968 Clubsport - Page 2 - Porsche General - PistonHeads UK

I had a 968cs for two years and only recently sold it. The only known problems is with the pinion bearings. It was a factory fault due to the wrong torque used on the cars. The fault can occur at any mileage but most cases have already been found. Porsche in the UK have refused to pay for rebuild out of warranty. The other expensive part is the clutch and the stupid flywheel they used on these and 964's- just make sure they have been changed recently. Other than that the 968cs is the best balanced car you can have and will run rings around most other cars on the bends. For more info try www.968.net

The M030 pack (suspension, LSD, brakes) is a *must*. Best colours for resale are speed yellow and maritime blue. Make sure you get the belts done as well. I can't remember if they had power steering, but if they did, the power steering pumps in 944s/968s are known to expire. Some bits of trim, like rear window rubber seal, can come loose etc. but nothing serious. A formidable car, and a bit of a classic already. At half the price of a 964RS they are an awesome buy.

I'm bowing to everyone else's greater knowledge here, but didn't all Club Sports come with M030 option?

No. It was quite an expensive option on quite a cheap Porsche, really for the trackday crew. As such it is a rare option, and one that is in demand these days. The black brakes on the standard car aren't bad at all, but red brakes and cross drilled discs look the danglies.

I LOVE this car - was looking at a Yellow one a while back a AFN Chiswick - Speed Yellow, MO30 + special front splitter, yellow seat backs too - beautiful - the interior had NOTHING - none of the delete options of the 968/ 968 Sport had been stuck back on. The price was £21k for 50,000 miles - I think! (could be an error - I can't remember - or was it £18K???). Either way I just thought I was getting robbed because when the odd private one came along, they were closer to £15K - also insurance quotes at the time were £4k a year !!!!!

Thanks for the replies to date The car has been in for some work this week, and bearings being replaced was mentioned by the owner - apparently they were making some noise, so have been replaced under warranty by the Porsche specialist who sold the car. Thanks for the pointers on clutch - I'll enquire when it was last replaced. Anyone know if the Clubsport clutch is higher spec than normal 968? I'm guessing they'll be the same seeing as they are running same power engine? The car is in Maritim Blue, so good to hear it's one of the better colours The belts on the engine have been replaced - I understand it's recommended to do this every 40,000 miles. As I thought from some of your comments, this could be a very nice car to own. SFV.

Let me know what you think guys as it's looking more and more likely that the 993 will be up for sale soon (need to free up about £10k for a house and this seems the best option - I keep fun Porsche ownership but in a much cheaper form). If anyone's after a cheap but great condition LHD 993 then you can give me a shout too. Domster's totally right about options, MO30 is very nice to have these days but is only fitted to about 20% (at a guess) of the models as it was something like a £5k option. I love Maritine blue but mine would have to be in yellow I think.

SFV, The 968CS is a cracking car - I recently bought a black RHD one for trackdays. Superb balance, with just enough power to have fun, but not too much as to get you into trouble. The only thing I've done to it so far is swap the tyres for Michelin Pilot Sport Cups - brilliant in the dry, haven't tried them in the wet yet. Are you planning any mods to make your car trackday ready?

Sounds good to me at 13k. Scottster's 993 that is

I thought he was only looking for around £10k ! Domster, has the price gone up?

The one SFV is looking at is 13k, and that is a good price as the spec and colour is right. Worth about 11.5k without M030. They used to be cheaper, but the RS factor has pushed things up. Scottster will be looking at one for 10k, but I think he'll need a bit of luck or a ferry ticket to Germany for a personal import. Could *just* about get an M030 one over here and registered for that, but it might be tight. Hope the 993tt's going well Turbofree.

Sorry. I can't tell my M030s from my M474s? I like 968s in Amaranth but you don't see many about. Must be a lack of taste issue on my part.

In terms of making ther car trackday ready, number one on the list is to get a half cage. I don't think this will be too expensive. Number two is to try and pick up a spare set of rims, and fit these with Type R tyres. Apart from that, the suspension and brakes would appear to already be ready to roll. Last trackday I did at Goodwood couple of months back, I completely melted a newish set of Eagle F1 DS3's - £460 down the drain in less than a month from purchase. And that was only 4 x 6 lap sessions in the afternoon So semi slicks are the way to go I think. SFV.

Domster, I thought Scottster was selling his car for £10k!! The car is going well, just waiting for the Tubi to arrive and we will see what that sounds like. Haven't been driving it much these day, too busy at work and had to pay a visit to the hospital so I was out of action for about 2 weeks. Hows the RS?

Soz to hear about visit to the hospital. Repeatedly hitting the back of your cranium with the head rest can make you go a bit That's the problem with a 0-60 time in the threes. Scottster wants to release the difference of 10k from his car, i.e. flog his lovely 993 Carrera for 22k and pick up a Clubsport for 12k. My RS is going well. Clifford alarm played up a bit last week, but was fixed under lifetime warranty. Need a 320bhp Motec conversion to make it perfect. Very pleased with it and it continues to amaze. Exhaust note is pavarotti gargling with chainsaws.

Cheers Domster, Can you claim for self in flicked whiplash?

He certainly can, although it has nothing to do with cars

Can someone tell me exactly what the M030 option gives you? If the service book says the car has option code 030 fitted is this the same thing or is M030 something else? Thanks Martin

M030 gave you, if I remember, bigger brakes, LSD and uprated suspension (Koni?). If your 968 has red calipers it is probably an M030. They did the M030 option on other Porsches, but the spec differed depending on car. 944 Turbo certainly got a suspension upgrade on this option, AFAIK.

If they are red, it could just mean that someone painted them

My old 3.2 was given an M030 pack, took nothing more than an afternoon and some Halfords brake paint - Now even Dom can't deny that was a classy conversion ps: C'mon Dom, I know your dying to chuck in the RS for my 993, I won't take the mick if you admit your choice was wrong....

Maybe it's too loud for him, in which case I may be prepared to swap my nice quiet silencers for those horrid noisy ones

Hi Guys, Just to let you know I went to see the car on Saturday, took it for an extensive test drive, and have shaken on a deal Few things to sort out around the deal, but should hopefully be behind the wheel by end of Sept Cheers, SFV.

I don't know about the brakes, but I think the suspension is similar to the 951 M030, with height adjustable Konis, thicker anti roll bars and uprated bushes. I think the rear shocks have helper springs fitted too. >> Edited by Basil Brush on Monday 9th September 14:51

Well done on the car SFV, should be fantastic. We'd like a look at a PH meet if you're in the area etc. I had a 951 (944 Turbo) with M030. It was awesome in the dry, but a real handful in the wet. So much so that I stuck it into a tree on a dark, wet, night! PS For full 968CS MO30 effect, you'll need to drill small holes in the brake discs as well as painting the calipers red

What's the saying about a bad work man Domster?

Here are the differences: M474: - Non adjustable Koni shock absorbers all-round - shorter and stiffer springs at the front - car 20mm lower M030: - Adjustable Koni shock absorbers all-round (but at the rear you have to dismantle everything to get to adjust them!) - springs shorter and stiffer at the front - bigger stabilizers - springs at the rear (the only version to get springs at the rear with the 944 Turbo Cup) - different steering knuckles - different wheel hubs - bigger discs - bigger brake calipers - different brake lines and hoses ...and I didn't even mention the compulsory rubber bushes, adjusting nuts, etc. So if you plan to buy a car and retro fit the M030 sport chassis, you better have around £3000 in your pockets (I know about it, a friend did it on his 944S2). And the M474 disappeared with the 944; only the M030 was available new on the 968, be it a CS or not. So if you happen to buy a 968CS whithout the M030, you cant still retrofit some M474 equivalent, which is IMO well enough and much less expensive.

Thanks for the info. I've never been sure if mine has it or not. It lists option code 030 as being fitted. I've upgraded the front brakes and had the hoses replaced anyway so I guess the main give away will be if it has adjustable shocks. Martin

Not necessarily; a friend of mine has a 944 Turbo convertible with the M030 on the option sticker, but has the non-adjustable Konis...proof that the previous owner didn't want to/couldn't pay for adjustable ones. If your 968 has springs at the rear, you can be sure it's a 'true' M030

I see you mention 'springs at the rear', what do none-M030 cars have instead?

No springs at all, only the shock absorbers! Actually you might not be aware that ALL 924/944/968 (except 944 Turbo Cup and M030-fitted 968) were built without springs at the rear Here is a picture of heavily modified 968 fitted with 944 Turbo Cup rear suspension (therefore fitted with springs) : PS: how are you Kevin? It's been a long time! >> Edited by Thom on Tuesday 10th September 06:52

LOL, yeah, I was driving like a tit at the time! That said, it was quite a dangerous car. It could oversteer on turn-in in the dry, which I always think is a bit dodgy. There have only been a few homicidal cars I've driven - the E38 3.8 M5 was lethal in the wet - sideways when accelerating in a straight line. In comparison, the Lotus Carlton was a pussy cat. Scottster had the car before me, and he's a competent chap behind the wheel, after abusing a Cossie for years before hand. He still managed to spin the 944 Turbo a couple of times by mistake!! It was that kind of car - X-certificate. Either the RS is a better car, or I am less of a tit behind the wheel, but it feels a lot safer than my old 944 turbo.

Rear suspension has torsion bars rather than coil springs. M030 cars have helper coil springs over the shocks.

Thom, my original comment was a very poor joke I realise. Thanks for the info. The non-M030 968CS came with 1" lower, uprated non-adjustable suspension as standard, which I think is pretty much the old M474 944 setup.

I guess the 'slightly' on-off throttle didn't help too much either.

I'm thinking about buying a left hand drive 1993 968 Clubsport. £13K is asking price. Car has upgraded suspension and brakes (GT3 on front ). M030 spec. Do these cars have any known weak points? I'm mainly thinking about the engine/gearbox/drivetrain/other expensive to repair/replace bits? Anyone own one of these cars? I'm mainly buying it for trackdays - suitable tool? Cheers, SFV.