DaveK

Hi,
Over the last few months, I've been thinking that a bit more power would be nice (don't we all?). What I actually want is a 993 turbo, but there seems to be a bit of a gap between the £55K it would cost me, and the balance of my bank account. So I was giving some thought to a couple of other possibilities :

1) Trade in for a 993. Tempting - they are lovely looking cars, but I reckon a good one would cost twice the value of my 964 and it simply doesn't make sense. It would be more modern and therefore hopefully have less problems but it's only 35bhp more even if I went for the varioram. Decided against this for now.

2) Trade in for a 964 turbo. I would want the 3.6L but these don't come up for sale very often - and as far as I can see, when they do they cost more than n/a 993s. They have enough power, but it's a lot of money for a car that is only a few years newer than mine.

3) Super charge my car. This was the favourite. I have reservations about how it would affect the resale value of my car, but it should provide just about enough power and at £5.5K fitted it looks like a bargain (compared to the other 2 options anyway). Plus my engine had a top end rebuild 15K miles ago so should be in good shape as a starting point. However, I contacted my insurers to see how much they would load the premium if I did this - and they would not even provide cover! It's NU Direct, so a big UK insurer but they said that adding a super charger would mean brakes etc. also needed upgrading. Damn!

Whether I actually would have gone ahead with it I don't know - but it was beginning to look pretty appealing.

If anyone has any ideas on how else an easy 50-ish bhp can be achieved at a reasonable cost then let me know - or if you want to donate about £40K to my 993 turbo fund then I can provide my bank details!

Dave
90 C4

johnfm

Dave

MoTEC engine management etc as per Colin Belton's article gives 320 HP for about £4000 + VAT. NO internal mods & insurers wouldn't know that a new ECU is on the car anyway!

Brake upgrade - well, unless you plan to go faster than the current top speed, I don't know why you'd need a brake upgrade. Ultimately, whether its 250 HP or 320 HP is a moot point - brakes will cope, unless you are doing some serious track work.

BTW, 911virgin.com had two 993 TT for £42k.

Christer

I would second the Motec option. For about £5K it is about as good as you can hope for. Better fuel consumption too, unlike the SC option. This is something I would consider but not at the moment for 2 reasons:

1. I think I would need to rebuild the top-end as well;

2. I have just spent a similar amount on upgrades and 'service' items.

DaveK

Hi,
I agree with your logic on the brakes - just 'cos you can get there a bit quicker shouldn't mean it's harder to stop. Ah well.

£42K is a pretty good price - but still more than I would want to spend for now.

Motec is tempting though. I looked for the GT Purely Porsche article but I think I missed it and the current issue doesn't have it. I may have to speak to him at some point.....

Dave
90 C4

Flying Finn

How about losing weight (I have 993 & I'm in a process of trying remove weight)?

Remove sound deadening, carpets (at least in trunk), spare & compressor, A/C, stereo & speakers. Lighter seats, exhaust etc.

Or if even more, lighter engine lid, maybe bonnet also.

Most of items save only little but when you combine (depending how much you do), it adds up. And then tere are of course, more 'serious' (& expensive) items, body paneles, glass etc.

And this doesn't only make you faster when accelerating, you'll be faster on braking & curves also!

JohnM

Odd about the no cover and the "upgrade brakes too". When I contacted NU (via broker) about mods, fitting a suspension kit resulted in a 15% "modified car" loading on my premium. Having charged me the extra 15%, any exhaust mods I care to do will not add any more cost, but if I change the brakes to the TT big red setup my premium will double! It seems NU don't want my car to stop any better than it does now, must be a hazard to following traffic

AlanC

One of the performance upgrades I've seen around on the net is increasing the displacement of the engine to 3.8L, presumably through boring out the cylinders and putting in new 102mm pistons. This process also requires replacing your cars connecting rods and ECU. I can't vouch for these guys or the method but you can take a look at:
<a href="http://www.powerhaus.com/carrera.htm" target="_blank">http://www.powerhaus.com/carrera.htm</a>

Harold

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Originally posted by AlanC:
<strong>One of the performance upgrades I've seen around on the net is increasing the displacement of the engine to 3.8L, presumably through boring out the cylinders and putting in new 102mm pistons. This process also requires replacing your cars connecting rods and ECU. I can't vouch for these guys or the method but you can take a look at:
<a href="http://www.powerhaus.com/carrera.htm" target="_blank">http://www.powerhaus.com/carrera.htm</a></strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">That is a very expensive way to get a little more power. Based on cost, I would rather go Motec or supercharger for that matter.

But then I really wonder about reliability and drivability. At the end I reckon the finn is onto something- if i wanted performance improvements without compromising mechanical reliability, I would spend my money on lightening the car (seats and rims are a great starting point), as are the free things like getting rid of sound proofing etc).

DaveK

Hi,
Although I understand the benefits, I don't think lightening is for me. I kind of like my air con, stereo, electric windows etc. and wouldn't be keen to lose them.

I will investigate the motec option - what I really need is to find someone who has one fitted.

Dave
90 C4

johnfm

Dave

is your motor completely stock?

What is your budget??

I am looking at some upgrades at the moment - piggyback engine management to run bigger injectors, MAF, bigger throttle body, CAT & primary bypass. Price should be about half that of MoTeC. Gains, well, we'll see!

DaveK

Hi,
"Mostly" stock. I have a cat bypass, and it was chipped by JZM. That didn't give a big noticeable difference, but it did feel like it gave a little more low down power which I was happy with.

Budget - I figure about £5K.

I've heard varying reports about MAF - some claim big things, some say it makes no difference.

&gt; Gains, well, we'll see!

This is the thing that makes me hesistate a bit - the fact that you don't know what you'll get until you spend the cash. I've seen figures of 320bhp quoted for Motec - if I get a guarantee that I'll see that, I'll write out my 4K + vat cheque now.

Dave
90 C4

Christer

Dave

If you are serious then just talk to Colin Belton. He will tell you exactly what is involved. Regarding guaranteed gains, I am sure CB will not want your 5k up front so at least you can see what you get before you pay up.

DaveK

Hi,
Well I just spoke to 930 (not that they are called that anymore).

The standard package (Motec ECU + large injectors + loom connector + K&N filter / induction tune) is £3800 + vat fitted.

It's another £295 + vat + a few hours labour if I also wanted the large throttle body.

Of the 5 RS's they've done, 3 have been dyno'd - at 324, 310 and 318 all with torque of 400ish.

They also said that they are confident that it won't introduce idle problems etc - in fact, it tends to fix problems caused by LWF etc.

So - I reckon the whole thing, including the larger throttle body is probably about £5K - which coincides with the money I was thinking of spending. You also get all your old bits back, so it can be swapped back in the future if necessary.

I need to sleep on it - and I think I'll also get my mechanics views on Motec. But it's looking quite appealing.

Does anyone in the UK have a copy of the GT Purely Porsche article they'd be willing to loan out? I'd like to see it but I've missed it - the one in the shops has changed.

Dave
90 C4

DaveK

Nothing is ever simple....

My mechanic's view was that Motec is good, but it's a lot of money. If it was his car and he wanted to spend money on it, he'd have a hot film + all new suspension and still stick £1K in the bank. He suggested I speak to AMD.

I did - and AMD are not sure they will continue with hot film for 964s. They told me to call back in a month. What they did say was that hot film doesn't always work - some cars they see up to 295bhp, some they see no difference. I thought that was interesting since it seems to agree with comments on this board. AMD's view was Motec will give 310-320bhp, but again it's a lot of cash and in his view it's more suited to trackdays etc.

I'll think about this over the next few days. Maybe I should take the weight loss approach - keep everything in the car but just go on a diet!

Dave
90 C4

Christer

Dave

At least AMD are honest! I would say that thinking about it is a good idea - just to be sure. What's the rush?