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Quick upgrades for somebody who is new to working on cars.
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RancidLatte  



Joined: 28 Aug 2018
Posts: 22
Location: Corpus Christi Texas

PostPosted: Wed Aug 29, 2018 12:40 am    Post subject: Quick upgrades for somebody who is new to working on cars. Reply with quote

I come to a lot of forums and other websites that are full of people who have been working on trans axle Porsches for years, and have tons of experience. My 1987 924s is my first car and I am new to working on cars in general. I would like to give my car a little more power and oomph. It has 9300 miles and was garage kept sitting for probably 20 years. We buffed the paint out, changed all of the fluids, and have the car running pretty nice. I have bought a set of American Racing torq thrust d 15 inch rims but I will keep the original phone dials when it comes to resale. I would like to make the car a little quicker but I am brand new to modifying and working on cars. I was told to install a K&N cone style air filter, a throttle cam, and a performance chip, three upgrades that I have looked into and believe I could do myself. Does anybody have any other ideas for what I could do to make the car a little quicker? I think the suspension upgrades are pretty straight forward, and I have actually helped my dad install a lift kit on a jeep.
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snakoil  



Joined: 09 Feb 2010
Posts: 362
Location: Montreal, Canada

PostPosted: Wed Aug 29, 2018 3:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Did you mention to your relationship that you owned a Porsche 924 and not a Honda Civic?

While those a common first DIY mods for Honda boys your 924s doesn't have the same aftermarket support.
K&N cone style will do nothing for performance (not sure if 924s engine still use the CIS injection, in that case you should forget about SRAM intakes)
Aftermarket Throttle Cams are non existant and will need to be custom made
ECU chips I'll let the 2.5 guys answer that as my 1979 doesn't even have an ECU

The 924 is not a good base for "aftermarket shop" tuning.
You can look at lindseyracing to get a rough list of what is available
https://www.lindseyracing.com/

This is probably not the first time you'll hear this but money spent on your driving skills are better investment than on your engine.
Keep the car well maintained and get yourself track sessions or racing schools if you really want to improve your speed.
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Cedric  



Joined: 27 Aug 2004
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Location: Sweden

PostPosted: Wed Aug 29, 2018 3:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Throttle cams do exist, could be fun for the feeling of the car. The feeling is more important than actual horsepower, since those will be few

If it was my car i would start by sorting the suspension, good tyres and bushings, shifter bushings, rebuilt brakes with hawk pads etc.

When the car feels nice amd tight I would build a full exhaust for the sound, and and maybe add a performance cam to make it more rev happy and more fun to drive, and maybe a performance chip from someone i trust, there seems to be some horses there aswell. Then i would be happy and enjoy a great fun car and put the money on track days
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Paul  



Joined: 02 Nov 2002
Posts: 9491
Location: Southeast Wisconsin

PostPosted: Wed Aug 29, 2018 12:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Welcome to the board.

Thanks for saving another 924!

Not to be harsh but all three of your performance "upgrades" are a waste of money. Save your money to properly maintain the car. How are the timing and balance shaft belts?
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Silver 98 986 3.6l 320 HP "Frank N Stein"
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Goldwolf  



Joined: 25 Jun 2017
Posts: 264
Location: Athens,GA

PostPosted: Wed Aug 29, 2018 5:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You have a 924S which has the 944 engine. Do the front engine service if not done. It has an interference engine so the timing belt is important.

There are chips for the ECU, I think anything for the 944 engine will work. Not sure if the suspension and other things match the 944.

The thing should be pretty fast, not melt your face fast, but quick.
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morghen  



Joined: 21 Jan 2005
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 29, 2018 7:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

There are performance chips available for maybe a tiny bit more actual max power but they offer more power in the lower RPMs which considerably enhances performance.

For the chip I will give you two links, I suggest you call them or email them to ask about if the chip will work for USA cars and details like that.
Werk924 is a great place with the owner being very knowledgeable and helpful. Woolies offered a chip for the 924S that they tested as well and they said the difference is noticeable.
But I think there are providers of performance enhancing chips in USA as well if you don't want to be importing from Europe.

Look here: http://werk924.com/

And here: https://wooliesworkshop.com/

To refresh the car I suggest:

Stiffer springs, uprated sway bars, polyurethane bushings and new modern dampers. Also, keep the exact same tire size, and wheel width AND ET, otherwise the handling characteristics will change and not likely for the best...making you miss out on what this car is all about.

Also, do that front end service PROPERLY, it is sensitive and critical to the engine. If you mess it up, total damage on the engine. If you don't do it in time, same thing. Don't play around with the timing on a 924S.
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macBdog  



Joined: 16 Aug 2004
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Location: Brisbane, Australia

PostPosted: Fri Aug 31, 2018 9:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Glad you have got the car running and enjoyable!

If I could go back in time to when I first got my 924 I would tell myself to treat it like an aircraft. Do the maintenance correctly, respect the engineers that designed the car, restore it to original condition and commit to being a better driver and mechanic.

Of course that doesn't address your friend who spent $50 to turn the boost up on their skyline and gets all the girls drifting around car parks at night. Only two things for that: a well placed telephone pole and a track day at a course you know well.
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RancidLatte  



Joined: 28 Aug 2018
Posts: 22
Location: Corpus Christi Texas

PostPosted: Fri Sep 07, 2018 2:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

morghen wrote:
There are performance chips available for maybe a tiny bit more actual max power but they offer more power in the lower RPMs which considerably enhances performance.

For the chip I will give you two links, I suggest you call them or email them to ask about if the chip will work for USA cars and details like that.
Werk924 is a great place with the owner being very knowledgeable and helpful. Woolies offered a chip for the 924S that they tested as well and they said the difference is noticeable.
But I think there are providers of performance enhancing chips in USA as well if you don't want to be importing from Europe.

Look here: http://werk924.com/

And here: https://wooliesworkshop.com/

To refresh the car I suggest:

Stiffer springs, uprated sway bars, polyurethane bushings and new modern dampers. Also, keep the exact same tire size, and wheel width AND ET, otherwise the handling characteristics will change and not likely for the best...making you miss out on what this car is all about.

Also, do that front end service PROPERLY, it is sensitive and critical to the engine. If you mess it up, total damage on the engine. If you don't do it in time, same thing. Don't play around with the timing on a 924S.


Thank you very much for the input, I think I will do the throttle cam for the throttle response and choose one of the chip upgrades that you recommended me. I am unfamiliar with 'front end service'. Is that the timing belt and other engine maintenance stuff? I know how to change oil, power steering fluid, brakes, and other things like suspension from helping my dad with his cars. Other than that I am new to working on cars. I have mechanic family members that could help me with specifics, but do you have a small list of things that I can focus on maintaining for 'front end service'.
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RancidLatte  



Joined: 28 Aug 2018
Posts: 22
Location: Corpus Christi Texas

PostPosted: Fri Sep 07, 2018 2:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

snakoil wrote:
Did you mention to your relationship that you owned a Porsche 924 and not a Honda Civic?

While those a common first DIY mods for Honda boys your 924s doesn't have the same aftermarket support.
K&N cone style will do nothing for performance (not sure if 924s engine still use the CIS injection, in that case you should forget about SRAM intakes)
Aftermarket Throttle Cams are non existant and will need to be custom made
ECU chips I'll let the 2.5 guys answer that as my 1979 doesn't even have an ECU

The 924 is not a good base for "aftermarket shop" tuning.
You can look at lindseyracing to get a rough list of what is available
https://www.lindseyracing.com/

This is probably not the first time you'll hear this but money spent on your driving skills are better investment than on your engine.
Keep the car well maintained and get yourself track sessions or racing schools if you really want to improve your speed.


I am not going to be ricing out the car. I just wanted to turn what is already a super fun handling 2 seater german sports car into a sub 7 second 0-60 time car. I understand the part support isn't that of a Honda Civic, but I have read that this car in particular shares tons of parts with the 944 of the same years, and has other VW parts. Throttle Cams are existent too for the 2.5. I also have heard from other forums that cone filters change the engines cabin sound and add a tad bit of power. Nobody seems to agree on these things.
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RancidLatte  



Joined: 28 Aug 2018
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Location: Corpus Christi Texas

PostPosted: Fri Sep 07, 2018 3:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cédric wrote:
Throttle cams do exist, could be fun for the feeling of the car. The feeling is more important than actual horsepower, since those will be few

If it was my car i would start by sorting the suspension, good tyres and bushings, shifter bushings, rebuilt brakes with hawk pads etc.

When the car feels nice amd tight I would build a full exhaust for the sound, and and maybe add a performance cam to make it more rev happy and more fun to drive, and maybe a performance chip from someone i trust, there seems to be some horses there aswell. Then i would be happy and enjoy a great fun car and put the money on track days


Sounds good, I will probably do the throttle cam, invest in a genuine chip and suspension upgrades. Shifter bushings would make the cars gear changes more satisfying and direct right? I dont live near a track though.
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RancidLatte  



Joined: 28 Aug 2018
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Location: Corpus Christi Texas

PostPosted: Fri Sep 07, 2018 3:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Paul wrote:
Welcome to the board.

Thanks for saving another 924!

Not to be harsh but all three of your performance "upgrades" are a waste of money. Save your money to properly maintain the car. How are the timing and balance shaft belts?


They seem ok to me, but I dont know what I am looking for, they arent cracked, loose, worn down looking or anything, how can you tell if they need replacing?
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Paul  



Joined: 02 Nov 2002
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 08, 2018 3:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you don't know how old they are, most of us would recommend that you have the front of the engine service done. This consists of the replacement of all four belts, the rollers, and the water pump. Some of us also replace the balance shaft seals.

Failure to do this can result in at least bent valves and damaged pistons.

This should be the first thing you spend money on.
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White 87 924S "Ghost"
Silver 98 986 3.6l 320 HP "Frank N Stein"
White 01 986 "Christine"
Polar Silver 02 996TT. "Turbo"
Owned and repaired 924s since 1977
Porsche: It's not driving, it's therapy.
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RancidLatte  



Joined: 28 Aug 2018
Posts: 22
Location: Corpus Christi Texas

PostPosted: Sat Sep 08, 2018 6:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

How often will I have to do this after this time? Is it an every 10k thing?
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Paul  



Joined: 02 Nov 2002
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 08, 2018 6:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This question is like asking what oil to use, there's a lot of opinions.

Some recommend every 3 years or 30,000 miles. I find that too short, but I do a visual and check them with the Porsche tensioning tool at every oil change.
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White 87 924S "Ghost"
Silver 98 986 3.6l 320 HP "Frank N Stein"
White 01 986 "Christine"
Polar Silver 02 996TT. "Turbo"
Owned and repaired 924s since 1977
Porsche: It's not driving, it's therapy.
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Paul  



Joined: 02 Nov 2002
Posts: 9491
Location: Southeast Wisconsin

PostPosted: Sat Sep 08, 2018 7:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Try to find out from the previous owner when they were done last.
_________________
White 87 924S "Ghost"
Silver 98 986 3.6l 320 HP "Frank N Stein"
White 01 986 "Christine"
Polar Silver 02 996TT. "Turbo"
Owned and repaired 924s since 1977
Porsche: It's not driving, it's therapy.
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