944S2 Track Car Project - Spa April 2019

edh · Mar 12, 2012

So do you think that 8J ET40 wheels make sense Neil?

ORIGINAL: Neil Haughey 19mm all round on my car, can't say exactly what anyone else runs. Best thing as always is to have a poke around the paddock of a club championship race and have a look at all the cars. Most 944/968 do run spacers but of varying sizes, its something you can tune a touch however on an S2 it makes sense to get as much track width as possible on the front thus getting as much performance as possible from cornering. Remember that in the championship the S2 weighs in much less than a 968 or a 964/993 but has nowhere near the power and straight line grunt of the rear engined class 1 cars in particular. Personally I find that there is a penalty in that spacers change the scrub radius http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrub_radius ....but its not really any worse just that the steering feels much more reactive to me and can sometimes kick back very hard in a spin, enough on one occasion to kick the wheel out of my hands. Definitely worth it overall though, first few times I drove my car it was a shock just how lively it became. Seriously if one went from an S2 road car to a full on S2 race car you wouldn't believe its the same car.

darkvisorman · Mar 12, 2012

Ed, Just putting the finishing touches and car is going for mot next week! I will be gathering info to put something up as a thread very soon. Theres also a major twist in this build. sorry to hijack your thread but on this occasion i am sure you wont mind ;-) DVM

edh · Mar 12, 2012

ORIGINAL: darkvisorman Theres also a major twist in this build. sorry to hijack your thread but on this occasion i am sure you wont mind ;-) DVM

No problem Dave - I'm really looking forward to seeing it all together. (Dave has sent me a fair few pics during the build - from what I saw, it's basically a new car built on my old shell) my guess is the "twist" is under the bonnet?

darkvisorman · Mar 12, 2012

Oh YES!!

Neil Haughey · Mar 12, 2012

ORIGINAL: edh So do you think that 8J ET40 wheels make sense Neil?

Why not? I used to run stock 16" 8J rears with 15mm spacers on my road car and never had any rubbing problems even on 245 wide tyres and no rolled arches to be seen.

333pg333 · Mar 13, 2012

ORIGINAL: edh

ORIGINAL: darkvisorman Theres also a major twist in this build. sorry to hijack your thread but on this occasion i am sure you wont mind ;-) DVM

Click to expand...

No problem Dave - I'm really looking forward to seeing it all together. (Dave has sent me a fair few pics during the build - from what I saw, it's basically a new car built on my old shell) my guess is the "twist" is under the bonnet?

Hmm, let me make a guess from all the way Down Under....does this motor begin with a 3 and end in a .2 ??

333pg333 · Mar 13, 2012

ORIGINAL: darkvisorman Oh YES!!

Dave, I'm also happy to stand in the queue of people wanting to read / see a build thread on your car. Looks brilliant!! btw, have you weighed it yet?

blease · Mar 13, 2012

Hi EDH, Bit ahead of you in a very similar project. My S2 has all sound deadening out (but carpets kept), rear seats out, racing seats/harnesses, Boxster 17 inch wheels, half roll cage. But the biggest transformation, and a must for a track focussed car IMHO, has come via coil-over suspension, in my case Gaz Gold. The change is staggering and for now, I'm not really interested in chasing more power. Standard brakes with mintex pads work very well. I'd think seriously about sealing up your sunroof. if you can still remove the panel, its worth doing it on dry trackdays because i have found headroom with a helmet on can be an issue (I'm 5'10''). It also keeps the car a bit cooler and saves a tad more weight. I still find the car a joy on the road even though the coils rattle on the body a bit. So much so that I'm planning to sell my 996 to provide more cash for the 944....anyone want a tidy C2 Cab??? I want to fund big brakes, LSD 'box and a special power upgrade!

edh · Mar 13, 2012

ORIGINAL: blease Hi EDH, Bit ahead of you in a very similar project. My S2 has all sound deadening out (but carpets kept), rear seats out, racing seats/harnesses, Boxster 17 inch wheels, half roll cage. But the biggest transformation, and a must for a track focussed car IMHO, has come via coil-over suspension, in my case Gaz Gold. The change is staggering and for now, I'm not really interested in chasing more power. Standard brakes with mintex pads work very well. I'd think seriously about sealing up your sunroof. if you can still remove the panel, its worth doing it on dry trackdays because i have found headroom with a helmet on can be an issue (I'm 5'10''). It also keeps the car a bit cooler and saves a tad more weight.

Sounds similar (pics don't work though) [I just looked at them - I guess the car has moved on a bit since then, with new suspension, wheels etc.. but it's very similar to mine - we must get them on track together - maybe a Silverstone evening?] No noise from the kw's on mine - I think they are a great compromise for a track car. I've never had a clearance problem with standard sports seats & a sunroof (I'm 5'10" as well). Side mount buckets should be Ok shouldn't they?

blease · Mar 13, 2012

Hmmm, not sure why the pics did not work. Will try again. You are right, the on track pics where taken before the suspension/wheel upgrades were made. Will be taking the car to Spa on April 2nd if you fancy joining along. Great value day at Â£280!

MarkK · Mar 13, 2012

We all want to see lots of pics about these cars please!![

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edh · Mar 13, 2012

Too early for me - car won't be ready until late April I think. Do you know what spring rates you are running?

edh · Apr 1, 2012

Time for a quick update (no pics yet) PH Sportscars have done the belts & waterpump - the front of the engine was nice and dry replaced brake servo, one ABS sensor, 4 calipers, new fluid, mintex 1155's in the front, & fitted these

I will be removing the fog lights & fitting some air ducts It's in the bodyshop now - and booked in to Promax on the 23rd. I've picked up some slightly stiffer KW springs to go on ( thanks Dave [

] ) Standard KW Spring rates : Fronts - 60Nm/340lb. Rears - 50Nm/285lb. Uprated KW springs Fronts - 80Nm/447lb Rears - 70Nm/391lb.

wemorgan · Apr 1, 2012

Do you mind me asking how much you paid to have new sills welded in? I suspect I'll be going down this route before the next MoT.

edh · Apr 1, 2012

ORIGINAL: wemorgan Do you mind me asking how much you paid to have new sills welded in? I suspect I'll be going down this route before the next MoT.

I'll let you know when I get the bill.... I'm only having one side done - the other is fine. I'm having a few other bits done at the same time - suspension mount, bottom of front wing. I'm using some cheap parts (sill & rear quarter) from Elliot (porkaparts) - we'll see how they work.

wemorgan · Apr 1, 2012

For reference I've been quoted Â£300 for a pair of sill plus Â£600 labour.

edh · Apr 1, 2012

Sounds reasonable - the issue is the extent of the corrosion. there's an intermediate sill piece that also rots, and at the rear of the sill, the mount for the rear suspension. James (j4mou) has just had his done for a very good price - his thread is on here somewhere.

Big Dave · Apr 2, 2012

Ed. The springs are en-route.... Enjoy..

edh · May 3, 2012

Time for an update... The car is back from ph sportscars, cavendish classics and Promax... It's nice to get to grips with the car myself - it's been a while since I had a 944 in bits.. PH replaced the belts and waterpump, and fitted my refurbed calipers & new front discs. Cavendish replaced the os sill and rebuilt the rear suspension mount. Promax re-set the geometry. The sill was completely rotten

I had asked the bodyshop to cut some holes for torsion bar removal, but he didn't get round to it - as it turned out, Andy @ promax suggested I leave the rear ride height as is for now. The car will need some more bodywork at some point - the wing bottoms are on their way out. Before my trip to Promax I gutted and sealed the sunroof - one of the rear catches was broken so the thing was flapping around, and I didn't fancy a drive to MK like that.

It still looks standard from the outside. I started stripping the interior yesterday - still got the n/s wheel arch and drivers footwell to do (once I figure out how to get the accelerator pedal apart!). I was thinking about not worrying too much about the last bits of foam & fluff as the carpets will be going back. The bottom layer of soundproofing is starting to come away from the transmission tunnel - not sure if I will take it all off yet.

I have changed the split rims for something a little more sensible - here's a pic of the car showing the ride height with no interior

The car started running very rich last week, rough / fast idle and very hard to restart (straight after stopping) when hot - swapping the DME temp sensor seems to have fixed it. Plugs were very black, so I've put a new set in. Dizzy cap & rotor to go on tomorrow Still plenty to do before my first track day in it [ul] [*] Fix an ABS fault - it often fails on the self-test, but sometimes works, failing a bit later. When the car is running, ABS lights off, I can occasionally hear the pump grinding through the self test. Chrisg is dropping by tomorrow with a spare ECU so we can eliminate that as a potential source. After that I'll clean all the grounds and sensors. [*] Trace a grinding noise from the engine bay at 2200 rpm - suspect it's a loose heat shield [*] Change oil & filters [*] Fit seats & re-fit carpets [*] Fit brake ducting - the route past the washer bottle, ps and oil coolers looks awkward [*] Re-position side lights (into clear indicators) [*] Rustproof new sill [*] General clean up - including the engine bay - i have a nice package of Bilt hamber cleaners, lubricants and rust removers.. [*] MOT and tax [/ul]