1st post, 1st Porsche

[Guest]

Hi all, I've just bought my first Porsche (a 1987 red 2.5l 944S) and just had a couple of quick questions.

Firstly, How do you drive it!? All I've driven in the past is a 1967 Mk1 mini. What rev ranges do you drive yours at normally, whats the most economical rev range?, where does the power peak?, and where is the torque?

Secondly, insurance. I'm only 17 and have found Lancaster to be the cheapest so far.

Lastly, I have no idea when the belts etc. were last changed so would like to do a full service. I can do most bits (oil change, plugs) and so on myself; but is it quite a major job to do the cam belt?

Thanks for your time.

Harry

 

[Diver944]

You bought a Porsche without checking those maintenance issues first? [] You are braver than I []

The belts (balance and cam) should be changed every 3 years or 36k miles whichever come first. If you don't know when they were last done it needs doing know for peace of mind.

The S is a 16V and also has a cam chain inside the head which needs to be inspected every 50k miles or you run the risk of it snapping, rounding off your cam shafts or totally killing the engine ££££££££. This item was never on the Porsche service scedule so we hear of many many that have damage in the head, Get it inspected asap.

If looked after and maintained properly these cars are a joy to drive and will run for years and years, but skimp on anything and it can bite you back big time. Check out the Garage Shop Manual at www.clarks-garage.com for all you ever need to know for DIY maintenance

Welcome to the best motoring decision you ever made []

 

[zcacogp]

ORIGINAL: Diver944
Welcome to the best motoring decision you ever made []

Oh, I don't know. Have you ever driven a Mk1 Mini? They're pretty damn fine cars. Bit different to a 944, granted, but I wouldn't be turning my nose up at one ...


Oli.

 

[NeilW]

Welcome Harry, I'd echo the sentiments above re timing belt, you cannot be too cautious. I had the belts on my S done a couple of months ago after just over 3 years and 18K miles and we found teeth missing on the timing belt. Not good.

Re the driving experience - very little in the way of go until you reach 4000rpm and then it all seems to start working. But even then they're not that fast. I recently weighed my S and it wasn't far short of 1300Kg so hardly surprising.

But. They are such good fun to drive.[]

Enjoy.

 

[RC18B 911 turbo]

Welcome 944s are good cars you'll enjoy it.

Another youngster I got my 944S2 when I was 18 now 19 and had the car for 6 months still enjoying it though insurance is a killer though[]

 

[Guest]

Thanks for all your help so far. What should I expect to pay for the belts to all be replaced and can any garage do it or would you recommend I go to a proper porsche one? (Is it impossible to do it myself?)

I think I'll do the filters, plugs and oil myself in the mean time.

RC18B 911 turbo,
Who does your insurance and what do you pay (if you don't mind me asking?)

 

[Guest]

photo1

 

[Guest]

photo2

 

[RC18B 911 turbo]

£3500 and I'm with endsleigh but I'm only a named driver it's on me mums insurance for the time being

 

[cococola]

Looks a decent motor car...shame its red though[]
Im sure you will get lots of enjoyment out of it,the 944s are super cars imo.

 

[Diver944]

ORIGINAL: kazooka

What should I expect to pay for the belts to all be replaced and can any garage do it or would you recommend I go to a proper porsche one?

I would recommend a well known Porsche independant. Whereabouts in teh country are you and we can point you towards a good one. Depending on location, as a rough guide expect to pay circa £300 just for the belts and the same again for the camchain. There may be extras that need doing when the belts are off like rollers and tensioners and if the water pump is pretty old it would be sensible to change it whilst the belts are off or you'll only have to pay the labour again if you do it at a later date.

Check any reciepts you may have to see how recent the water pump is?

 

[Guest]

The most recent service recept was in 2001 at 105000 miles. Its now at 120000 and theres nothing to suggest belts were even done that service, since it only cost £165.

I'm in Helston, West Cornwall.

Thanks again,
Harry

 

[Neil Haughey]

Just spotted that you are 17 and therefore will not have the no claims required to get a low quote. As an example I am 32, have 9+ years NCB and have owned the same Porshce for 6 years, live in a posh little village in Dorset that doesn't know what crime is and have another car with 200+ bhp as a daily driver. Currently I am paying 400+ notes a year for insurance (although it is classed as a modified car). At age 26 I was paying 800 quid a year to insure the S2 as my only car. Insurance on these cars is a bugbear of mine you can tell!

As for how to drive it all I can say as an ex Mini nut case is don't chuck it about like you can with the Mini. The fastest way in a 944 is nearly always the one with the smallest and most gentle steering inputs, in other words you go faster by doing less if that makes any sense. Also use the throttle to sling shot out of bends rather then trying to enter corners to fast i.e. slow in fast out. I used to have a Mini with grp A suspension set up and 120 Bhp engine. My S2 will destroy such a car on any road that allows for the 944 to plant full throttle through and out of the bends but would be blown away on a road where the Mini could be chucked around lots of tight low speed corners.

Basically the 944 is as quick round 60 to 90 mph bends as any modern sports car or supercar but due to the heavy engine in the front is fairly slow in low speed corners.

The S is renowned for having a fairly peaky output so you will need to take it right round to the red in every gear to go fast.

 

[zcacogp]

ORIGINAL: kazooka

Thanks for all your help so far. What should I expect to pay for the belts to all be replaced and can any garage do it or would you recommend I go to a proper porsche one? (Is it impossible to do it myself?)

I think I'll do the filters, plugs and oil myself in the mean time.

RC18B 911 turbo,
Who does your insurance and what do you pay (if you don't mind me asking?)

Have a hunt on here for belts, as it is a topic that comes up pretty often. There was a brief spat between me and Paul Smith (a friendly one, I hasten to add) with me spouting about there being no difference between the S/S2 belts and chain and those on a VW Golf. In short, you can do it yourself if you are competent and confident, but the parts themselves will not be that cheap. It's a fiddly job to do too - you will be working in a confinde space in the front of the engine bay. If you get someone else to do it, find a good independant and make friends with him. Prices-wise; I paid just over £700 last year for belts and pulleys and fitting, and a new rear wheel bearing. I am sure you could do it a bit cheaper if you wanted.

Otherwise, if you are into home-DIY, the 944 is a good car to spanner on. The engine is very accessible and pretty simple, and oil/filters/plugs are easy. Drivechain gets more complex ("torque tube" gives me a nasty attack of the wobblies whenever anyone mentions it and changing the clutch is a monster of a job).

http://www.clarks-garage.com/ is a great place for reference if you do want to get your spanner set out.

Insurance; for what it's worth, I'm looking at £600 this year for a 32-yr old, leaving an S2 on the street in Central London, only car, NCB as long as your arm. Not that this is in any way comparible with your situation ....

Pretty car BTW. I do like the teledials. Just a shame it's red. [] *

Oli.

* - Don't take the "Red" comments too hard - it's just that there is a bit of banter on here about the merits or otherwise of red cars! Certain people take certain things very seriously!

 

[Guest]

Thats ideal, thank you all very much indeed for all your help. I'll do all the filters and plugs etc myself this week and find a local garage who'll do the belts. As for the chain, I think I'll get the guy in the garage to decide whether it needs changing.

- Sound about right?

H

 

[zcacogp]

ORIGINAL: kazooka
As for the chain, I think I'll get the guy in the garage to decide whether it needs changing.

- Sound about right?

Fine, IF the guy in the garage knows what constitutes a 'chain that needs changing'. Most garage mechanics have never worked on a 944 before, and probably would start opening the bonnet to check the condition of the clutch if you asked them ...

If it's an indie Porsche specialist then it's a different matter.


Oli.

 

[Neil Haughey]

ORIGINAL: zcacogp

ORIGINAL: kazooka
As for the chain, I think I'll get the guy in the garage to decide whether it needs changing.

- Sound about right?

Fine, IF the guy in the garage knows what constitutes a 'chain that needs changing'. Most garage mechanics have never worked on a 944 before, and probably would start opening the bonnet to check the condition of the clutch if you asked them ...

If it's an indie Porsche specialist then it's a different matter.


Oli.

Or like some guy once said to me after seeing the gearbox under the back "Oh is it rear engined then". I guess he didn't compute that the bonnet is sooo long for a reason.

 

[Neil Haughey]

ORIGINAL: zcacogp

ORIGINAL: kazooka

Thanks for all your help so far. What should I expect to pay for the belts to all be replaced and can any garage do it or would you recommend I go to a proper porsche one? (Is it impossible to do it myself?)

I think I'll do the filters, plugs and oil myself in the mean time.

Otherwise, if you are into home-DIY, the 944 is a good car to spanner on. The engine is very accessible and pretty simple, and oil/filters/plugs are easy. Drivechain gets more complex ("torque tube" gives me a nasty attack of the wobblies whenever anyone mentions it and changing the clutch is a monster of a job).
Oli.

* - Don't take the "Red" comments too hard - it's just that there is a bit of banter on here about the merits or otherwise of red cars! Certain people take certain things very seriously!

I change the oil and spark plugs no problem without having to jack the car up! The reason why is that the oil filter is at the front, its a bit of a pain I find that oil filter pliers do the job but it takes a while to twist it round enough to get it loose enough to turn with your hands. I am now using a vacuum fuild extractor to get the old oil out because I hate getting my hands dirty (and the drive). You simply poke the hose down the dip stick hole and pump up the vacuum in the container. OK it takes for ever to suck out 15w-50 oil but it is very little effort and I can watch telly whilst checking on the sucking progress. Machine mart and screwfix sell extractors.

Spark plugs can be changed very well using the plug extractor tool in the toolkit in the boot. It is also ideal in that the small handle should prevent one from over tightenging the new plugs when put in. I use a big set of pliers with very wide teeth to help get the plug leads of by levering gently against something like the cam cover. This way I can get them out OK without damaging the ends or mashing any parts of me into parts of the car.

Get yourself one of those magnetic wing covers that mechanics use as well. Working on the 944 always ends up spending lots of time bent over the front wings and this will inevetibly end up with lots of scratches on the wings.

I have used Bert Gear (Berlyn Services) for the past 6 years to get pretty much all parts other then those that you can only get thru OPC places. His website is rubbish so I have always phoned him since it is quicker anyway.

 

[wizard]

If I were you i'd get an independant specialist to take a look around it. They know the cars inside out and will point out the items to deal with for the future. The ones I have dealt with are quite happy to chat about the car at length and certianly not there to rip you off.

Without trying to sound condescending, don't race the car on the road as all you need is a few points or a small incident and at your age you will not be able to insure it again (or anything else). Like most others on this forum, I would recommend getting it out onto a track to enjoy the full potential.

Welcome to Porsche ownership and enjoy.

 

[dlknight]

Hi Harry,

Good choice of 944, I really enjoyed my 944S hopefully you will enjoy yours for some time to come. My advice having had a belt failure of my own is get it done by a independent Porsche Specialist. Its no good cutting corners to save money, otherwise you will end up spending more in the long run when the inevitable happens. Health warning over [], my S used to feel quick when driven at between 3,500 to red line. Contrary to popular belief the performance chips do make a noticeable difference on the S and makes the acceleration much smoother and slightly more top end.

Were all pretty friendly here, so pop in often and join in the banter []

All the best

Dave K.