what to do next?

[Fen]

Maybe I'm too ham-fitsted to feel the difference, but to my mind weight in a car of the 944's power makes less difference than in lower powered cars to the point where I don't think significant enough gains are available.

With an S2 weighing in at what, 1350kg, then 50kg is 3.7%. If the S2 makes the 211 bhp it should then that 3.7% weight reduction is equivalent to 7.8bhp, which I'd suggest is not enough to make a significant difference to the character of the car. I do agree making it noisier would make it feel faster however and I'm a great advocate of feeling fast being more worthwhile that actually being fast.

Anyway, what about an older 911? They aren't any faster than an S2, but they feel like they are.

 

[944 man]

I would certainly agree that weight saving gives a greater 'felt' performance benefit in a 160bhp model. Youd make up for it in the improved dynamics and the 'experience' (read: noise) though.

 

[RC18B 911 turbo]

I don't want an Exige as badly as I did any more but I do want something that is a bit quicker in a straight line, I've just found out that my car is quicker through the corners than an Exige anyway and both of us were going pretty hard by the looks of things as the back end on his stepped out a lot sooner than I expected.

I think that a turbo is the way forward for me but I'll have to have a look next year sometime as my wallet needs a bit of a cool down period from all the money I spent (wasted) on it during the summer.

I've been thinking that possibly the reason it may feel sluggish is that due to the lack of use and very short journeys it's been doing lately that might have affected the engine in some way it's booked for a service next week so I'll get it checked then. I suppose what it really needs is a good drive but I don't get enough time to any more due to having 2 jobs (fool I know) but I think when I get it back I'll try to get some time behind the wheel. It is certainly more fun and much quicker than any BM through too.

I used to own a 1/5th scale radio control 993 Gt2 which I used to race it was so much like the real GT2 but in miniature even down to being rear engined and rear wheel drive and a proper handful int
the wet, sold now sadly due to it costing me almost as much to run as the 944 (the tyres are actually more expensive at £150 a side for the decent ones.

 

[Tam Lin]

ORIGINAL: RC18B 911 turbo

..might have affected the engine in some way it's booked for a service next week so I'll get it checked then. I suppose what it really needs is a good drive

From what I've read, these things are sensitive to correct timing of the cams, and even slight changes due to e.g. belt stretch make a difference in response and torque.

I've only owned an M44.41 powered car for a short while, and am quite pleased with the acceleration, even while it's running in the new piston rings, but one of the reasons I got it was to be able to play around (i.e. throw money at) it in future. A spare head, 968 valves, throttle bodies and a less prehistoric engine management system are my route to becoming really poor.

 

[333pg333]

I would just add that stepping out of an S2 and into a stock turbo might be more of a change than you imagined. In that the S2 has shorter gearing and combined with the extra 500cc and higher compression, you could easily find a stock (esp 220bhp model) turbo quite a different beast. I have a stock '86 and it just feels like it's starts to get moving and runs out of puff for a variety of reasons. However I would imagine that you would get a reasonable amount if you sold, swapped, or traded your S2 in on a turbo and modified it with some relatively simple upgrades, you would have something that should satisfy your need for straight line speed. Not sure quite why the emphasis is on s.l.speed however? Conversely you could by a cheap set of 2nd wheels and get some track rubber and go and learn to drive your S2 on a track. Racing on the street really isn't the same and I've done enough of it to know.

My advice is that you're still very young (good luck to you). You can have a great car if you buy a good turbo and modify it correctly. I would actually try and buy one that is lightly modified and then do a lot of reading and asking around (UK and abroad), then make a plan of attack and save up to do / buy whatever that involved. If you haven't done much or any trackwork, I would try that first as it is highly addictive and that may help set your ultimate course. There are plenty of people on this forum and others who will gladly help you make some decisions.

Good luck.

 

[sawood12]

Well I have to say that now i've experienced a boosted car i'd be reluctant to go back to N/A. N/A's may give the appearance of being as quicker due to the more instantaneous power delivery but unless you're looking over a short distance a turbo car is much quicker. Lag is something you get with turbo'd cars and is something you simply adjust to. If you're really on it you'll learn to think ahead and plan your gearchanges to avoid being caught off boost. Once you've learned to adjust your driving style to account for the power band and how to tame the step change in power and torque delivery once the turbo comes on then you quickly learn just how awsomely quick these cars can be. It is genuinly scarry sometimes - you get that Star Wars Millenium Falcon kicking into Hyperdrive tunnel vision effect. Well I do at least. It's a real buzz and you'd have to be driving some really expensive supercar exotica to get anywhere near the same thrill, or alternatively some stripped out uncomfortable scaffold on wheels car - but I get it in the comfort and relative refinement of a 944. Even quicker hot hatches like the R32 somehow don't seem to feel as raw as a 944 turbo. So you know which camp gets my vote!!

Pat is right about the 220 turbo's feeling like they run out of puff at higher RPM, that is definately a characteristic, however by that time you notice it and look at your speedo and realise that you are already in automatic lisence-loosing territory it is just as well. I only really notice the boost bleed when accellarating in 5th from about 70mph. Of course all this experimentation is carried out in carefully controlled conditions on a private road or track[8|]

 

[TTM]

The S2 is a great car but will hardly display its qualities as a weekend or toy car - long distance cruising is what it's mostly about.

If my job gave me the opportunity to test many fast cars on a daily basis I would certainly be looking at cars quite more radical than a 944 turbo. Modified VX220T springs to mind, or a Caterfield of the super fast genre.

If you have kept the original parts of your S2 then I think your best choice is to turn your car back to its original spec, sell it as is and sell the upgrades in order not to lose too much money.

 

[RC18B 911 turbo]

I do remember driving a 944 turbo at work and I remember enjoying it quite a bit I think it was a red 220 I quite liked the shove in the back as it came on boost but I also remember driving a black 220 turbo and that was wretched heap truly horrible and didn't have much go when it was on boost either and it failed on a suspension component of some sort so handling was heavily comprinised.

 

[peanut]

ORIGINAL: RC18B 911 turbo

I do remember driving a 944 turbo at work and I remember enjoying it quite a bit I think it was a red 220 I quite liked the shove in the back as it came on boost but I also remember driving a black 220 turbo and that was wretched heap truly horrible and didn't have much go when it was on boost either and it failed on a suspension component of some sort so handling was heavily comprinised.

jeezus ,take a breath and stick a bit of punctuation in there somewhere ![][]

 

[RC18B 911 turbo]

it was done at midnight just as I had finished work and on the iPhone far to much effort for any punctuation[]

 

[peanut]

no wonder. I nearly passed out reading your post ![][][][]