5CHN3LL

I supercharged a car that came normally aspirated - effectively doubling WHP and making an INCREDIBLY fun car out of what was a rather underpowered import. I ran it that way for a couple of years and it was dead reliable.

I sold it to another enthusiast (someone I knew VERY well and who I had helped with mods on his own car) who tinkered with it, changed out the throttle body without retuning the car, and put a hole in the block. That's the risk you run with aftermarket forced induction: it's probably going to be epic; it might be tragic.

ODDS ARE you could safely go forced induction, but given how much it costs to source a decent replacement M96, I would run such low boost that it wouldn't really be worth the expense or additional complexity. I know other people have different opinions.

Since the cars you're listing make BIG power, I really do think you're better off starting with a car with a much higher WHP baseline.

I've limited my performance tinkering to my Corvette for the simple reason that if I blow the motor, I can get a crate rebuilt engine for a grand, a decently built crate engine for $1,500, and for the same ~$25K it would cost for a high-end rebuilt M96, a 454-cubic-inch LSx making 750HP at 7K RPM. I know a Corvette (or a Viper) isn't a Porsche, but OP was discussing high HP, not brand loyalty.

sweet victory

Bisimoto has been thrashing his blue 930 for the past four years that has an M96 power plant.

5CHN3LL

Yup, and Bisi has the resources to drop it, fix it, repair it, etc.

Dropping $40K in a ground-up build built around a completely custom M96 block is not the same thing as strapping a blower to a bone-stock M96.

Bisimoto also produced a thousand-horsepower Honda van - but I'm guessing neither Honda nor Bisi are offering a ten-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty on that particular Odyssey.

One of the things you HAVE to be willing to accept when you go F/I on a car that didn't come that way is that you might wind up fragging it. If you can't accept that (or afford it), it's just not a great decision.

alpine003

There's been quite a few members that's had TPC turbo and VF Kits reliably for at least a few years now.

However your comparisons seem like apples to oranges IMO. What exactly are you going for?(brand, fun factor, best value in any upper brand sports car, cheapest for hp among exotics, etc) And what are you target goals?

Personally I'd trade that in for 996tt as that will have a great platform. I remember when 500hp was a big deal. Now all the 911tt's and Lambo's are at 1k hp. 500 is a walk in the park for 996tt's these days.

sweet victory

But he hasn't had to. And you'd be amazed what IMS bearing he is using.

You'd be surprised what has actually been done to the motor- not because of how extensive the build was, but because of how great a platform the M96 truly is.

5CHN3LL

Maybe he hasn't had to, but he has those resources at his disposal. Maybe OP has a 60% chance - or 70%, or even 80% chance that it will be problem-free. You can tell me until you're blue in the face that boosting a stock engine is perfectly safe; I can send you build/rebuild/part-out thread links started by folks who found this to NOT be true.

The only reason I supercharged MY car is I knew I had the resources to fix anything that broke on the top end, and used bottom-ends were practically free from wreckers/recyclers. The reason I have NOT supercharged/turbocharged either of my M96-powered cars is because motors aren't cheap and I don't have the expertise to rebuild one myself.

As an aside - the turbo kits I've seen for the 996 (the ones I have been able to track down in the 'real world,' not the unicorn kits that existed a decade ago) are good for ~100HP. OP is looking for more than double that. Like Alpine pointed out, HP goals are light years different now from what they were in 1999. In '99, 300-400HP was legitimate "supercar" territory. Today, the entry-level Hyundai sports coupe makes 348HP; a "base" Camaro makes 275HP from a boosted 4-banger and the V8 makes 455HP. Adding 100 HP to your 996 isn't going to catapult you into the realm of exotic/muscle car performance - not in 2016, anyway.

Anyway, this is starting to sound like I'm anti-turbo/supercharger/bottle, which couldn't be further from the truth. It is EXHILARATING to wring more performance from your car than it came with...but I'm just not willing to do it to MY 996.

sweet victory

You are having fun within your means and I agree that it's a good way to figure out what fits someone's budget, time, or whatever. My statement was made in regard towards Triple Black's comment about the engine.

sweet victory

I am not sure how you interpreted this from my post, but this is not what I implied. My comment implied you can make reliable power as demonstrated by Bisi.

5CHN3LL

I'm not sure how pointing out that a completely customized M96 (iron sleeves, reworked valves, custom springs, rods, pistons) is reliable has any bearing on how reliable a factory M96 will be once you strap a blower to it.

DeanClevername

Not to be clinical, but I don't think it makes much sense to do this. The market is pretty soft for non-metzger 996s and even more so for ones that have been extensively modified. I think you would have a pretty hard time selling your boosted car when you eventually decide to move on. If you started with a 996tt you could get to 500hp without extensive or uncommon mods, so you'd minimize your spend on the mods while also saving yourself resale value. My observation is that people are much less afraid of a lightly modded 996tt than any kind of modified C2 or C4.

I agree it would be a laugh to have 450+ HP on a 996 Carrera, but this has a decent probability of ending up as a never-ending project that bleeds money. With the Turbo you'd spend less time fiddling and more time driving, which is nice IMHO

sweet victory

You're saying I'm comparing apples to oranges, when really all I've said is the apple can be made into a reliable orange. Op asked "Is it possible to get a high power output with some form of reliability? " and the answer is yes.

5CHN3LL

I get the feeling we could go back and forth endlessly. OP asked if he could go FI on his existing M96 reliably. My points that (a) even using commercially-available turbo/supercharger kits, he won't make the kind of power the other vehicles he mentioned make, and (b) an engine is typically less reliable when it is modified to make more power, so using a REALLY expensive short block is probably a poor candidate.

A Gallardo makes ~550 HP; the current-gen Viper makes ~650. Comparing a 996 with a bolt-on turbo to a Gallardo or a Viper is tantamount to comparing Bruce Jenner (with some aftermarket mods) to Milla Jovovich.

5CHN3LL

The good news is that OP wants to go fast and appears willing to spend money; I look forward to the outcome, regardless of whether that is a 700HP monster Porsche build or a new Viper with a warranty.

kmagnuss

996 or 997 turbo. 550 hp is easily achievable while still being very reliable and the car is done depreciating unless you wrap it around a tree.

sweet victory

Yup, we can agree to disagree! The best thing about motorsports, or cars in general, you can make it your own. Some people may want to experience building their dream car or you can buy your dream car. There is no right or wrong answer.