Australian Carrera 3.2 power differences

[jbdave]

I was just wondering from you guys about the differences in driving the Aussie delivered Carrera 3.2's (pre G50 so 84-86).

I know the 84/85 cars had the 231hp, and it dropped to 204hp in '86. I also know you can't simply turn a 204hp into a 231hp by removing the pollution stuff that was added to the car (ie cats, etc) as the compression ratios are different in the two cars.

A couple of questions I do have however:

1. Can you feel a noticable difference between the 231 and 204hp cars ? I've driven a 79SC with SSI's and that felt quicker than a 204hp 3.2 I drove. The 3.2 was fully optioned however so it would have weighed a bit more than the basic SC.

2. How easy/costly is it to get a bit more power out of a 204hp car ?

I am currently looking at a couple of Porches as my first car. I like the SC's, but the 3.2's seem to be the car everyone recommends if looking for an air cooled Porsche (I want to avoid 964's onwards as I don't want power steering and the "modern" feel). I also grew up with the 911 Carrera poster on my bedroom wall (although it may have been the Turbo model ).

Thanks.

[Spence]

I was just wondering from you guys about the differences in driving the Aussie delivered Carrera 3.2's (pre G50 so 84-86).

I know the 84/85 cars had the 231hp, and it dropped to 204hp in '86. I also know you can't simply turn a 204hp into a 231hp by removing the pollution stuff that was added to the car (ie cats, etc) as the compression ratios are different in the two cars.

A couple of questions I do have however:

1. Can you feel a noticable difference between the 231 and 204hp cars ? I've driven a 79SC with SSI's and that felt quicker than a 204hp 3.2 I drove. The 3.2 was fully optioned however so it would have weighed a bit more than the basic SC.

2. How easy/costly is it to get a bit more power out of a 204hp car ?

I am currently looking at a couple of Porches as my first car. I like the SC's, but the 3.2's seem to be the car everyone recommends if looking for an air cooled Porsche (I want to avoid 964's onwards as I don't want power steering and the "modern" feel). I also grew up with the 911 Carrera poster on my bedroom wall (although it may have been the Turbo model ).

Thanks.

In 86 the power dropped to 217hp not 204, 204hp was the last of the SCs output.

The earlier leaded fuel 3.2s had a compression ratio of 10.3:1 which is where the power came from, the later cars dropped to if I remember correctly 9:2, giving 217hp and were also choked with a cat, the rest of the exhaust system is identical.

I have driven an earlier 231hp car and it is a more sprightly engine, stock 217hp engines feel a bit lazy but from say 3500 they pull OK.

2. How easy/costly is it to get a bit more power out of a 204hp car ?

Assuming you are referring to a 217hp 3.2, it really depends on what you mean by a bit. You can make one breath a little easier buy simply replacing the cat with a cat bypass and a straight through muffler like an M&K. The best system I think is 993 heat exchangers (flipped flanges) combined with a 2 in M&K muffler. SSIs are also an option but the primaries are a tad small for a 3.2. Then a chip and you'll have a noticeable power increase 10-15hp but nothing you'll scare your mates with.

For real power 3.4 P&Cs with 10.5ish:1 will get you around the 300hp mark but will cost a fair wack of cash.

It's actually very simple to turbo charge a 9:2 compression engine, 400chp can be made at 10psi, but you would only want to go this with a G50 car, this is also not a cheap process.

Good luck with the search.

[D-banger]

I too have always found the power rating on aussie delivered Carrera 3.2 with catalyst engines to be a vexing issue.

The Ultimate Owner's Guide Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 states,

"USA, Canada, Austria, Switzerland, Germany and Japan catalyst engines (type 930/25) now remapped to deliver 217bhp (162kW)..."

and

"Australian engine type 930/25 has modified controls to give 207bhp (154kW)"

I wonder what Porsche says

[jbdave]

Not sure why I typed 204hp as I know they were the later SC models. According to the Red Book the 84 & 85 had 231hp, and the 86 shared engines with the US, at 207hp (Type 930/21 engine).

The Ultimate Owner's Guide Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 states,

"USA, Canada, Austria, Switzerland, Germany and Japan catalyst engines (type 930/25) now remapped to deliver 217bhp (162kW)..."

and

"Australian engine type 930/25 has modified controls to give 207bhp (154kW)"

It says this for the 87 year (started production in Aug 86), but still calls the Aussie engine a 930/21

This website also has a full rundown of the engine numbers, which puts the Aussie version at 207hp for 1986. In 87, it gains the HP increase.

http://www.ppkat.com/html/engines.php

[Spence]

Not sure why I typed 204hp as I know they were the later SC models. According to the Red Book the 84 & 85 had 231hp, and the 86 shared engines with the US, at 207hp (Type 930/21 engine).

It says this for the 87 year (started production in Aug 86), but still calls the Aussie engine a 930/21

This website also has a full rundown of the engine numbers, which puts the Aussie version at 207hp for 1986. In 87, it gains the HP increase.

http://www.ppkat.com/html/engines.php

Interesting, I never knew they dropped to 207, maybe they went ultra conservative with the tuning for unleaded fuel, I feel sorry for those 86 owners! JK

[noporscheyet]

The Porsche 911 Source Book P102 states that the Australian market 1987 H Program 911 had a 930/25 catalyst engine but detuned to 152kw/207HP down from 160kw/217hp with "modifications to the DME: ignition mapping later". The Australian market 930/25 seems to be tuned for 91 octane rather than 95 octane as in other markets, according to this book.

I also have a late 1989 edition of Modern Motor magazine that gives the output at 152kw in the new car data section at the back.

Therefore it would seem that we didn't get the 160kw/217hp engine.

I wonder how easy it would be to obtain the additional 10hp?

[Spence]

I'll see if this works:

August 1988 Australian brochure...

[noporscheyet]

That's more like it!

It is good to get information such as this from brochures and owners handbooks where the reference books are a bit vague on certain matters.

[PCM911T]

A steve wong chip, see http://www.911chips.com/index2.html

[Slocs]

Guys, I know this post is a few days old, but as I'm currently going through ADR compliance on my '86 911 with a ROW 930.20 engine I thought I might share some of the research... This has come from a variety of public sources.

Porsche Australia used four different engine types in the period 1984-1989. With the introduction of the 911 3.2 in 1984, Porsche Australia used the 930.20 engine, which is identical to the “Rest of World” (ROW) engine. Note that this is different to the 930.21 engine that was used in the USA, Canada, and Japan. The Australian 930.20 did have one minor modification, which was the mandatory installation of option M026, an active charcoal canister. Both engines produced an identical 170kw.

In August 1984, for the 1985 Model Year, Porsche Australia switched to the 930.26 engine which was the standard engine for Sweden and Switzerland. The 930.26 engine is identical to the 930.20 engine with the addition of an air pump. The 930.26 engine was used until the introduction of unlead fuel (officially 1 Feb '86), when Porsche switched to the 930.21 engine, which was identical to the then current US catalyst engine and produced 152kw (tuned for 91 RON fuel). For MY87 cars Porsche then switched to the 930.25 engine which was tuned for 96 RON fuel and producing 160kw (per the scan in the post above).

Regards,

Rob

[Stepo]

Intersting facts Rob.

I've been told by my mechanic that premium unleaded is OK for my 1985, 3.2 Aust delivered Carrera, yet I think you are saying 1986 was the first year for unleaded in OZ

Can anyone let me know if 95 octane premium unleaded is the wrong thing for my 3.2?

Thanks,

Stepo

[D-banger]

Hi Rob,

A great comprehensive answer for a vexing question.

For my ability 217HP is more than enough

Stepo: You can still use unleaded 95RON. I run unleaded on the '73 but I use 98RON as only the best will do for my baby