Balu

Seems Blue Chip and Capt. Obvious nailed it.
Didn't JR a while back say the way to power up
is by increasing displacement or go X51.

Two grand ain't gonna cut it

The old adage I heard was 10 lbs. = 1hp.
One of the main reasons why some air cooled owners
pulled out their heavy/failing AC systems.

Best to lighten it.
Rotating and unsprung mass make a big difference.
Twice a year when the summer/winter wheel swap takes
place on my other car the difference is striking.
Are the twists hollow? Ti. Lugs perhaps?
AGM battery, lose the spare tire and back seats.
Different mufflers...it all adds up.

Marv

I'd invest in:

Helmet, tires, and DE time on a track. You could buy a high-performance driving class and get more for your money.

Seriously, there is really nothing short of a massive roll of cash that will make any difference in the performance of a Porsche normally aspirated engine. As others have pointed out, a diet has some merits, but there is only so far you can go with that.

Porsche does a good job with wringing out the most from their engines out of the box. Adding 20 to 30 hp to an engine really only gives you bragging rights at the next water hole. If you were honest to yourself you wouldn't really notice much of a difference at all. If you want a significant improvement, sell and buy a Turbo. At least you now have a pathway to some serious upgrades.

Lastly, any money you sink into your car is pretty much money burned. No one will really pay you extra for your car when it's time to sell, so the improvements are a poor investment.

808Bill

Anyone have the #'s on the stock exhaust vs Fabspeed system? I'm consider a muffler change purely for weight savings and hopefully a little more growl.

Capt. Obvious

Let's be honest with ourselves here, just the act of buying a 996 is a poor investment.

RE: Fabspeed vs. stock, if I recall correctly my Fabspeed cans were a good 25 pounds lighter than the factory mufflers.

TonyTwoBags

people invoke the word 'investing' way to much on this car forum.

"if I was to invest in a muffler...."

That said, I've spent time and $$ on improving the induction and exhaust sounds, with good results. Reg size IPD plenum, fisters, headers & resonator cap have my car giving a fun sound. The car really demands that you appreciate it for what it is not - and it is not a drag racer. It's a fun and engaging canyon/gt/a-x/HPDE car.

808Bill

That's a good diet!

porschedog

I had the K&N CAI kit in my hands, ready to install it after being very happy with the improvement in sound resulting from the CAI kit I installed (in about 24 minutes with no issues at all) in my Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland. However, when I saw the Direction called for drilling... I put it all back in the box and sent it back to Mr K&N.

I ended up just going for K&N air filters on the 996 and the GT3.

I'd spend a big chunk of OP's $2k on a really spiffy race suit and shoes so I looked at least 45hp faster.

rs10

AGM battery??

fpb111

Slakker

If you want a great exhaust cheap, buy two magnaflow 14158 and pay a custom muffler shop to pipe them in for you. Generally you'll spend about $500 all in. Shaves a ton of weight and sounds amazing. Not for the feint of heart as it's all I run on my race cars. And don't ask me if it drones because it's too loud to tell.

fpb111

Balu

Googles your friend.
Put an Odyssey in my old air-cooled think it was half the weight
of the Interstate that came out.

Slakker

Here's another cool weight saver is lithium iron phosphate batteries. I can't find the battery tender version I've been buying but here is the WalMart equivalent. I run 1 but Blue Chip runs 2 in parallel. Something about AC in his track car but I can't remember for sure.

LiFePO4-12V-24-35ah-Battery-for-RV

strathconaman

2 in parallel. 2 in series would produce a 24v system.

Slakker

Whoops. Yes, parallel.