of the lost horses).

EMC Motorsport told me that many 944s are running below normal power due to cambelt changes not being done properly (the vernier adjuster being out a few degrees, costing as much a 10BHP) which he described as feeling as if the throttle cable is not coming out all of the way. Whilst it is unlikely yours is out (I think they can only really come out if the cam seal is changed) checking for TDC via a Dial gauge and checking the cams will ensure that do you have it correctly setup.
Finally, weight. A cheap and very effective way to get a car to go better is going lighter. That means taking out seats you don't need, sound deadening, and even things like lighter wheels (less unsprung weight) can make the car more agile.

Boxster calipers are radially mounted, so theyre easier to fit than 951/964-derived Brembos which are axially mounted. The same can be said for 928S4/M030 calipers too. That said: the original ATE calipers were used on 911 Turbos and 928s with over 300bhp, so theyll be able to stop your car without too much trouble. If the calipers are in good condition then Id do nothing more than replace the discs with OEM parts and buy new Pagid pads (on maybe Ferodo DS2500s as already mentioned). Goodridge hoses will also make a noticable difference.

Id concentrate on renewing all of the bushes with new genuine Porsche parts and Id only consider delrin bushes for the anti-roll bars and the steering rack. Id also replace all of the renewable joints and then the car will drive like new.

Whilst youve got it in pieces Id fit GAZ dampers (which depends on your budget: they have struts ranging from £75 to much, much more...) and M030 anti-roll bars, which you might be better off buying new.

Simon

Losing weight makes a massive difference. My series one track car was transformed by the following:

lighter exhaust
polycarbonate rear hatch
polycarbonate side windows
window regulators removed
door cars removed
sound deadening removed
front seats replaced with <6kg replacements
rear seat belts removed
rear seat back removed (hardly anyone will remove the squab: youll find out why)
electric hatch release removed
spare wheel and tools removed
lightweight carpets substituted for the originals
lighter battery (-10 kilogrammes!)
lightweight GRP front panels substituted for the originals

The resulting car is substantially quicker than my 2.7l series two car...

...and as you can see in my profile picture:ze Germans found it extremely interesting!

You say use new Porsche bushes, what are you opinion on polyurethane (e.g. Powerflex) bushes?

Too harsh and suited only to the ARB and the steering rack. Most racers will have original bushes...

On a budget. The things that worked for me (9442 not S2). Braided brake lines & new stock discs. Big improvement. Standard 944 brakes are good. They came from the 911 turbo. Best pads are no longer legal on the road due to EU legislation. I just use unipart & they don't fade from 130mph. (Sat nav not speedo.)
New ignition leads, rotor arm & coil. (Very sensative to ignition the 944)
New boge struts & shocks.
New suspention bushes stock. Stiffening bracket to front antiroll bar. (25.5mm) Raises the rate by 3 times. Adjustable rear bar mount.
Laser alignment.
Modern fuel pressure reg & damper. Big difference on mine.
Dyno test to monitor improvements & find out were you are. Most 944 lux are down to 90 to 110 at the wheels well below oem power. Find out why!
Sheding weights a no brainer.
Nitrous. In my dreams. The best power mod for a 944. But an insurance nightmare. Genuine 100hp hit for peanuts.

Most 8v cars are not 'down to 90 - 100 (bhp) at the wheesl'.

I was going to say.

Even with suffering from a sezied piston and 132k, my S2 would have made my old 306 GTi-6 (167BHP with 1215kg) tricky to keep up with it (and that performed very well on the 1/4 mile according to some people who claimed I'd be doing good to do past 16 secs (I did it in 15.6secs)). I may have tried it on in the S2 with another GTi-6 that a friend of mine drives (down a private road). Other favourites include playing a Fiesta ST below 4krpm (for obvious reasons). It certainly feels miles quicker than the 306 did (I reckon that's the torque and the nature in which it is delivered).

My 10p worth.

Check the brakes are 100% & working, every 944 with single pots I see especially low use ones have partially seized calliper slides. Free them up & lubricate the slides. Change the brake fluid, even shiny new standard stuff is OK & replace the flexes & any fixed pipe looking less that 100%. Standard single pots are more than adequate for a standardish 944. The Porsche pads for these are bloody hard, I run EBC Greens because of the lack of brake dust but I know some hate them.

My 944 isn't polybushed, but I've done cars in the past & not noticed harshness TBH, it is a sports coupe not a nice soft saloon. Changing the front wishbones for Hartech refurbs gives harder bushes anyway, as well as decent balljoints that are better quality that the Pork ones.
Swap the shocks front & rear, standard will make a vast improvement but some of the upgrades will be even better. Do a complete geometry check & go as aggressive as you can cope with for road use.
Check all the ARB bushes, they die quicky especially if any oil gets on them. Uprate the ARBs to the latest/biggest you can get. Copy the Lindsay bracing bracket & make some up for the front ARB mounts which are a crap design.

A good top end engine rebuild will be worthwhile, clean up the ports & 3 angle the valve seats. Maybe with a re-ring if possible. CNC a proper vernier cam pully & check timing is as book, if you can get dyno time try advancing the timing a few degrees. Decent injector service will improve thing at high mileage.

It should be possible to fit a supercharger to a 2.5 to give around 50% increase at 7-8PSI with an intercooler. Without reducing the compression ratio. Plenty of room on the 8V unlike the 16V which is one of the things stalling my build.

Id be surprised if you can improve the head... Id concentrate on the inlet tract: particularly matching the inlet manifold to the cylinder head. Same for the echaust manifold too.

Regarding bushes, on modern cars I find the Poly ones can be softer. It's not unknown in French circles for 205 drivers to use Genuine bushes over the Powerflex items for life, fitment and firmness.

Maybe I've got the wrong end of the stick (I hope I don't tread on any toes here), but maybe TR7V8 refers to his experience on his TR7. I know on my MGB and a mate's Dolly Sprint, the quality of the rubber bushes is short of apauling (but I guess they are cheap which keeps most customers happy...) with them wearing out within the year and generally leaving you with sloppy handling. Hence in this case, Poly bushes become a very viable option.

Hi,

All I can say is students have come a long way to be driving Porshces. I couldn't even afford a car back in the day on my grant , and thats only going back to 1997 when I left polytechnic with a HND in Electronics.

I wish you all the best with you're project though

Ben