Turbo or S2?

[Diver944]

ORIGINAL: zcacogp

We need more input from people who have owned both. Come on lads, step forward, don't be shy ...

Ooooh that's me then, but we know how backward I am in coming forward about my cars

I bought my Turbo to replace the S2 because I was fed up catching faster cars at the corners of trackdays but couldn't get past on the straight unless they made a concerted effort to lift off and let me past. Apart from that an S2 and Turbo are virtually identical, but they just deliver their power in slightly different ways. An S2 feels responsive low down but gets comparatively out of breath as you progress up the rev counter. A Turbo 'feels' lack lustre at low revs but gives you a huge kick in the back and just takes off from 3000rpm onwards.

In reality when you look at the power graphs in the manual and all the speed statistics from magazines of the day they are very very similar, but the Turbo is always slightly faster. Even at the slow speeds it is faster, but it just feels lacklustre in comparison to the huge shove you are about to have. The only area I can find where the S2 has more power than the Turbo is below 2000rpm, where it has about 5 bhp more and 20lbft. Once past 2500rpm the Turbo has 20bhp more and 20lbft more, after 3000rpm it's 25 and 30 respectively. On the road they are virtually identical, my wife and I could always keep up with eachother no matter what car we were in.

When I used both to commute 80 miles back and forth to work on A roads and motorway they would both cover 400 miles to a tank, though the Turbo has a bigger tank and the light would be on [] Around town you would learn to be in 2nd gear below 30mph in the Turbo in case you had to squirt into a space or traffice suddenly sped up. In the S2 you can make the same progress in 3rd.

The underlying feeling has always been if you will be happy with standard performance then get an S2. If you feel you would eventually like a bit more then get a Turbo, if you want a lot more get a Turbo and hide your bank statements from the Missus

 

[924nutter]

I am lucky enough to own one of the lowest mileage 944 turbos in the U.K. It is bog standard, and let me tell you gents around town it is not funny. Being a cabrio every Tom Dick and Harry thinks they're Ayrton Senna, and they seem to be attracted to the 944 like flies to excrement. The trouble with the turbo is there are no half measures at the traffic light grand prix. You either bog or its a mental pull away, and even with the LSD the car will easily break traction. In the wet it does it in third, and that is no fun at all. It is like the unpopular 944s only worse. Great for a weekend warrior but for pleasureable pootling I would go for the S2, or even the 968 maybe, but of course for the 968 get written confirmation, like a recipt for work done, to give you peace of mind over the vario-cam chain tensioner and camshaft sprockets

 

[nick3814]

ORIGINAL: NeilW

Nick, I'll give you a spin in mine at the next R3 meeting if you like. May even let you work the controls if you promise not to bend her []

Apart from the better acceleration, flatter cornering and more powerful braking, the main difference is weight. It's immediately obvious that you are hussling a lot more weight around every corner.

Cheers Neil I would appreciate that, not having been in either even as a passenger []

I must say I've never been a huge fan of turbo charging, my 9-3 aero is turbo'd and although entertaining in the wet if it catches you in a corner on boost its a flippin pig, and thats fwd, I can imagine when the drive is at the rear it can be a whole lotta fun but quite dangerous too [&:], where as I love a large NA engine, my 911sc is mint for pulling like a train in any gear as its so light it manouvers so much better and I can not envisage a day when I don't own a 911 (I know, I know, not on this forum [] !!) but I love the 944's and as the lux is turning into my almost daily driver I crave a little more power so this is making interesting reading lads, had a feeling it would be like opening a can of worms[][][]

 

[marky123]

Nick, had my S2 for a few months now, and after having a number of turbocharged cars, including saab turbos i can say that the initial take off is not so impressive, however put your fut down in the S2 and you get a good torquey start, and at about 4000 rpm you get a second surge which is superb. I think the best thing about the S2 it it's ability to remain easy to drive in all situations, as said before, you can bimble about day to day and its an easy to drive as an audi or a vw, but put your right foot down and you know it's a porsche!

By the way, I have the blue S2 that was a few cars down from you at Croft last year. Nice 911, i think without doubt it's the one i'd have if funds would allow..

Mark.

 

[sawood12]

The thing about turbo lag is that you know it is there and it is predictable. You can, if you can be bothered, drive the car around the lag so unless you are in a lazy mood you can avoid it in most situations - though it takes some forethought. On take off you can slip the clutch to get a fast but not full-on tyre-melting start, you can accellarate mid-corner by feathering the throttle just as the boost comes in to get good accellaration without upsetting the cars balance. The only time i'll concede that lag is a problem is accellarating out of low speed corners where you physically don't have low enough gears to get the revs up into the boost zone. The S2 is a lazier car to drive, but if you are prepared to use the gearbox the turbo lag need not be a millstone round your neck.

Personally I love the sheer exhilaration when the boost comes in. Between 3krpm and about 4500 rpm they are pretty much a match for the vast majority of stuff out there. After 4500 rpm they start to run out of puff - well the K26/6 cars do at least, still quick but just running out of steam.

S2's are fabulous cars but more of a purist thing. They are more the cutsie, well-behaved girl next door as opposed to the dirty stop-out that will try to lead you off the rails at every opportunity.

 

[appletonn]

ORIGINAL: sawood12



S2's are fabulous cars but more of a purist thing. They are more the cutsie, well-behaved girl next door as opposed to the dirty stop-out that will try to lead you off the rails at every opportunity.

Love the analogy![][][]

Give me the dirty stop out every time.....[]

 

[charles.y]

I persoanlly prefer the girl necxt door type .....

The S2 may be lack of power (on paper) compares to a tweaked 951, but in daily drive you probably wouldn't notice it.

I have done a few tweaks to the S2 cab which now feels a much better car since I bought it 2.5 years ago. And this car will stay with me for a long time. Here are the tweaks I have done:
1) Replace the mid silencer with a s.steel straight thru pipe. The S2 immediately feels more responsive and sounds better too. I guess it may also add a few bhp too.
2) Add an adjustable strut brace which improves cornering (a big plus to the cab)
3) Replace the OEM chip which improves driveability
4) Replace all tired shocks with OEM shocks which improves rides (big time)
5) Replace the distributor and rotor arm and inition leads
6) New brake calipers

IMO, I just couldn't find a similar car with such entertainment value, performance, 50/50 well balanced chassis, heritage, price and running cost and the look. Oh, I can also put two small kids in the back too and a good size boot.

Before I bought the S2 cab, I tested drive the Jag XKR cab, Merc CLK 320 cab and none of them gave me the half that I get from the S2 cab.