944S / Lux / S2 differences

Sandspider · Jan 19, 2008

Hi all

I did a bit of Porsche viewing this morning, and found a nice Guards Red 944S. I was originally looking for an S2, but I rather liked the S - 111,000 miles, no rust, full history, just serviced around £4000. Firstly, do people think this sounds like a fairish price? (Hard to guess without seeing the car I know, but it was a good looking model, just a few stone chips etc. Then again, it is the first one I've properly inspected so I don't have much to compare it to!)

EDIT - that's garage price, not a private seller.

And secondly, I know the Lux had a 2.5l 8 valve engine, the S a 2.7l 16 valve engine, and the S2 a 3l 16 valve engine. The S2 is apparently is more likely to rust as it has plastic attachments to the sills that trap water. The body shapes are probably a bit different, and a late S2 might have a factory fitted bridge spoiler rather than the rubber job. But are there any other major differences appearance or handling wise between the models? Or indeed in any other way? (I assume the S and S2 are a bit pricier and harder to service due to the more complicated engine - longer timing belts etc.) Any other info would be appreciated.

Cheers,

G

pauljmcnulty · Jan 19, 2008

We need a buyer's guide!!

Simple answer would be:

Lux - cheap, torquey ( not the place where Basil had his hotel....[&:]) less to go wrong but not as quick and pretty much un-tuneable.

S - first 16 valve attempt. Complicated and potentially costly if the maintenance has not been done, needs revving like mad to use the little extra power. Quite often said to be the worst of both worlds, but should be significantly cheaper than S2.

S2 - larger engine addresses torque issue, with a cheap chip the best 944 to drive. Yes, the body is slightly more rust prone but just look at Peter's Lux shell.....[

]

Turbo - Not as good to drive in standard form as the S2, but with a little tuning it's great and with a lot of tuning it's probably unmatched until you get into the £100k bracket.

So, if ultimate speed is not your thing, Lux. Speed is all, turbo. Best all-rounder S2. S, well it doesn't really seem to fit anywhere but if it's a really good one then I guess it's an alternatinve to a Lux. Drive them both, though.

Hope that helps, and I'm sure others will correct me! [8|]

James_G · Jan 19, 2008

It's my understanding that original 944 Lux came with a 2.5 8V as you say, but were then updated to a 2.7 unit, for slightly more power, like 168bhp. The 944S came with a 2.5 16v unit with 190bhp and I have also heard that it takes a good chunk of effort to extract the extra power. You can spot them as they have the word Ventiller on the airbox, assuming it's running a standard one.

I'd be interested to hear what you think of the 944S (if you do go and drive it) as they sound like ideal track cars to me. [

]

944Turbo · Jan 19, 2008

S2 and turbo have 4 pot alloy brembo/porsche calipers in various sizes, lux has either single or two pot (cant remember which) steel calipers
Tony

Diver944 · Jan 20, 2008

We compiled a reasonable comparison many years ago using Titanic cars:

http://www.titanic.co.uk/944/paulsmith/history.htm

It includes everything except the 2.7 engine that was fitted to the Lux for one year in 1989 only

Some of the pictures mentioned were never actually taken - sorry [:-]

Sandspider · Jan 20, 2008

Thanks people - especially Paul and Paul! (Lots of stuff to look at on Titanic)

The chap definitely said it was a 2.7L 944S. Maybe he was mistaken... (It was definitely an S model with "Ventiler" as specified) Anyway, James - I didn't drive it myself, but the guy took me out in it. It was nice, great engine note, but not as fast as I was expecting, and it did need to be revved a bit (as mentioned above). That said, it was raining like a beast, so not ideal conditions to try it out. I now need to find and test an S2 for comparison...

Cheers,

G

Diver944 · Jan 20, 2008

ORIGINAL: Sandspider

Maybe he was mistaken... (It was definitely an S model with "Ventiler" as specified)

It is quite common as they are both the 'less usual' models and people get confused. The S was a 2.5 16v and the 1989 Lux was a 2.7 8v. It has been known for some Luxes to have the S and Ventiler badges stuck on them, this includes the 'S' in the pictures on the Titanic website I linked too [

]

The easy way to tell is by looking at the engine pics below. The 8v head is on the left and the larger 16v on the right.