danburke

I'd love to hear how people feel about keeping a nice 964 stock, or if there are some essential mods out there that just make life worth living

Be passionate and clear if you can. Top 3 mods would be interesting to know.

mrmandmman

Mod 1: Replace stock suspension to make car look and handle like it should (i.e. not look like an SUV).

Amroth

I'm not passionate yet since I haven't tried them all properly, but there are many combinations depending on your tastes. For my tastes, it probably goes like this:

1 - Suspension

2 - LWF with SW chip

3 - Exhaust

GeorgeK

Before any performance mods, make sure it is all it can be:

-Suspension with some lowering

-Brake checkup (look at the flex lines...)

Then drive it, a long while, until you have a clear idea what is lacking (for you).

Then start spending in the direction that suits you.

ACSGP

1. Suspension

2. Brakes

3. Whatever else that irritates you on the car.

This would be for a fairly std car. However, if you have a 964RS, replace the worn parts with the originals.

raspberryroadster

my AR cab came with turbo 17"wheels/suspension/brakes so have not focused on those mods....but generally agree stock 964 lowered on 17" wheels may be priority item & will return some value.

for me:
-primary exhaust delete (sound result quite nice indeed & removing weight from rear of these cars likely never a bad idea), others may argue for 2ndary delete & or gutted cat & or dual out exhaust system (a la fabspeed).....generally all personal wishlists.
-custom audio installation (its a cab & wife/me enjoy top down day trips with music) - stock amp/speakers/headset sucks, useless at highway speeds....we now have i-pod dock & 500 songs on tap with no need to carry bunch of CD's.
-3rd brakelight delete, ROW cabs (964 / 993) did not have the abomination of all design failures emanating out of rear deck lid.....i did delete & was best decision ever made.
-steve wong chip, both my pro shop guy & i drove before & after install - common agreement better throttle response.

have no other mods planned near term as car is now just fine.....i think in due course will upgrade to wevo's/welded in supports for the engine carriers.
Personally I would not do power adders (cost/ benefit is questionable) but if I still owned the car at "rebuild time" would certainly consider stepping up to 3.8l

imo generally the value of these cars may have plateau'ed and accordingly well placed modifications may neither enhance or decrease value (inless its lo-miler concours keeper) therefore owner's choice.

misterbeverlyhills

1. Springs, shocks ride height.
2. Buy excellent tires of the right size, align and corner balance.
3. Tighten the nut behind the wheel.



Drive the car for 3 months before any mod and best of all, get Adrian's book and see what it says about mods.

psiegel

1. RS alignment is awesome
2. If it is an every day driver under normal conditions make sure you don't lower too much. If you are mainly on a track, no problems. Depending on whats in the car and how old, new dampeners and coils can also make a big difference.
3. For all the other stuff, its all part of a complete system so often its a combination of mods that will net a substantial result.
4. yes, check out Adrian's book

Rally Guy

I have to chime in with lowering/suspension mods. Remember - these cars were shipping in the ealry 90's when Porsche was springing everything high and soft.

The cars look ridiculous to me at the "stock" North American ride height - and I don't think Porsche ever intended them to sit so high - something about bumper height regulations. Easier to spring them high than redesign the bumper!

But if the real question is "keep it dead stock or open Pandora's box" then I think the suspension mod REQUIREMENT (he he he) forces the issue.

And once you've done one mod...

RK

rlets

I'll echo this response. Although I'd suggest #3 first. To get the most out of even a stock 964 you need to be 'on it'. And I don't mean, Dad taught me well and I feel like I'm good 'on it'. I mean 20+ days on various tracks with good instruction 'on it'.

By the way, my car is stock except for springs, shocks, wheels, tires and alignment. Oh, and a CD player...

Cheers,
Rich

mrmandmman

I think with the age and mileage that a lot of these cars have, it makes sense for a lot of us to replace the suspension before we get near a track.

hamah

it's been said before but...

-drive it for a good bit first. The deficiencies will come out
-unless the suspension has already been done your looking at dampers and control arm bushings that are at least 16 years old. Probably time for a refresh. The rear bushings might still be fine but if the front control arms are original you will almost definitely need to replace them (or just the bushings if going aftermarket...which you should)
-if your refreshing the dampers and bushings you might as well put springs in there to lower to ROW spec (or a little lower if you don't use Porsche springs). A US spec ride height just looks goofy IMO (particularly the way the front looks higher than the rear).

Crystal Cranks

1 - Suspension

2 - Cup Pipe

3 - Remove engine under-tray (can't believe it was not said yet)

TR6

Here are my thoughts on the subject in another thread. If it's a street car, I would do a modest suspension upgrade to lower the car and slightly firm it up and maybe an exhaust bypass for a little more throaty sound. Beyond that, I'd leave it alone and enjoy it the way Porsche engineered it.

hamah

I completely agree. I've never been able to leave a car the way the engineers first designed it...as a package. I always thought I knew more than they did and would start to mod it. Of course modding is a very slippery slope and somewhere along the way I'd overstep the bounds and end up with a car that was less than it was when I started. Not going to do that with the Pcar (I hope)