ZSA Motorsport

Quick question on turbo chargers:
doing someengine work on a 1997 993 turbo S. bot it with knowledge the engine needed to be dropped and some basic resealing / gaskets, etc. needed to be done. no problems there. but upon reviewing it more closely, we also felt the turbos, well, maybe should be addressed while the engine was out, etc.

so, the choices seems to be: 1) buy new turbos k16s for $2400 or so. or 2) ship off turbos to kevin or other to rebuild?
first option is 2x price of latter. if i went with the more expensive total replacement, i might have them rebuilt anyway for future use or sale.
anyone have thoughts on this?
better to get new or rebuild? what would be other factors other than cost?
is there a resale value on non-rebuilt, or rebuilt turbos'?

lastly, not sure if anone else has nicked up turbo s wheels, but i found a place that supposedly owns the finishing equipment that porsche used to create that 'chromatic' finisho n the turbo s's. they say they can refinish as new/stock. i gave them on non-s though turbohollowpsoke wheel to do to ensure its perfect. a few hundred bucks / wheel.

a. anyone know anyone else that does this for the 1997 turbo S wheels?
b. anyone interested in how it comes out, le tme know. that turbo s finish is phenomenal.

thx in advance,
steve

bigimp65

steve
as for the turbos...if you were talking about a normal tt that was driven there would be no question that you should/could go with improved turbos, kevins or similar. however, for your turbo s that is more of an investment piece, i would think that original stock or to original specs would be most desirable. im sure kevin can help you here as well, i wouldn't think you needed to buy all new units, they can be rebuilt to factory specs if thats what you want. if you do want to upgrade on this particular tt s, im sure that in addition to turbos there may be some other changes you could make while the engine is out. listen to paul or john at protosport, they know their sh_t

C.J. Ichiban

if you're not going through the whole super low mileage thing, an option on the turbos would be to use stock porsche 993 gt2 turbos for an OEM upgrade without sacrificing the factory type label on your car- that being said if you're not really driving it- it's better to leave it stock 100%.

ZSA Motorsport

yeah, i think i'm going that route. stock.

993TurboS

I'd be interested in how the wheels turn out. I have an extra set of turbo S wheels that need a little help. I keep a new, perfect set, for special occassions and drive on the imperfect ones. I'd refinish them if I thought someone could do it right. Please post your thoughts on how they compare to the originals when you get them back.

I've heard that the problem in refinishing them is not in the equiptment, but in the "secret formula" that created that exact color. Also, there is the issue of how they are painted. The stock wheels, for example, don't have that finish all of the way through the inside of the wheel, but it does appear on the parts of the inside between the spokes. I'm guessing that you will be able to tell that it is not original, but that it will be better than scuffs.

If I were you, I'd buy a couple of sets of regular TT wheels for the Ss you drive and have them painted as closely as possible to the TTS wheels and put the S wheels in storage. The S wheels might appreciate faster than the S itself.

ZSA Motorsport

i'll update you when i know. shouldnt be that long. we sent them one wheel only to redo, the worst of the 4 , to make sure its 100%. supposedly this company bot the finishing equipment and paint and IP to the process from porsche. who knows.

i like your idea about the S wheels, having that extra set. do you see any good turbo wheels out there on ebay or elsewhere.? from what i know, they are same as the turbo wheels less different finish. i bot one on ebay for about $150 in perfect shape. front. need 3 more.

BABaracus

I would also be very interested in how the refinished wheels turn out.
Please let me know as I have some that need some work...and new sets from the factory are scarily expensive.

- james

Steven_H

I'd also like to know about the wheels. Mine are passable but have been retouched - better than dinged, but not perfect.

Air Kuul TT

Steve,

Thanks for testing out the vendor for us... I too would like to know how the refinished wheel turns out.

TIA.

ZSA Motorsport

wheels are supposed to be back this week...at this point, i'm told they are match perfect. but i aint betting more than the money i agreed to pay unitl i see them.... it was a few hundred bucks wheel. not cheap, but then agan, not sure what refinishing costs for regular turbos. 4x300 to me was far less than the 6k$ for new.

amazing what a magnet for nicks those porsche wheels are...you think its mainly a function of the low profile, or the fact that you're scooting around at mach speeds trying to avoid the impossible to avoid nicks in the road.

oh well...i say pound them, keep a set of nice ones for show if necessary and every few years refinish. good news will be that they are re-doable, which will lighten the stress of the whole darn thing.

stress? kinda funny that one could have stress over wheel finish....pcars do that to you . you want to ride hard and fast, but you also want it looking sharp.

later,
sg

ZSA Motorsport

Wheels will be here, so i'm told, tuesday-ish. We gave the wheels, and new tires , to the finisher so they could mount the tires. and of course, during mounting, they scratched two of them, so they had to refinish the 2 blotched ones today. not the end of the world, and really not my issue, but they are back a few days. so they say they'll hvae them to us on tuesday, weds.

i have the zenith blue, 2-tone interior "S" at Protosport gettinga host of stuff done. i'm gonna drive that S a good bit and wanted it perfect. though not 100% necessary, since we had the engine down we rebuilt a few things, replaced the turbos with new turbos, new tires, new clutch, major service A to Z> cost a bit more than i woul dhave expected, or liked, but i really didnt want to do stuff 1/2 arsed. guy says the clutch is 50% gone. any of those 50/50s, i say be conservative. get the work done.

so with any luck, after 2 1/2 weeks in the shop, honey bunny will be back in the nest later this week.

fingers still crossed on the wheels but at this point, i cant imagine that a premier refinishing company would totally be off on finish matching and not advise. so, right now, a betting man says 80/20.

ZSA Motorsport

went over to Protosport today to check out the job they did on the Turbo S wheels. they looked perfect. we didnt do the centercaps to ensure the refinishing process resulted in an absolute match. they looked perfect. as noted, originally the scratched 2 of them putting on the tires, but they redid them perfectly taking an extra day, but well worth it.

those guys were very impressed with the job, and i did alli could to review and inspect....they looked great, a perfecto job.

price was $350/wheel which is well worth it considering you end up with a brand new wheel when a actual new set runs about $5600 from porsche.

if interested, give protosport a call. ask for Jon or Paul. fyi, they are very well known and highly regarded in the NJ marketplace for the quality of their work.

side note: zenith blue turbo S is done. did about $8 k of work including new clutch a to z, and new turbos. new tires, replaced a few gaskets while engine was out to get it perfect and as-new. thing is phenomenal. 2-tone deviating interior is awsome. i'll post some photos when she gets home tomorrow.

regards,
sg
(973) 839-5353