944 design faults / flaws
- Thread starter zcacogp
- Start date
Neil Haughey
New member
Really I think my main gripe is that the car was clearly not designed for ease of construction which in turn is reflected by high maintenance man hour costs for Porsches of this era down stream. I believe the contemporary 911s are much worse though. Its stuff like the fact it is easier and quicker to get the engine and gearbox in than it is the dash/interior and associated gubbins. Interior trim and wiring loom is also a joke if you have to strip/replace stuff compared to modern cars, blooming bits of carpet attached with velcro, poppers and glue all over the place. Its a complete mess. The wiring in particular was frankly not designed for this car, I think they must have bought in a loom designed for something else and adapted it.
Fat Albert
New member
ORIGINAL: edh
Time to ditch those flares.. []
Of course when my 944 was built we were all in drain-pipe jeans and it wouldn't have been an issue, however when the 924 was first launched with it, Flares were de-rigeur so would have been a massive issue....
Obviously in Germany..........
George Elliott
New member
my dislikes - similar to others but
the air con is a joke, but the fresh air ventilation is good if the roof is open 20mm.
the clutch pedal is too near the floor
the ashtray[:'(]
the handbrake is on the wrong side for tee-junctions[8|]
the LHD recess for the handbrake
the gear lever and centre tunnel is biased to a LHD layout (I fixed this with a RHD modified Lever)
the electric windows are slow
the sun visors - tend to move back from their forward position when accelerating in 2nd & 3rd - excessive torque[]
the wipers are too slow on speed 1 and too fast on 2 & 3
the wipers stop mid sweep when screen wash is operated[]
the heater control is a guessing match
the switches are not illuminated
the pas pipes always weep fluid...
No rear arch liners
the heated washer jets don't work
the gas struts are poor
the door check straps are poor
the fuel cap lid is a poor fitting panel
the fuel filler neck is badly made
the scuttle plastic trim is fragile
the turbo driving lamp lenses were designed by bosch as a consumable part with 0.5mm glass
...with screws which could be relied upon to seize and break
the bonnet weighs a tonne
the rear light body seals are dire
Glovebox lid fits like a trabant
the 1/10ths mileometer wheel goes dirty
there is no filter on the fresh air unit
water leaks in the rear footwells
the battery layout/fumes can attack the rear carpet
the starter motor sounds clapped when new
the turbo air box screws corrode & seize (no room for clips)
fuel lines routed across manifold to fuel rail
the rear hatch pins are a total farce - originate from a time when audi's had twin bonnet pins....
jacking points and access
the 951 variant was performance restricted
there was no RS version
the turbo cup series was ended
Porsche pulled the plug on this layout
BUT we have all got around these issues and appreciate the balance, feel, traction, durability, boooooooost which are more important.
George
944t
the air con is a joke, but the fresh air ventilation is good if the roof is open 20mm.
the clutch pedal is too near the floor
the ashtray[:'(]
the handbrake is on the wrong side for tee-junctions[8|]
the LHD recess for the handbrake
the gear lever and centre tunnel is biased to a LHD layout (I fixed this with a RHD modified Lever)
the electric windows are slow
the sun visors - tend to move back from their forward position when accelerating in 2nd & 3rd - excessive torque[
]the wipers are too slow on speed 1 and too fast on 2 & 3
the wipers stop mid sweep when screen wash is operated[
]the heater control is a guessing match
the switches are not illuminated
the pas pipes always weep fluid...
No rear arch liners
the heated washer jets don't work
the gas struts are poor
the door check straps are poor
the fuel cap lid is a poor fitting panel
the fuel filler neck is badly made
the scuttle plastic trim is fragile
the turbo driving lamp lenses were designed by bosch as a consumable part with 0.5mm glass
...with screws which could be relied upon to seize and break
the bonnet weighs a tonne
the rear light body seals are dire
Glovebox lid fits like a trabant
the 1/10ths mileometer wheel goes dirty
there is no filter on the fresh air unit
water leaks in the rear footwells
the battery layout/fumes can attack the rear carpet
the starter motor sounds clapped when new
the turbo air box screws corrode & seize (no room for clips)
fuel lines routed across manifold to fuel rail
the rear hatch pins are a total farce - originate from a time when audi's had twin bonnet pins....
jacking points and access
the 951 variant was performance restricted
there was no RS version
the turbo cup series was ended
Porsche pulled the plug on this layout
BUT we have all got around these issues and appreciate the balance, feel, traction, durability, boooooooost which are more important.
George
944t
Funny - I always find that having the handbrake on the right hand side is a definite plus, particularly for hill starts in traffic. You can push the clutch down, put the car in gear, bring the clutch pedal up to the biting point while giving it a little throttle and let the handbrake off, all at the same time. In a 'normal' car where your left hand operates both the gearlever handbrake this isn't possible.
Oli.
George Elliott
New member
Oli, fair comment, but with the 944 Pedal spacing it is also possible to hold the car on the middle pedal and blip the throttle with the right foot, its call HHA, Hill Hold Ankle[8|]
George
944t
Copperman05
New member
Flaws?
Watercooled
Not rear engined
No flat 6
Not a 911
VW parts
Built by Audi
My 944 puts a smile on my face every time I drive it even after 23 years and 120,000 miles, its one big 'flawed' Porsche and I love every bit of it....
Edd
Watercooled
Not rear engined
No flat 6
Not a 911
VW parts
Built by Audi
My 944 puts a smile on my face every time I drive it even after 23 years and 120,000 miles, its one big 'flawed' Porsche and I love every bit of it....
Edd
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