high power 944

[pete13]

how can i make my 1988 944 n/a a powerful car? i was thinking of maybe doing an engine swap with a more powerful porsche from the same era, maybe 911. or else, how could i get the most power out of my current 2.5l I-4? I'd like to get around 230-280 hp if possible. does anyone have any opinions? there has to be a way to do it to a 944, with so many people modifying hondas and the like to make so much power. please help me out.

[Britwrench]

Your idea is not going to happen. If you want more power, sell your car and buy a 944 Turbo.

[Rollins]

Britwrench is right, unfortunately. One thing to consider with the Hondas is that there is no factory civic turbo or something. For them, it is justifiable to put a turbo on. For us, there is no justification. You would spend far too much trying make it a turbocharged or supercharged car (the only real way of getting what you want). The other option is to drop a chevy V8 in. There are varying opinions on doing this, but there is no doubt, you can get MAD horsepower from, something to the tune of 400. There is at least one member here who has done the conversion. Definitely check it out. Otherwise, sell the NA and get a turbo.

[wolfrpi]

Congrats - you're the winner of this week's "I wanna convert my NA to a 951" contest. See participating dealers for more information.

[Nabeel]

Unfortunately, there's a limited number of things you can do to make a 944 n/a more powerful. As other board members have said, your best bet is to sell the n/a and get a turbo. I was also a little frustrated that my n/a wasn't making the kind of power I wanted, but after a while I got used to it. The lack of power really highlights the car's wonderful handling. Also, since I am a relatively new driver (17 years old), a 944 turbo would probably get me into trouble at this point. I'm going to keep the n/a for a couple of years and use that to improve my driving skills, then upgrade to a 951 or 968.

wolfrpi- LOL, hahaha

[Andre]

hmmm this topic comes up again......the V8..... From a total mechanical point of view, should i keep the NA and stuff a V8 in there or should i sell it and go for the 951?I know most of the guys here will say "its not a porsche engine so its no longer a porsche, why not just buy a camaro?" well first off camaros suck not because of their engines but because the car is crappy design, the interior is horrible and the live rear axle handles like a dump truck.....but say we were talking strictly, $$ vs HP vs time vs problems.....whats the better choice?

[josh912]

If you want power, go by a 951 because they are almost dirt cheep right now (944s are dirt cheep). As for me, whats the problem with the 944s power? It has plent of pep and handles beautifuly (although a little too much understeer). And it has enough power to give throttle oversteer (something the 912 didn't) which make them a blast to drive. Keep it as is, or get a 951.

What an encouraging response for a first post huh?

[Bob's944]

There is a recent post on a nitrous install that was very easy and got 60 hp (approx 210hp total) on the small jet, with a 75 hp (225hp) jet available. I think they said first time cost of around $600-$700 and it's the best money they could have spent and it didn't require any additional mods. If you do a search on this, you will find all kinds of options ranging from 10-15 hp chips (can't do chip with nitrous), 15-20 hp exhausts, intake improvement, spark improvement, but the best that's going to get is around 180... maybe 190 hp. So, if you did exhaust, intake and spark improvements on a factory chipped car to get it to say 170hp, then add 60hp with nitrous.... you got 230 HP, 75hp jet and yer at 245 HP.

[dan10101]

Pete,
300hp is possible, but only with major custom work done to the engine. It probably wouldn't be streetable and would definately be big bucks (20-30k).
The 951 idea is good, it already has upgraded brakes, suspension, trans, and so on. So if you spend some bucks getting your 944 engine to perform, then what do you do with the suspension, etc.
One swap that some are doing is the 3.0 liter S2 engine. With a couple of bolt ons, it can put out close to your 230hp figure. If you could find a wrecked S2 and swap over the good stuff, you'll get most of what a 951 has, (minus the turbo). You could do the same with a wrecked turbo, but now you're in my area, and I can tell you it's a lot of work. I'm doing a wrecked turbo into a good turbo body.
If you just want a kick in the pants, the NOS idea isn't bad, but you're taking some risks with the engine and drivetrain. Install it wrong, you go lean, and buy a new engine. It happens. I have a friend that had a shop put a nitros kit on his early ElCamino, Installed the jets upside down, fried the motor.
The SC kit that Speedforce is working on would be one upgrade to check into.
You take some risks with any modded motor, 18+psi in my 951 isn't exactly calming...
If I loose all three of my motors, I'll be looking at an LT1 swap did I say that???
DanD

[marksportcts]

Like Dan was saying, wait until Turbotim finishes his supercharger kit for the 8valve 2.5L n/a.

http://www.speedforceracing.com/

[TheStig]

I say F*CK the 951 and go get a 930 Turbo! muhahahahaha! THe power of god in a flat six single turbo that will make your balls crawl up your ass with the acceleration that puppy has!

somethin like this lil buddy

[brett25]

change your air filter, get a performance chip, and redo your exhaust system. i have done the air filter and just recently put in a performance chip and i have gotten a noticible power increase. the car has more punch and im forced back into the seat more. but my cheeks dont peel back or anything like that. the n/a has its limits..........

[lax944]

Hi guys.

I'm working on a few simple solutions with interesting obstacles.

to get a NA 944 to go fast while keeping the same motor would require new cams.
The computer is the obstacle.

or,

Supercharging it?

=)
what do ya guys thinK?

[Scott R]

You should check some of the past posts on my Supercharged 85.5. I had a bunch of problems. Ireguardless of who makes it or how good the kit is, or "Hey we are using newer better technology." You will still be spending a small fortune to get it working correctly. And even after that I found that the NA motor just can't stand up to all the stress and heat. Cost me tons of money to get it right, then cost me more to replace the motor just so I could sell it. Getting my 951 was the best decesion I ever made. As it's stated above, its a buyers market right now and they are going for great prices!

[marksportcts]

You should also consider that Speedforce is considering making the kit for 951. Therefore you will replace all the exhaust tubing/crappy wastegate/cracking exhaust manifold, ect with a more simple exhaust and have the potential of 800hp from that SC unit without having to change it unlike a turbocharger. And the 951 has the internals and fueling for it already.

[Scott R]

I see more headgaskets in my future if I went that route. Or expensive head work and O-ringing.

[Penz944]

Originally posted by Andre
hmmm this topic comes up again......the V8..... From a total mechanical point of view, should i keep the NA and stuff a V8 in there or should i sell it and go for the 951?I know most of the guys here will say "its not a porsche engine so its no longer a porsche, why not just buy a camaro?" well first off camaros suck not because of their engines but because the car is crappy design, the interior is horrible and the live rear axle handles like a dump truck.....but say we were talking strictly, $$ vs HP vs time vs problems.....whats the better choice?

Hey, whoa there. I own a Camaro. Have you ever owned one? There not that bad at all. I got one after 2 years of my 944 being a money pit. Did I want to really sell the 944? No. So I optioned for a 1994 Camaro Z28 with only 42k. Of course it has the nice 350 lt-1 in it which rockets the car to 60 in 5.7 and I took it to the track and got a 14.3 in the 1/4. I'm sure it woulda been much better if I didn't burn out all the way through first. But thats not my point of course, it handles pretty good though. No it's not my old 944, but it is good. Interior? It is not horrible. Yea it is not the greatest but come on, give it a break. It is a chevy, not porsche.

[pete13]

Alright..... I get the picture. since I too am only 17, and I am willing to wager the parental units would be less than thrilled if i proposed selling the 944 they just bought me. So on the topic of getting n/a power out of the 2.5, what are the best/most reliable chip/exhaust/cam etc. combinations anyone recommends? I'm starting to think that is the best way to go. Being only 17 and a bagboy the local Publix, I am not , as you can probably guess, in excess of $$. So what are the recommendations about that?

[Bob's944]

Most expensive of those mod's is the exhaust. Bursch cost around $500, about the least expensive. Others are usually up around a grand for the exhaust with headers. A cheap option to that is to has the cat converter removed and replaced with a strait thru test pipe (have a local muffler shop do it if you can't). If that isn't enough, you can do that and a performance muffler for like $50 (strait thru w/ no cat is too load).

Chips can be found used, and new thru alot of sources. Once you do that, you have to use premium gas, and maybe octane booster on top of that. They usually go from like $150- $300.

On the intake side, A K&N filter is only 50-60 bucks, plus anuther $15 for the cleaner and oil.

Hook up a new cap and rotor ($60-$70), with a hotter coil (under $100), and some new wires (jacobs are only $50) and you got the spark covered.

Front springs to lower and tighten up the front end are only alittle over a $100, and a strut tower brace for $250-280 with firm it up more. Then you can alway get better shocks too.....

that's a good start.

[pete13]

can you get me info on places i can order all of these parts?
THanks