porsche 944 turbo
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Gran Turismo7058
(Banned)
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my grandfather has one.....................
GilesGuthrie
Staff Emeritus
- 11,038
- Edinburgh, UK
- CMDRTheDarkLord
The 944 Turbos are quick cars. Anyone who lost to a PT-Cruiser simply cannot drive.
That said, they are quite unreliable, much more so than the NA 944s, which run forever. You'll also need to have it professionally inspected before you buy one, but the car is now of such an age that non-franchised Porsche specialists would be the mechanics of choice for you.
A lot of the consumable (pads/discs etc) parts aren't that expensive, but some other items, such as clutches, gearbox, windscreens, turbos are fearsome.
It's a real case of "buyer beware" on this car.
That said, they are quite unreliable, much more so than the NA 944s, which run forever. You'll also need to have it professionally inspected before you buy one, but the car is now of such an age that non-franchised Porsche specialists would be the mechanics of choice for you.
A lot of the consumable (pads/discs etc) parts aren't that expensive, but some other items, such as clutches, gearbox, windscreens, turbos are fearsome.
It's a real case of "buyer beware" on this car.
- 1,695
I spent about 1 year of my life being obsessed with finding one of these cars in good shape to buy as my own. I love them.
The only real maintenance problem with them is the water pump which must be replaced every 30,000 miles, this can be quite alot of money. However, if it is not replaced, it's like a ticking time-bomb, and once it quits, everything goes wrong.
The faulty water-pump is the reason that 90% of 944's are scrapped. Most new owners dont know about its need to be replaced and they end up with a screwed motor. And a mechanics quote about 3 times the price of the car.
I have test drove an estimated 40-50 of these cars.
One bit of advice, dont be picky. At first I wanted a Turbo, then eventually I would've settled for the Regular 944.
Since the model selection for the 944's is quite confusing here is a quick breakdown. This info is all correct.
1983-1985: (probably the one that PT Cruiser raced)
944: 2.5L 4 cyl 143hp
1986 (first turbo):
944: 2.5L 4 158hp
944 Turbo: 2.5l 4 217hp (One of the quickest cars for that year)
1987:
944: 2.5L 4cyl 158hp(faster than same year RX-7,300ZX NA)
944 S: 2.5L 4 188hp(The 944 I hoped to find)
944 Turbo: 2.5L 4 Cyl Turbo 217hp
1988:
944: 2.5 4 158hp
944 S: 2.5L 4 cyl 188hp (Higher revving 2.5L, THE BEST exhaust note around!!)
944 Turbo: 2.5L 4 217hp
944 Turbo S: 2.5L 4 258hp (The ideal 944, 0-60:5.2)
1989:
944: 2.7L 4 cyl 162hp (stroked 2.5L, torquier)
944 S2: 3.0L 4 cyl 208hp (very fast car with monsterous 4 cyl)
944 Turbo: 2.5L 4 cyl 247hp(This car will outrun a 300ZX Twin Turbo 89-96, RX-7 Twin Turbo 92-95, 3000GT VR-4 90-98, Camaro SS/Z28 80-99, Mustang GT Any Year and the Corvette 80-96)
They kept making them until I believe 1992. They dropped the NA 2.7L and 2.5L 4 cyl. They only had the S and the Turbo. The S has one of the largest 4 cylinder engines at a throbbing 3.0 litres. The Turbo stayed at 247hp with the 2.5L 4 Cyl.
"The Porsche 944 is one of the best handling cars I've ever driven, regardless of price" ----Derek Daly
The only real maintenance problem with them is the water pump which must be replaced every 30,000 miles, this can be quite alot of money. However, if it is not replaced, it's like a ticking time-bomb, and once it quits, everything goes wrong.
The faulty water-pump is the reason that 90% of 944's are scrapped. Most new owners dont know about its need to be replaced and they end up with a screwed motor. And a mechanics quote about 3 times the price of the car.
I have test drove an estimated 40-50 of these cars.
One bit of advice, dont be picky. At first I wanted a Turbo, then eventually I would've settled for the Regular 944.
Since the model selection for the 944's is quite confusing here is a quick breakdown. This info is all correct.
1983-1985: (probably the one that PT Cruiser raced)
944: 2.5L 4 cyl 143hp
1986 (first turbo):
944: 2.5L 4 158hp
944 Turbo: 2.5l 4 217hp (One of the quickest cars for that year)
1987:
944: 2.5L 4cyl 158hp(faster than same year RX-7,300ZX NA)
944 S: 2.5L 4 188hp(The 944 I hoped to find)
944 Turbo: 2.5L 4 Cyl Turbo 217hp
1988:
944: 2.5 4 158hp
944 S: 2.5L 4 cyl 188hp (Higher revving 2.5L, THE BEST exhaust note around!!)
944 Turbo: 2.5L 4 217hp
944 Turbo S: 2.5L 4 258hp (The ideal 944, 0-60:5.2)
1989:
944: 2.7L 4 cyl 162hp (stroked 2.5L, torquier)
944 S2: 3.0L 4 cyl 208hp (very fast car with monsterous 4 cyl)
944 Turbo: 2.5L 4 cyl 247hp(This car will outrun a 300ZX Twin Turbo 89-96, RX-7 Twin Turbo 92-95, 3000GT VR-4 90-98, Camaro SS/Z28 80-99, Mustang GT Any Year and the Corvette 80-96)
They kept making them until I believe 1992. They dropped the NA 2.7L and 2.5L 4 cyl. They only had the S and the Turbo. The S has one of the largest 4 cylinder engines at a throbbing 3.0 litres. The Turbo stayed at 247hp with the 2.5L 4 Cyl.
"The Porsche 944 is one of the best handling cars I've ever driven, regardless of price" ----Derek Daly
- 1,695
Do you know what year the 944 was, and what model it was. Look at my year to year model outline and see which one it was. Did it have black 5 spoke rims? I'm betting it was a 1983-1985 944
- 1,136
- Garconis
- Garconis
My BEST Friend owns a 1989 Porsche 944. It's not super fast, but it is fast. The handling is like NO OTHER!!!
I agree with that statement. It was the best handling car in the world for quite some time!!! Just read Car and Driver
.
It has a great center of gravity, doesnt push (understeer) and doesnt oversteer a lot. But give it gas around a corner and it will oversteer a bit. But it just drifts perfectly.
And I know for a fact that a Porsche 944 would stomp a PT Cruiser. If it blows my Contour away, it will blow a 9.5sec 0-60 car away.
For Christmas, he got whole new engine rebuild!!!
I agree with that statement. It was the best handling car in the world for quite some time!!! Just read Car and Driver
.It has a great center of gravity, doesnt push (understeer) and doesnt oversteer a lot. But give it gas around a corner and it will oversteer a bit. But it just drifts perfectly.
And I know for a fact that a Porsche 944 would stomp a PT Cruiser. If it blows my Contour away, it will blow a 9.5sec 0-60 car away.
For Christmas, he got whole new engine rebuild!!!
- 1,695
Originally posted by GT3bedbuddy
My BEST Friend owns a 1989 Porsche 944. It's not super fast, but it is fast. The handling is like NO OTHER!!!
I agree with that statement. It was the best handling car in the world for quite some time!!! Just read Car and Driver
It has a great center of gravity, doesnt push (understeer) and doesnt oversteer a lot. But give it gas around a corner and it will oversteer a bit. But it just drifts perfectly.
And I know for a fact that a Porsche 944 would stomp a PT Cruiser. If it blows my Contour away, it will blow a 9.5sec 0-60 car away.
For Christmas, he got whole new engine rebuild!!!
So he had a 944 base or was it maybe an S2 or turbo but all you know is that it was a 944?
The 944 base in 1989 is a 2.7L, I have only driven one of these and I didnt like it as much because it doesnt rev as high as the 2.5L 944. It had ALOT of torque for a 4 cylinder motor though I honestly think this car would give the same year Mustang GT and Camaro a run for the money, especially considering you can shift in about 1/3 the time (my brother has an 88 Mustang GT and the tranny feels like it is out of a tractor)
- 24,344
- Midlantic Area
- GTP_Duke
944s are the current automotive bargain of the decade, though as with all Porsches, not something to dive into without looking long and hard at.
See if you can get your hands on the current issue of Grassroots Motorsports (they sell it at Borders and B. Dalton, I know), which has an excellent comparison between the 944 and similar-vintage 911s. Their bottom line was that for the driver, the 944 was about 95% as good as a 911, for about 30% of the price.
See if you can get your hands on the current issue of Grassroots Motorsports (they sell it at Borders and B. Dalton, I know), which has an excellent comparison between the 944 and similar-vintage 911s. Their bottom line was that for the driver, the 944 was about 95% as good as a 911, for about 30% of the price.
From what I've heard, the 944 is second best of the non-911 Porsche's (first being the Boxster). As has been mentioned before, the Turbos are quite unreliable, but sure are fun when the work. It's also not as much of a difference performance-wise (as compared to the 911 turbo/na differences) so you'd be getting quite a lot of reliability for a small sacrifice in straight-line speed.
And, uh, I'd vote for an '89 S2, but good luck finding one for sale. Once you have it, you probably won't want to part with it.
And, uh, I'd vote for an '89 S2, but good luck finding one for sale. Once you have it, you probably won't want to part with it.
- 1,695
The '89 S2 is probably the single most sought after 944 for all of the reasons you mentioned (reliability, power etc).
I know you can find an 87-88 944 S with that harmonious 2.5L, and trust me, those 188 horses pull like a goddamn steamtrain all the way to 6,800rpm. The 944 only weighs approx. 2700lbs.
If you can find one of these you are laughing.
An 87-88 944 S (or any 944) is one of the 10-15 cars I hope to one day actually own.
- 786
I bought a 944 Turbo back like 5 years ago for $5000. $5k now is too much, you should expect to pay around $3.5-4k.
I raced the HELL out of that thing and was never dissapointed. Granted, I did do some mods to it after a while (bigger turbo, raised compression, intake, exhaust, the normal ****....) but it was always a solid car.
I even raced a 944 in SCCA, before moving to a 911.
Now that I think of it, don't buy a 944 for under $3.5k.
I raced the HELL out of that thing and was never dissapointed. Granted, I did do some mods to it after a while (bigger turbo, raised compression, intake, exhaust, the normal ****....) but it was always a solid car.
I even raced a 944 in SCCA, before moving to a 911.
Now that I think of it, don't buy a 944 for under $3.5k.
- 1,695
A 928 is going to be quite a significant amount more than the same year of 944.
I also think you are kind of underselling the 944's price unless you are talking about British pounds., but even still, the blue book price of a 1988 BASE 944 with under 150,000 miles is $14,000CDN or about $8,000USD.
If you bought a 944 Turbo for $5,000 5 years ago I would like to know what the hell was wrong with it?
I have seen 1990 944 Turbos for as much as $26,000 CDN in the last year or 2, mind you they were in mint condition.
I also think you are kind of underselling the 944's price unless you are talking about British pounds., but even still, the blue book price of a 1988 BASE 944 with under 150,000 miles is $14,000CDN or about $8,000USD.
If you bought a 944 Turbo for $5,000 5 years ago I would like to know what the hell was wrong with it?
I have seen 1990 944 Turbos for as much as $26,000 CDN in the last year or 2, mind you they were in mint condition.
- 1,695
aaaaah, I see.
928's are such awesome cars. I mainly adore the engine. I would like to swap a 928 5.4L V8 into a 944 but what would be the point. You could easily get 350hp out of a 944's 2.5L Turbo. I just like the idea of engine swaps.
Originally posted by GT3bedbuddy
It is just a 944 (base according to your wording). It is a great car, but for some odd reason he wants to sell it (guess he needs the money).
For a base model, that's not too bad...except for the 174K miles. I'm guessing the rest of the car is OK, but get a good test drive to be sure (or have a good mechanic take a look). If you can afford it, get the engine rebuilt -- or swapped out. There's a great car there just waiting to be restored.
- 1,136
- Garconis
- Garconis
Originally posted by Hooligan
For a base model, that's not too bad...except for the 174K miles. I'm guessing the rest of the car is OK, but get a good test drive to be sure (or have a good mechanic take a look). If you can afford it, get the engine rebuilt -- or swapped out. There's a great car there just waiting to be restored.
As I stated before, the engine already HAS been rebuilt!!!
- 1,695
Well, after driving a friend of the families 1989 944 S2 last night, I am now on the hunt for one again. I want to see what I can get for the Civic and start looking. I dont even have any money right now but I will do what I have to, to scrape enough together. I will only be getting the base model or maybe a 1988 S with the 2.5L 188hp 4 cyl. I am totally excited about this car again, but I should put it in the back of my mind right now because it wont be for about 6 months to a year before I'll get my hands on it. AND THIS TIME, NO MODS! I would dare ruin a car as beautiful as the 944 with some ****ty mods other than the Autothourity Chip which raises the redline to 7,400rpm!!!! Woooohooooo, Porsche all the way,.......
- 1,695
The turbo would definitely need replacing but it has surely already been done. The whole will probably need a complete overhaul.
