Let's talk maximizing performance
 

Let's start with the car as it sits. a 2001 Carrera with H&R sport springs, K&N intake and Muffler bypasses made by beluga racing (The say racing so they have to be good right!?) The car has had IMS/RMS done along with Clutch, coils/plugs, AOS, etc. The basic safety maintenance stuff.

I'd like to slowly start making the car into a track car that I can go out and enjoy on a lot of these Alabama back roads. Ride quality around town and noise are not concerns. I will probably gut most of the interior and I've got a plan for the suspension but looking for sort of a "road map" to getting the most out of the 3.4. I'm not looking to make huge HP gains or anything like that, just maximize the power available and get it to the ground.

what are some of the standard upgrades for theses engines? I see a lot of talk about plenums and pulleys, etc. Without getting into internals what is sort of the ideal setup to maximize the engines potential? Not looking for "search function" replies, looking to start a conversation. Thanks fellas

You're probably losing low end torque by pairing the k&n intake and muffler bypass. From my experience the muffler bypass saves about 60lbs, but you lose low end torque and gain in the higher rev range, so it's an okay mod. The K&N intake I believe sucks in too much hot air and the oil can mess up the MAF. I would recommend going back to stock intake or doing the helmholtz delete if you want the louder intake sound.

Shedding weight is probably the best thing you can do, without spending tons of money on engine work or FI.

I've never really understood how I could be sucking in more hot air with this intake vs stock, My stock box has holes underneath it where the K&N has a solid heat shield. Seems like the holes in the stock box would expose it to way more hot air?

Im OK with a little low end loss as Im not really out to drag race anybody and I dont mind keeping it up in the revs. Is there any point (or is it even possible) to tune the ECU?

Do Pulleys and whatnot actually free up any power?

Take a look at:

https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...clr-intro.html

He has his car down to 1086kg or 2395 lbs, probably for cheaper than you could really add 50 HP to these cars.

I think Porsche has already given us 90% of the performance in stock form. Additional mods get exponentially expensive on very small performance increase. First and foremost are the brake mods. For regular street driving the stock pads are great because when you need it, you get the initial bite right away even when it is cold and wet. On the track, after repeated heating, the pads will overheat, not fluid boiling which is a different cause, and the pads become ineffective.
I might get flamed by this suggestion. Spending on driver education to me is the most effective investment. Secondly is track time. Nothing reward you more than getting your butt meter calibrated to know exactly where the limit is. You will be surprised how capable the car is after getting to know how it drives and behaves.

Amazing!

I feel like I do a pretty good job of driving near the limits of the car in the right conditions. Not saying I couldn't improve, though I feel like I am more skilled than the average driver.

Brake pads are not something I had considered. Ill definitely look into that!

"though I feel like I am more skilled than the average driver. "

^^ This is not saying much considering the glut of completely unqualified morons driving around these days ;) I'm not saying you're NOT a good driver, just that you should choose your wording more carefully :thumbup: I think most folks that have taken instruction or even driven with an instructor (in the passenger seat I mean) quickly learn the difference between a "good driver" and a "real/good professional driver". In my experience the difference is stark...

^^That!
I'm an amazing driver, my dad taught me how to drive in the third grade...I can drive circles around everybody on the street:roflmao:

Brake pads and tires - are the first place to start when doing any form of serious driving.

Agree with the comment above regarding Pros/ instructors vs good drivers/ students. Over estimation of one's talents is usually a costly lesson. Often learned by those with more dollars than sense.

I’m an excellent driver.
I drove slow on the driveway when my dad came to Walbrook.

I feel like I should tell you guys before you go too far with the assumptions that I cant drive just because I said I thought I was better than average....I've seen most all of the Fast & Furious movies, including the one where they drift, so...

I've also seen Smokey and the Bandit like 100 times.

Bet you guys feel stupid now.

Good one, I like the way you rolled with it, you are good!

I sure do. Please accept my humble apology if anything I 'said' left you with such an impression.

My $0.02, if you want to drive hard at the track, either get a F6 rebuild, swap for a turbo or a GT3. Your car is 18 years old, its a crapshoot