To Porsche, or not to Porsche?

[LINUS]

Sounds like you are more qualified than any of us to talk mechanics of the P-car, now you just need to figure out the money end.

My only challenge to you is this -- Would purchasing this car in any way put a cramp in your budget/lifestyle/ability to continue your education, even in the SLIGHTEST?

If so, forget it. You have your whole life to own cars, but as you get older continuing your education gets progressively more involved & realistically at 22 your education or clear vocational career path should be your only priority.

Establish entirely your money maker before you find ways to burn it - that's what I've learned. Heck, I'm 35 & getting ready to put my life in full rewind so I can be a fulltime student.

If the 944 won't in ANY way hurt your education & you can finance the purchase on reasonable terms (loan %) then I don't see how it could hurt.

How's the insurance BTW? You have gotten a quote already, right?

[vivalegreg]

goodpoint ^

[Fidhle007]

Sounds like you are more qualified than any of us to talk mechanics of the P-car, now you just need to figure out the money end.

My only challenge to you is this -- Would purchasing this car in any way put a cramp in your budget/lifestyle/ability to continue your education, even in the SLIGHTEST?

If so, forget it. You have your whole life to own cars, but as you get older continuing your education gets progressively more involved & realistically at 22 your education or clear vocational career path should be your only priority.

Establish entirely your money maker before you find ways to burn it - that's what I've learned. Heck, I'm 35 & getting ready to put my life in full rewind so I can be a fulltime student.

If the 944 won't in ANY way hurt your education & you can finance the purchase on reasonable terms (loan %) then I don't see how it could hurt.

How's the insurance BTW? You have gotten a quote already, right?

Excellent points, thank you for your input! Career path is music (new CD will be out in less than a month if everything goes according to plan) and my job at the garage is a way to make some extra income while learning more about my car and getting a discount on parts. Yes, it would probably tighten things up a little to buy this car, but it's not officially on the market until the spring and my intention would be to save up as much as I could by then and figure out the rest (loan, payments, prostitution) in the beginning of 2008. The offshoot of this is that if I decide against it by then my savings account will be happier than it is now.

I have yet to get an insurance quote but I imagine it'll be the usual ass raping any 22 yo with a fast car would get.

[Fidhle007]

Lifted from his feeler thread on rennlist:

400whp
vittesse MAF / chips / SMT-6
Turbo: Innovative TO4E w. Garret stage III wheel / #8 hotside
Ported polished head / intake w/ valve & head work
72lb injectors w/ resistors w/ adj fuel pressure regulator & fire sleeves on fuel lines
Tial 46mm WG
Magnecore wires
3" test pipe (no cat) 3.5 cat back w. spintech muffler
Custom intake manifold
Larger BMW 535 Throttle Body

Koni race suspension set up by Huntley Racing 500lb frt 600lb back w/ torsion delete.

Corbeau race buckets w/ 5 pt harnesses
autopower roll bar
Sparco wheel
zietronix Wideband w/ display

[vlad]

my dad owns a 911 turbo 996 and a 997 rsr :)

997 rsr, huh ?

I didn't hear or see such car made by Porsche yet but maybe your dad has special connections at the Zuffenhausen ? :loco:

Perhaps you can post a pic of such 997 RSR ? :nice:

[Farbin Kaiber]

997 rsr, huh ?

I didn't hear or see such car made by Porsche yet but maybe your dad has special connections at the Zuffenhausen ? :loco:

Perhaps you can post a pic of such 997 RSR ? :nice:

callout!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Fidhle007]

^ Reasons why I love r3v #43256 and 43257...

[vivalegreg]

Voila





Phillips Way is his construction company that he owns. He has always had a passion for fine cars (mostly German) and racing. This is his first year and hes had two first place finishes in PCA racing. Now he wants to go pro. Racing is such an expensive habbit as you know and I share the same passion. Too bad im broke tho :(

Did any body see the F1 race that was just on?

[Fidhle007]

Anyone know a good place to look for Porsche parts and/or upgrades?

[whiltebeitel]

Wow. I'd not suggest a 944. Great cars to drive and fool around in, they feel awesome, have great interiors, etc, but they are a big dirty herpes-infected whore to work on. (944 turbo in particular) They are about 10x more expensive than e30's when it comes to repairs. All the convoluted tubing in the intake and exhaust routing, the complex packaging, the $500 foglights... Over the summer, I got the wonderful distinction of repairing an '89 944 Turbo that had gone into a ditch. Bent framerails, the works. After pulling the 3 or so undertrays that this car has, I get to see how Porsche decided to route the exhaust aroud the block to the turbo instead of routing intake piping. Not that the intake is straightforward, either. Everything is stacked upon itself, and you've barely got any room to work on it. We finally got the frame straightend, fixed the core support, re-aligned all the front panels, replaced radiator and eleventy-billion little plastic pipes and boxes. I test-drove it to check the handling, and all was well. A great car when driving, but it's a bitch to work on, and don't get me stared about my friend who has dumped upwards of 20k in trying to track his 944, which refuses to work, instead catching on fire, destroying engines, and generally f*cking up.

I'd drive a 944, but I'd never own one.

/endjscottyrant

[Fidhle007]

Thanks for the input! I'd be working on it myself mainly (helps that I work at a BMW/Porsche garage) and I know it would be a whole different animal than the e30. At this point I would keep the e30 as a fun, RELIABLE car and have the Porsche for fun.

How does that mod list look to you guys that have experience with these cars?

[UNHCLL]

Hell fucking no.

Not cheap
Not easy to work on
Stay away.
Seriously... don't.


Search the forum for posts by "Charlie" that have "944" in them...

[fw190a3]

r3vn00b checking in...

I've got an 87 944S which has been my daily driver for nearly five years, until purchasing my 87 325 in May (still own the Porsche, of course, but I'm not driving it regularly now). The car has been quite dependable, but when it goes down, it goes down HARD... in 2004, it ate a timing belt which bent all 8 exhaust valves, for instance. That repair bill was over 3K. I also had a new clutch put in, which cost something north of 700 for the Sachs clutch kit alone.

That said, it's an absolute blast to drive, but completely different than the E30. I originally bought my 325 just as a daily beater (paid 200 bucks for it!) but after getting the t-belt, water pump, thermostat and other stuff sorted out on it, I find I really enjoy driving it everywhere. My wife much prefers the BMW to the 944, mostly because the Porsche has Koni adjustables and Weltmeister 200lb springs on it which give it a very stiff ride. The 951 you're looking at would be an order of magnitude faster than my 944S, and I'm positive it would be an amazing car, but just be aware of the parts costs involved. The guys at Rennlist have proven to be a good bunch, and there are sites like Rennbay where you can get parts for decent prices, but the bottom line is the car WILL cost you more in upkeep than your E30.

Good luck whichever way you go...

[DDP]

First off, foglights are NOT $500, lol. Def overstatement. I don't know where you're getting your parts but def not the cheapest places. That's the problem with the 944 or any Porsche for that matter. Because it has the name shops feel they can jack up the prices. Look around, be smart, you'll find some great deals.

I'll be honest, the 944 Turbo is not the cheapest car to own. I've owned many of them in the past 4 years. I live and breathe 944 Turbos. I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm not going to lie and say it's cheap, reliable or easy to work on. Because that's not true. They're 20 years old, a turbo and Porsche. What they're about is preventative maintenance. The timing belt/water pump/balance shaft belt/tensioners and rollers need to be replaced before every 60k miles. You need to stay on top of oil leaks.

Like I said, not easy to work on and not cheap. The styling on the turbo, I think, is awesome. Modded one's go like no other and they handle amazingly. The entire feel of the car is more then I can say for most other 'sports' cars. For me, the extra work and money is worth it. I'm willing to work with the car because it does drive so much better then most other cars I've been in.

They are a bit different to work on then most cars. I've grown to know them quite well and it's no big deal to me now, I accept it.

That's a pretty high number, 375whp. Although it may be a bit optimistic, I have seen 951's with that level of power. But with a stock head, which that car has, it's tough. The stock 951 8V heads are junk, completely prone to detention. You can't run much over 20psi on pump or you're running into some hardcore issues.

I know the car you're talking about. I knew the owner quite well who owned it before your friend bought it. It has some nice parts on it.

Of course you know what my answer will be. If you're used to an e30, this car is in an entire different bracket of performance then your little BMW. But so is the pricetag/work. If you do the work yourself, I'd say go for it. Hell, I'm young as well and I've survived. I wouldn't have it any other way.

[DDP]

Here are some decent part places...

https://www.paragon-products.com

https://www.lindseyracing.com

www.customengineeredperformance.com (check out the new dry sump system!, the white car on the home page is my old pearl white 951)