Keep the BMW...or go back to my old 944S? Opinions please...

[mspiegle]

what's with all you 944ers ? STEP UP!!

You can find an '86.5 Porsche 928S for 5-7K. The 86.5 has the newer suspension in the '87+ S4 line, and the newer brakes. It has close to 50/50 weight distribution, its smooth as hell, and has a massive 5.0L 32-valve V8 powerplant pushing almost 300hp/300tq.

And what about stability? In either '86 or '87, the Porsche 928S4 set the record in the flying mile. It clocked in at about 171mph. THIS WAS A STOCK PRODUCTION CAR. Ever see an e30 do 170mph+ ?

And I don't mean to step on anyone's toes... but I think the 928 looks better than the 944.... but that's totally my opinion.

I just got one in december, and i'm having a whole lot of fun with it.

[bimmerlover]

That 944 is GORGEOUS!!!!!
I vote on getting the Porsche!

[KenC]

what's with all you 944ers ? STEP UP!!

You can find an '86.5 Porsche 928S for 5-7K. The 86.5 has the newer suspension in the '87+ S4 line, and the newer brakes. It has close to 50/50 weight distribution, its smooth as hell, and has a massive 5.0L 32-valve V8 powerplant pushing almost 300hp/300tq.

And what about stability? In either '86 or '87, the Porsche 928S4 set the record in the flying mile. It clocked in at about 171mph. THIS WAS A STOCK PRODUCTION CAR. Ever see an e30 do 170mph+ ?

And I don't mean to step on anyone's toes... but I think the 928 looks better than the 944.... but that's totally my opinion.

I just got one in december, and i'm having a whole lot of fun with it.

The 928S4 (I believe the last year of them was '95) is the only one I would ever consider buying. The earlier ones have really ugly tail lights and just aren't refined enough... they kind of look like spaceships.
The 928 was a luxury sports car, with more emphasis on the luxury aspect. For those who could afford to throw down $80k in the 80s for a Porsche, but wanted tons of luxury options. They are so large, thus they needed a huge V8 in order to move the thing around. The 944 is definitely more of a sports car, as far as performance is concerned (the 928 will beat it in a straight line though).
The headlights on the 928 look OK when they're on and up, but they look nasty laying into the hood... they kind of made the same mistake with the 968 in my opinion, but those don't look quite as bad.
The e30 doesn't have enough torque in the higher gears to push 170. If the 928 didn't have that muscle car V8, it wouldn't get past 110 lol.
Any one who thinks that the 928 is better looking than the 944 is defintely on some drugs.
Is that an S4 parked on the right of your blue car in that garage?
I think that the '95 928S4 looks hella badass.

[Rob]

we have to agree to disagree on the interior. All I know is that after 15 minutes in my e30, I could work just about everything with my eyes close. After riding/driving in 944s since 1995, I still search for the damn controls...

[Numbersix]

The 928S, while fast, is much more a Grand Tourer than a sports car. It's well-designed to ferry 2 people in significant comfort across great distances at VERY high speeds (150+mph).

The 944, and especially the S, is much more of a focused sports car. That's why I like it.

[KenC]

The 928S, while fast, is much more a Grand Tourer than a sports car. It's well-designed to ferry 2 people in significant comfort across great distances at VERY high speeds (150+mph).

The 944, and especially the S, is much more of a focused sports car. That's why I like it.

That's exactly what I was trying to say above! Boy do I feel embarassed to have you recapitulate my two paragraphs into two concise sentences.

The 944s is pure sports car! It just has more 'pizzaz'! Seriously man, get the Porsche.

[SlammedE30]

Front-engine, water-cooled Porsches = Barf I just know what a pain they are to work on, and the driving experience is SO much better in an E30. My .02
-Ted

[Rob]

The problem is, with inexpensive cars, there's a point where to cost of keeping the car on the road outweighs any performance bonus'. I'm not saying the porsches are like that, but if you dont do your own work, they can be. However, since the performance is so similar (strictly numbers wise), I think the e30 is a better car to have, especially as a daily driver. If you want to mod, the e30 is the better choice as well. For track use, well its your call.

On another note: the 944 series cars are horrible stable at speed, its quite uncanny. All the e30s i've driven have felt a lot more nimble, but at the sacrifice of high speel stability

[Charlie]

Mspeigle, you had to do any brake work on the 928 yet? If you do, are you gonna keep the car after you see the bill?

-Charlie
familiar with the costs of a 928

[Rob]

928, there's a good idea for a community that bitches about the price of BMW parts...


[thanks for the quote charlie]

[Jon325i]

Porsches and their strengths....

911....the air-cooled legend (nuf said).

928....lux-o grand tourer that will swallow miles of straight autobahn very quickly.

944....well balanced and fun to drive. The turbo rocks....just keep your wallet stocked.

968....much like the 944, only more curves and no turbo (except aftermarket)

986 (Boxster)....nimble drop top. Retro and cutting-edge rolled into one.

Cayanne....I still can't believe Porsche sold its soul to this concept.

Carrera GT....Too much power, overkill brakes, gut-squishing handling. In a word, perfect.

Jon

[mspiegle]

@kencopperwheat
Actually, my car is superior in some ways. I have an 86.5, that means i have the 32valve 4cam V8 in the 5.0L flavor. My motor has ever so slightly (10.1:1) higher compression, and factory head STUDS along with hotter cams.
The S4 uses the same block with 10:1 compression, head BOLTS, and slightly less on the cams. The S4 uses an updated intake manifold design that nets some extra horsies. The S4 also has knock sensors which I am working on adapting to my car.
So, as you can see, there are definately some positives to the slightly earlier models, but the better intake and knock sensors are VERY desireable.
I have grown to agree with pre-S4 rear-spoiler, but the taillights could still use some work. Other than the very front end, everything else is pretty much the same.

@Charlie
Yup, brakes are a bit expensive. My garage-mate with the S4 just replaced all 4 rotors + pads and sensors, etc for about $750. He got zimmerman crossdrilld on the front, and those things are insanely massive and heavy, its unbelieveable.

If anyone is curious, both of those 928s are being supercharged. The S4 has a prototype system my garagemate built from the ground up. We have a dyno-verified run at 350rwhp/375rwtq running 6psi and automatic transmission. Once I get my car smogged, we're going to make sure everything works on my car and run about 4psi. We're using a roots-type setup. I will have the eaton supercharger (Kompressor benz models and ford cobra). The S4 is using a twin-screw whipple (very superior, like the benz XX-55 AMG cars)

This setup is very nice as the supercharger doesn't need to spool up to create alot of power. With our setup, boost is availible as soon as the throttle is opened. Also, there is no additional intake plumbing, so response is amazing. The S4 went to the drag strip and pulled a 12.1 second pass. We're aiming to get into the 11s.

[Numbersix]

Wow, can you say off-topic? :)

Decision made, I'm keeping the E30.

[Rob]

thats what i'm talkin about....

[uberpanzer]

I know I'm a bit late here, but I think you made a good choice. My '91 318iS out pulled my friend's 944S from a stop light. We were both trying and both scratched the tires going into 2nd gear.Not a pretty sight when a 2.5L 16v motor gets beat in a drag race against a 1.8L 16v motor. Both bone stock, but the 944S is obviously geared wrong and has too many lbs for its own good. Granted I would need some suspension work to keep up in the twisties, but that's easy enough to fix.