944 Engine Mods - What can be done to the NA

[lordgrommit]

Ok the rules for this contest are as follows
1. no one off stuff -ie custom turbo/BLower
2. no one post sell and buy the turbo
3. should be reasonable cost /performance (i'll leave that up to you guys)
4 can we get to a 200hp+ enging ?

MATT

[david944]

Yesterday I removed my exhaust system and cut out the silencer (not sure exactly what it was, but it wasn't a cat), now all I have is the back muffler, (can we say loud) anyway, doing this will add more power and give you faster pickup.

Dave

[wolfrpi]

Get a 951!...lol. Sorry, I used to take offense to those comments before I bought my 951. And let me tell you these cars are quick...and cheap to modify. But for your car, you might want to check out grassroots motorsports homepage...they are doing a build up on a 944 NA and getting some good power through simple mods...
http://www.grmotorsports.com

Erick

[Blackfoot]

two words: v8 conversion

[Obin Robinson]

ok, you want a lot of horses out of your N/A 944 wihout getting an S2 motor or a turbo eh? Well, here's what you get done:

1) High performance pistons and piston rings
2) Chrome-Moly wristpins
3) more agressive cam grind
4) high rpm valve springs & valve stem seals
5) aluminum valve spring retainers
6) heavy duty lifters
7) competition valves with 3-angle grind
8) pistons balanced, glasspeened, recut, and aligned
9) crankshaft blanaced, glasspeeded, turned, and polished
10) engine block dipped, bored, honed, and milled true
11) engine main saddle line-bored
12) cylinder head cleaned and glasspeened, milled true
13) ported and polished compbustion chambers
14) flywheel lightened,
15) main caps glasspeened
16) entire engine blueprinted
17) stroker kit installed
18) high flow catalyst
19) extrude honed racing header
20) intake manifold cleaned

the above modifications should get you at LEAST 230Hp. i know of people that have done the above modifications and they have fast as hell cars. the cost for all of the above will be about $7500. your car willl be the almighty beefcake 944 that kicks butt and takes names.

the sad thing is that a 944 turbo will cost just about s much as the mods. if youn did almost all of the above mods to a 944 turbo it would cost about the same (can't do the stroker kit though) and you would have over 300 Hp from that car. with a nice mass air flow kits, a cooling system upgrade, various intake and trubo enhancements, and a better turbo, you can have over 500Hp from a 944 turbo with the above mods.

a cheaper solution than above also would be to get a 944S2 motor and instal that one in your car. they bolt right in and have over 200Hp stock. there would be some DME updates necessary, but it would be pretty cool.

good luck!

obin

[porscheboi928s/c944t/n]

IMHO.....for the 944na.......

if i were to setup an na944
1) used exhaust unit..
2) turbo unit .(whatever u prefer) i suggest a stock 944turbo since u have an 944na..lets say we start at 6 psi./can be increased.
3)stand alone computer.....i know where to get one
4) 944 turbo injectors..
5)3 bar map sensor
6) turbo intake manifold

[porscheboi928s/c944t/n]

another option....

headworks and laughing gas!

[Weldin]

How about a supercharger? Supposedly put it up to around 210 HP...about $3000.

[hoff944]

Could a NA 944 transmission take 200hp to 230hp?

[Weldin]

As far as I know the V-8 swaps use the porsche trans -- Ive heard theyre good for 400 hp

[Rollins]

The v8 conversion requries the 951 tranny. The NA tranny can't take that much more power. I think the S2 engine would be my choice if I needed a new engine. I saw them for sale somewhere online at like $3000 or something.

[drew1]

I suspose we're talking about the 2.5 liter 150hp model.

cam $350 - 600 JM engines claims =25hp
lifters $450
turbo valve springs & retainers $250
electromotive TEC II engine management $1450
fabricated sensor holder & sproket adpt for TEC II $200 (does this count as a one off?)
throttle sensor for TECII $50
p&p head $850
SS valves $450
fabricated air pickup and filter $150
turbo injectors $350

This comes to about $4800, maybe the turbo with bigger brakes and tougher trans is the way to go.

drew1

I forgot head gasket $90, and belts & water pump while we're at it.

[RealRideRacing]

This is a Repeat of another Post on this same Bulletin Board. I've just re-edited some of the info:

Obin's suggestion is Dead-On. You'll spend about $7,500 on mods to get 200+HP. Unless you're competing for the fastest car in your Class, it seems like a waste of money. I'd say, just learn to use the 944's strengths to your advantage.
K&N Filter, Header, Muffler, Drilling the Airbox... none of these things have seemed to make any difference on every Formal Comparison Test Report that I've ever read. As far as the HUNTLEY kits are concerned, Mr Khajavi and I are very good friends. His own MAF equipped na944 puts out 145HP on a chassis dyno, at a cost of $1,400 you can figure if it's all worth the expense for that small increase.
As far as performance of the chips is concerned, my own experience has shown that they don't seem to offer any Performance gains (on stock na944's that is). I once read an article in Excellence where they compared chips on na944's and found that the most gain they achieved was about 2-3hp at the Top End only, not very useuable nor significant. If I remember correctly, they even found some of the chips to actually detract from the performance. When you think about it, it's particularly difficult with a normally aspirated car to gain much more power with a chip. The Porsche Motronic system is an excellent design, in fact it was designed to be Full Proof, meaning, you really can't tamper with it. Perhaps if you add a different cam and various other aftermarket products the chip may help, I haven't personally seen any success stories.
Now on the Turbo's, a chip will make a difference, mainly because the need for more fuel and air is more sensitive to a Turbo motor.
This isn't to say that ALL chips for na944's are bad, only the ones that I've had experience with. I know that Grassroots Magazine installed a chip in their na944 and found a "Seat of the Pants" gain. We've E-Mailed back and forth and he admits that he hasn't taken it to a dyno yet, "it just FEELS quicker" he says.
One of the cars in my Race Team is a 944NA, and it's actually one of my favorite cars to race. In the hands of an experienced driver, this car is very fast. In our last Clubrace, we finished 9th overall and won our Class. Finishing directly behind us were: A Nissan Skyline GTR (inexperienced driver), Saleen Mustang ex-Speedvision World Challenge car (again, less experienced driver), an SCCA A/S Camaro, BMW M3 1st Gen, and a whole pack of SCCA ITS and ITA cars.
Though the car has gone through extensive modifications, it's still putting out less power than a 944Turbo. We've installed a $10,000 Raetech engine (SCCA ITS legal) with all kinds of trick parts and we're still under 200HP (We're not allowed Stroker, 10.5:1 max compression, limited cam grind). I seriously doubt that a chip alone will make a significant difference. Where we gain the most time is in the corners. The 944na can outhandle just about anything on the track, we use that to our advantage. We're carrying much more speed through the corners than our competitors. By the time we're exiting the corners, we're already 10-15mph faster than them, and halfway down the straightaway before they're able to apply the throttle. That is the trick to the 944na. Don't try to drag race anybody, you'll lose everytime.
If you really want to make your 944na go faster, spend the money on Driver Education. No, I don't mean putting a Student Driver sign on the back of your car and practice 3 point turns. I mean, go to a Porsche Club Driver's Education event. These events are held at your local Race Tracks. They will assign you an instructor, then you'll go out onto the track and really learn to drive your car to it's potential. My first Driving instructor took me out in his stock Porsche 914 1.7L and I swore up and down that he'd stuffed a V8 in the thing. The beauty of DE is that you're not racing against anybody. You're learning at your own pace, almost everybody out there is as well and they're all more than happy to offer advice. Many Racers like myself will occassionally run DE events and end up instructing.
Also, the other trick to making a 944na faster is to make it Lighter and Handle even better. Remove anything that is unnecessary and get good tires and suspension. At 2,700Lbs, the 944 can certainly afford to go on a diet. Don't fall for the fashionable trend of running large diameter wheels (unless the overall diameter of wheel and tire are smaller), they only slow your acceleration. Think of the wheel as a gear, a larger wheel/tire combo means you're now running a taller Ring & Pinion, good for Top end but horrible for acceleration.
Hope all this info helps. Feel free to E-Mail me if you have questions or you can also visit our Website's Discussion Board for Performance related issues.
David
RealRide Racing www.RealRide.com/racing