Eharrison

Yeah, sorry for the asinine comments but in all honesty making the car lighter is the way to go. Then suspension.

larry47us

Thanks, I appreciate the honest information and thoughts (like Bruce's) and the sense of humor from the others. It would seem to me that the Piston Return Springs provide the greatest return for dollar invested.

Thanks.

larry

ivangene

are you tracking the car?

If not, going to the track is the best performance upgrade you can make

if you are then you know suspension tires and more track time are all you need, unless you are getting 100% out of it now.... and if you are (or think you might be) have your instructor drive your cars a couple laps....my guess is you will find the lack of performance is related to the ability of the driver

please I am not trying to offend you and for all i know you are the worlds best driver.... but this has been good advise for all those who only think they are the worlds best - or maybe know they are not

DreamCarrera

I don’t believe gaining more driving experience will help the OP’s car go faster from say 30-60 mph and I believe that was his intended goal for starting this thread. I’d be willing to bet that the OP has the driving talent to push the gas pedal to the floor and hold the steering wheel straight while the car accelerates. Why is it that whenever someone asks a question about making his car quicker someone feels the need to chime in with a condescending “tighten the nut behind the wheel” reply?

Certainly if the OP’s objective is to shave seconds(or tenths of a second) off of his track times then this advice is great. However, I think his real objective, and that of most people who post these types of questions, is to simply experience a little more oomph from the car in a relatively straight line on the street.

To the OP: I would agree with those who have suggested that throwing thousands at mods will probably leave you disappointed. If you really require more power consider paying the extra for a 996 Turbo although I suspect that car would also leave you wanting more in time. After all, why are so many 996 Turbos modified?

DreamCarrera

It’s funny you mention this. Lately, I’ve been driving the car very conservatively for DD duties and I sometimes wonder if the ECU has gone into granny mode. Unfortunately, I have not had the time recently to take the car on any “fun” runs.

How long do you really need to whip the car before it realizes that you mean business again and adjusts the ECU accordingly?

BruceP

This is an unscientifically observed answer, but my experience has been 1-2 hours, with some WOT acceleration runs and some sustained highway speed.

Eharrison

I would also say the best cheapest upgrade would be buying a turbo. On the fun runs out here, I'll hang with the turbos, and even a RUF until that damn straight away where they just creep away while I'm yeling at my pedal. But I would add that I never fall behind since the corners are my friends.

ivangene

because it is the one true constant in the equation -


worse then a powerful car driving fast on public roads is a powerful car going faster on public roads with an incapable driver. Often times people find out after becoming enlightened at the track that some of the activity that they did on public roads haunts their memories knowing what "could have happened" when they "thought" they knew how to control the car in a straight line with the gas pedal mashed to the floor....at some point they may have had to turn to avoid something ect ect...

I wont claim the OP is incapable, but unless you have ridden with a truly capable driver, only you can answer your own evaluation. That’s why

Lastly lots of people can get their car to go faster, but find out at the track that the car is faster than they thought.

BruceP

That's a real Porsche point of view if I ever heard one. The brand's history of winning races with its production based cars has always been based on being able to brake later into corners, get on the power sooner coming out of them, carry less weight and break down less often. It's never first and foremost been about power.

redridge

nothing wrong with feel good mods.... if it make you feel good. Exhaust note for one is a mandatory mod even though you wont really feel the performance... if you have a hole burning in your pocket and is just a toy... then do it!

ivangene

i agree, mods are great and making your car personal is a great way to enjoy your experience. I love mods and do as many as the pocket book will allow...sound is a big one, it should sound right, handle right, break right and accellerate right....

nothing wrong with wanting more....I wont rain on the parade any more

redridge

Ed, we all know you will be the first person to try mods. However, you have way more experience than when you got your 996.... and are driving your car the way it was meant to be driven. Nothing wrong with the sound of reason when it comes to the root of why we enjoy our cars... in the end, it always boils down to the driver....

ivangene

Thanks Ferd... I just see a lot of cars not being driven to thier potential and alot of drivers who can benefit from getting out at the track with an instructor. Last month I was handed my a$$ at the track and came home with the biggest slice of humble pie. Adding more HP is NOT what I need to be faster.

I didnt want to be a nagging Mom, just point out that we all know adding HP to a 996 is never cheap and in that the vast majority of drivers would never even know if they had an additional 30 HP or not.

But a nice exhaust is a huge smile maker

DreamCarrera

You just can’t resist banging this drum can you? I totally agree that track time and greater driving experience would benefit all Pcar owners, however most owners have little or no interest in tracking their car. Of those who do have an interest, most will never track their car because of fear of bodily injury, insurance trouble, angry spouses, money, etc. Telling them to go to the track is like telling Obama to go to Rush Limbaugh’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. It’s not going to happen. You should save your energy for the track.

Again, most people that ask these questions are mainly concerned with straight line acceleration on public roads. Newer Pcars in stock form handle and brake well enough for them, what they are really looking for is more punch when they hit the go pedal. I may be wrong but I think these people can handle flooring the throttle and steering the car properly for short bursts of acceleration on the road.

Should all high performance car owners be required to pass a high performance drivers ed. course on track before being able to drive their cars on public roads? You make it sound as though most drivers of fast cars on the road are ticking time bombs ready to smash into anything in sight.

Eagerly awaiting your response where you tell us to get some more track experience to make our cars go faster.

ivangene

huh - well that sure put me in my place.

I concede - this argument convinced me:
"I may be wrong but I think these people can handle flooring the throttle and steering the car properly for short bursts of acceleration on the road" - gosh, having added skills from professional training would NOT help in this case

and RE: this statement:
"Should all high performance car owners be required to pass a high performance drivers ed. course on track before being able to drive their cars on public roads?
No, all drivers of ALL CARS should have to pass more rigorous training before being handed a license, but that is my opinion.. we have drivers putt around on residential streets for 20 minutes and over 1/2 that time is spent parking, then hand them a license to drive a car at 70 mph??? Nothing in the skills test says the driver can handle a car at speed and there are LOTS of drivers who cannot handle the speed of 60-70 mph, hence the way they drive on the freeways. That’s another battle though.

"You make it sound as though most drivers of fast cars on the road are ticking time bombs ready to smash into anything in sight" - yep, that's pretty much what I said

Look the OP asked what "cheap add-on" horsepower was available, and I suggested putting the money into suspension and instruction...if you want an additional HP 996, go for it, but in his own words "It seems that I can get an increase of 32 - 36 HP for less than $2,000" I just don’t see most people getting much out of 34 more HP - its an opinion that the money would be better spent on training - I am back with more rain I guess

I like the conversation, and in no way feel you are attacking me, its good that we talk and voice our opinions esp when they are not all the same