naive questions about turbos and street-ability

[fandm17]

Hi everyone. Not too many posts under my belt yet, but lots of reading--daily actually, for a number of months--of the wealth of info available here. I have had a 912 for three years, during which time it has been completely restored. Porsches are like potato chips, though, you can't have just one. So recently I bought a 76 911S as a winter project. Maybe more about my cars will follow in a future post. But I digress ... now for the question ... a question that always resurfaces when Porsches sprint through my mind. Like many, as a poster-hanging child, the original objects of my lust for Porsches were the turbos, of course. That is probably not uncommon. Although I have never driven one, all that I have read seems to indicate that the 3.0 L and 3.3 L 930's are purely race cars and should be driven as such. The low compression ratio, 4-speed transaxle, and turbo lag combine to make the turbos rather un-streetable. On the track, where one can keep the revs above 3500-4000, this is probably not an issue. But I have never been out on the track, and I am not a rev-happy driver. Yet my fascination with turbos continues. I have recently come across a few VERY nice 930's. One of them was so nice, in fact, I almost considered--dare I say it--getting rid of my beloved 912 and middie-S in order to come up with the money to buy it. Blasphemy! Anyway, to get to the point, I wonder if anyone can comment on the street-ability of the 930. I am curious what it is like driving around town. Is it unbearably sluggish pulling away from stop signs and red lights? Does the turbo lag make it difficult to drive in such situations? Does it finally develop boost just when you need to decelerate again? How would it be for long trips of about an hour or so? That is, does it run very hot when run for extended periods of time? Perhaps the intercooled turbos (1978 and after, as you all know better than I do) run cooler and are more reliable. My intuition tells me that, intercooled or not, the temperatures would eventually reach a steady-state. I am just asking for opinions before I go out and waste someone's time by looking at and test-driving his (or her) car. I am anticipating you all to say turbos were not meant to be grocery-getters: they are intended for the track, and the track only. But maybe a few of you have commissioned a 930 to civilian duty. Thanks for taking the time to read this and hopefully reply! --Chris

[wcc]

My 930 has never been on a track. It's completely stock. Don't even bother with stop light to stop light type races cause by the time it spools up you have to stop again. Not worth it. But as for normal driving around it's as easy and normal to drive as my '85. The fun really begins on open stretches of roads and twisties.

[Miguel Antonett]

I've had six p-cars, one of them (for 20+ years) is a 78-930 and can tell you IMHO it is the best of all. Around town very docile and easy to drive, on the open road very fast and responsive, and on the twisties country roads and track events fantastic. The boost acceleration is brutal, the brakes are awesome, and the suspension is the best - keeping in mind that it is almost 30 years old.
You'll learn about the lag and how to handle it.
Be sure you get a healthy one though, they tend to be abused by po's; but there are a bunch of good one still.
There is no substitute for a good 930.

[charlesbahn]

Originally posted by Miguel Antonett
There is no substitute for a good 930.

er

Except, of course, a Protomotive Stage 1 Turbo with intercooler upgrade on a 3.2 Carrera.

[Porsche_monkey]

Go drive one. Just be prepared to buy it, because you will want to....

[mb911]

very addictive thats why I built one for myself so to speak

[930turbo]

I've owned eight P-cars, four 911's including my current '77 turbo. The turbos are actually quite doscile when driving at a relaxed pace. A little additional time might be needed before committing to pulling out in from of the on-coming cement truck, but it's not that bad. A few miles behind the wheel and the necessary anticipation becomes second nature. Lag is nearly a non-issue with any type of spirited driving or anything close to highway speeds. It's eager to flex it's muscle "now" at these speeds. Once the boost is all in, you've completely forgotten the relative off-boost lazyness and it all becomes worth while. These cars command a certain amount of respect, I've had other cars alond side that could probably take me, but they don't even try. I'll probably keep this one forever.

[tsuter]

Less than 300HP is for weenies.....

[Black968]

Welcome to the board. BTW nicely written post. The only way I can descibe a 930 is like the Jekyll/ Hyde analogy. When pushed hard, it is a true race car. You can get yourself into trouble in a hurry. The car really comes alive at 120 plus MPH and you can feel the arrow dynamics sucking the car to the road. The 930 can also be used as a Sunday afternoon cruiser, which is one of the great things about these cars.

Cheers

[WydRyd]

The lag factor can be minimised with a number of simple upgrades, such as:

- aftermarket headers and free-flowing muffler
- aftermarket updated turbocharger (either newer KKK or Garrett ball-bearing)
- bigger more efficient intercooler.
- G50 5 spd
- EFI conversion

... and the list goes on and on

HP is addictive... BTDT

At the end of the day, there's NOTHING quite like a blown Flat6

[Noah930]

IMO, the turbo lag is not a big deal on the street. I'm not often doing the stop-light drag race, though, so YMMV. I've found my (stock) 930 to be perfectly tractable, even in stop-and-go L.A. traffic (though the motor does get a bit hot). I've found the turbo (which kicks in around 3800 rpm) to be more of a massive but predictable shove in the back, as opposed to the on-off switch which some people describe.

Long-distance driving is a breeze. The AC sucks, but that's about it. The gearing of the transmission is really oriented towards autobahn speeds. In 4th gear (I have a 4-speed), the car doesn't seem to wake up until 90 mph.

[johnsjmc]

I,ve had a dozen 911s from a 67S in 1972 up to now .I,ve had a 1976 3.0 930 and an 86 944T.Newest car I,ve had was an 86 911 Cab I bought in 1988.I have a 1980 SC with a 3.6 in it ,which does daily driver duty. As I get older I think the most desireable is a turbo look with a normally aspirated engine (3.2 or 3.6). There are far too many cases of 930 engines needing $10000plus rebuilds at intervals that make a 2.7 look durable.The 3.3 930 is a very fast car in the right hands but can be very expensive if you put on alot of miles or use it for alot of stop and go driving.

[WydRyd]

Originally posted by johnsjmc
As I get older I think the most desireable is a turbo look with a normally aspirated engine (3.2 or 3.6).

My car is originally an M491 turbo-look Carrera. IMO, I found the car to be too lethargic and lazy with the 3.2 moving the heavier turbo-body. Never quite liked it in naturally aspirated mode, so my only option was to buy a turbo cab (which we never received in OZ), or turbo my NA engine. I took the latter approach and have never looked back. The G50 is also a blessing and gets the car accelerating quicker off the line too

[Emission]

The turbo lag is misunderstood.

Sure, there is no boost below 3000 RPM, but you still have a 3.3-liter flat-6 making horses back there. You can get across the street just fine and dandy - just don't pick a fight with someone unless you have room for the boost to kick in (100 yards out). Once you have boost... hang on.

In third gear, at 60 MPH, step on it and there are very few cars out there that can hang with you! Your eyes sink in your face.

They are a blast to drive (I just parked mine 5 minutes ago after making a run to the "grandparents" house 15 miles away for dinner). I drove it four different times today just for fun.

The boost is VERY ADDICTIVE.

[look 171]

If you are worry about the lag issue, change the R/P gear. I did, and the thing is a rocket ship. I top out at something 160. I am afraid to go that fasr. Between 100-140 mph was unreal. Boost feels like it come on much faster, or should I say early. It isn't stock. Don't test drive a 930. If you do, you will buy it.

[Noah930]

The turbo lag is misunderstood.

Sure, there is no boost below 3000 RPM, but you still have a 3.3-liter flat-6 making horses back there.

+1

[skipdup]

I agree with the posts above. Except for the launching from a stoplight... With some revs and careful (read abusive) clutch work, I certainly launch (what seems to me to be) "on" boost. Though, I have to believe it is not good for the car and something I have rarely ever done. But, doable.

My 930 is actually significantly easier to drive in stop-&-go traffic than my '83 SC RoW. Actually seems more "torquier" off idle.

Carrera cooler keeps engine temps manageable here in S. TX. And, the a/c can be made to blow ice cold... see my post in THIS thread.

- Skip

[quattrorunner]

[ just don't pick a fight with someone unless you have room for the boost to kick in (100 yards out).


Really? Makes it sound really bad. 100 yards is long. Is that for real?

[Emission]

Originally posted by quattrorunner
[ just don't pick a fight with someone unless you have room for the boost to kick in (100 yards out).

Really? Makes it sound really bad. 100 yards is long. Is that for real?

The 930 is not a drag race car.

Without boost, you will get across the intersection at the rate of a car that does 0-60 in 6.5 seconds - quick, but not fast enough to pick a fight with someone.

Once you clear the intersection, your boost will come on and you will move like a car that does 0-60 in 5 flat - plenty fast.

Of course, you can drop the clutch at 3500 RPM and FLY across the intersection...

The boost is soooo addictive. Like a drug.

[livi]

Everything is relative. I have never driven a 930, but keeping the revs up, I think my n/a ROW Carrera accelerates very quickly. The 930 must be unbelievable.