I caught up with my buddy Nick Appleton today. Nick was telling me about the 944 Turbo dyno day he attended yesterday, which was also photographed for 911 & Porsche World.
Nick recently sold his own much-modified 944 Turbo and bought a 964 to replace it. The 964 was sent straight to Unit 11 in Warrington for an engine rebuild. The dyno day was its first outing. The results were pretty good: 293 bhp on an honest dyno, where standard cars were making standard numbers. 293 is a great result, especially when Nick was expecting something closer to 260 from the 900 mile-old engine.
The rebuild featured a few mods, including RS flywheel and clutch, and RS barrels and pistons with three of the pistons on one bank reversed. This reversal was not something I had heard of before so I asked what it was all about. The answer was interesting: “On the 964, the gudgeon pin is not central in the piston, so both banks slightly fight each other. Reversing one bank’s pistons (they are symmetrical on top) removes the fighting, and supposedly gives a touch more power and helps it rev more freely.”
I find it amazing that Porsche did not catch this mod, but Nick reckons Unit 11 have done it on a few things now and it seems to work a treat. Nick puts the power of his own motor down to a partial decat, the fresh barrels and pistons and a Cup pipe, plus meticulous attention to detail in assembly. However it got there, reverse pistons is a fascinating piece of information, and there’s no arguing with decent dyno numbers.
I’ve got a little something cooking on Nick’s car and another mate’s RS replica/homage/tribute, so watch this space!
