944 track day experience?

[sjm18]

Hi there,

Just wondering if anyone has any experience (or advice) about running a Porsche 944 as a track-day car? It's this or an E30 M3, but it occurs to me that I could get a 944 and tweak it up a bit for the same sort of money as a good E30 M3 would cost, and I won't be quite so upset if I prang a panel. Anyone run a 944 like this, or any advice would be much appreciated.

[james s]

Yes we currently have a 944 turbo as a track car. Reliable and reaonable to run. Great in the dry -a handful in the wet. If I were doing it again I'd proably get an S2 as I'd have more confidence in the wet, but turbos come with more of the essentials like thickers ARBs , brakes etc as standard

I'm not very good by the way - if you are quite good 944 turbos are fantastic and wuite hard to beat

[sjm18]

Thanks James. I think I'll be in the "really poor" category as I have never even done a track day. I've had 3 911s (911, 964 Turbo II, 993) but have now decided to get a cheaper Porsche but actually learn to use it as they intended! 944 would probably be much better balanced on track?

[davyboy]

If you just want a normal 2.5 944, there are other cars that give you the same power for cheaper!

Maybe not the cost of the car, but you need to think about upgrades etc. I bet you could get a E30 325 to go faster for less.

[sjm18]

Fair point. I did wonder about a 325, but figured I'd have to do quite a bit to the suspension/ brakes etc. to have any real fun with it

[davyboy]

Removing weight and adding some suspension on either should be enough to have some fun.

I'd imagine there would be a better choice of suspension for the E30

[steil]

There's probably not much in it in terms of cost for 944 or M3 - they're both fairly old & could do with suspension upgrade/replacement, brake rebuild etc. The handy thing with a 944 is that you can easily get a set of track wheels in the back & it's available in RHD if that's important.

[instructormike]

Depends on your budget.

944 in S2 guise is a great car, really liked mine. 944 turbo has real grunt (and there's one floating about at the moment for reasonable money that's track fettled). 968 sport is good - or CS would handle better. They're all really well balanced but 944s can sometimes be be a little pendulous in the wet with the wrong tyre choice. High polar moment of inertia with the front engine/box at the back. What about an E36 M3? More choice and better value than the E30? With a bit of work on springs/dampers I find it handles better than my old S2 and up with the 968CS, which demands a 12K plus budget for a decent one, once prepped for track.

We went to look for a 944S2 for another trackday teaching car but ended up with an M3 and have found it excellent in all conditions. But it would be boring if everyone did the same. There are quite a few 944 2.5s floating about that are ex-racecars at reasonable money which would be fun.

All depends what you want out of your trackdays. You could always buy a cheap Cat D Clio Cup. Excellent cars. Such choice......

[sjm18]

Thanks Mike - very interested to read your views. You're right, there is a lot of choice - too much probably. I have considered the later M3, but always fancied the first M3 when it came out so have a soft spot for it. More thinking is required....!

[edh]

I have a 944 turbo - used as a second car / trackday car, and I think they are a pretty good compromise. Mine is stiffer/lower & set up for track use but still comfy enough for the trip to Le Mans last summer

What's your budget? a reasonable turbo will be in the £6-8k region - the later ones are more powerful, have bigger brakes, stiffer suspension, LSD, leather sports seats, and A/C (often not working though)

There's lots of good info available here & plenty of track enthusiasts.

www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tt.asp?forumid=15

you will need to either buy one that's already sorted, or spend some time & money on it, particularly refreshing suspension & brakes. Some are starting to rust now, so need a careful check. It's a 15-20 year old car, so is bound to need some work, and will need regular maintenance. Independent Porsche specialists aren't too expensive, s/h parts are reasonably cheap, but new parts can be pricy

This one looks like a reasonable bet - hard to come close at the price.

www.pistonheads.com/sales/112790.htm

The turbos are a bit tricky in the wet, (ask me how I know ) and can be a bit frustratingly off-boost coming out of slow corners. On a circuit like Donington or Silverstone they are great. The S2 will have some advantages being n/a, but won't be much cheaper to run, and needs more work to make it go well on the track. The n/a 2.5 944 is very cheap but not that fast.

[doctorpepper]

instructormike said:

Depends on your budget.

968 sport is good - or CS would handle better.......

They both had the same suspension from the factory so apart from being a bit heavier the sport is exactly the same as a CS? unless its an M030 car

instructormike said:

There are quite a few 944 2.5s floating about that are ex-racecars at reasonable money which would be fun.

......

There are indeed currently a number of 944 race cars that are up for sale, some of these are even road legal. - these will already have all of the goodies that you need for a proper track car, adjustable suspension, cage, seats and harnesses, as well as lightweight body panels!... there is one I know that will do a 3:05 at Spa... and its for sale.

Used to have an E30 M3 and found that a lot of the bits on it were "M3 only" and that meant £££.. I now run an S2 track car and have found a good garage that knows them inside out and wont rip you off! lots of VAG parts to be found on them!

[sjm18]

Thanks fellas! All very useful. I had a good think last night and have pretty much decided that a 944 is the route for me. I'm inclined towards the S2 so as to avoid turbo-lag. I used to run a 964 Turbo II, and loved it - even the turbo-lag - somehow added to the whole drama of it, but I think on a track it would be less fun! That red 944 Turbo does look VERY good though!