theclaw

To some of you this is a pretty annoying question. It always was to me when this came up on the Ducati boards I've belonged to for years. Nonetheless it feels like there a bunch of us active posters that are new to Rennlist and new to 911's and this discussion might be helpful.

With a basically stock SC or Carrera what would be your favorite performance enhancement (within a reasonable budget) that you like: Chip, exhaust, short shift, brake upgrade, strut tower brace, etc. I already have a short shift kit and Borsch exhaust and don't anticipate any expensive repairs (who ever does). I'm dying to spend some money on my new toy and knowing how emotional a topic this is I thought I would throw it out there to get your ideas.

Regards,
Jeff

82Targa

Expensive = SSI headers and a muffler would be a nice upgrade.
Cheap = Momo shift ****.

Richard C2S

The SSIs and a muffler are a terrific upgrade. Suspension upgrade (torsion bars and shocks, Turbo tie rod ends) and lowering of car; better tires (hopefully with wider wheels); nice steering wheel.

I've done them all over time. If I was going to do just one at a time, I'd do the suspension and lower the car.

g-50cab

Carrera - Chip and exhaust
wider wheels and better tires
Momo streering wheel
Trach time...

r911

It ALL depends on what you want out of the car! Street or track? AutoX or race course?

For a basically stock SC or Carrera my favorite performance enhancement (within zero budget) would be to remove the rear seats. The car will be lighter by quite a bit. Next get the Euro crush tubes for the bumper and toss out the US version shocks. Next, try a FG rear bumper instead of the above.

For safety, replace the rubber brake hoses with new ones. If some idiot put non-DOT braded hoses on then replace them with new stock rubber ones. (The non-DOT ones fail catastrophically at the connections!) IF you have DOT braided lines, and they are 2 years old, also toss them out.

To get the desire to work on the car out of your system for a while and greatly improve handling and ride, replace all the old, hard and cold-flowed rubber in the suspension.

For more money, chip + exhaust. Be careful what chip you buy and get advice or buy the chip from Steve W. or somebody with equal expertise near you.

Forget the short shifter.
Most brake upgrades are really downgrades. Are your brakes getting so hot now that you are losing friction? If not, then it is just cosmetic. That's ok - but it is not a performance upgrade. Instead, you will HARM performance if you make the wheel assembly heavier.

sprocket3

Put the car on a diet! Pounds are cheaper to remove than HP is too add.

theclaw

R&R cold old rubber a good idea. My car is an '84 with 45k miles on it. Sat around alot. I plan a couple of track days (used to do alot on the bikes) but most of my driving will be on the flat roads of Illinois. When racing bikes so many guys would put money into their machines to get more power out it and neglect suspension and track time. All they did was run wide faster than they used to and kick up more dirt and grass (or worse).

In a related question: Suspension setup is SO important on a motorcycle. Does it matter as much in a car. Realize that the rider on a properly prepared race bike can weigh half as much as the machine.

jeff

r911

dunno - but it IS imp. on a 911...

a corner balance can be imp. too - even for a street car

Corrales911

Not that cheap. My car came with one that I found out later cost the better part of $90.

mjmoran

Favorite upgrades on my Carrera huh...in order of importance to me (first the performance stuff):


1) suspention set-up: 22/29 sanders torsion bars, revalved bilsteins, smartracing 22mmswaybars. This along with a euro ride height and turbo tierods make a fantastic ride both on and off the track.
2) SSI/Monty muffler ... the sound, the throttle responce, the clean look...all good no bad (unless you live in a smog controlled area.
3) chip (mines from Rennsport Systems Steve Weiner). This transforms the engine along with the exhaust. Do your research here though...lots of bad chips out there!
4) extrudhon intake...a bit more throttle responce and I had the intake off anyway. Fairly inexpenseive if you have the stuff out anyway and a nice increase if the above mods have been done already.
5) remove all the extra heater #$%^ in the engine bay when adding the SSIs. Go the 74ish backdate heater style.
6) GTP Brembos ft/rr. If their good enough for the 993 TT and the F40, good enough for me. No more heated up brakes yielding shorter track sessions for me!

Cosmetics: The factory did it right, so I did just a few things:
H1s with dual relays and 80/130 bulbs to light up the night...
french amber fog lenses
3M protectant film on front of car and lenses
silver badges to match the silver calipers

Well, thats about it. Now remember though, the 911 is basically perfect as it stands so make sure your upgrades are indeed that. I have seen some pretty sub standard equiptment added for "looks". Make sure that when you are upgrading you are doing just that. Randy Webb has it right that most brake and other upgrades end up being a downgrade. Be careful, do your research and dont be cheap!

Cheers,

Dan Cobb

Excellent advice in the previous replies. I would like to add that since your car is 20+ years old now, it would be a good idea to inspect the windshield gaskets and things of this sort that often get overlooked in favor of 'go faster, stop faster' type projects.
I couldn't agree more about these cars being near perfect off the showroom floor, so fancy (expensive!) wheels are basically lost on me. I like the ideas of lightening the car (within reason) to improve performace. Reduced weight bumper setups are a great way to go if you don't mind losing the recoil shocks (some do, some do not mind).
Dropping weighty heat exchangers in favor of SSIs is another great idea assuming smog restrictions will allow for it.
I say this; use your $$ to fix anything that is in need first. Then look at your 'fun budget' and see what you are able to spend.
New tires might be high on the list for one car, and not on another. New brake lines (OEM) are always a good investment. RS door panels are another popular weight reducing trick. Be mindful however, that most of these weight reduction components will also reduce the weight of your wallet by at least as much as the advertised reduction for your car.
Have fun and do a bit of research before you spend big $$ on anything.
+++

r911

I'll disagree on one item with Dan - the RS door panels don't really save much wt. It's mainly cosmetic.

Those into wt. savings can take a look at Thom's web site -- rennlight.org. He has an add your own entries thing there, several DIY items, and compilations I made of actual weight savings by area of the car, and a comparison and reading list for various light wt. 911s then & now.

dmw44

My '81 SC (3.0) track car has the following mods:
Weltmeister sway bars and camber strut brace, MOMO wheel (love it), turbo tie-rods and bushings, revalved Bilsteins, COOL brake duct system, upgraded tensioners, slotted rotors w/Pagid Orange pads, s/s brake lines, ATE Super Blue fluid, headers, upgraded Bilsteins, heat/AC removed, all rear interior removed, Safety Devices roll-bar, oil warning light instead of clock, Corbeau seats w/5-point harnesses, lowered, 225's f/245's r, K & N filter, swisscheese air box cover, pop-off valve, short-shift kit (915 tranny not my favorite, though), all carpet removed, fiberglass f/r RS bumpers w/ RS oil cooler, total weight loss of 350+ pounds. At Sebring, I most appreciate brakes!! Turn-in/track-out characteristics are excellent. The 3.0 has been bullet-proof. Pix at groups.msn.com/porchelovers--pca.
Regards, Doug

Dan Cobb

Hey Randy,
I thought the stock door panels (with pockets and door pulls) were 3-4 pounds heavier than the RS panels (each).
If so, then this means you could eliminate 6-8 pounds with this swap.
I read somewhere that 1HP is equivalent to 7 pounds. If so, then I am hurting my Carrera's performance by more than a couple of HP just by climbing into it!

mjmoran

Best way to shave pounds off the 911 is to stop eating at McDonalds!

This is like sitting with my cycling buddies after a long Sunday ride and hear them talk about ounces this and that with their fancy Ti and carbon stuff....then toss down a double mocha frapaccino!