Steve Rea

iTrader: (1)

Well, we had our inaugural weekend at the Las Vegas Motorspeedway a week and a half ago, and it was simply awesome to drive. I've fallen in love with the ls-1 with it's light weight combined with sweet power...not to mention that the sound rings sweetly in my head hours after getting out of the car.

Check out this link for more info on the project:

http://www.renegadehybrids.com/LS-1/...ersionkit.html

My buddy is doing the editting on some video we took, which should be up on the site in a few more days.

Ultimately we want to combine the proven power and reliability of the Chevy ls-1 with the proven handling and performance of the Porsche 944 into a highly competetive Enduro Racecar. The Testimonial on the site gives my first impressions.

Thanks Renegade Hybrids for building me such and awesome car!!

Steve

ps - more pics at a later post in this thread...

RX-Ben

iTrader: (7)

Great to see that the 944 swap is up and running. It looks like you are using the stock Porsche 5 speed? Why wasn't the T56 used?

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

The 924, 944 and 968 use a rear mounted transaxle, so there is no room in the tunnel for a T56.

It will be interesting to see how the transaxles hold up to the extra power.

Andrew

owen v8litew8

awesome awesome stuff there, good work on the setup, I bet it hauls some serious ***.
more pics please!

RX-Ben

iTrader: (7)

Mmm...transaxle...I wish my RX7 had one to improve the already good weight distribution.
I guess you could swap in a C5 Corvette transaxle to the 944 if it isn't holding up, but for a road racer only I bet the stock setup does fine.

Ben

Steve Rea

iTrader: (1)

Yep, we're using the stock 944 turbo transaxle, which has actually been known to support from 300 - 450 rwhp in road race conditions. Apparently, the CV joints are the weak link and need to be checked/replaced periodically. However, that was all with turbo power and the torque from the ls-1 is another animal.

The weight balance is awesome with the light weight ls-1 and originally sweet 944 balance. With a half tank of gas (10gallons/70lbs) the car weighed in at 2563, which would bring its current dry weight (no gas) to about 2493.

With the half tank of gas, and me out of the car the balance is:

front: 49.5%
rear: 50.5%

You can't ask for much better than that on a road racer. Once we go for all lexan windows, fiberglass body panels and other weight savers, plus add the rest of the cage, our weight should be down to about 2350lbs. The power to weight ratio makes this thing a real blast to drive.

Once we get the race suspension on there, and dial in the chassis, we'll run the **** out of the car and see just what breaks...strengthen that weak area, then look into adding power. The power will likely come in a built ls2 or maybe we'll be patient for an ls7...we'll see.

Steve

93Polo

iTrader: (5)

What do you think a full weight street car will roll in at?

Steve Rea

iTrader: (1)

Renegade is putting together the first one, which will be for my buddy and I believe it is expected to be in the 2800 range ( +/- 100lbs ). Not bad with full A/C, heater, stereo and all the cushy luxuries for daily driving. Maybe Scott or Mike from Renegade will chime in with a more accurate figure for you.

s

Steve Rea

iTrader: (1)

hmm, I may have been wrong...it may be more like 2900-3000lbs with all the bells and whistles...

owen v8litew8

that sounds about right, its right on par with a 1989-1991 rx7 of the same era and similar design.


wow, in race trim that 944 is light! and what awesome balance front to rear... good work, its nice to see something like that using an LS1.

Steve Rea

iTrader: (1)

Attached are some cool before and after pics, a top shot, plus a bottom shot showing the custom oil pan to allow for the fit with a stock hood.

s

Steve Rea

iTrader: (1)

Those 3rd gen rx-7 ls1's look mighty sweet to me. It seems like a great match, as I seem to have heard they had a lot of reliability problems, which the ls-1 could solve. I always liked their lines.

s

RX-Ben

iTrader: (7)

Wow, that is a tight fit. It is great that it worked out.

Less than 2400 pounds is pretty impressive.

Are parts for 944s expensive or cheaper than what we be expected because 944s are front engined and many were made?

thanks
Ben

bigkat_83

Heres another 944 LS1 that has been up and running for over a year or so. It was done by a shop in FL. There are also a couple of 944/968 Porsches that have been done from TX

Steve Rea

iTrader: (1)

Well Ben, the donor car with the engine fire cost me $1800, which is pretty darn good. The NA 944's can be picked up as a donor car for as little as $500-$1000, with the turbos running more than that. A turbo tranny used would cost in the neighborhood of $600-$9000 and I'm told that it can handle up to about 450hp. Some tiny parts, if you need to buy them new, will cost a ridiculous amount, being a "Porsche", but essentially you're right, that with so many produced, used parts are pretty reasonable.

The incredibly low cost of a donor car with the idea that the turbo tranny could handle the stock ls1 power were certianly some of my driving factors (no pun intended :-) ) in doing this.

We will just have to see what needs to be done later on when we go for a built LS2 or LS7 in there!

s

Steve Rea

iTrader: (1)

BigKat -

yes I also heard that there's a wide-body LS1 944 racecar in Florida, with I believe, a mild cam and heads, full race suspension and wide rubber, that was within 2 seconds a lap, of a factory 911 RS racecar with a pro driver. I figure that the Porsche Factory 911 RSR racecars are our rabbit to catch on the track. We'll see...

Steve

jeromio

Curious about that oilpan - steel, alum? Heavy guage?

That radiator mounted down low like that looks freaky. Is that how it looks stock, or was that done purely to allow for the air intake on the LS1?

Nice car. Very cool that there is a kit. Only downside I can see of developments like this: demand and therefore price for LS1 donor motors is gonna go up....(I have the sickness where I envision each and every car I see with an LS1 transplanted into it )

bigkat_83

Don't the Egan brothers from Birmingham/Atlanta have some 944 LS1 cars in the works. I know that the 944 LT1 cars they had were top notch and suspect that if they do a LSxx car that it will be the same.

I'm just finishing my Porsche LS1 mid engine 914 now and hope to have it going in a month or so.

Steve Rea

iTrader: (1)

haha, yep once you taste the ls1 qualities, it seems like the golden motor... 'cept when you can get a crate ls2 putting out 400hp in stock form, for $5600, that looks pretty darn good to me. That could just be the sweet spot for a street 944 ls1, without having to do the tranny work that might be necessary to go for the 500+hp.

As far as I know, the radiator is in its stock location, but it looks a bit strange because the nose of the car is off.

I don't know about the oilpan construction, but I do know that they had it custom made with internal baffles to help prevent oil starvation in hard cornering. I'll see if I can find out more from Renegade.

Steve Rea

iTrader: (1)

Yep, Tom Egan has the Renegade 968 LS1 in his, and it looks like Tom did an excellent job on the install. I have spoken with him and he seems to know his stuff, plus he drives his car on the street and race track, which is cool.

I must say that I'll be a bit jealous of the final weight of your ls1 914, as it'll be a good bit less than mine. What do you expect it to weigh in at?

s