Norske

Less than 4.

Caveman

Very nice! :-)

TheOtherEric

No. Sold it. Didn't want to explode another engine. And to be honest, the added hp was disappointing (no low end torque), and the noise level when the dump pipes open was far too much for me during street use.

Norske

I'm not experienced with the kits. I know Protomotive sold bolt on kits, but I thought that was several years ago and they were limited in boost due to compression issues.

My engine was built by the Protomotive affiliate in New Jersey, Protosport. That was in 2002. My engine has only 9K miles on it with no issues at all. I don't drive it often, but I certainly do not baby it. I did add the Cargraphic oil cooler up next to the AC unit in the left front fender. My car runs very cool even the hottest humid weather. And, I have surprised a few 500HP Mustangs and Vettes. I also know a stock 993TT cannot match my acceleration. I have not dynoed my car as it is a pain to disconnect the front differential. I do have Dynoliciaous and Pocket Dyno on my phone, but have not had a closed space to test. When I do, I'll post results.

TheOtherEric

The "bolt-on kits" are exactly the same as Stage 2 kits, just different wastegate springs. Stage 2 just means you reduced the compression ratio in your engine to run higher boost.

Norske

Not quite, mine wasn't a "kit" Mine went under a complete rebuild, it has Pauter rods, flame hardened rings, beefed up clutch, higher flow injectors, etc, etc. My package was not available as a kit. It could only be had from a Protomotive affiliate.

TheOtherEric

Not to split hairs, but yes, yours was most definitely a kit, same as mine. Protomotive sends out the same stuff regardless of stage I or II. Maybe our disconnect is that you hear "kit" and think "bolt on kit." I never meant to imply yours was a bolt-on. Ours are both Protomotive kits all the same; yours only differs in having new engine guts. I only pointed it out because you seemed to say that the bolt-on kits somehow differ from what you have. All the same stuff.

Juha G

I think your post is spot on Eric, that $14k will only get you started. Unless you do this as a hobby, you'd be far better off trading a NA for a original Turbo.

BUT, I think in all fairness it should be pointed out that the real reason for your engine grenading, as far as I recall, was a clogged homemade oil breather, and not the turbo kit...
When installed and tuned properly, there will not be any problems with a kit like this.

Norske

Understood the outside hardware is the same, but i wouldn't dream of approaching 500 or more HP without a thorough upgrade to the internals.

TheOtherEric

Juha, I'll never know for sure exactly why it grenaded since there were a few things going on. The engine already had roughly 90k miles so maybe it wasn't up to the task. It misfired badly after installation because the injectors weren't sufficient. After lots of work and trials, I got that fixed with bigger injectors. Then had severe misfiring again because Protomotive spec'd poor spark plugs. After lots of trials, that got figured out. All that running & misfiring could have done some damage. We also went to a more aggressive tune than Protomotive initially gave me, so maybe it was just too aggressive. Then it ran around 500 highway miles with a clogged breather, then I fixed that. Failed a couple months later. The kit had under 2,000 total miles over several months.

So I'll never be 100% certain what caused it. But the main point is that it's a huge risk factor.

Juha G

Well, in this light it certainly sounds as if it was indeed the kit that caused the mishap...
I mean charging the intake can be safe as long as you control the process. Misfiring, inadequate injectors etc. is far from a controlled process. Wasn't this supposed to be a true, sorted out plug'n'play kit?

Being in control is the very reason I didn't want the TPC piggypack system along with my supercharger but instead used Motec and proper sizes injectors etc.

The key in all this is to know the limits of the engine and to be able to control the process so that things stay within those limits.

CHJ

Fascinating thread!!! Thank you Eric for providing your experience in such a detailed manor! Sorry it didn't work out better for you, but I'm glad you related the "rest of the story".

Chuck

pp000830

Nice read!

serval

I firmly believe that these care are meant to be improved upon. Unlike other "sanctified" brands, I do not feel it is heresy to hotrod these cars, mostly because that is exactly what Porsche has been doing all along. Having said that, the process can be pretty expensive and that is why every review and resource counts, with Rennlist topping that list.

Here's an expensive kit from one of the top Porsche after-market tuners, with a good reputation. Everyone is excited at seeing progress and expectations build up. A newbie breaks the party mood (Kenny) by declaring the kit junk, only to be derided for ignoring facts and maybe even having ulterior motives. 2000 miles later, it seems he may have made some valid points as the discussions unveils some real shortcomings with the Protomotive kit. Kudos to Eric for not only the initial write-up, but more importantly for being honest and forthcoming.

In the end, I feel the process worked, that the community has again done its job, and truthfully evaluated a product for all of our benefit, and this is what makes Rennlist the best.

DiegoR

Bit of OT:

I have turbocharged a N.A. engine in the past (a BMW 325is e30) and learned a lot of things with trial and errors, etc, but it's something that pretty much never ends, either start breaking components or when you want more boost then you need to replace an dmod more stuff to handle the extra power, all is resumed to BIG MAMA MONEY spent.

Having a short experiencie (only 1 car converted with custom self turbo kit I made) I woulnd't turbo a NA engine anymore, too much hassle and always there are problems, small or big one, they are there.

I plan to boost my C2 95' but I was thinking to go with a Rotrex S/C instead. However something that hold me back is the electronics/tunning stuff. I wouldn't go with standalone again and piggy backs are nott he best when added boost in a N.A. designed engine I believe, so custom chip should be key, however being outside of USA and no body arround here can tune a custom chip I'm not sure what I would do at the end.

Not sure what are the options outhere Can't find much info though.