The Best Handling 80's Car

The Contestants

If you look into my CT garage, you will see my pride and joy: a 1982 Pontiac Trans Am. It is a car I’ve been working on for almost a decade, and have enjoyed every minute of it. I’ve gotten my hands on just about every part of it, and very few parts don’t have a replacement or modification lined up once the money comes in. However, what you won’t see in my garage is the competition. You see, for the entire month of July in the year 2014, I had the pleasure of daily driving a bone-stock, pristine example of a 1986 Porsche 944 Turbo. Not bad for an Aerospace Engineering student midway through a degree. While neither the Porsche nor the TA have been driven on a track, both have seen their fair share of city streets, highway miles, and most importantly: the twisted back country road. As such, I feel it is time to share my opinion on the matter at hand: What exactly is the best handling sports car from the 1980’s?

The Porsche

944 Stats
Data found here

• Engine: 3.0 Turbo I4
  • 220hp/5800rpm
  • 243lb-ft/3500rpm
  • Port Injection
• Transmission: 5-Speed Manual

  * Top Speed: 152mph
  

• Independent Suspension
• Curb Weight: 2800 lbs
• Brakes: Ventilated Discs (Front and Rear)

The Trans Am

Trans Am Stats
Data found here

• Engine: 305 V8
  • 140hp/4200rpm
  • 240lb-ft/2200rpm
  • Electronic Quadrajet Carburetor
• Transmission: 3-Speed Automatic

  * Top Speed: 125mph
  

• Macpherson Struts (Front)/ Solid Axle-Open Diff (Rear)
• Curb Weight: 3170 lbs
• Brakes: Discs (Front) / Drums (Rear)

Trans Am Modifications

• Stock 25/12mm Sway Bars replaced with 32/25mm (Front/Rear)
• Installed Wonderbar
• Tubular Rear Control Arms
• Adjustable PHB
• Camber-Adjustable Strut Towers
• Shorty-Headers and Y-Pipe
• Cat-Back Exhaust
• Poly Suspension Bushings

Complainers Begone

Now I know what some of you are thinking:
But Knight, your car isn’t stock!
But Kniight, your car is modified!
But Kniigght, you’re biased to your car!
But Kniigghht, you’ve driven your car longer!
But Knniigghhtt, my Mustang handles even better than a Trans Am!
But Kknniigghhtt, where’s your mullet?!?!?!?!? Rock Music Intensifies

Well before you complain about all of this, before you’ve even read the article……. read the review. Or don’t, but then you’ll never hear the crazy insane twist at the end!

From a Speed Perspective

…… it’s no contest. The 944 has an 80hp advantage, an additional 2-gear advantage, 300 lb advantage, and a Turbo. Where as the asthmatic 305 in the Trans Am can propel the car from 0-60mph in about 10 seconds, the 944 gets there in 5.9 seconds. And even more so, the Turbo! Oh man, that Turbo!

Now this is the only Turbo car I’ve ever driven, but I can see why people like them. Put my foot down at 60mph and look 20 car lengths down the highway, feel nothing, feel the wave build, feel the tsunami, and I’m 30 car lengths from where I started. It’s impressive. It’s a devil on your shoulder telling you to press a little harder, build a bit more boost, go a little faster. And it’s thanks to that devil that I can allegedly verify the 152mph top speed previously stated. I want to Turbo everything. My Trans Am, my Scion Tc, my dad’s Sonata Hybrid, my Motorized bike, my lawn mower, hell, I’d Turbo my feet if such a thing were possible.

Getting back to the Trans Am, flooring it at 70 doesn’t feel like the 944, but it doesn’t feel like an econobox either. Because of the 3-Speed, it’s turning 3000rpm at 70mph in top gear. That means when you floor it, there’s no need for a downshift, it just goes! But, there’s no horsepower, so you don’t really go quickly. It’s fine for passing the odd family road trip minivan on the highway, but not much else. The Speedometer only goes up to 85mph (Thanks Early 80’s Emissions Restrictions), but it has no problem maxing it. Again, allegedly it has gone over 100, but I’d have no way of verifying it if.

There is no comparing the straight line performance of these two vehicles; the Porsche wins hands down. With another 100 horses in the Trans Am, and maybe an overdrive gear…. and a competitive final drive ratio if its not too much trouble (currently the stock 2.73 granny gear), things might be different, but no.

So now that the Porsche lovers are satisfied their representative is faster than a muscle car, let’s move onto a level playing field! Just not a straight one.

The Curved Playing Field

Disclaimer: I am not a professional racing driver. I am not an ametuer racing driver. Hell, I’m not even that good on Gran Turismo. My racing experience boils down to all the times I went to the local highspeed Go-Kart track (Managed 30s lap times where 29s are considered top-tier) and a single time I went Autocrossing with a friend in his P-Zero Emissions Subaru Legacy. For those of you interested, my times were faster than his. And I got it to slide….. once…….. I think……….. there was definitely a sound………. anyways………………………………..

To a good portion of you, this will completely validate my ability to determine the driving potential of both of these cars when pushed to their limits, obviously. But to the very small percentage of you who are still reading this and doubt my extensive knowledge and abilities, This Is Not A Review Of The Cars At Their Limit. This is a review of these cars’ behaviors at either my limit, or the limit of the road, whichever came first. A review of what these cars are like for the everyday driver.

To Answer The Mustang Guy From Earlier Who Thinks His (Or Her) Car Is Faster:
Why do I proclaim that this is a battle between the two greatest handling cars from the 80’s? Well! Car and Driver conducted a contest between a 1984 Camaro Z28, Corvette Z51, Daytona Turbo Z, Mustang SVO, and a Fiero 2M4 and (Spoilers!) the Z28 was voted to unanimously be the best handling car. Now, my car is both two years older and only related by platform, but I’ve updated the suspension and modified things, so it’s only gotten better. Now, I’ve no data on why the 944 Turbo is the only competition, but it’s the only other sports car I’ve driven from that decade, So by executive author’s order, I declare the 1986 Turbo 944 to be direct competition for the 80’s F-Bodies in terms of handling.
So there. That’s an executive order. You can’t just go around ignoring orders like that, they’re executive!

Back to The Porsche

The first thing that strikes you about driving a 944 is probably the roof line. To your face. I’m not small (6ft, 200lbs) and I don’t think this car was designed from someone of my size. There was no way to gracefully get into, or out of this car. I’m surprised my head didn’t dent the roof line with the number of times I hit it. The upside of this is the driving position it puts you in. When you sit in the car, you are sitting IN the car! You feel like you are at the center of everything, probably because you are.

The driving characteristic is best described as settled. I cannot remember a time where I was able to unintentionally unsettle the car. Going around tight bends, driving in the rain, and even senselessly flooring it, I never had to worry about wheel spin. If you needed it to go somewhere, it would take you there. Driving this car gave me the clear impression that it was better at driving than I was, but not in a way that punishes you. The car is very forgiving, and almost helps you along through the turns. Press on the accelerator, feel the Turbo build, and all the 944 does will turn in tighter. There’s no drama, no fighting, just smoothness. You go into a turn, you feel brave, you go faster, you exit the turn and can’t believe it turned out so well, just in time to blast through the next one.

Pros:

• Forgiving of mistakes
• Excessive traction
• Small and Nimble
• TURBO!!!!!!!

Cons:

• I didn’t quite fit
• What does one mean by “Skids”?
• How does one, how would you put it, umm, “Houn”? Or maybe it’s “Huuun”. “Hoon” maybe?
• Premium Gas.

Michael Knight Be Proud

Now onto the modified Trans Am. If you’ve been hanging out in the CT DIY community, you may have seen my post where I put new rims and tires on the TA. Seeing as this is a review from two years ago, I’ll describe the characteristics on the old wheels and tires.

F-Bodies are not large cars. Maybe a bit long, but definitely not big. But compared to the 944, the Trans Am feels like a Suburban. While being low, it is still possible to get in and out in a mostly dignified manner. And while the driving position is not as “in the car” as the 944, you don’t feel like you’re “on the car” like most modern vehicles. While the 944’s steering was very responsive and communicative, the Trans Am uses a “Rag-Joint” in the steering rack which removes most of the feeling from the road. It’s not a the level of say, a 2008 Toyota Highlander, but it does have room for improvement.

As a result of the low power and one-wheel peel, you will experience one of two driving conditions:

1. You’ll be going too slow into a corner, hit the accelerator, the engine will rev up and begin to accelerate, but because of the lack of power you’ll have exited the corner before you even approach the limit of the tires.

2. You’ll be going around a tight, slow corner and manage to get on the throttle just as one of your rear tires hits a smooth patch of road, or maybe one that’s still a bit damp, or a squirrel has looked at your rear end the wrong way, at which point your rear end will step out. It’ll be a nice, controllable fish-tail, but it won’t do anything for speed.

Now lets say the driving gods have smiled upon you: You approached the corner at the perfect speed to negotiate it and all the squirrels are busy looking at Mustangs leaving car meets. Then when really pushed, the car handles neutrally. Pulling a four wheel slide on turn exit is very doable, as well as keeping traction throughout the whole thing. I won’t say drift because the angle was very small, but I did have the whole car sliding. Again, I’m no driving savant, but I was able to slide this thing on several occasions. Before my modifications, the car under-steered terribley, but the sway bars really cleaned that up.

Pros:

• Skids and Hoons
• Plenty of traction at speed
• Nimble for a 3000 lb Muscle Car
• V8 Noise

Cons:

• What do you mean by “Power”?
• Tight Turn = Fish-Tail
• Why a 3-Speed????

I will say that putting Corvette Rims and Tires has completely erased the traction problem. I now have to actively try to overpower the rear wheel, even in the wet.

Final Results

When it comes down to it, the 944 is a better car. The Turbo outstrips the smog motor in a straight line, and the raw traction of the German overshadows the capabilities of the American.

The best way I can describe it, is that the 944 always felt natural going around a quick bend. The Trans Am felt like I was forcing it out of its element. There was a stretch of technical side roads that I drove the 944 through, then drove the Trans Am after, and it just felt like the 944 was setting the scale I was rating the TA on. It came close, but it couldn’t overcome the advantages the 944 has. Maybe some subframe connectors, LSD, 700R-4, and an extra 100 horsepower would make the difference, but at that point, I’m not really comparing factory cars. Even with all my modifications to the Trans Am, I wouldn’t say it is too far out of spec with later 80’s WS6 models.

At the end of July, I had to sell one of the cars, and I couldn’t bring myself to sell my Trans Am. The 944 is fast. The Porsche handles like nothing else I’ve driven. The Turbo never failed to bring a smile to my face. But was it fun for fun’s sake? Was there any soul? Did it have a personality? And for that reason, I kept the Trans Am.

BUT This is a contest of Handling, and the 944 can’t be beat.

Winner: Porsche 944 Turbo

THE CRAZY INSANE TWIST!!!!!!!

My bone stock 2012 Scion Tc handles just as well until understeer.

And there, I’ve answered all of the complainers.