993RS

Having a 3.8L engine in an early '96 model explains why no Varioram. The 3.8L option was initially offered for the non-Varioram engine for the normal cars. The RS engine was not yet offered to non-RS cars.

You most probably have the normal European G50/21 gears, which are quite good (about 10% shorter for 3-6 gears then the US version).

Run your option codes through an option decoder (there is one in the top thread for new posters)

akolodesh

having had the close ratio gearing experience this weekend by riding in Greg Fishman's car all I can say is that if someone is willing to spend the money it is definitely worth it. I really can't imagine anything else coming close in the $5-$6K range ($???).
A TPC SC would also be nice and I am interested in learning of Sachin's experiences on the track.

woodcock

@ porkapig

as 993RS writes, the 3.8l engine was a factory option for the pre-Varioram 993's. It took the hp from 272hp to 285hp (funnily enough, exactly the same power achieved with the standard Varioram engine a year later).

With the short gear ratios, yours should be a useful mover, I should expect..

woodcock

porkapig

cheers fellas for that - yep the shorter ratios, 3.8 and RS clutch LWF does seem to work very well.

having come form a forced induction background (lancia integrale running 330bhp) i was considering a SC - TPC export them over here to ninemeister i think - however had the car very sideways today in the dry from a junction (resulting in a couple of lungs of tyre smoke!) i think a SC added may make the car undrivable in the UK due to the rain? will run the car as is at the moment - fast enough for now as winter sets in ;-)

marc

graham_mitchell

EDIT: consider a C4 then

porkapig

EDIT: consider a C4 then

i did but have done the 4x4 thing - need more of a challenge to 'slow me down' if you know what i mean ;-) - having to really try to get the *** end out in the grale (rear biased but not as much as the C4) was getting very dangerous to find the pleasure in doing so. Must admit 4x4 is rather cool when it rains - and have 300lb/ft of torque to put down on the tarmac

NineMeister

Sorry to hijack the thread Marc, one of the other posters was right, we are the UK distributor for the TPC kit, and as a guy who has driven many supercharged 964 & 993 models I would like to put you at ease with the blown 3.6 in the wet.

According to the owner of the first supercharged car that we converted (964RSL with Motec, 355bhp & 445Nm) the car was easier to drive in the wet compared to the standard RSL because you could drive on the edge of the traction envelope from just off idle @ 2000rpm where 390Nm was available, therefore finding grip was just a matter of careful use of throttle in a much higher gear than usual, so keeping the revs down and driving the car on the torque rather then the power. The owner competed with the car on numerous hillclimb & sprint events and achieved much faster times against the standard car in the wet than he did in the dry with an extra 90bhp.

porkapig

cheers colin - may be in a years time i'll be tempted :-) already tempted but the GF would kill me for spending more money just know!

colin how much would you charge for a inspection of a car? i have the car and have a warranty for 6 months - obviously want to get anything sorted before it runs out! only a few miles away from you.

Marc

PS your car looked truely awesome at the porsche festival at brands! - the weekend inspired me to buy a 993 oposed to the TVR i was thinking of at the time!

NineMeister

Thanks for the vote on the RSR, I have to say that for once both me and the car were in tune with each other and I was very happy with the result, although even after winning by over 2 seconds I was frustrated to know how fast I could have gone if I had not suffered with fuel surge every time I went downhill on the fastest run! Still, my fault for running such a light fuel load in order to save weight.

You did the right thing in buying a 993, in my opinion these are the best cars that Porsche will ever produce. You have 30 years of development behind this model unlike the later 996 which appear to be suspiciously suffering with engine maladies now that the early ones are outside of warranty (no doubt still better than a TVR though!).

I would be glad to be of help, so if you call in with the car for a quick mechanical once over/body inspection with myself & Marc we would probably not charge, although it would be better if you could book in advance to make sure we are both in the shop and that there is a ramp available. We can then talk about your go-faster options.......

AMG ETR

Hi Everyone,
This thread is pretty long, so I didn't have time to read it all , however, if you have any questions for me/us please give us a call or PM me and we/I will do our best to help you out!!
Regards,
Evan

Tom W

I came across this site with 3.8L upgrade information durng a search for information on exhaust systems. You might find it interesting.

Monique

The 3.8 is quicker. But then my car is very light, has the LWF and G50/21 box.

Only a TT can keep up and unless driven very well, eventually I'll pull away. The car handles better too..

.. set up by Michael Manthey Racing last year

woodcock

@ Monique

Michael Manthey??

Olaf Manthey, I assume..

woodcock

porkapig

colin

just thought i'd put a post up saying thanks for having a look at the car for me and showing me around the workshop - educated on rear wings now ;-)

really good to have a knowledgable and enthusiastic specialist 15mins away from my house!

thanks again

will be getting back to you shortly with the windscreen

marc