OK, let me re-word my question...will a turbo ruin a 944S engine?

overkill · 01-13-2002, 06:46 AM

I heard you cant put a turbo on a 944S engine because the engine isnt heat treated? Is this true?

drew1 · 01-13-2002, 07:21 AM

I imagine the 944S has the same heat treating (hardening, tempering, normalizing) as any other Porsche water cooled 4 cyl on its crank, rods, cam, lifters, etc. You may be thinking about the ceramic heat sheild in exhaust ports of 944 turbo. Many turbo equiped cars don't have this, looking back all the way to the early 60s GM turbos.

I think this ceramic is a desirable feature, letting the heat work in the turbo instead of going out through the radiator. On my slow 924 turbo rebuild, I'm considering having ceramic coating applied.

drew1

Scott R · Scott R's Garage

Heat treating is a good question, but there are many others. You should check the archives, S or non S turbocharging a NA 944 is a big job. Betwenn upgrading the fuel management systems, to installing a better ignition control system, it's an end-to-end job. There is a guy on this site by the name of "Marksports." He has all the info you need he has been working on a NA turbocharging system for some time now, he has even devised a way to add extra injectors into his system. Tons of custom plumbing and many other obsticles lay ahead of you.

lordgrommit · 01-13-2002, 11:17 AM

Yes you can Turbo Charge your NA.. for approx $700. Some guys on this board have done it .. look in the archives. Should only take you a weekend. They are expecting great leaps of horsepower and the the car will be reliable for daily use. Give it a shot if you dont' like it you can always drop in a V8 they work really well too and take even less time prob just a couple of hours with the proper kit.

Matt

Removing Tounge from cheek

wolfrpi · 01-13-2002, 01:58 PM

The S head has to be heat treated and I believe the oiling passages have to be modified. Garrity probably knows the scoop.

marksportcts · marksportcts's Garage

Turbocharging an 944S motor is more difficult than a 8valve. Higher compression and cast pistons being the main problem.
I would call SpeedForce Racing as they are developing the supercharger kits for the 944 cars. They already selling the 8valve SC kit. Talk to TurboTim or John Anderson on Rennlist.

perfectchoicemotorsports · 01-14-2002, 12:24 PM

Overkill:

You can turbo basically any gas engine, as long as you take care of a few details. Additional fuel & quality, retarded timing, cooling intake air charge, and do not get crazy with the boost.

Supercharging is easier because of the exhaust routing is not changed. The turbo has a few short commings (Lag) as well as a few advantages. Advantage mainly being the turbo can be sized to only operate above a certian RPM that way in normal day to day use the turbo never even comes into play. BUT when you nail it, it comes on strong

One thing is for sure, if you have above average Mechanical/Engineering/Reasoning skills, it can be done. Remember the smaller the budget, the smaller the reliability!

We are proto typing a adapter plate for the additional Injectors, as well as other products to help people achieve their goal!

PS we sure are having a blast with our $2000 POS!

Kevin
PCM
www.perfectchoicemotorsports.com

MBuck951 · MBuck951's Garage

A 944S engine does not a need a turbo to ruin itself. It will do that stock

944S Boyeee · 01-16-2002, 11:23 AM

Now - now.....no S bashing!!!

Mine runs great and I did the Cam Tensioner, so I have no worries now. Plus that extra pick-up in the high revs is wicked!!

wolfrpi · 01-16-2002, 05:45 PM

Ok - give it some time. Maybe a year will be enough. There's a reason why there are so many for sale and so few made.

944S Boyeee · 07:37 AM

The reason there are "so many for sale" (which is false anyways) is because of people like you who bash it due to a bad experience with ONE car. Just because you didn't take care of the car or drove it in a fashion that caused problems, don't blame it on the car. I have seen many S owners on this board and none of them have told me horror stories - let me guess......give them all a year, right??

I can understand your personal frustration with the S model due to the problems you have had, but does that give you the right to bash everyone else's car?? I've seen stories of clutches going in 944 N/A's a lot - will they always break down after a year? I've heard many stories about Turbo problems, but is the Turbo a cursed model??

I searched for my 944 for like 9-12 months and on all the websites I saw a consistant proportion of S models compared to 944 N/A's. According to the Porsche 944 FAQ - there were 113070 944 N/A made in 9 years - that is about 12563 a year. They made 12936 944 S models over a 2 year period - that is about 6500 per year. Why am I pointing this out?? For two reasons...

1. The proportion of 944 N/A's vs S's is about 10 to 1 (but only 2 to 1, if you take in the year vs production aspect). While searching the sites in search of my car, I saw about 1 S model for every 9 base models.....so people are not selling their S models in any higher frequencey than the base model.

2. They made (and sold) 12000 S models in 2 years - yet they only sold 12000 S2 AND S2 Cabriolets over the same time frame - does that low production number for the S2 and the S2 Cabriolet also make them crap cars??

Plese keep your personal vendetta towards these cars to yourself, even if you are being light-hearted in that attempt. Us S owners "worry" because of things being said about these cars by people like you and it takes away from the enjoyment of driving a car that Road and Track said, "A case can be made for this newest member of the 944 family as the best of it's breed" and "There are certainly faster entries than the 944S in the Porsche line-up, the 944 Turbo not least among them. But it's hard to say any of them are better. The sacred word "Super" is employed well here".

S owners out there, fear not - change your belts, keep up on that Cam Tensioner, keep a strong vacuum in the system and ENJOY!!