Any 928 Owners out there?, I have a few questions Options

[Tom_T]

I seem to recall somebody posting here that they'd taken their 928 to some 914 or P-car events over the past year, so I think there are some closet Shark fans out there! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

I just don't recall who it was, or if there are several??

I have a crazy question which I posted over at the Pelican 928 Forum about whether you could tow with a 928, so any shark lovers here could maybe answer over there:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-928...tml#post6595065

Otherwise, if you prefer I'll just post it here too, but I didn't want to clutter up a 914 site with 928 questions, and risk being kicked to the sandbox again! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

TIA (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)
Tom
///////

[jim912928]

I don't believe there was any direct change of wiring to deal with issues. 928's get tagged by a lot of folks as having electrical gremlins (mine never did)...but the real issue was in the massive amount of advanced (for the time) montiors and electronics. Just about everything is monitored in 928's (turn on the ignition and it looks like a space ship lighting up with all the diagnostic lights). Due to that it has a lot of wiring, a lot of relays and dual analog computers. How many 80's cars will tell you on the dash that you have a back light out? With more electronics just comes more issues when something arises. The problems come into play when folks try to fix things themselves. As I said above mine was a daily driver for years...and it NEVER once left me stranded. Only maintenance I did was normal fluid changes, timing belt (although the 16V non-euro engines are not interference...just never wanted to be stranded), water pump (only because I was in there to change the belt), wheel alignments and plugs.

86.5 model years started bringing in the 32V engines which are interference...thus you get a lot more diligence on timing belt changes...cheap insurance. I'm not sure, but I believe around 85/86 they changed the air conditioning system (which would draw more power and push for a bigger alt) to have a rear unit that was mounted between the rear seats vs. the luggage compartment that was optionally there. This did deal with an issue of heat due to that massive rear window. They also started, around that time, bringing in more digital electronics on the dash versus the analog setups...more modern looks but, again, power draws which had them amp up stuff.

Sharks are great cars and like any Porsche will cost more to repair...but what upscale car doesn't cost more to maintain? It's a dependable super cruiser that you can get pretty cheap relative to their original costs. One thing to note when you test drive one...the automatics start from a dead stop in 2nd gear. So if you are looking for that neck snapping start you either have to floor it (the gas pedal will hit a mechanical switch that will drop the tranny down into 1st) or manually shift it. The design here is for smooth comfortable cruising...thus they started it out in 2nd. It's a beast when you drop it in 1st. It's also a rocket ship from about 70 to 140!

[Tom_T]

I don't believe there was any direct change of wiring to deal with issues. 928's get tagged by a lot of folks as having electrical gremlins (mine never did)...but the real issue was in the massive amount of advanced (for the time) montiors and electronics. Just about everything is monitored in 928's (turn on the ignition and it looks like a space ship lighting up with all the diagnostic lights). Due to that it has a lot of wiring, a lot of relays and dual analog computers. How many 80's cars will tell you on the dash that you have a back light out? With more electronics just comes more issues when something arises. The problems come into play when folks try to fix things themselves. As I said above mine was a daily driver for years...and it NEVER once left me stranded. Only maintenance I did was normal fluid changes, timing belt (although the 16V non-euro engines are not interference...just never wanted to be stranded), water pump (only because I was in there to change the belt), wheel alignments and plugs.

86.5 model years started bringing in the 32V engines which are interference...thus you get a lot more diligence on timing belt changes...cheap insurance. I'm not sure, but I believe around 85/86 they changed the air conditioning system (which would draw more power and push for a bigger alt) to have a rear unit that was mounted between the rear seats vs. the luggage compartment that was optionally there. This did deal with an issue of heat due to that massive rear window. They also started, around that time, bringing in more digital electronics on the dash versus the analog setups...more modern looks but, again, power draws which had them amp up stuff.

Sharks are great cars and like any Porsche will cost more to repair...but what upscale car doesn't cost more to maintain? It's a dependable super cruiser that you can get pretty cheap relative to their original costs. One thing to note when you test drive one...the automatics start from a dead stop in 2nd gear. So if you are looking for that neck snapping start you either have to floor it (the gas pedal will hit a mechanical switch that will drop the tranny down into 1st) or manually shift it. The design here is for smooth comfortable cruising...thus they started it out in 2nd. It's a beast when you drop it in 1st. It's also a rocket ship from about 70 to 140!

Thanx for the good info. Jim!

Other than the typical "net gripers" & self-proclaimed experts (IMG:style_emoticons/default/type.gif)
... the only thing I've found on the electrical was this in the most recent Excellence 928 Buyers Guide:

"The earliest 928s have some undesirable features and I encourage you to avoid them. The 1978 and 1979 models had problems with their electrical systems, vacuum door locks, and air-conditioning. Changes made for model-year 1980 fixed these problems and made the 928 much more reliable, so I recommend looking for 1980-and-newer cars."

link to it here:
http://www.excellence-mag.com/resources/bu...guide/294251490

I talked to a former Porsche mechanic at the Porsche Swap meet this afternoon (err.... yesterday now), who said that the problem was that they were heavily optioned with electricals, so there was more to go wrong, just as with MBZs, BMWs, etc. - but certainly nowhere near the problems of the 80's Big 3 [edit: #] products!

He was also saying that the later 32V 5.0 EFI Plenum design (smaller unit w/ shorter tubes) in 87> [edit: 88>] was better for low speed performance, than are the 84-86/86.5 [edit: 86-87] ones with the larger unit w/ longer crossover tubes, due to the air/fuel mixture feed. However it sounds like even the early 4.5 & 4.7 928s have little problem towing (within spec'd limits of course).

EDIT ADD FYI: This was per Kurt Donohoe, owner of Porschetechnik in Flagstaff AZ, who was a Porsche dealer mechanic for many years & knows both 928s & 914s - in case anybody gets "stuck" in Flagstaff. He said 87-on was the best for for the 928s & that 87-89 or up to 91 - with the improved 5.0L 32V motor with the smaller tuned intake plenum producing more HP & TQ, larger Brembo brakes, etc. would be best for my needs, since the later 92/93-95 era ones were so scarce & are more pricey.

Cheers! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)
Tom
///////