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Hard to believe, it’s been almost seven years of the ownership and close to 60 Tkms of absolutely delightful and satisfying experience.
Where to start … Let’s go chronologically.
Engine oil. Oh, I know, I know.... After many trials and no errors, I settled on Millers CFS NT. I skipped the viscosity for a reason. It all stated with 5W-40, now I gradually transition to a blend of XX% of 5W-40 and YY% of 10W-50. I am not going to get into the details here, contact me if you want to know more.
Transaxle fluid. Ok, my car is C2S, so no front differential, which would not change a thing anyway. That was not that easy; see my posts on transaxle fluids: https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...cant-data.html
Everything above holds true to date. And I am still on Millers CRX 75W-90 NT. A bit of notchy cold shifting (I am in Canada), but it quickly goes away after a couple of kms.
Brake fluid, no brainer since I don’t track my car. ATE or Pentosin DOT 4.
Now the fun stuff begins.
Cooling system. The third radiator has been installed together with a low temp thermostat prior to any performance modifications. A fresh fill of pink coolant (G12 or Porsche) and leak check followed.
Having Millers CFS NT oil in the sump, 3-rd rad and LT thermostat allowed me to maintain about 200F oil temperature in just about any (including city driving), but hard riving conditions.
Wheels. I chose to replace my lobster forks with BBS CH-R. Oh, boy. The offset is perfect. No need for spacers, the gaps are perfect too. And I love the classic BBS split spoke design. Together with Michelin PSS it is a perfect combo.
Performance. Well, the fun begins right here.
Exhaust, I chose Cargraphics TÜV approved exhaust, Cargraphics 200 cell high flow cats and Porsche own X51 headers to go with the above. From the inside of the cabin, it is quiet. It really is quiet, I sometimes wonder if it is not too quiet. Funny enough, a few of my buddies tell me that the sound outside is really nice and quite loud. One of them would go for the very same setup, should he be back to 996/997 platform again.
Intake. Well, IPD Competition plenum and GT3 throttle body with deleted Helmholtz resonator. I miss the original sound, kinda distant cousin to Carrera GT like (obviously not quite like that) wolf howl at about 3,000 RPM’s. Other than that, the engine is a very, very free revving one. A big improvement over the stock setup. Makes you wonder if Porsche did detune C2S for a reason not to cannibalize GT3 models.
After several months of driving with the above setup, I decided to flash my ECU with FVD Genius software. I was a bit leery about software upgrades on normally aspirated cars. However, the flash truly transformed my car. It is just quick, free revving and a lot of fun to drive. Driving other, non upgraded Carreras is almost boooring…. If you know what I mean.
I declined on some of other options, I would prefer not to expand on that subject. Some upgrades just didn’t sit well, some weren’t for me.
The above I would recommend to anyone who wants to get full performance out of 3.8L Carrera engine without going broke.
Feel free to comment, share your experience.
Happy motoring, cheers.
Luke
I did the same things as the GT3 TB and IDP plenum with FVD tune along with BMC air filter and Dansk exhaust. Sounded great and really revved faster. I had the FVD 200 cell cats but never got around to putting them on. I sold that 2007 for a CTSV but sold that and have a 2009 C4S now. It's got the BMC filters and x pipe and soon to be FVD mufflers. Might get the tune too. On the 2009 the cats are part of the headers so if you want HFC you need to get the headers and 200 cell cats at the same time, so it's a bit more pricey
Great info Luke! Thanks for the writeup. I've long thought about adding the IPD plenum and GT3 throttle body but I've yet to find definitive proof that it adds to the driving experience. And it's not cheap. Your explanation is compelling. Do you think there would be an improvement with just a Cargraphic exhaust (which I have) but no 200 cell cat and X51 headers?
Being a Calgary, what made you decide on adding the 3rd radiator and thermostat? I posted a question about this on the board and got a ton of responses but few of them were practical, most were anecdotal.
Also could you provide a link to the tuning software you mention?
Thanks for sharing - all great info. We seem to get lots of questions about adding a 3rd radiator - since you don't track and you live a rather mild weather climate, what prompted the add-on? I'm in a much hotter climate and am still deciding what to do.
FVD has some dyno plots on their sites for various upgrades. If you think they are lying or presenting false data it's up to you. Dyno plots do not tell you anything but numbers, throttle response and how it's running can only be felt when driving.
You most likely will see very small performance improvement with exhaust only. Have a look at the headers to fully appreciate how Porsche detuned 3.8L engine. The sound will improve for sure.
Re: 3-Rd rad, there are many factors. Mostly keeping oil temperature at minimum. It's a bit long to fully explain and will trigger a million of hate responses.
The low temp T-stat is a no brainer. Pick whatever suits you most, LN or other and just do it.
JH,
It's such inexpensive upgrade that it was a no brainer and cheap insurance.
Cheers,
=L=
Originally Posted by mike9186
Great info Luke! Thanks for the writeup. I've long thought about adding the IPD plenum and GT3 throttle body but I've yet to find definitive proof that it adds to the driving experience. And it's not cheap. Your explanation is compelling. Do you think there would be an improvement with just a Cargraphic exhaust (which I have) but no 200 cell cat and X51 headers?
Being a Calgary, what made you decide on adding the 3rd radiator and thermostat? I posted a question about this on the board and got a ton of responses but few of them were practical, most were anecdotal.
Also could you provide a link to the tuning software you mention?
To make some people happy, once I'm done....I will go to P tuning in Manassas Va and get three dyno pulls done and post results. They have a all-wheel dyno and are a good shop. I plan to get the FVD tune next month.
To make some people happy, once I'm done....I will go to P tuning in Manassas Va and get three dyno pulls done and post results. They have a all-wheel dyno and are a good shop. I plan to get the FVD tune next month.
Would love to see this. I am very skeptical that Porsche left a lot of power on the table. Sure you can have more power with a very expensive X51 power kit, but. Anyway, if there is a relatively "easy" way to get 20+ hp out of this engine, I would be extremely happy. I am just not going to jump in and pay to have it down and convince myself it was a huge upgrade based on me wanting it to because I paid for it (Have been down this road many times before). I am a bit surprised that if porsche did leave a lot on the table and this car is 12 years old, why we don't see dyno runs posted all over the place now. Dynos are extremely available and cheap in this day and age.
the whole car sounds spectacular and looks it too.
As for the x51, $13.5 k option if I remember correctly. added 30 Gross HP? similar torque bump. That's just silly. Don't get me wrong, I like these cars, and i'm not trolling, but the hp gains are less than impressive. the v-3 supercharger for $10k in parts only adds minimal and laughable hp and torque gains.
Getting the FVD mufflers in tomorrow and then I'll get the tune done. Then off to P Tuning. The FVD mufflers are very nice and shiny with really nice welds. Too bad they get hidden away.
03-22-2017, 02:38 AM
Things I would do again
