a 944 for grown ups

[Ewan]

As we know, 944's are small and fun, and (in turbo form a least) fast. But sometimes I hanker after something a bit bigger, lazier, and with more torque - and auto. Like an S2, but bigger and more grown up. Therefore I'm thinking I should add an a 928 S4 (or GTS) to my stable. Has anyone here had one?

So, 928 - good idea, or lunacy?

 

[J.C944TurboMan]

As a young child , about 6-8 years of age , never forget when my mum bought me my first remote control Orange 928 , I have always wanted a real 928 ! Love the look of them and nearly bought one a few times myself. I would opt for a manual ? just the clutch donut on those autos ? Scary if they going bang !
I believe they are made from aluminum ?
Thumbs up here

 

[Indi9xx]

If you get a GTS, get one which has had the engine rebuilt with a nikosil bore, such as one of the more recent replacement engines from Porsche, as they really suffer from chronic oil consumption and porous bores.

Any GTS, GT or S4, Make sure it has a full set of working lights on the dashboard, which come on and go out when they should, as these can be expensive to fix.

Make sure they have also had the cam synchro chains replaced, as well as the tensioner pads, just like a 944 S2 in this respect.

Also, expect to have to send off the ECU and MAF for a rebuild and update, both of these are seriously expensive new, but there is a chap who specialises in rebuilding them called John Speak or JDS Porsche up in Cambridge, who just does 928 S4 onwards ECU's and MAF rebuilds.

And lastly, make sure the torque plate is detensioned every year in a service.

Other than that, you should be fine.

Personally, if I was looking to a buy a 928, I would go for one of the last S2's, in particular an 86... Which is why one of these is the only 928 I own! They have S4 suspension and brakes, the retro looks of the S/S2 and have none of the electrical gremlins of the S4/GT/GTS such as PSD, Tyre pressure monitoring and dashboard faults of the later ones... Best of both worlds. But everyone wants that particular model and year, so you might be looking for a while.

I think you would love one, especially for any long trips or journeys into the continent.. Having said that though, any trip into the continent really needs a highlight, such as the Nurburgring, Stelvio pass, etc, which would probably be more fun an a 944 with a manual transmission!

 

[ChasR]

Stupid thing to say, but I would look at MPG as well as the running costs.

One member here with a square dash 2.5 was telling me how he owned 3 928s, and how even to this day, he believes they are hard to beat. But he also was saying that fuel consumption was quite a bit higher than a 944 (more than even a Turbo!).

Saying that, I may be lusting after a 928S/S2 I hate to say with the fuel issues not really seeming to bother me for the reasons you say!

As an effective compromise how about a 968 Tip? I know Neil Haughty here was saying that he felt that the Tips in his opinion were an underrated car.

 

[Indi9xx]

Ohhh... I forgot to mention the fuel consumption... They do make a Rolls Royce silver shadow seem fuel efficient

 

[GlennS]

Also be aware of the occasionally stratospheric difference in part prices. As an example, a window scraper seal (that little bit of rubber that runs along the outside at the bottom of the door window) will cost you £19 for a 944 from Porsche and £100+ for a 928.

928s are gorgeous cars but you need deep pockets to run one.

 

[J.C944TurboMan]

Great info Jon ! God saved you for a reason mate .

How do you rate the manual early S2's Manual ? Any good ?

I really do fancy the early round back light version .

 

[Indi9xx]

Glen has a good point there... The thing is, you have to look at the 928 as a discontinued Supercar, with purchase prices when new, like a lambo or ferrari, rather than a sports car like a 944/944turbo or even a 911 non turbo.. As such, the prices, along with limited demand for parts, mean they cost a fortune for some parts.

And it is the daftest parts which might catch you out.. A tiny linkage part for the tailgate release will look like a replaceable tiny rod, which should be pennies, but you end up having to buy the whole tailgate release mechanism which will cost 3 digits before the decimal place for pennies!

However, they do last well.. like a 944, most of the parts you will ever need to replace, may be because they are 20 something years old, and will not need replacing for another 20 years..

I would say the 928 is a keeper car, if you want one to be yours for many years to come, they make sense, and one day, the rest of the world will realise them as a super car, and they will start to be worth supercar money, rather than sports car money... But beside that, if you get one to keep, year one may be expensive, but if you give it everything it needs, the following years would be much more affordable

Knowing how you want your cars Ewan, I would say you would probably be spending about £4k to £5k getting one how you want it in year one, and then from then on, depending on any disasters, I suspect you will be spending on average £1k to £2k per year to maintain it including tyres and a budget for some years it needing something serious...

If however you got into one and then decided after a couple of years that you did not like it, then it would not make financial sense... If you kept one for 5 to 10 years, you would have recouped the initial year one costs in enjoyment.. But also I think you will have made the money back on the fact that in 10 years they will be far more valuable than they are now.

 

[Veerzigzag]

Interesting that there are currently two threads on our front page, for these big old Death Star tanks.

 

[Indi9xx]

Mike, it is a bad turn of events when the most active PCGB forum section has two threads going about 928's, maybe someone needs to start another 944 "Rear wiper delete" or "sill replacement" thread before the tone is ruined around here!

 

[Ewan]

I'm not particularly fussed about fuel costs - I used my 6.0 lt. Diablo as my daily commute car for a year!!!

But I'd definitely spend more up front, buying the very best I can find (in an attempt to reduce the immediate maintenance costs). As Jon knows, my error with my 944 was buying the nearest one to me that was for sale (note to others and self, this is NOT always a good tactic!).

Jon - if I find a likely suspect I'll have it sent over for you to inspect. But looks-wise I prefer the later shape, so it'll have to be an S4 or GTS. And it needs to be auto. I've got plenty of manual cars for that sort of fun.

 

[Indi9xx]

You used that Diablo as a daily commute?!?!? Did you not end up with a left leg with twice the muscle mass of your right one?

My old middle and far eastern clients used to always seem to have Diablo's parked in the way that I would have to move to get to their Porsches, and pushing the clutch down used to be like a "test of purity of heart" like the sword in the stone king arthur legend..

In fact.. My recent near death experience was all caused by my left knee exploding... A picture is forming now.. Bloody Diablos!

Hows your left knee? Is this why you want an auto?? )

 

[Ex Skyline]

Should of bought "YOBO" Ewan [8|]. A real geezer's chariot [8D][][]. Now with an added Nitrous Oxide system so i'm informed [8D][][8D]!!!

 

[Ewan]

It's only the pre '95 Diablos that had heavy clutches. From '95 on (i.e. the VT and SV models) both the clutch and steering were assisted, so not heavy and perfectly useable. In succession i had three, a black 95 VT, a torquise 97 VT and then a yellow 6.0 VT (the Audi built one) from 2000, and used each as my everyday car. But that said, as a professional rugby player, and a prop at that, thigh strength was never really a problem for me!!!

The good news is no one's said steer clear of the 928. Now need to decide whether it should an as-well-as or an instead-of car.

 

[924nutter]

ORIGINAL: Veerzigzag

Interesting that there are currently two threads on our front page, for these big old Death Star tanks.

I completely disagree with the description. Having had an S4 for about 7 years, once you get the confidence they can be grabbed by the scruff of the neck and driven very enthusiastically. Whilst I am here; As far as grunt goes, chasing one Mr Hemmings up to the Workers conference, not racing you understand, but trying to catch him as I was on my first visit to the R.A.C. and guessed he would know the way, I was able to close the gap on him in the 944Tcab, and I knew he was giving it beans becaue I could here that V8 revving. No point in trying vmax on the road but would guess that given an autobahn the 928 would pull away at speeds over 160 (bear in mind the 3 inch shorter screen on the cab reduces frontal area) and up at those speeds 3 inches makes a lot of difference. In fact in many walks of life 3 inches can make a huge difference.
Driven carefully I was able to get 23 to the gallon. I didn't find my 75-92 thousand mile S4 was a great consumer of oil, and get paper evidence of a cam belt change. The vendor of mine verbally said yes the belts had been done but mine went in the third week flat chat in second just as the slush box hooked third. alll of a sudden 80 mph foot to the floor. Lucky boy did no damage to the 32 valves but even so the bill to resychronise the cams and the crank came to almost a grand.
Check the springs, you should almost be able to get your hand between the wheel arch and the tyre, at least at the front, If you can't then try to check that springs are not broken, mine broke both sides. Changing them means dropping off the lower front wishbone and they's is big nuts!
If you are going to nail it pulling away then make sure everything is pointing staright ahead, the Merc derived gearbox only goes down to second gear when coming to a halt or when pulling away for the first time, but will kick down to first if you hit the kick down switch in error. If that happens when you have any sort of lock on you could be in for a wild ride. You think the 911 can go sideways, youve seen nothing.
Check the little pin on the wiper drive; when the hatch is opened at least on the S4, the drive arc remains on the boot bulkhead and the wiper arm has a pin on that goes into the very obvious slot in the drive arc, and mine snappef off. Take the cover off the back of the boot and check that all the tools are there, and that the wheel brace is under the carpet with the spare wheel.
Had the little oik not hit the front O/S wing and apparently bent the strut mount, on my S4, whilst driving up the road firing a paint ball gun at pedestrians (I kid you not!) I would probably still have it.

 

[924nutter]

ORIGINAL: Ewan

I'm not particularly fussed about fuel costs - I used my 6.0 lt. Diablo as my daily commute car for a year!!!

But I'd definitely spend more up front, buying the very best I can find (in an attempt to reduce the immediate maintenance costs). As Jon knows, my error with my 944 was buying the nearest one to me that was for sale (note to others and self, this is NOT always a good tactic!).

Jon - if I find a likely suspect I'll have it sent over for you to inspect. But looks-wise I prefer the later shape, so it'll have to be an S4 or GTS. And it needs to be auto. I've got plenty of manual cars for that sort of fun.

Completely agree on the styling comment. Until Porsche came up with the larger rear light, I always shied away from the '28 because if anything "made my bum look big in this" then the tiny rear lights of the S, and S2 certainly emphsasised the generously rounded proportion of the 928's rear. I was'tthat keen on the S2 front end either. IN tems of power the S2 was 310 and the S4 was 320, so if S2 floats your boat go for it. Incidentally having had my rear off-side light out due to a failed and hideously expensive part-loom (over £100 in 2005) it seems that the rear P/U had the same cut-outs for the light clusters as the previous models but the design of the S4 light made them bigger on the outside, without needing to completely re-engineer the rear P/U.
Also check to see if you can remove the blanking plug for the front tow bar.

Well thats my ywo penn'orth.

 

[J.C944TurboMan]

You had three Diablos and now you want a928 ? surely that is going backwards ? For looks that is .
I love the 928's but I would have to win the lotto to be able to buy and maintain a Diablo .
Sounds like you need a knee support to drive the Pre 95's ?

Ewan I once seen an article about the 928's with extra blistered rear arches ? Some have and some don't ?

I think the 928 is less flash and has a lot more of a classy look about it ? Diablo is just super flash ! I have never seen one been driven on the roads yet .

Seen loads of 928's a lot more common .

 

[Veerzigzag]

I completely disagree with the description.

You are right to say that - apologies for my description of the 928.

 

[924nutter]

ORIGINAL: J.C944TurboMan

You had three Diablos and now you want a928 ? surely that is going backwards ? For looks that is .
I love the 928's but I would have to win the lotto to be able to buy and maintain a Diablo .
Sounds like you need a knee support to drive the Pre 95's ?

Ewan I once seen an article about the 928's with extra blistered rear arches ? Some have and some don't ?

I think the 928 is less flash and has a lot more of a classy look about it ? Diablo is just super flash ! I have never seen one been driven on the roads yet .

Seen loads of 928's a lot more common .

I am reliably informed that the GTS with 5.4 litres and 340 bhp had a slight flare on the rear wheel arch, I can't state with any degree of certainty whether the GT had the arch flares.
What I liked was the 944 turbo oomph combined with the V8 sound track, then I bought a 99t with a tubi exhaust, and once you have done that there is no going back.

 

[Ewan]

Coincidentally I have a Tubi on my V8 Maserati QP, and the sound is incredible.

Shan't be looking at the 928 GT, as that is a manual-only car. My choice is an S4 auto (let's call that the narrow bodied car) or a GTS auto (which do indeed have the more blistered rear arches, as well a few other minor visual differences to distance them from the standard S4, such as Cup mirrors and Cup wheels.) The GTS is more expensive, being the last and most powerful version, but I think I'd be equally happy with a basic S4. It'll most likely boil down to what's available.