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I was actually thing this. I could see if one is going to put in the 3rd radiator, but putting the turbo bumper on just for kicks is kinda fake poser-ish. Hell why not put the turbo badge on it too?
Really, does my first post, or any of my other posts, suggest that the reasons I would oonsider this are aesthetic? If you weren't already aware that there are potential benefits other than adding a third radiator (which doesn't require a turbo bumper, by the way), see above.
And yes, putting anything on just for kicks may be kind of fake poser-ish, but if this is the right comment, it's the wrong thread. Really, these knee-jerk, unthought-out criticisms get tiring. If I wanted that, I wouldn't be discussing lift and drag on the forum when I could just discuss it with my wife ...
I love the different bumper options. Just my opinion, but the stock c2 bumper just lacks the aggressive appearance that the car deserves. And when the turbo bumper is combined with aero lower rockers, it completely changes the attitude of the car into something that almost looks as though it's in motion when the car is sitting still. And unlike aftermarket options, you know that Porsche spent time with it in their wind tunnel. This swap is now on my to-do list. The rear bumper with the two carbuncles surrounding the license plate is also something that needs to be cleaned-up. The bummer will be matching 17 year old ocean metallic blue correctly.
So we now have some excellent, helpful photos in the thread. Thanks b3 and fierofly!
Looking at he C4S photo, it seems clear that the ducts go much higher. If you put the turbo bumper onto a car with Carrera ducts, a lot of air must go rushing in above the radiator duct. Where does it go? On both cars, there is a cavity above the radiator duct. Does anyone know if it leads somewhere? If not, and possibly even if so, then it can't do much good aerodynamically. But on the other hand, once there's enough air pressure in there, it might keep additional air out just as well as if it were closed off. Might ... .
Either way, a lot of people here and elsewhere have reported increased front end stability. So far, so good. But what about drag? I know that there aren't too many users of this forum who have a chance to vmax their cars often enough to test this. Nor is it likely many have done a coast down test from a somewhat lower speed with a data logger. But if anyone has any insight into this ... .
And there remains the question whether anyone makes a quality immitation of the Turbo bumper, but with some modification so that either all that air makes it to the radiators, or it never enters the bumper's openings to begin with.
I know Ruf makes semething that looks Turbo-ish. And I'm pretty they tested in enough to be sure it's OK aerodynamically. But I don't think it's as close to a direct copy as what I have in mind. I'm also pretty sure it wasn't wind-tunnel tested.
Possibly a (copy of a) 997 bumper would do the trick. I'm pretty sure RPM Technik in the UK is putting these on 996s. And come to think of it, it's hard to say whether the Ruf bumper is more like a 996 Turbo or a 997 Carrera.
(As may or may not have been clear from my first post, the simplest way to get a good result in terms of drag and lift without depriving the radiators of air is to use an aerokit bumper. But that's got to be a disaster for speed bumps, perpendicular parking, etc. The leading edge is lower than the turbo's, much less Carrera's. And it's not a seperate lip spoiler. It's the bumper itself. So one small impact and you need to replace the whole thing :-( )
Here's the GT2 which the stock bumper similar to the RUF that AMGSiR posted. You see notable differences. The GT2 aero bumper kit is expensive, but can be purchased directly from Porsche. You'll need to be ready to purchase the center air duct work (see picture of air movement through the center vent), but with the absence of the center rad, piecing it together will be a challenge.
For various reasons, they are probably not for me. Probably too much lift reduction/downforce, with those big splitters, so that I'd need a GT2 rear wing, which I don't want. Though there is big question of aero impact without a 3rd radiator. There's the question whether the Amazon bumper, from an unknown (to me) brand is any good. Also seems their lower lip/splitter shape doesn't match the GT2's, though hard to be sure.
There's still the question whether they deal with the problem that a turbo bumpers openings are wider than the Carrera's ducts.
And re. the Ruf, that looks like it would get banged up even more quickly than an aerokit - though perhaps it's not as low at the leading edge? Anyway, much better to have a replaceable and hopefully more flexible lip/splitter, as on the GT2 and the turbo.
(My understanding is that while splitters can contribute signifcant downforce versus air dams, there's a corresponding drag penelty for that downforce benefit, whereas air dams typically negate lift with little/no drag penalty. Since I'd be satisfied with the turbo's level of lift and would like to avoid extra drag, something more turbo shaped would be better for me than the Ruf or a GT2 immitation.)
And is the Amazon copy a good one? I don't know the brand and it's suspiciously cheap.
The bumper on the Amazon listing is manufactured by the Duraflex. They're well known in the industry for manufacturing high quality aftermarket bumpers and other body panels. They would be on my list if I'd consider an aftermarket alternative to OEM.
This is a great deal on Porsche bumpers. If you notice in the craigslist picture, the owner has a turbo bumper in the background. If it includes the grilles, this would be a stomping' great deal.
If it were just that, and if one could find a used set, it would not be so bad. But I checked some of the other parts, thinking that perhaps if the Turbo or C4S or 40AE use some of the same parts as Carreras, then this might work even without Turbo radiators. Alas, all the big parts on a Turbo, C4S and 40AE are different from those on a Carrera, so it doesn't look good :-(
12-29-2016, 01:25 PM
