Stage 0 and Stage 2 ProMAX mods to 944 Turbo - long post

[TK2015]

I bought my 1989 944 Turbo earlier this year and noticed that it was running a bit rich and misfiring slightly at about 2000 rpm. I looked at the air filter and the HT leads and concluded that they had probably not been changed since the car was new!

A quick trawl of the web brought me to the ProMAX site and after a lengthy conversation with Andy I bought the ignition tune up kit comprising HT leads, distributor cap, rotor arm and spark plugs. I also bought the vacuum kit as some of the vacuum lines had seen better days. I also noticed that the car had been fitted with a stainless exhaust, a Hayward & Scott 3" system I believe although there are no markings on it to indicate the manufacturer.

Before fitting anything new I took the car to my nearest Dyno at the Mini Centre in Sleaford - very friendly - to get a baseline from which I could judge whether any of my modifications were actually making a difference. The original trace is below and as you can see there's definitely a hiccup at about 2000rpm. Peak torque is about 190 lb ft at 5000rpm with peak power of 187bhp arriving at just under 6000rpm. All readings are at the wheels.

 

[TK2015]

Fitting both kits took about an hour and was very easy. The pictures below show the state of the air filter, HT leads and distributor cap as they came with the car - yuck.

 

[TK2015]

...

 

[TK2015]

...

 

[TK2015]

Another trip to the Mini Centre and as you can see below there has been quite a nice improvement. Peak power remains about the same but is developed at 6000prm. The torque curve has filled out and is now almost flat from 3400rpm all the way to 6000prm. Also, the erratic behavior at 2000rpm has been replaced with a smooth curve. All in all a nice improvement for not much money and an hours DIY fitting.

On the road the lack of misfire and fatter torque curve were immediately apparent. The car was much nicer to drive, less jerky in traffic and with more overtaking oomph.

 

[TK2015]

So that was "Stage 0" or bringing the car back to something like a factory standard state.

However, I wanted more and I was still convinced that the car was running quite rich. Another long conversation with Andy at ProMAX and I decided to go for the "Level 2" treatment as the best compromise between money spent and gains achieved. The Level 2 kit comprises: dual port waste gate, manual boost controller, new bypass valve, 3 bar fuel regulator and ProMAX Motorsport chip. Fitting of the Level 2 kit takes a day and is beyond my meagre DIY talent so I booked the car in to ProMAX for them to perform the upgrade.

 

[TK2015]

Upon arrival at ProMAX I was impressed by their new premises. Andy, as friendly in person and on the phone, ran through the work to be carried out with me and then sent me on my way with the keys to the courtesy car. Things did not go entirely smoothly but that was only to be expected with an 18 year old car. The rich running was traced to a faulty MAF unit which was duly replaced with a reconditioned one and there was a small leak in one of the hard pipes in the induction system, once again replaced with a recon. When I came to collect Andy seemed very please with the car so I couldn't wait to drive it and to get it onto the rollers at the Mini Cantre.

Well I didn't need to go far to feel the difference WOW is all that I can say. I drove the first hour with a fixed grin and am surprised that I wasn't stopped on suspicion of partaking of recreational chemicals! Once the rev counter reached 3000 warp drive was engaged and the scenery was just thrown at me. Overtaking had become a breeze in any gear and the biggest danger was hitting three figure speeds far, far too easily.

The rollers at just confirmed what my buttocks already knew - massive increases all round. At 3800rpm torque peaked at 233 lb ft (up from 156 lb ft originally, an increase of 77lb ft or 49%!!!). The torque then dropped off but stayed above 200 lb ft all the way to 6000rpm. Similarly, at 3800rpm power was up to 170bhp (from 114bhp originally, an increase of 56bhp or 49%!!!). Peak power of 233bhp came at 6000rpm. Once again all readings at the wheels.

There are two traces below both showing the original situation with no mods against the Level 2 kit. The first is in 4th gear and is valid to about 5000rpm. The chip is mapped to produce peak power and torque in 4th but the Dyno at the Mini Centre is only rated to 140mph and as the 944 has tall gearing, they lifted off at about 5000rmp - hence the odd trace above that point. The second trace is in 3rd gear just to show the top end.

 

[TK2015]

In conclusion I should like to thank Andy at ProMAX and Steve at the Sleaford Mini Centre and to say that I am in no way connected with either establishment other than being a very satisfied customer

 

[Diver944]

Nice one Tom []

This is a good post because it not only shows a methodical approach with before and after tests to bring an oldish car back to peak condition and then to enhance it with some minor tweaking that most of us know will yield great results, but it's still good to see it on paper.

Enjoy your new car [8D]

 

[TK2015]

Thanks Paul - one of my pet hates is people who tune their cars then take them to the dyno and start spouting about how much they've increased the power - how do they know without a baseline <rant off>

I also wanted to see how far the car had degenerated in 18 years and what could be done for a modest price before embarking on serious(ish) tuning.

I'm glad that you enjoyed the post.


Off topic - but why am I showing as Non Member when I've put my membership number in my profile?

 

[Riverside]

ORIGINAL: TK
The rich running was traced to a faulty MAF unit which was duly replaced with a reconditioned one and there was a small leak in one of the hard pipes in the induction system, once again replaced with a recon.

You've made me start worrying about mine now []

Upping the power (and stress on an old car) isn't my goal but making sure it all works as intended is, it's interesting to see the before & after comparison with just regular service items & the vacuum kit.

 

[TK2015]

ORIGINAL: Riverside

You've made me start worrying about mine now []

Upping the power (and stress on an old car) isn't my goal but making sure it all works as intended is, it's interesting to see the before & after comparison with just regular service items & the vacuum kit.

Malc, it was you that got me started with all this. I was quite happy until I drove your lovely car and realised how flat mine was. In fact I should send you the bill [8D]

 

[sawood12]

Good stuff. I had my car dyno's on the rollers of truth before I completed the Promax L2 kit as I installed it in stages (first DPW & MBC at stock boost, then chips & 3bar FPR & increased boost to 1 bar), but since the rollers are no more I wont be able to complete the back-to-back measurement to see what effect the full install had. But interestinly with a DPW on an otherwise stock car running stock boost levels I achieved 240bhp. Just goes to show you how much the single port wastegate is costing you. Good to see you were happy with Promax. My experience of them is also very good.

By the way, what boost level are you running?

 

[TK2015]

1.1 bar

Was that 240bhp at the wheels or flywheel?

 

[sawood12]

Was flywheel. I reckon a shade over 200 rwhp. That was at 0.75bar boost so now i'm running 1.05bar.

 

[Suffolk944]

Certainly was very happy with my level 2 plus vacuum kit - made a huge difference to my car for a relatively small outlay.

Level 3 kit, plus KW suspension, plus their new mother of all exhausts (imo) which Andy kindly demonstrated to me the other week - oh and better brakes, is my next plan of action if my bank balance can cope []

 

[Suffolk944]

And I do like the look of TK's black wheels on a silver car...hmmm..

 

[Suffolk944]

TK - as far as getting "member" tagged on your display - you need to email the forum admin with your details and then generally wait quite a long time for them to press a button, or flick a switch, or do whatever they do to change your displayed details.

 

[TK2015]

ORIGINAL: Suffolk944

Level 3 kit, plus KW suspension, plus their new mother of all exhausts (imo) which Andy kindly demonstrated to me the other week - oh and better brakes, is my next plan of action if my bank balance can cope []

I'm not sure that I could cope with Level 3. It rained on the way back from Santa Pod yesterday and even on nearly new Goodyear F1's the back end was "quite lively" [] The torque comes in with such a rush at 3000rpm that I had to show unaccustomed restraint and learn how to flex my right ankle by only 1/10th of a degree []

The KW sounds great and I've read superb things about it but it's quite pricey, I'll probably just go for refurbishing the M030 Konis. (Oh and learn how to drive the car properly [])

 

[Fen]

M030 Konis will cost you more than KW if you don't have a set to rebuild. Also with a chunk more power than you have and track tyres the back of mine was fine unless it was greasy - I put that down to KW and proper alignment.

I've never had F1s on my 944 (though I have had them) but my indie says they are not a good tyre for the 944/968. I'm not sure if anyone else uses them on here for a personal opinion. I don't like the tread pattern aesthetically myself.