Leg room in 944?

[wish944]

I have read pretty good things about the reliability of the 944S. My impression overall is that the entire 944 line is decently reliable-- especially considering the cost to performance. I did some research on parts pricing among the different models. Part "X" is less costly on a 944S compared to a non S but part "Y" is more..etc. I guess it all depends on what breaks first.

I hope this doesn't cause a commotion-- does anyone have an opinion of a stock Audi TT vs. the 951? Can anyone who has driven both give a comparison of the cars personality?

[LetsGoJets]

I have an 87 944S. I drove both 944 and 944S prior to purchase and I liked the way the 944S drove better. It felt faster to me. Hard to argue with the charts, but IMO 40 more hp is always a good thing.

I just had my timing belt done and asked my mechanic(CDI in Rochester, NY) about the timing chain. I was told that on 99% of 944S' the timing chain never needs to be replaced. They have been working almost exclusively on Porsches and they have never seen one break. The only time they do actually change one of these chains is after a paranoid owner reads an internet horror story about the chain breaking.

100K so far on my 944S. Car runs great. Feels real strong.

Finding resonably priced ignition wires for a 944S is a pain in the ass.

Mike

[Z-man]

Mike (aka Jets fan ) :
There's a PCA-NNJR autox on Oct. 20th at the Meadowlands: are you going?
-Z.

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PCA NNJR
My Toy:


[This message has been edited by Z-man (edited 10-09-2001).]

[LetsGoJets]

Z,

I have never been to one of those events. They must be a great time. My car has never been raced or anything.

I am supposed to go to this horse race thing going on out in Far Hills, NJ that weekend. I would much rather go to this PCa event. Let me see if I can make it.

If so, I will post a message so we can meet up.

Thanks
Mike

[Z-man]

Mike:
Car racing is much better than horse racing!

As far as never racing your car: an autox event is not at all that bad for your car: in my opinion, it's like a week's worth of wear and tear of commuting. The NNJR PCA does a very safe event: usually, the worst case in an out of control situation is a car will hit an innocent cone!

The typical courses are set up so you get into 2nd gear and stay there the whole way through, although there have been a couple of events that included straights that 'required' third gear. (It's the 3 to 2 downshift that is difficult to master!)

Hope to see you there!
-Zoltan.

** Disclaimer: my apologies to you people who are sick of me promoting autocross... **

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PCA NNJR
My Toy:


[This message has been edited by Z-man (edited 10-09-2001).]

[Andre]

Where is meadowlands?

I own both a 87 944S and a 86 944 n/a. I test drove a ton of 944s before i picked mined including turbos and i have to say that with the exeption of the turbo the S is my favorite. My car has been extremely reliable and serves me well. The power difference between the S and the n/a is significant and can be felt in the drivers seat. Also, I believe that the S has a better suspension in it stock than the n/a but am not certain about that. I would definetely go with the S because most people end up spending a ton of money in n/a 944s to get that extra 30 hp. Buy it stock and dont worry about it. Also, i am 6'2'' and have no problems fitting in the car. Heck, Im even considering selling my S, so if youre interested email me (KepkaMJ@mail.vmi.edu), its in great shape with about 56K miles. Good luck and definetely go with the S, S2, or a Turbo.
Maciek

[roy944s]

I own a 88' 944s and it's getting almost 150k now. My car runs great. I am not sure if the 944s is harder to maintain than the 8v. Yet so far I've replaced the clutch, timing belt, nothing unusual for an 13 year old and 150k car. I would suggest go for an S or S2. There's no subsitute for the factory HP. To bring back a S or S2 back to the factory condition will end up cost much lesser than try to mod the 8v.

Good luck

[Z-man]

Originally posted by Andre:
Where is meadowlands?

East Rutherford, NJ: Giants Stadium. About a 2-3 hour drive from Boston.

Thinking about it Andre? Last time Drew (Pilot_951S on this board) came down from Connecticut. It is a fun event!

Also, may I recommend the Zone-1 autox at Tobay Beach, NY (Long Island) this weekend: it's a two day event. Check out this link:
http://vista.pca.org//zone1/

-Z.

[Britwrench]

Letsgojets..

Your shop is right the chain doesn't normally break..what happens is the tensioner chain guides break and jam the chain, which stops the cams (but not the crank) takes the teeth of the cams, bends all the valves, sometimes breaks the mounting boss of the cylinder head and basically makes a mess. This is very common and you can find a plentiful supply of broken 944S for sale. I would have a look at the tensioner blades at the next service.
If you change the oil regularly and don't do a lot of slow driving (in town) and live in temperate climate this problem seems to be less common. BUT it happens..a lot

[Doug914]

I think that the S or S2 is a great choice. Yes, the costs of repairing/replacing a trashed cylinder head are astronomical, but if you follow the same preventive maintenance procedures for the cam belt as you would for any 8V, you should be okay. Yes, a new $250 cam chain tensioner is recommended every 100,000 miles, which is about 0.25 cents per mile (or at 80,000 miles; 0.31 cents per mile, depending on who you talk to). Change the oil often; the PO of my car did it every 3000 miles, and everything is sparkly/shiny beneath the cam cover.

--Doug