Favourite 944 Enhancements

[Diver944]

I thought I' d start a post showing some of the style enhancements that members have done to their cars. These pics are taken with thanks from those members who have contributed to the Titanic forum.

First is the bridge spoiler that appeared on the end of line Turbo and S2 models, then was carried over to the 968.

 

[Diver944]

A very popular buy are these stainless steel door trims available from most parts suppliers that advertise in Porsche Post for around £40

 

[Diver944]

The lozenge steering wheel is often criticised my many as being very 80' s (but then thats where our cars originated from) and is often replaced by chunkie genuine Porsche items or these aftermarket versions here.

 

[Diver944]

My personal favourite are these teardrop mirrors that can replace the ' bat ear' originals. These can be bought from around £250 new or even cheaper from second hand breakers. Make sure you get the bases to fit 944' s and remember they will probably need painting too.

 

[Diver944]

The look of the ' famous' Big Red brake callipers can be created very cheaply and easily on S2 and Turbo models with the Brembo brake Callipers. Kits can be bought for under £20 from most motor accesory shops. Looks stunning with the right wheel

 

[Diver944]

...and now the last one that I' m doing is some nice Colour Crests for your wheel centres. These can be bought from £80 a set up to £125 depending on who you contact. Some have been done very cheaply by just painting your own using red, gold and black enamel paints and then a clear lacquer. Unless you look exteremely closely you' d never tell.

Now it' s over the the rest of you. Let' s have plenty of picture posts of your ' enhancements' however wacky.

 

[Guest]

ORIGINAL: Diver944

The look of the ' famous' Big Red brake callipers can be created very cheaply and easily on S2 and Turbo models with the Brembo brake Callipers. Kits can be bought for under £20 from most motor accesory shops. Looks stunning with the right wheel
]

Hi Paul
What does the kit consist of please ?
Ken

I like all of your enhancement pix

 

[Diver944]

Ken,

The kits I' ve seen (in Halfords etc) generally contain a really powerful cleaning agent to strip brakedust and dirt from the calliper. Then the rubber brake pipes are masked off, as are the bleed nipples and any other parts that don' t need painting. The paint is sometimes in two parts that have to be mixed (like araldite). It is then painted on and allowed to harden to a tough glossy finish. The white Porsche script can be painted on with a brush (and a steady hand)

We' ve just had a discussion on Titanic 944 and one of the guys recommended a simpler approach, just using a paint called Japlac available from most DIY stores in a variety of colours.

aul

 

[John Sims]

Whilst comending all ofthe above, might I also suggest the substitution of the big, ugly air box for a nice K&N.

I carried out the swap on my Lux using a kit from the US. Whilst it didn' t fit in the first instance, a subtle modification improved the design greatly over the original.

This tidies up the engine bay considerably, and gives a meaningful growl when you put your foot down. Although increases of up to 10 bhp are sugested I would think this a little optimistic.

I was so taken with the Lux conversion that I' m now doing a similar mod on the Turbo.

Guess what, the same American supplier does a 951 conversion. This time it was so far away from fitting, even I had to give up and send it back.

Following this I down loaded the full K&N product range, sellected my own fillter, fabricated my own bracket, and now await a round tube to square hole converter to finish the job. I' ll keep you posted on how it turns out.

Although missing the induction growl I' d come to love in the K&N' ed Lux, the Turbo conversion was also prompted by an elusive water leak. You can' t see a thing under the air box, and removing it to run the car just to find a leak is not good.

Once completed, my home grown conversion will provide ample access and viewing of sundry potential leaks, growl nicely and may even improve throttle response.

BTW I counted more than 48 places where a 951 can leak water from.

 

[Peter Empson]

Hi John,
I agree, an induction kit was one of the most fun changes I' ve made to my car. The induction roar suits the car well and i' m sure it lets the car rev a bit more freely (I think the 3bhp gain I read about sounds realistic).

Anyway, heres a picture of my Green Powerflow and Pipercross breather.
I keep meaning to add a more direct feed for fresh air into it from the cutout in the wing so i' ll have to buy some flexible tubing at some point in the future.
Peter.

 

[John Sims]

Peter,

Herewith photo of my Lux induction kit from the US.

The Home Grown Turbo induction kit is now in and working but I still have to take some pictures. Whilst I' ve not had the chance for a real blast with it yet, I have not noticed any great increase in induction noise[]

 

[944Turbo]

On the subject of air filters, I have a K&N panel filter from Simon at essential styling, I bought it mainly as it is cleanable and long life, however I believe there was also a performance improvement - I can' t say for certain as I fitted it just as the cold weather started, which makes the turbo go better anyway. Another difference I noticed was that previously when backing off the gas the engine would have a slight delay before responding (i.e. it would hold the revs or accelerate slightly), this trait seems to have vanished since fitting the filter, it makes balancing those delicate moments on trackdays easier! It fits in the standard position but has a black surround rather than the standard orange.

Tony

 

[944Turbo]

On the mechanical front, for turbo cars, a Boost Enhancer has to be one of the most popular modifications. It improves midrange torque and reduces the lag even on cars with a good wastegate, with a worn wastegate spring it makes an even bigger difference.
For those with more money to spend a Dual Port Wastegate improves things even further, the titanic listers who have fitted them only have good things to say about them.
Tony

 

[944Turbo]

Techart front springs - the later Turbos do not have Koni MO30 suspension as standard. Though the spring/damper rates are similar, we do not have the option of front height adjustment. As I drive my car fairly hard I decided I wanted better suspension, before swapping for Koni or Leda I decided to try something cheaper. I obtained a set of Techart lowering springs and changed the standard dampers for new ones. I am very happy with the results as a good compromise for road and trackday use,

 

[944Turbo]

and a pic of the original and new springs

 

[Guest]

I was infrormed that the induction kit can make the life of your Air Flow Meter a lot shorter. Has anybody else heard this before

 

[John Sims]

the induction kit can make the life of your Air Flow Meter a lot shorter

This strikes me as unusual. Granted, if the air flow meter is not correctly supported after removal of the air box then vibration or other knocks could be detrimental otherwise I see no difference. The air box does have a short tunnel which may smooth out the air flow over the " barn door" but I doubt this again would have any significant effect on the life cycle of the air flow meter.[&:]

We are not getting confused with forced induction here are we?

 

[John Sims]

Big thumbs up on the boost enhancer. A stonking piece of kit. Every standard Turbo should have one.[]

Your insurers will love you for it as well[]

 

[John Sims]

Turbo Induction Kit

At long last, I have completed the Turbo induction kit.

I can' t say there is any noticable increase in induction noise, but at lease you can easily spot any water leaks[]

 

[nfearn]

One for Tony regarding his new suspension setup.

i) Did you lower the rear as well? How difficult was it?

ii) Any problems with bottoming of the suspension on the bump-stops on rougher roads at all?

Nick Fearn