924Board.org

[US924s]

I can't bring myself to gut my 924S and turn it into a racer. Its just too pretty. I can't bring myself to sell it either. I love it too much. I must say its the best handling car I've ever driven.
As soon as I get the software for my digital camera replaced I'll post some pics. The wife straightened up the computer area - the disc is now MIA.
So that leaves me with only one logical option. I need to buy another one I dont mind turning into a racer. Should I start with the 924 or the 924S. What about replacement parts cost and availability? 2.0 vs 2.5L rebuild cost? Obviously I want to be as cheap but as competitive as possible.

[dgz924s]

Well if it makes you feel better or help you decide I have an 87 and it was near mint and a garage queen and faced a decision such as yours. I decided to race it....cost in return for keeping it nice and mint is minimal really unless the buyer is uneducated or a collector. These are not collector cars so rule that out. 944 is a different story due to the interest and one can get more out of the car if cherry but rare with a 924S.
I have been tracking mine for 2.5 years and I still have a nice car. A few more signs of wear but nothing a coat of polish etc can't handle. And I could probably get more out of it now set up for racing than if still stock.

Two of these cars regardless of the year is not going to save any money just have to pay for 2 now. One daily and one track car is going to take 2.5 times the cash to maintain..... .5= racing adds more
My advise is either track the 924S or sell it and buy a track car or accept the idea of spending more money than you intend and have both cars. Dal

[ryoji]

Whom do you want to compete with? Which classes, series? This answers you the size of a engine. The cost is next. You spend more than your original plan anyway (I do not see much difference between). Start with a right engine against your competitors. That saves you money at the end.
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R.I.P.:a 924 ITA race car

[US924s]

GTS and IT.

"Start with a right engine against your competitors. That saves you money at the end."

Um, thats what I'm asking. 2.0 vs 2.5 - cost, reliability, performance

I dont mind spending more money on both vehicles. The 924S has personal value to me. It was willed to me by my father-in-law. I don't think my wife would enjoy seeing it come home twisted. It happens and I have no misconceptions. I've raced SCCA SR's for years. Even in the spec class things get expensive. What I am asking is is it cheaper to field a 924 or a 924S and which one is more competitive. Do I basically turn a 924 into a 924S with a 2 liter engine and wish I had a 2.5?

B.t.w. the wife gave me the thumbs up too. It doesnt get any better than that. I just have to find a place to keep the boat now that I'll have 2 Porsches in the garage.

[Neil924]

Well, could you live with being in the middle of the pack? If so, 924. If you want to race for the lead I would suggest the S. I haven't raced these cars, buy I assume the S on the back make a good difference in overall enjoyment. In terms of how much more per year the 924S is, I don't know. 1, 2 grand? I doubt it would be 4 or 5.

[ryoji]

When you run races in GTS, either should be fine as long as you can manage its weight. But, I think you want to run faster and faster in general. Then...

924 will be in the middle of a pack in ITB next year. It is in the back of a pack in ITA. I was happy with my 924 but not in the back of a pack at all. 944 and 924S is in ITS. It is not quite a front runner in the NorthEast. However, in some other region, it seems to be.

Anyway, I believe the cost of parts/labor are almost the same.
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R.I.P.:a 924 ITA race car

[924RACR]

I think being in Rec Racers that you can appreciate the level of committment needed to run at the front of the pack - so I won't go on about that. I feel that the 2.0L 924 will be a solid ITB car, assuming the BOD approves that for next year (still pending, but expected to happen). However, it will be a GTS1 car, and participation there is still perhaps a bit light (though building slowly). The 2.0L car can receive a lot of lightening from IT prep before it's at the top of the GTS1 class.

The 924S is a not-so-hot ITS car (any more than the 944), but is not looking to receive relief from the CRB any time soon. Therefore I suspect it may not be any more fun, and could in fact be less fun, to run in IT than the 2.0L car. It's hard to believe that it can continue to be competitive with the E36 BMW in IT prep.

OTOH, you'll have good competition in GTS (and even in PCA, if you choose to play there) - GTS2 has some of the best participation of all the classes.

The cars share the common strengths of suspension and brakes, though the rear suspension can be a real PITA to set up. The engine will be, as expected, the real division point. The 2.0L is cheap and easy to build; OTOH power output in IT trim is limited, and there was a real spate of catastrophic failures recently that raised questions about durability in race trim. That said, I got 3 full seasons out of my first motor (stock rebuild). I think I may have finally figured out some of the tricks with this motor now (thanks in large part to the help from others on this board), but only time will tell. I'm thinking I'll need to rebuild every 1-2 seasons, depending on what the engine looks like at the end of this season.

As for the 2.5L, they seem more expensive to build properly and fully, from what I hear, and there are some secrets from Jon Milledge that you need to follow to keep the engine alive in competition - oil management, etc. OTOH, the improved competitiveness may be worth a slightly higher budget. Perhaps it's more the initial engine build that's more expensive with the 2.5L, not maintenance/refreshing.
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Vaughan Scott
Webmeister
'79 924 #77 SCCA H Prod racecar
'82 931 Plat. Silver
#25 Hidari Firefly P2 sports prototype

[jesse wall]

I like the s , running 944 cup as super light , not too super light yet but is great fun ;even 250 lbs overweight , soon to be only 100 btw , run what pleases you find the s suits me , still have lots to do and many quesstions to answer , let me know if I can help Jesse
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jesse wall 'new driver' , 87 924s

[jesse wall]

can not seem to post new topic on racing site , so will ask what wheels tires and track do you guys suggest on 924s , can widen up to 6 inches and can go up to 10 inch wheels with any tire that can fit under wheel well , can flare , super cup rules , when do you over tire ? want to stick to 15 inch wheels for suspension and ride height reasons running 7 x 15 with 225kuhmos shaved doing ok but was better with 225 hoosiers, thought about trying Diamond steel racing wheels 15 x 7 is less than 16 lbs nad 15 x 10 is 18 lbs about same as 7 x15 phone dial , 18.5 lbs according to charts , goodyear makes a tire for the 10 inch wheel that is 11 plus wide with a 10.3 inch footprint , would this be to much ? car dynos at 133 to rear wheels and weighs 2300 lbs now with half gas and no driver , soon to loose 150 lbs , doors hood etc,can widen track up to ep rules which is about 6 inches more than stock , this would be acomplished by getiing about 4 inch backspace on 10 inch wheel and maybe 3 inch on 7 inch wheel thanks for any advice Jesse
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jesse wall 'new driver' , 87 924s

[924RACR]

I'm not sure that much more than 7 or 8" rims would help - same reason you want smaller diameter rims, keep the weight down, minimize rolling resistance with narrower tires for higher speed tracks, etc...

As for your posting problem, it doesn't make sense, sounds like it's timing out for some dumb reason - contact Peter_in_AU (board admin, also at peter@924.org) for further assistance...
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Vaughan Scott
Webmeister
'79 924 #77 SCCA H Prod racecar
'82 931 Plat. Silver
#25 Hidari Firefly P2 sports prototype

[jesse wall]

thanks for the help , will stick to stock shape for now , want everybody to know what a 924 looks like anyway Jesse
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jesse wall 'new driver' , 87 924s

[924RACR]

Yeah! 'Course, they look a lot like a 944 from behind...
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Vaughan Scott
Webmeister
'79 924 #77 SCCA H Prod racecar
'82 931 Plat. Silver
#25 Hidari Firefly P2 sports prototype

[jesse wall]

well a size 12 looks a lot different from behind than an 18 , next time I am sideways just consider that it is a profile shot Jesse
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jesse wall 'new driver' , 87 924s