944 and 951 differences - suspension

[Bob Kontak]

Got to yakking with my tire guy and he said he wants to put an LS engine into a 944 but he needs a 951 suspension car because it's beefier.

So I get to talking with my dentist friend who owns a couple of both and he says no difference save rear sway bar diameter.

Just looking for confirmation. Not that I don't trust the dentist but I'd rather not "lay knowledge" on someone without assurance.

[legion]

It's been awhile, but there were suspension differences between the 944, 951, and 951S (the 951S was substantially different than the other two). There were differences from model year to model year as well. For example, I know the '86 951 mounted the brake rotors to the back of the wheel hubs. I believe this was changed to a more conventional setup for '87.

[Bob Kontak]

Thanks for the info.

I probably should have done some research before posting the question. Lots and lots of Google data out there on this swap and I'm not seeing a bias towards a 951 except for maybe the transaxle.

[SiberianDVM]

Friend of mine did this swap with his track day car and fought cooling issues forever. Finally sold it and bought a C6 Vette

[klaus]

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak

Thanks for the info.

I probably should have done some research before posting the question. Lots and lots of Google data out there on this swap and I'm not seeing a bias towards a 951 except for maybe the transaxle.

No maybe about it on the transaxle. S2 / 951 / 951S all an upgrade over the 944 stuff. 951S being the best of the bunch.

Suspension wise if the 944 is an early car with the hollow front drivers side spindle, that is potential weak spot.

But overall the 944 suspension is fairly robust. Lots of changes between control arms, trailing arms, hubs, spindles, shocks, and sway bars over the years, so you can pick and chose based on the goal of the build.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Been a while, but I swear the 83 944 rear sway bar < 86 turbo < turbo S< M030 cupp turbo or something? I put a larger one on the rear of the 87 turbo, and then I think put the turbo on the 83 944 na.

But then again, I'm a dentist!

[Arizona_928]

Would say take an early car add brembos, m030 sway bars, and konis....

[pavulon]

944 LS Series

newindex

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by SiberianDVM

Friend of mine did this swap with his track day car and fought cooling issues forever. Finally sold it and bought a C6 Vette

One of the laws of physics that can't be broken is power generation makes heat. More power, more heat. And yea, energy is not made, just converting the energy from the gasoline into rotational motion to move the car.

Bottom line more HP, more heat, always.

[Bob Kontak]

Thanks guys. I called the guy and let him know what you passed on and will forward the thread to him via e-mail.

[racer]

The basic benefit of a 944T over a 944 is that the upgrades are done.. you get bigger brakes, stiffer springs, stronger transaxle with maybe even better gearing. Moreso if its an M030 equipped car.. moreso if its an '89 turbo that carried over the upgrade of the TurboS. So, less upgrades once you drop in a 400hp V8. That said, any tired 951 you find will need much of that redone/rebuilt since it has the potential of being 30+ years old. So.. maybe its not better.. all depends on where you are starting, how deep your pockets are and what the finished goal is.

[Arizona_928]

So the only thing to be really different is the transaxle. Stronger 1&2 gears, and cooling loop.

Good luck finding a junked 951 reasonably priced anymore...

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Another thing is the gearing ratios. The if I recall the turbo has more spread out gearing to take advantage of the turbo. The NA tranny (as I recall) had either lower gears, or more of a close range gear ratio compared to the turbo.

On the street, my turbo would work kind of like this- 1st gear - nuisance gear to shift through. 2nd gear- fun as hell power band-big grin- speeding ticket. Third-good power band, grin, potential reckless driving. 4th and 5th- Jailtime. There were times I wanted the lower gearing of the na to take advantage of useable gears without landing in jail/ maximizing the kick in the seat factor, even if it meant a slower car. Just me. I even toyed with dropping in a 6 speed, but on the forums, people who did that tracking the cars / datalogging were supposedly logging slower times b/c they were spending more time shifting depending on the track. (from what I recall)

[Arizona_928]

Yeah I forgot the gearing. It's very short for the car. Driving the na to 951. The na was better to put around in. No where near the power. Sold the na. Kept the turbo. Turbo caught fire (Crap hose line kit they used to sell 10 years ago) a couple years later. Was a fun car to drive to HS in. Raced a lot of people.

[pavulon]

[beepbeep]

I almost forgot how messy that turbocharger installation is. On wrong side, pipes going around the engine, tilted block, 8v heads...