motor swap/upgrade

[red1963]

I am wondering how to speed up my 85 944 4cyl, is there a good bolt on or should I swap out the motor, what bolt on or swap do you recomend??

thanks

[banana944]

Can I turbo my NA????

Not much you can do at all. Build up the suspension and have fun with that. People want to drag you tell them its not a straigtline car, but it will kick there ass on the twisties

[jcommin]

red,

banana is correct. There are no mods to enhance an N/A. If you want a turbo, buy one. The best way to increase the performance is upgrading the handling/suspension/brakes/tires. If you can get into a turn faster, stop quicker you will be faster.

Want straight out performance, do what Speedracing is doing; dropping in a small block chevy. The drive train will take up to 400hp. My personal choice is an all aluminum LS engine out of a late model vette or gto.

[krystar]

NOSSSSSS. two big bottles..

.
..
sorry the ricer came out of me. had to beat it back in.

[Johnny Johnny]

Nothing like "bolting on" a v8!

Come on over to the dark side and join the fun - http://www.porschehybrids.com/php/index.php

Ross.
'86 944 NA, 5.3l turbocharged v8 transplant in the works

[flash968]

there are plenty of mods you can do to an N/A engine - you can get about 230hp out of it - the results may not be worth the extreme expense though, and the street-ability compromise may be beyond what you would want - cost is probably about $15k

a 968 engine would probably be the most cost effective drop in - there are some drive train, suspension and brake mods to do to handle it, but you could get there for a lot less than the above scenario, and have street-able power, and more of it - cost can be as low as about $8k

a V8 is a big deal - a lot of guys cram one in, but the car is usually not at all useable for long - the chassis is way to soft for that much torque, requiring reinforcement - the brakes and suspension are nowhere near capable, and the gearing is all wrong - getting it to fit is easy - getting it to drive well (and get beyond the simple grin from the power) is a whole different story - cost to do it "right" is about $20k

[rickharrison]

Originally Posted by Johnny Johnny

Nothing like "bolting on" a v8!

Come on over to the dark side and join the fun - http://www.porschehybrids.com/php/index.php

Ross.
'86 944 NA, 5.3l turbocharged v8 transplant in the works

what would you pay for that motor from the wreckers anyway? did it come with wiring harness and brains?

[flash968]

been there - done that - tried it quite a few times when i was young and broke - regretted it EVERY time - it took me a while to gain the wisdom that others tried to impart upon me form their own similar experiences - having finally learned, i would NEVER install a used engine ever again - there is no telling what could be wrong with it, how it was maintained, or how it was abused before it got to the wrecker - regardless of "mileage" - just sitting ruins an engine, dries up seals, and easily allows corrosion on the bearings, rings, and valves

it may seem like the cheap way out, but it almost always ends up costing as much as a crated engine (which is a lot less than you might think)

[jcommin]

Same for a used tranny too.

[flash968]

lol - ouch - YES! - wreckers are fine places for body parts and stuff like that, but definitely a crap shoot for anything that is a wear item

[phil823]

Speedforceracing I belive has a supercharger kit for like 5k. Or u can do it yourself for like 1500. On stock 6-8psi will get u to 230 up or so stable

[flash968]

i'd like to see that - i am not taking any shots at anybody, and have absolutely no first hand experience with SFR, and the welding looks great and all that, but..........

so far i have not seen any "stable" systems from anybody, including them - perhaps my definition is too critical - i expect, no, demand, that it be every bit as reliable and transparent as stock - it cannot run hotter - it cannot idle oddly, start oddly, or require removing or losing any feature of the stock layout (power steering, air conditioning, etc) - it must pass emissions

i'm playing with a supercharger on a 968 for somebody right now, and it has been a real challenge - they have dumped $20k into it and it still isn't right - (it's not their system, but before it got to me it had been to SFR and after they added a bunch of stuff, it did not get any better) - it's better now that we undid some of the things previously done down there, but it's still not right - i'm pretty sure we can get it pretty decent, but also pretty sure it will never be "perfect"

it's pretty much the same from every company i've seen, be it supercharging or turbocharging

whatever anybody says their "kit" will cost, plan to double it - to date i have not seen a "plug and play" kit - they all seem to need "tuning" afterward - translation: " we knew how to bolt it on, but couldn't make it run right, and left that up to you"

out of all the things listed above, the obvious one is missing:

951 setup - easy to tweak - readily available - relatively inexpensive - we know it works

[phil823]

Blown 944 and a few other around here have done it stable for decent prices with an eaton m90/62. Althoughit takes slot of custom fab and time. I'm all for the 951 though but I hear based on reliability and upkeep they are more expensive yearly to maintain. That's what keep me from gettin one.

[flash968]

yeah - this one is a roots type too

again though, i'd like to see what they call "stable" - i hear people all the time saying their setup is cool and runs "fine" - then when i see it, it either runs hot, idles poorly, or is missing something, or vibrates, or something else odd - there always seems to be the disclaimer "i just have to do a little more tuning"

i think a lot of it is that nobody wants to say "i wasted the money and it isn't what it was proported to be" - been there plenty of times myself - that's how we figure out what works and what doesn't

such projects are fun, and certainly exciting to tinker with, but they take a LOT of work, and as i said, i have yet to see a true "kit" for these cars - they have them for the big chevys and such, and have for decades, but i am still waiting for a 100% plug and play street legal kit - if there was one for the 968, i'd have it on my car already

i'm sure it can be done, but it seems that nobody wants to spend the time testing and then sell it as a complete kit

as for the 951, i don't think it is much different than any other high performance engine when it comes to maintenance - the problem is the owner, and that most people let them run down, and treat them like a toyota - then when the next guy gets it, it's a mess to be sorted

just because a car only costs a few thousand to get into 20 years later, it does not mean that it does not need the same level of attention that it needed when it was new - a high performance engine, especially a turbocharged one, needs regular attention

unfortunately, because the cars are worth so little, you usually see them owned by people with no money - then when they need something normal for that type of car, they get a bad rap as "high maintenance"

if you remember that it's a porsche, and not a toyota, and budget accordingly, things get a lot easier

[Tervuren]

Its tough to get an increase in max horsepower on these cars without compromising on noise or drivability. Are your emission's equipment recent? All of my 944's(four I've owned and driven) have had different power curves, noise levels, whatever.

My '86 had a loud exhaust, cone air filter, and I don't want o knw what else, was weak off the line, really had to rev it up, but pulled ok at the upper ranges. The other '86 had a stock exhaust, KN filter, barked and pulled nicely with the gear ratios, the throttle was aftermarket, and was extra sensitive making it not as happy at lower RPM's if you wheren't soft on your foot. The '85 had an unkown to me exhaust, lvoed the sound and feel, pulled nicely at the low rev's. My '84 is far to quiet for me, drives ok. Its LSD makes any out of a stoplight compare of the motor irrelevant. I want to go to replace the cat with a unrestricted pre muffler, update from early model cast iron headers, with no cat, find a chip that isn't tuning emissions for the cat, and thats it.

[steveu812]

For those of you who long for the dark side...and have a lot of time...and inclination

T-bird SC unit w/intercooler on eBay with buy-it-now of $300

[red1963]

Thanks for all the input guys!

for now I wil drive till the motor quits, I have 118k on her now, and don't see anything wrong, so why fix it, I was just hoping for a bolt on manifold/carb set up or something easy. I have been looking round, why is there no swap mentioned for a buick V6, that is a good motor and not as heavy as the 8, also a bmw-mini cooper motor may be nice too.

[speedracing944]

For a buick GN turbo 3.8 check out turbobob on the porschehybrids board. Last I heard he was pushing over 550 ft/lbs of torque. He gave me ride in it and I giggled like a little school girl upon accelerating.

Speedy

[HondaDustR]

Depending on how much you are after, a good performance chip is one of the better (relatively) "cheap and easy" plug and play mods to do. Doesn't add a whole lot of power, but makes huge improvements in part throttle response, low end torque, and does strengthen the top end a little. I just got a 944MAX chip from Lindsey Racing, and it definitely makes the car alot more exciting to drive. Probably the best thing I have or ever will get for it, power wise. The early NA motors just feel a bit too pokey without the extra ignition advance. I highly recommend it.

[red1963]

Thanks for the chip info, that may be a good fix while my motor is still tip top, then I will look into a total swap, I like the buick v6, say a 86 v6 from a century, it's light and quick, or even a 289 ford.

where do I get the chip or info on the chip?