larry47us

So, I realize that there are lots of mods that I can do to my 996, some cosmetic and some mechanical. I have a 2004 NA 996 Targa. First let me say that I love the car, but in following the action on this board, some things have come to light, and I wonder how realistic it is.

I guess that no matter how fast a car is, you tend to acclimate to it fairly quickly. In spite of the fact that my 996 is very quick, the ability to add inexpensive horsepower is something that I expect I will always be lusting over.

There have been threads here on the IPD Intake Plenum, and a variety of threads on various muffler systems. So, let's take this to a "realistic" conclusion. If I buy:

Fabspeed Muffler - gain 8 - 12 HP for $1,095
IPD Intake Plenum - gain 24 HP for $895

It seems that I can get an increase of 32 - 36 HP for less than $2,000.

If I add the BB Muffler system instead of Fabspeed, with both the header and muffler, I can get a gain of 23 HP for the BB Muffler and Header, at a cost of $2,100 and $895 for the IPD Plenum, I'm now up 47 HP for less than $3,000.

That's more HP than I'd have gotten with the X51 Power Package that's on the 40th anniv version for a LOT LESS!!

For a car with 320 HP to get a 47 HP boost (15%) for less than $3,000, which can be done in stages, I mean, that sounds pretty good. That would certainly be an increase that the butt dyno would easily identify.

Is this too good to be true? Are these numbers wishful thinking and marketing hype? It would be a shame to spend $3 grand expecting to get a really big kick, and get only a whimper.

What do you guys think???

larry

LVDell

Is it April fool's day?

chsu74

I went down this road and threw a lot of money at my car. The best mods are suspension, Short shift and muffler for sound. That would transform the car's handling and make it feel faster by being better connected. Invest in a super charger if you want a faster car later.

911SLOW

I think that you should install all the above and if you need more power also you may want to add a chip that gives another "up to" 30-40hp and for only 102USD you may also want include the :

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BruceP

Here's a few ugly truths about bolt-ons for your Porsche (and I speak as someone who has several):

Power claims are always peak power claims only, and aren't necessarily reproducible anyway. Besides, horsepower matters when all out speed is the goal. For these cars, that's going to be a rare occasion for most of us.

You can't add gains together.

Some mods will cost you some other kind of performance for the benefit of a higher peak horsepower number. The classic example is exhaust, where eliminating too much back pressure results in horsepower gains, but torque losses.

Only a real dyno with a real tuner can get real value out of mods, and that's by trial and error and assuming he can and knows how to tune the ECU too. That cost, added to the cost of the mods, changes the math radically. Otherwise, you're shooting in the dark unless you're dealing with an honest indie who races what he builds and has experience with the same car you drive.

It is possible for a mod to actually reduce engine output.

No single engine mod will impress you as much as driving your car in city traffic for a couple of weeks and then taking it out and thrashing it for an hour or two. The adaptive ECUs in these cars aren't subtle.

Those are truths. Now, here's some unsolicited advice: mod for fun, mod to personalize, but don't mod for numbers. And whatever you do, don't trot your numbers out in here. I've seen these guys tear a dyno sheet to shreds like hyenas on a zebra, never mind manufacturer claims. It just doesn't matter. Build your car so you love it, and screw the bragging rights.

Ubermensch

inexpensive horsepower and naturally aspirated generally don't go together

Bob Rouleau

Best performance mod is high performance muffler bearings. Get blinker fluid while you're at it.

Eharrison

Hey don't steer him the wrong way. Everyone knows muffler bearings don't work unless you open the whole exhaust with the digital racing cats and the titanium nuts for the headers.

onefastviking

Those piston return springs worked best for me !

bkjwhipple

if you want the car to be faster for cheap, take weight out of it.

nick49

If you buy 10 items that promise 6 horsepower each, you will not get a 60 horsepower increase. The sad reality is that you may be lucky if you actually get 6 more total. Even worse is that you could end up with less than what you started with.

Seriously, the cheapest power increase for you is to sell your car and buy an '02 or '03 TT. If this doesn't appeal to you, learn to drive what you have. I say this in all seriousness. I'd bet if very few here can drive their stock car to its full potential.

Barn996

+1, add lightness.

Bob Rouleau

Viking - yeah, piston return springs are a very good mod, but you have to dismantle the engine. Muffler bearing are a DIY in less than an hour. I got the same power increase as a Fabspeed muffler+Cold Air Intake as measured on the dyno and the bearings were way less expensive!

Pac996

Good luck finding whatever makes you happy. Could always watch the porsche website for race cars to make street legal or use the engine and suspension to swap out parts from.

Optical TDI

Tough crowd here...but realistic answers to your question. For inexpensive mods for the street, add a H&R rear sway bar, exhaust for sound (buy used), and maybe a shifter mod if that's to your liking. After that, go to a full suspension (ROW or coilover).

If this fails, then tt like someone else mentioned.