944 S2?

Frank B · 10-22-2002, 08:44 AM

Hello gentlemen,
I just paid my bill for inspection and other fun items needed to drive legally, and when the mechanics input the vin for emmisions, it came up as a 1986 Porsche 944 S2 - 2 dr coupe.

I wasn't aware that I had an S series vehicle, the previous owner never mentioned it and I'm not that keen on the particulars of these cars yet. What would an S2 be?.. anyone?....oh.. my vehicle has no badging except for the hood ornament logo....

thoroughly confused,

Frank B..

Z-man · Z-man's Garage

They did not make a 944S2 until 1989. Quick way to see if your car is an S2: check under the hood: if you see an airbox, then you don't have an S2 (airfilter for S2's are underneath the front nosepiece that sits between the headlamps: only 944 with that configuration) The 944S (made in '87-88) has an airbox with 16-ventiliter stamped on it, IIRC.

Of course, you can count valves if the engine is apart: the 944S and 944S2 have 16, while all other 944's, including turbos have only 8!

Also: the 944S2 has the Turbo nose and rear valence.

There are other ways of interpretting the VIN to see what your car is. Do a search on VIN here and there should be a link to a site that has that information for the 944 series cars.

-Zoltan.

Crippler · 10-22-2002, 08:57 AM

S2 was a 16 valve n/a upgraded with many bits from the turbo models. However I am quite sure they didn't make S2 models in 86. I think 87 was the Frist year for the S and 89 or 90 before they produced S2 models.

Crippler · 10-22-2002, 08:58 AM

I guess I wasn't fast enough.

Frank B · 10-22-2002, 12:32 PM

look where for the vin search?.. I was just notified by our auction hunter that it may be an S.. he's gonna look it over tomorrow...if the vin says so, it must be.... i think it's a late 86.. so it may be an S, he said there would be a numerical identifier on the engine code under the hood.. but I want to run the vin.. where do I do that?.. (no wonder this thing likes to take off at 40-60 it's like a fargin rocket.. a ton of giddy-up and go at those speeds....
thanks again gents,
Frank B

Z-man · Z-man's Garage

Frank:
Do you have the word "Ventiliter" (sp?) written anywhere in the engine compartment? Or if your car has a door guard, often (but not always) this same word appears on both sides of the car infront of the door, just aft of the front wheel wells,on the continuation of the door guards.

Regarding 944S info, this is from:
http://www.connact.com/~kgross/FAQ/944faq.html
The 944S chasis number begins with: 94HN450001-
944S engine code: M44/40 (vs. the 8v na's code of: M44/02)

Regarding VIN interpretations, look in:
http://www.clarks-garage.com/
Currently, the links aren't working, but I'm sure that's where I saw VIN lists before...

Hope that helps,
-Z.

Nabeel · 10-22-2002, 01:30 PM

Regardless of whatever the car is, it sounds like the previous owner was not that familiar with the car. With that said, you should change you timing belt immediately, if you haven't done so already. If you have an S/S2, you'll have to do a few other things like the tensionser, etc. Some of the S/S2 owners can help you out there. I'd hate to see your excitement over the new car fade after the belt breaks and valves bend ($$).