Tuning the 944 Lux

[Clint B]

Hi again guys.
Just finished reading the "why a 944" thread. Brilliant! My thoughts exactly. I'll add my story later this weekend. What I wanted to ask is what you guys with the Lux model (or any others really) have done in the way of performance tuning?? Have been thinking of a few things but I'm the sort of guy who likes to keep things pretty stock, but have been wondering about sensible modifications like air intake, exhaust system etc. I've just finished uprating all the front lights to new bright ones, but want to find out what you guys have done about air flow. Are we finding better gains (I know its hard to measure) with full induction kits, or just performance panel replacements?? Also, whats the exhaust of choice when it comes to the 944 in regards to non-offensive noise with decent performance gains??
Thanks in advance.

Clint.

 

[Guest]

The first thing I'd do on an N/A is to stiffen up the roll bars. you can get ones from a later turbo, or 968, and apparently it transforms it! have a search on here and you'll find a thread from a few guys who have done it.

second, have a look at the brakes. again, theres a recent thread on upgrading them to turbo brakes, but if you're only looking at small HP gains, just have a research on some decent pads.

once that's done, then have a look at the engine. The first point of call should be how air and fuel get into the engine, so either a MAF system (again, a recent thread), and a more free-flowing exhaust. A cat bypass pipe is the sensible (read cheaper and relatively quiet) route here, right upto a full 3" bore system (read loud, expensive, and is it really worth it?) Chips are also relatively easy at picking up a few HP on a stock-ish engine. This guy: http://frwilk.com/944dme/ seems to be the kiddy when it comes to chips for the 944 N/A.

after that, get your wallet out and start burning cash, or look at a turbo........

 

[Peter Empson]

I couldn't agree more with Mike.

If i was starting out again I'd probably do the following in roughly this order: pads, ARB's, intake (for the noise...) and chip.

A rechip may not make a major difference on paper but gave me a worthwhile improvement in driveability, throttle response, fuel economy, smoothness plus more low down torque.
I'm not sure how off the shelf chips compare but I've read many good things about the Promax ones and they are now one of the cheapest things out of the above list (this certainly wasnt the case a few years ago when £300 and upwards seemed to be the going rate).

We did do some experiments with the standard exhaust but never tried an off the shelf system. In the end we bypassed the smallest silencer and that seemed to liberate a bit more power without becoming too noisy.

Best regards,
Peter.

 

[Guest]

oh, one thing I forgot. there is an aftermarket throttle cam that's supposed to help out the driveability a (little) bit too. not sure if it's actually value for money though.

 

[Peter Empson]

I can definately recommend the throttle cable cam, its gives much more response at the start of the pedals movement and seems more linear throughout.
Best regards,
Peter.

 

[Clint B]

Thanks fellas!
Theres some food for thought there. Very sensible suggestions. I'll have a search around about pads and ARBs. Has anyone tried a K&N induction kit for the 944? From many forums about many different cars it seems those induction kits dont seem to make a lot of difference when compared to just a performance filter element replacement. Interesting about the MAF sensor too. I did start reading that thread, sounds like a worthwhile option. Having a look at that guys site about the chips. A lot of info there! Lastly, Peter, have you got a link or info on that throttle cable cam. Sounds interesting. Thanks for the info so far guys.

Clint.

 

[John Sims]

I agree with Peter, the throttle response cam is a must.

A K&N, or simillar, conical air filter conversion is great. It may not make you go any quicker but it certainly sounds like you are. [8D]

 

[Guest]

Throttle response cam http://www.porscheshop.co.uk/acatalog/porsche_944_engine_induction.html

 

[Clint B]

Looks like a pretty good shop there. Thanks for the post flamingeye. But I noticed it says "Fits Porsche 924S only" ?? Is this correct or is this common knowledge that it fits the 944 also, (as it is under the 944 section on the site).

 

[Fen]

I wouldn't get too excited about Porscheshop. Frequently they are the most expenive place to buy, sometimes selling dealer parts with a sizeable markup and their service isn't anything special either.

 

[Clint B]

Cheers for the heads up Fen. I'll be sure to have a good search round before parting with cash. Getting the ECU remapped, or an aftermarket chip has been in my mind since I bought the car. I'm not looking at lots of HP gain, cause im happy with the balance of the car, but would love to smooth out and increase the engine response/economy etc. Aside from getting the car proffesionally remapped, whats the best aftermarket chip to go for?? Still hearing good things about the ProMax product, but on the http://frwilk.com/944dme/ site it looks like some top geniune feedback on his chips also. Also, I found quite interesting was the option (on the order form page) on one of the chips to increase the rev limit to 7000rpm. Isn't there some sort of danger of blowing the engine up here? Or is that chip assuming you have other hard mods to the cam/rods/valves etc to cope with the extra 500rpm??

 

[Guest]

I suspect that the best bang for buck improvements you can make to engine performance on a lux will be the MAF kit. Apparently the old "barn door" system used on these case is quite restrictive and know were near as accurate when it comes to fueling the engine. I believe that a cone filter in the engine bay could possibly lose you power as the bay warms up (engines like cold air) but yes it would sound good.

 

[Guest]

Clint, whether 7k RPM is safe or not is a debateable question. Obviously Porsche put a 6.5k limit on there for a reason, but equally, car manufacturers will irk on the safe side in deciding a limit so as to not have engine reliability issues.

My take,... I have a 7k limit on mine too, and although it's there, you don't find yourself in that range very often in day to day driving. It's not as if you keep it at 6.5k all day long, so why should an extra 500 rpm make any real life difference? If it were an out and out race car, then I could imagine that 500 rpm would lessen the engine life, but equally on a race engine, it'd probably be rebuilt a lot more often.

Steve, while I agree that the AFM is restrictive (being a barn door and all), it's not necesarily the case that a MAF (and less restriction) will improve things a lot. Tuning with air inlet systems is not just a question of getting more air in there, but how it gets it there aswell. Although the MAF will be an obvious improvement, it's not necessarily a good value for money improvement on the N/A. It'll be interesting to see the outcome of the rolling road gains on the furry rodent from the MAF thread to gauge the value of the system. Let me put it this way, lets say a chip change gives you 10hp (I'm making assumptions here). the chip costs £200, and you fit it yourself. A MAF in the meantime costs £800 (lets say for the sake of arguement), fitting £150, the dyno time costs you £150, and you get 15hp. Now which is better value for money?

 

[John Sims]

Tuning a Lux is, unfortunately, never going to be good value. You can tweak the suspension and brakes, and heighten your driving pleasure, but trying to extract real power from a Lux is never going to be cheaper than selling the car and getting an S2 or Turbo.

The Lux is a lovely balanced car, and drives really well, but has one downside - it says Porsche on the back. Because of the name every Chav that lived will try and race you, realising that they might be in with a chance. In reality, on a track, you could probably make them look stupid. On the road the Lux doesn't have sufficient grunt to demonstrate its authority which means, were you stupid enough to be goaded, you would only prove the point well into licence losing speeds. A Turbo, on the other hand, once spooled up, can make some quite potent machinery look stupid very easily. As a result you can be well ahead of most things by the time you reach 70mph and have no reason to go any faster having already proved the point. Should you feel the need to go faster the ability to accelerate away from a car doing 70 always makes me grin - when ever I do it on a private road.[]

A late Lux is a great car, and probably a better car around twisty B roads than most cars produced over the last 20 years. It was one of those cars where everything was right. To make it better would be very difficult which is why Porsche didn't, they did something different.

 

[Guest]

The cheapest way to get reliable horsepower from a Lux is to sell it and get an S2, or a Turbo. By the time you pay out for mods, plus the indurance hike ("you've done what to it sir?") it's actually more cost effective.

Of course, that is the purely logical point of view. But then if we were all logical people we wouldn't be driving around in 15 to 20 year old Porsches. Go burn some cash on the old girl []

 

[Peter Empson]

Sorry for the shamless plug, but I'm selling some suitable ARB's and should also have a throttle response cam available next week from my old engine, so if you're interested please let me know.

My take on the 7000 rpm chip is that I wouldn't worry either way, you're well past peak power and the only use I can think of would be to hold onto the same gear through a corner, and even on track days I doubt you'd need it.
I used to change up at 5500-6000rpm on circuit and that'll land you straight back into the torque nicely without stressing the engine unnecessarily.

If you want to have real trackday fun get rid of some weight from the car and it'll be a hoot to drive []

Best regards,
Peter.

 

[sawood12]

Damn it! Peter beat me to it! I've got a turbo non-M030 front ARB going as well.

I am extremely sceptical as to the power gains claimed against K&N filters and induction kits. I've read plenty of evidence to suggest that within 1kmiles or so they have clogged up and will then be giving you roughly the same level of resistance as a standard paper filter so unless you are willing to clean them out every 1k miles or so they you are probably wasting your money. There is also plenty of opinion that even a clean element makes no real or noticable difference. In induction kit will make a nice sound though so they might be worth it for that reason alone.

I also doubt an extra 500 rpm on the red line will be too dangerous. The factors of safety the manufacturers put on these things mean that at 6.5k rpm you are very unlikely to be on the verge of the engine flying apart.

If you really want big bangs for your buck what about Nitrous Oxide? Kits are quite cheap and if you get one that is fairly mild in terms of the amount of Nox injected you should get a good level of performance increase without compromising the reliability and longevity of the engine.

 

[cornishgrose]

The best tune I have done to my Lux, as it is a automatic, is tighten the throttle response cam up in correspondance to my gear change. I have then had the car idling and then turned/ tuned the airflow screw by the throttle cam. As for that I have just kept it as was. Have been told off for trying to tune an already solid engine.
Me and a mate have videoed us getting it up to around 150mph, safely of course!

 

[Clint B]

First off, thanks again for the input guys. It sounds like the majority vote is "keep it stock". Which I personally think is sound advice. I couldn't imagine selling the lux at the moment because its in such perfect condition. I've looked at some S2s and turbos, but they seem to have nasty interior all the time?? I'm sure they're not all like that, and the late ones are probably really sweet. Secondly, Peter and sawood12, I'm interested in the ARBs and throttle cam. Is it possible to PM me with the details or pics?? So whats this M030 I keep hearing about? Is that the late turbo version or something?? Should I hold out for a M030 ARB or is the ones you guys are selling just as good?? Lastly, I wanted to mention that a friend of mine has a G-Tech device http://www.gtechpro.com/ and a few of us have been doing some runs with it with our different cars. Now I was sceptical about this little device, but it really does work and to a very fine accuracy. It all works off accelerometer and g-force metering devices inside, and it can calculate your speed/acceleration etc, and work out horsepower at wheels (you input the cars weight first), 0-60 times, 0-100, qtr mile etc. Basically im hitting 8.5secs 0-60, and I know it can be done quicker if I didnt have to change into 3rd right on 58mph and waste about half a second I recon. If I had that chip with the rev limit raised, I think a 8.2ish or less should be possible by keeping it in third. Anyone else played with a G-Tech device??

 

[Fen]

I have the basic G-Tech. It's pretty good for the £30 or so I paid for it but the road has to be flat for it to be anywhere near accurate. In terms of M030 it is the option code for the suspension upgrade most usually found on Turbos. I don't think it was available until the Silver Rose (which had it standard) in '88. '89 Turbos had it standard too and some later ones as an option. I took off more with the 968 where it included bigger brakes that the later Turbo already had (though maybe the S2 had it available and got the bigger brakes if it was specified?). The 968 M030 ARBs are "better" than the 944 ones in that they are thicker and the rear has rudimentary adjustment (3 positions; understeer, oversteer and a middle one []) but there are no stocks of 968 M030 fronts left in Porsche's network so you need to try to track one down in the wild before committing, or buy a 944 set.