924Board.org

ic932 · Joined: 11 Feb 2005 Posts: 1104 Location: UK

I think Paul's expierence should suffice.

don't forget, there is a reason why the 931 was dropped in favour of the 944. Realiability must of been a factor. That extra 500cc + EFI with similar performance figures doesn't seem a bad trade off? And all this in a CGT pressed steel body.......Credit where credit's due, compare the 82 model 931 with the new 82 model 944. I wonder which one you would of choosen?

BIG edit.. compare the 924 to the 944 and the 931 to the 951.

ideola · Joined: 01 Oct 2004 Posts: 15548 Location: Spring Lake MI

I think Paul's experience is atypical.

Maybe Paul is lucky, or maybe Paul is that good. Not everybody will be that lucky OR skilled, so IMO it's not good advice to skip or shortcut on factory recommended maintenance intervals, particularly on the 2.5L motor.

That said, assuming you had a 931 and a 924S/944 in roughly equivalent shape, the latter will always cost more than the former to maintain to factory specs by simple fact that it is a more complex engine, and has more parts that are higher priced and require special tools to repair (timing belt tensioning and OPRV alignment tool are just two examples). And have you priced out a COMPLETE rebuild kit for a 2.0L long block vs. a 2.5L long block? 2.5L is nearly DOUBLE the cost in terms of parts, and my figures are at near-wholesale prices.

The only area where I see the economic argument favoring the 924S/944 is that it is a few years younger than the 931, and so restoration costs might be less than on a 931.

It would be more helpful to do a comparison of these cars based on the following:
Cost of Factory-recommended preventive maintenance
Cost of complete engine tear-down and rebuild
HP per dollar comparison of performance enhancements
Cost of restoration

The only category I see the 924S/944 possibly winning is the last one.
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erstwhile owner of just about every 924 variant ever made

ic932 · Joined: 11 Feb 2005 Posts: 1104 Location: UK

Rasta Monsta · Joined: 12 Jul 2006 Posts: 11723 Location: PacNW

924guy · Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 1:42 pm Post subject:

Carrera · Joined: 13 Nov 2009 Posts: 143 Location: Helsinki, Finland

924RACR · Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 9:55 pm Post subject:

I actually corresponded briefly with the author before the article went in; tried to give him some decent information. Obviously, it only went so far; clearly seemed like he'd already drawn his conclusions and only needed some supporting documentation.

You'll notice I did manage to get us listed in the linkage section at the end...

I'd hoped to have more discussion with him, but he never got back to me again...

Yeah, I was a bit disappointed by it all...
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Vaughan Scott
Webmeister
'79 924 #77 SCCA H Prod racecar
'82 931 Plat. Silver
#25 Hidari Firefly P2 sports prototype

ideola · Joined: 01 Oct 2004 Posts: 15548 Location: Spring Lake MI

flosho · Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 2:45 am Post subject:

lol, question is: who buys a $600 car and doesn't expect to replace a major component at some point?
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turboquattro · Joined: 18 Sep 2009 Posts: 133 Location: Toronto

Paul · Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 11:58 am Post subject:

Paul · Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 12:10 pm Post subject:

Paul · Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 12:26 pm Post subject:

ideola · Joined: 01 Oct 2004 Posts: 15548 Location: Spring Lake MI

I was always under the impression that complete FOES was recommended every 30K miles.
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erstwhile owner of just about every 924 variant ever made

ic932 · Joined: 11 Feb 2005 Posts: 1104 Location: UK