SSSTRESSS

I'm looking to make a 996TT purchase and trying two decided between the two below. They are the same price and both have 40k miles.

1. All Stock

2. Protomotive 700hp Kit w/2wd Conversion (Car comes with stock parts)
Upgraded Turbos
Fuel Pump
Fuel Pressure Regulator
Injectors
5 Bar Map Sensor
Performance Air Filter
Divertor Valve
Lightweight Flywheel
Motorsport Clutch
2wd Converstion
Dyno Tuned at Protomotive @ 550whp (15PSI) on pump gas
Slightly lowered with lowering springs and adjustable toe links

How do you feel about the Promotive upgrades. Is it missing anything? Any advice is greatly appreciated (what to look for, what to look out for). I'm always a little nervous about buying a used vehicle with a lot of upgrades but from what I've heard and seen it sounds solid. Or do I just play it safe and stick to stock.

Vendetta NY

Depends on what you're looking for, and equally (if not more) on your experience with high performance cars like this.

If both line up where you'd be comfortable with the Protomotive car, then go for it. I've seen the listing, it's beautiful - as long as it's truthful and the car checks out.

-V

rmc1148

If your planning on doing these types of mods in the future then buy the car already done, if not buy stock and it will be much easier to sell when the time comes. Personally I would buy stock and do whatever mods I wanted myself= more costly but the way I like to do things. A good ppi and also records for maintenance and the mod work done are important.

"02996ttx50

^^ agree completely w v and rmcs point is valid also...but

... if you have a modicum of experience with even a mid level tuned tt ( which the proto car is ) then go for it as the stock car will lull you into complacency lol. in relative terms.

if not? then you may want to begin with a stock car. think of this the stock k16 car has 414 crank and the proto tuned car has 550 rwhp.

which would you enjoy more? also,dont forget the cost to add that 250 crank to the proto car is another 20k +/- that if it were me? id HAVE to spend if i learned in a stocker.

buy the proto car, cosmetics and all else being nearly equal, as the fun quotient is exponentially different. to say nothing of it being rwd

khiroshima

I had a similar dilemma, I was looking for a lightly modded car and ended up finding one that had quite a bit done to it. The reality is, at the very least, I would have done suspension work and the car I ended up with had a PSS9 setup as well as a GIAC tune, the mods were basically "free (to me)". I was also fortunate enough to be given the stock airbox and sold the EVO airbox on CL.

It's not worth it to take out the headers and I would have eventually done a SSK as well as exhaust. So, in the end, I am quite happy with the modded car, but it all depends on your addictive personality! Good problem to have . . . KH

SSSTRESSS

This is great advice - thank you. I've never owned a vehicle (cars, trucks, motorcyles) I haven't modded to my liking (interior, exterior and performance upgrades). I don't expect any different with this Porsche.. however just a bit nervous because someone else did them and the mods themselves are new territory to me. I guess I have some research to do. I'm already wondering if the Proto vehicle will pass CA smog. Looking into it.

powdrhound

Examine the Proto car closely and get a very thorough PPI. Always very important especially when dealing with heavily modded cars. I've seen one of the cars that Proto did a full build on and it was quite a hack job once you really looked at the details. Owner had to have the motor dropped to fix oil leaks and other numerous items. Not sure if that's the norm, may have just been a fluke. Also make sure it is fully smog compliant and passes all readiness codes... Good luck with your search..

Wealth Manager

Call Todd at Protomotive and get the low down on the car. I know he is away for the next two weeks but he can be reached by email. He will help you out and maybe even make some quick improvements.

Alan A

Stock.
If I'm modding a car that much I want to see what's done to it as its done, not risk buying someone else's possibly failed attempt. But then I'm risk adverse on modded cars...

Ymmv.

"02996ttx50

these cars are tough as nails and not too many bolt ons are going to affect reliability. leave that to shi**y care and/or bad drivers. if anything a modded tt at mid level is one of the FEW cars that with a proper "look over" etc, is safe to move forward on. mine, a 2nd *replacement* tt was similarly setup stage 2 hybrids etc etc, and I've kept adding BOLT ONS here and there ( lol ) and am safely at 575 rwhp with rwd and 130k miles.
( though i've opened and refreshed the g'box

nothing EVER goes wrong. pulls like a stung mule from 2k to 7200 at 1.3 bar @ 130k miles and whatever ... I've swapped out a rad, slave accumulator etc etc a few five and dime parts parts here n there ( beside adding some other mods ) and maintain it religiously with cheap maint items and highly frequent oil/trans oil changes etc that it probably doesn't yet need.

if ever there was one? a modded tt IS safe to buy, provided of course all due diligence has been done. good luck. ( again ) get the proto car lol

one ( never ) last point? is that up to 600 rwhp the car is *relatively* safe as far as the internals being able to handle the power you make as the car at 414 or even k24/x50's 444
crank hp are actually factory DETUNED numbers ( in terms of the mezgers motor innate capabilities once modded ) for the original buyers. beyond 600 and then you're gonna need to ask yourself if the motor has been carillo'd etc etc. lol.

remember 600 is the sweet spot for longevity, my point.

Blswan

I'll make it easy on you... Stock. Lol

911mhawk

I'd see what the seller can provide for history on the car and contact those who did the work if possible, then have a PPI by someone knowledgeable on the turbo. These cars are worth enough to most people that they would/should have records to help you understand what you're considering.

When I bought mine the owner provided all the records and was clear on what had been done. Only wish I'd have caught him before he sold the Europipe exhaust. Managed to get the FVD airbag wheel and a Numeric(swaped for a GT-3, by the way) but they were off the car for resale as some freak out on mods. The aftermarket goodies for these cars are relative to the car price when new so I'd get whatever possible with a purchase if it's what you'd do in the future anyway.

My X-50 was essentially stock other than PSS10's/bars/links when I got it. The owner had the alignment settings from the shop and all records with mileage/dates to the extent that I felt good about the car. After buying, a flash from Kevin @UMW and some sticky tires has been enough to make me want more! I just like the idea of doing mods myself to get to know a car and understand what has really been done. That being said, if I could have got another 150HP for "free" that I was comfortable with and knew was a proven set-up...

These cars could get spendy real quick and if you're not prepared for that, you are asking for frustration. All depends on what you can sleep with and your plans for the car. I thought I'd drive it a few thousand miles a year and enjoy the thing when it's nice out. After 5 months I've put 5k miles on and want more power, these things are addictive

ANJ-911

If you ultimately want a modded car with 700 hp, and the promotive one checks out with all documentation, history, and PPI as others have said, I'd suggest going with that. No reason to buy the stock one and dump a bunch of money on mods when you won't get a significant return on your investment.

Keep in mind that the power mods do put more wear on the car. As 02996 said though, these cars are strong and can take the extra output, and whether you experience more maintenance issues while you own it can be debated, but at the end of the day more power means more stress on the car hence more issues.

I bought my 996 x50 which is mostly stock except coilovers and exhaust, which are insignificant mods in my opinion, and have greatly enjoyed it, have had far less issues than I had on my fairly heavily modified Audi B5 S4 2.7Bi-Turbo before it, and don't plan on modding it further, except maybe changing the exhaust. Not worth the money and potential headaches to me.

white out

All of this.

If the cars were in similar condition/miles/year, I would buy the modified car.

SSSTRESSS

nm. Starting new thread.