944 limits ( a few technical questions too)

[Imwithstupid^]

Nope doesnt say i have one.

c02, 418, 425, 431, 454, 456, 650

456 is a sport option of some sort. What does that mean?

Why do both wheels burnout then? I'm not worried if it isnt an lsd, it spins both on grass, dirt and pavement which is fine with me.

[AaronM]

C02: Catalytic Converter

418: Body Side Molding

425: Rear Window Wiper

431: 363mm Leather Steering Wheel

454: Automatic Speed Control (AKA Cruise Control)

456: Sport Shock Absorbers and Stabilizers

650: Sunroof

Given the nature of these cars (and the relative frailty of the transmissions if the car experiences any hard launches), it's quite possible that someone put an LSD in the transaxle either as an upgrade or to replace a busted differential.

Aaron

[Imwithstupid^]

My speed control doesnt work so i am assuming that the motor is bad, or could it just have seized up and be worked free? The LSD trans should both spin both wheels in the same direction correct? I can spin them by hand, out of gear, and they spin opposite diretions, but there is absolutley no mistake that they both leave very dark tire marks and cause my car to fish tail when burning out. Is there another test i can perform?

Also, i noticed while my car was jacked up, if i start it up and let it idle and release the clutch in nuetral the wheel will spin. I dont know if they spin opposite because i just have bare axles haning which i dont like to let spin, but should it do that? Also when the tires were on and i left it in nuetral with the clutch out i noticed it made a noise from the rear end. Is this something bad, or is it just the fluid sheering causing the wheels to spin, and the noise in the rear?

[nickd]

There is so much wrong in this post I just can't take it...

#1 You don't have LSD. If you did both wheels would turn the same direction while the car is off the ground. LSD was a fairly rare option. Open diff's can spin both wheels if you're trying to.

#2 Why do you think pipes won't fit around the fuel tank? The stock exhaust seems to fit very well. An open exhaust is just going to loose what little power these cars have to begin with and sound really terrible. Really.

#3 Tires are what make contact with the ground. Width is one thing, compound and design is another. If you want better handling, buy better tires. Z-rated rubber rarely squeels. But, it usually breaks loose much less progressively than less sticky tires.

#4 You won't roll this car, or any sportscar for that matter. Rolls happen when you slide sideways into dirt and the wheels catch.

#5 The rear suspension is adjustable to a point. Ride height most notably. Have a quality shop do the work, it will require an alignment afterward.

#6 An F1 car isn't going to take a 30mph turn at 120mph. Besides hitting triple digit speeds on country roads could earn you a 1st place Darwin award. I'm no prude, I like to drive fast. But there's a time and a place. This is not to mention spending some time learning how to drive fast and how to control the car when you loose grip. I've done stupid things and got lucky (I'm sure all of us have). I'm just trying to keep you from using all your luck up at once- save that for the ladies!

#7 Timing belts on the 2.5L's require a considerably expensive tensioner tool. Don't attempt the belts without it.

The moral of the story- buy some good tires, sign up for some driving events, leave everything else stock, and keep the triple digit speeds away from hairpin turns. Repeat after me "I have a Porsche, I don't need to draw anymore attention to it because it does it all by itself" :-)

PS- I'm sure SCCA has events near you too in addition to PCA.

Good luck,
-nick

[AaronM]

Originally posted by Imwithstupid^
My speed control doesnt work so i am assuming that the motor is bad, or could it just have seized up and be worked free? The LSD trans should both spin both wheels in the same direction correct? I can spin them by hand, out of gear, and they spin opposite diretions, but there is absolutley no mistake that they both leave very dark tire marks and cause my car to fish tail when burning out. Is there another test i can perform?

Also, i noticed while my car was jacked up, if i start it up and let it idle and release the clutch in nuetral the wheel will spin. I dont know if they spin opposite because i just have bare axles haning which i dont like to let spin, but should it do that? Also when the tires were on and i left it in nuetral with the clutch out i noticed it made a noise from the rear end. Is this something bad, or is it just the fluid sheering causing the wheels to spin, and the noise in the rear?

If you have some sure way of stopping one of the wheels with the car on jackstands, engage the clutch and see if the engine stalls or if it just spins the other wheel. Alternately, you can try spinning the non-braked wheel with your hand. If it spins, then no LSD (transmission in neutral of course).

Both should spin in the same direction if it's an LSD when you spin them with the car up in the air.

These cars are infamous for a "whine" from the gearbox at speed, but noises at low speed are bad. Check the gear oil for metal particles and replace it with new. Best case, you have fresh gear oil. Worst case, you find metal bits and know that your transaxle is dying instead of finding out the hard way when it grenades on the road somewhere. These are not extremely robust transaxles and they don't take kindly to any rough treatment. Speed-shifting and hard stars can give these things problems fairly quickly. Also, the differential and transaxle share lube, so if one goes and puts metal into the lube, then the whole setup is at risk.

Aaron

[Imwithstupid^]

Ok so the tire set up i have decided on is this

225 50 zr 15 for the front
245 50 zr 15 for the rear

does that sound good? I have Enkei gold/chrome rims which i think are 8 inches wide. Thats what they measure from side to side, but they could be 7's i am not sure. I have the sport shock/sway bar option on my car (456).

The turn is a suggested 30mph. It's really not that bad but i do find myself slowing down to around 35 when driving my parents suv or other cars. It's really not that sharp, but because it has absolutely no bank or shoulder i believe it is limited to 30mph. When i say backroads, i mean BACKROADS. There is absolutely no one who lives out here so this is where i practice. To give you some idea of the desolation of this place, my parents bought our farm for about 200k. it has 102 acres, 5 oak barns, a house, a pond, and some of the best farmland in delaware. So obviously no one is too interested in living here. They did recently build a Wal-Mart Supercenter about 12 miles away. I am sure this will help to populate my rural community.

[AaronM]

Originally posted by Imwithstupid^
Ok so the tire set up i have decided on is this

225 50 zr 15 for the front
245 50 zr 15 for the rear

does that sound good? I have Enkei gold/chrome rims which i think are 8 inches wide. Thats what they measure from side to side, but they could be 7's i am not sure. I have the sport shock/sway bar option on my car (456).

Make sure the wheels will fit your car. These cars have somewhat odd backspacing (aka "offset") and while the bolt pattern may match up, wheels with the wrong backspacing will cause problems.

Aaron

[Imwithstupid^]

The guy i bought them from had them on his 944 and assured me they would fit. Then he proceeded to tell me that 245 was the sidewall width and 50 was the tread width. I just paid for them and left without arguing.

[Z-man]

Shawn:

1. You don't have LSD. The tell-tale sign is the if you spin one wheel, the other spins the opposite direction - you have an open diff. The fact that you can leave two black marks on a smokey burnout doesn't prove anything except that you like to abuse your car! Think about it: an LSD helps if there is an unequal amount of traction to the real wheels. If you are on asphalt or concrete, then the grip to the rear wheels is equal, thus two nice strips of black, and two steps closer to a new tranny!

2. Regarding tires: OEM tires on your '84 944 are: 215/60-15. Optional tires were: 205/55-16 front and 225/50-16 rear. That said, while the tires you want MAY fit on your car, your odo reading may be off. On my 944S2, I had 205/55-16 front, 225/50-16 rear, but have gone up to 225/50-16 front and 245/45-16 rear. When you work out the numbers, the diameter on tires + wheels are equal in all three sizes (ie: 205/55-16 = 225/50-16 = 245/45-16) Just ask your local tire guy the proper aspect ratio for a wider tire. I think the 245/50-15 you suggest will be too tall.

HTH,
-Z-man.

[Imwithstupid^]

Well im not worried about the speedometer or odometer. My cable broke and rather than replaceing it just bought a gps and made a new gauge bezel for that and my digital gauges. So you are saying i should get 245/45-15? Thanks, I'm gonna ask ym tire place how much they are gonna want for tires and such.

[Z-man]

Originally posted by Imwithstupid^
So you are saying i should get 245/45-15? Thanks, I'm gonna ask ym tire place how much they are gonna want for tires and such.

Check with your tire place. I know 245/45-16 works for my car, but I am unsure if 245/45-15 would work for yours.
-Z.

[Imwithstupid^]

Ok this might sound stupid, but where are the measurements of rims taken from?

outer lip to outer lip is 8"
top to bottom is 16"

The diameter is the same as my cookie cutter wheels so are they 15's or 16's?

[Texas944]

Originally posted by Imwithstupid^
The guy i bought them from had them on his 944 and assured me they would fit. Then he proceeded to tell me that 245 was the sidewall width and 50 was the tread width. I just paid for them and left without arguing.

the first number is the tread width in millimeters, the second number is the sidewall height as a percentage of the tire width, and of course the third number we already know!

[Z-man]

Shawn:
The tire size should be stamped on the wheel - look for something like 7Jx15 or 8Jx16 (7 & 8 designate the width of the wheel, while the 15/16 designate the diameter of the wheel).

Also: look at the tire you have on the wheel - the last number in the sequence will be the diameter of the wheel. (Ex: 225/50-16 - the wheel is a 16" diameter)

-Z-man.

PS: Tirerack.com has some good documentation about wheel and tire sizes.

[nickd]

245/50/15 will be pretty close to the stock diameter. No problems there. However, a 225/50/15 will be much shorter than stock and since the speedo is driven off the front wheels, your speedo will read too fast (ps- ditch the GPS and get the factory gauges working).

Wheel width is usually measured from the inside lips of the wheels, not the outside. If you're measuring 8" on the outside then I bet you have 7" wide wheels. That isn't really optimal for 245 width wheels at all. In fact, I wouldn't put anything wider than a 225 on it. You're contact patch could actually decrease if you use a 245 on a 7" rim as opposed to a 225. Not to mention the sidewalls will be bulging regardless.

There are no problems fitting those sizes under the fenders as long as the offset of correct and you have wide enough rims.

-nick

[Imwithstupid^]

I dont have any of the stock gagues. My wiring was all to *****, not just the ground. none of the bulbs worked, my odometer wasnt working, my speedometer cable broke, my oil pressure gague wasnt accurate, so i repalced them all with digital gagues.

Being that i could use a digital speedometer, i bought a Garmin GPS II which is in my dash now. I will take pics. The leather backround somehow reacted with the sun and bubbled up, but i am going to overlay it with brushed aluminum when i get the chance. Right now i just want to get the car back on the road.

If they are 7" rims i would put 245's on them, but could i go with 235's? Ok supposed both possibilities, either 8 in or 7 inch rims, which tires would be the best for handling?

[Z-man]

With a 7" rim, the 'fattest' tire that safely fits is 225mm.
With an 8" rim, the biggest you can safely go is 245mm.

[Imwithstupid^]

so would 225s be better than 245s? They are 7 inch rims so should i get 225/50zr15 or 225/45zr15? Or is there a better tire for handling?

[Imwithstupid^]

How much do you think i could get for my 944? Do you think i should sell it and buy a 1993 camaro z28? I would twin turbo charge or supercharge it as my next project.