The following is a list of performance modifications I made to my S2 and my impressions of those modifications:

Phase One:
K&N Air Filter (direct replacement of the stock unit). Cost: $45
Crane Cams HI-6S Ignition and LX-91 Coil. Cost: $150

Made the car much smoother and easier to drive in lower rpms. It may have increased the 0-60 a little, but I am not really sure. The Ignition has a rev limiter which I set at 6,500 in anticipation of installing the Chip.

It took a great deal of time to find mounting locations for the Ignition components. I ended up putting the Ignition on the passenger side of the car below where the headlight adjustment bracket hits and above the oil cooler. I had to mount the Coil on the fender between the windshield washer reservoir and the power steering fluid reservoir. The Crane coil (male) required a different fitting on the plug wire than the OEM coil (female).

Phase Two:
Chip. Cost: $145

I purchased this chip from Steve Russakov (WYNNCLAIMS@aol.com)

This made a big difference, but not what like I expected. I guess the car is faster, but I am not really doing blazing 0-60’s. The big difference is the ease at which the engine operates - which I guess means that it is faster. It does accel like a rocket, especially when I drop down to 3rd for a pass, but I am not real sure how much faster the 0-60 times are.

When in traffic I now shift at around 3,000 rpms instead of closer to 4,000. The car behaves very well in the 2,000 to 3,000 range whereas before it really wanted to be above 3,000 rpms. Now I have to make sure that I do not dip below 2,000 rpms because I have heard that it is not the best thing for the engine. However, she runs like a scolded dog above 4,000 rpms.

Also, I have found myself not knowing what gear I am in when I am cruising down the highway with the windows down (I can not hear the engine with the windows down). 3rd, 4th, and 5th all feel equally good at around 60 mph. 4th and 5th feel good at 70 mph. The car really likes to cruise between 70 and 80 mph in 5th, it is almost effortless.

If anything, I am not pushing the car as hard and I do not feel the need to go as high in the rpm range as I did before. That does not mean that I am driving slower, it just means that it takes less effort from the car to do the same thing. I am sure all of this will change as I get used to the new performance envelope.

All in all, I am very satisfied with the improvements. $350 and a long weekends worth of work has made my car much smoother and more enjoyable to drive.

 

Congratulations.

 

Michael
I thought I read somewhere that K&N didn't make a filter for the S2. What is the part number? Also, keep me posted as your progress/opinion when you change struts.
TIA
Tom

 

Michael-

Does the Steve R. chip require the modified ignition system to get the max benefit? I have a K&N cone on my S2, I might have to check out the panel replacement, even though I already swiss cheesed the top of the air box for more direct flow to the air filter (done before I got the cone).

Also what struts are you switching to????
Currently I am running the M474 units front and rear. I think my next purchase will be the 968 MO30 sway bars.

Keep us posted.

 

I think I know where Michael got the filter, so I'll answer

K&N drop-in filter for the S2 = 33-2807

 

That sounds like a great deal on the chip, as I've heard they usually go for around $400. Does Steve have more for sale at this price? Also, where did you hear that you should not run it below 2000 RPM? Because I'd like to install a chip (if I can get it for $145), but my commute forces me to idle along in traffic a lot.

 

Oh, and Riff, what I did to my airbox (also with the K&N from Paragon) is I took the front half out completely and zip-tied the filter on to the back half, in several places. It's as solid as a rock, and it exposes basically 100% of the filter to the air, so it should breathe way easier. In theory.

 

Michael,
I too would like to know the 2000 rpm thing. I've never heard that before. Also, how difficult was it to put in the Crane ignition system? Anything that would make my idle smoother and ignition smoother/more repsonsive sounds like a good investment to me. I have a Cab so, anything that helps to minimize vibes is a good thing.

Regards,
Max

 

Wow, I am surprised at all of the responses. I will try to address everything below, but if you still have questions let me know.

K&N Filter:

The K&N filter is a direct replacement. However, the K&N frame is soft rubber instead of hard plastic like the OEM so it takes a little patience to get it seated properly. I got the filter from Paragon Products. Go to their on-line catalogue to the 924,944,968 section and then to Air Intake. It is listed in the pull-down.

Ignition:

I got the ignition because of Skip. Having done a few DE’s I noticed that I often end up around 3,000 rpms coming out of some turns and that the car seemed slow until it got back up to 4,000 rpms. I know that I could downshift, but I don't like to.

The main thing I noticed after installing the ignition is that the car is easier to drive in stop-and-go traffic. It made a big difference for when I am below 3,000 rpms. I do not think it made the car faster, just easier to drive. I can let out the clutch and on level ground the car will pull itself in first gear without having to use the gas. I can crawl at about 1,200 rpms without fear of stalling the car. I have had it below 1,000 rpms and was able to keep the car moving and the engine running.

It was not easy to install. The hardest part was getting the straight 12v and the switched 12v connections. The switched 12v went to the spare in the fuse box and the other 12v went directly to the battery. I ended up drilling a small hole in the firewall on both sides of the car to run the wires. I put a small rubber grommet into each hole. I also had to remove the plastic fenderwell liner to install both the Ignition and the Coil. It took me two days to install the sucker. Luckily, I had the A-arms and sway bar off at the time, so it gave me some extra room to maneuver. Skips installation of his MSD system was a lot easier and cleaner.

Chip:

The ignition is not necessary to use the chip. Steve makes the chips. It is a clone of another chip – not real sure which one. He also does chips for the Turbo and maybe the N/A. I am not real sure on this, you will need to contact him. I asked him if it was OK to post his name and E-mail to the list and he said it was. I know that there are several S2 people out there with the chip.

The chip really accentuated the low end power of the car. I can stay in the same rpm range as an automatic and still have enough power to accel faster the greater majority of cars around me. I have not driven in heavy traffic since the chip install. Of course, there is no substitute for high rpms when you really want to move.

2000 rpm’s
There was a thread on one of the E-mail lists about driving around in the low rpms in the upper gears. It had to do with the load on the engine and the lack of oil circulation. In first and second gears I don not think it is much of a problem, but in third and higher I think that the consensus was to not do it. I have no facts on this, it is all hear-say.

Struts:
I am planning on getting the new replacement cartridges from Paragon when they come out. You have to modify the existing strut housing to use them, but it seems to be the least expensive way to get adjustable struts for the S2. Doing this will also allow me to keep those S2 specific springs, for better or worse. I am talking with Santa about the strut inserts now. What Santa does not know, however, is that I will also have to have an expensive car alignment afterwards. Much to my chagrin, sway bars are way in the future.

 

2000 rpm’s
There was a thread on one of the E-mail lists about driving around in the low rpms in the upper gears. It had to do with the load on the engine and the lack of oil circulation. In first and second gears I don not think it is much of a problem, but in third and higher I think that the consensus was to not do it. I have no facts on this, it is all hear-say.

I believe in the S2 manual they have a blurb about this.

 

Actually Porsche itself, within the S2 manual, warns not to bog the engine down below 2000 RPM. But according to their shift charts I should stay in first until almost 4000 RPM! So anytime I'm in my neighborhood, with a 25 MPH speed limit, I'm running around with my engine revving at high RPMs.

Oh well - whatever makes the car happy.

 

[quote]Originally posted by Michael Stephenson:
<strong>snip...I got the ignition because of Skip. Having done a few DE's I noticed that I often end up around 3,000 rpms coming out of some turns and that the car seemed slow until it got back up to 4,000 rpms. I know that I could downshift, but I don't like to.

...Much to my chagrin, sway bars are way in the future.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Three things:
One: don't be lazy to downshift: grab third for the slower corners, and you won't have a problem with DE's: the whole point of DE is to learn how to drive the track, and that includes learning how to heel and toe downshift and get the car in the optimal rev range and gears for the corners.
Having done a few DE's this year, I find my only problem is with off the rev limiter at times. (ex: the short straight before the toe at Watkins Glen: I'm in 3rd at 80mph and if I don't feather the throttle, I'm at the rev limiter!) It is usually beneficial to slow down your approach to such corners (esp. ones leading onto a longer straight), downshift, and thus achieve a higher exit speed!

Two: regarding oil starvation at low engine speeds: Just keep an eye on the oil pressure guage, and make sure the oil is always at the full mark, and unless you're always cornering at 0.95 g's, you shouldn't worry. (Note: high g's at high speed right-hand turns, like 'the bowl' at Pocono can result in a sudden drop in oil pressure) There's really no need to rev the engine to 4k rpm for normal street driving: that does add more wear to the drivetrain, but the mechanics and gas station attendants will love you for it!

Three: Regarding the sway bar upgrade: my recommendation is to just upgrade the rear bar with the M030 968 bar (3 way adjustable 19m). If you're still on a stock suspension, your front sways should be stiff enough to handle the thicker rear sway, and putting a stiffer front sway on will only increase your car's tendancy to understeer. The front's the expensive one, at over $250.00! The rear sway is around $150.00.

Just my $0.42
-Z-man.