saff

Hey guys,

So I've been stuck at a dilemma for a while. When I stumbled upon my 996 I originally was going for a viper or m6. Fell in love with it and now don't want to get rid - but would love a bit of extra power.

It's got a fair few gemballa mods, x51 kit, etc so in a way is quite unique. I'm also toying with some GT2 seats and a GT3 RS steering wheel as well as a double din kit to tweak the interior. Ultimately I wanted a viper / gallardo but I've fallen in love with the porsche the longer I have it and (controversially) love the 996 shape above the 997 and beyond..

So I'm faced with either trading in, or modding for something really unique and keeping it long term. So I'm contemplating turbocharging her if I keep long term.

I've found a few threads and will keep searching but wondering if anyone has any experience or threads they know of?

I'm keen to see 500-550bhp, but wondered how feasible it is?

The engine has the usual x51 bits, extra rad, swirl pistons, second oil pump, Gemballa deep sump, exhaust, map etc etc, just wondered what I'd need to look at to see some reliability along with the power?

Don't want to end up with something that's always in the garage afterall. It's just turned 55k miles so isn't too high on the mileage front.

Of course the other option would be looking for a GT3 or turbo but the GT3 is Gallardo money and I'm not sold on the turbo.

Am I just pissing in the wind ploughing money into the 3.6? Is it possible to get a high power output with some form of reliability?

The third option is a turbo motor swap but then I'd be into the same money as a turbo with the same engine anyway.

Sorry if the question's been asked a million times, I just haven't stumbled on a conclusive thread yet

Dennis C

I think there are some nice supercharger kits available for the 996. You might consider that.

Triple Black

If you want 500 hp go for the 996 or 997 turbo. The M96 is not designed for that kind of power output.

5CHN3LL

If you are looking for reliable Viper/Lamborghini power, sell the 996 (or KEEP the 996) and get yourself one. I love my 996, but it just doesn't feel to me that it's meant to be a sledgehammer.

JimmyB

I've seen a guy at Cars & Coffee with a turbo'ed 996 3.4. No idea what the kit is or what sort of numbers he's seeing I'm afraid. If it were me, I'd want some sort of reassurance that the transmission could take the kind of numbers you're talking about - IIRC the 'box in the 996TT is rather stronger?

Ahsai

+1

jj1

Get a turbo.

saff

hmm I did wonder, I've read of one or two big ish power M96's but you never get to know how long they lasted before imploding!

Keeping and getting the Gallardo too is an option but just means waiting a while I suppose

By all accounts the bay is a bit too compact for superchargers? The garage I've been talking with suggests that it will make routine servicing a massive pain in the rear - no pun intended. Plus the layout of the motor seems to lend itself well to turboing?

Re going for a GT3/turbo I think I'd sooner do an engine shop if the net difference isn't much less, would like to retain rwd instead of awd and

Cheers will have to look into that too - I'd imagine that'd be a slightly easier speedhump compared to the engine side of things but well worth noting

Rvca3112

So when you were buying the car... you were looking at cars in the 60-90k range and decided on a car in the 15-30k range?

Dennis C

Here's a link:

http://www.vfengineering.com/carrera-996/

Looks like the VF470 could get you into the 470 HP range.

Triple Black

It's not difficult to remove the front drive on the turbo. That and a few other mods will get you a faux GT2.

dgi 07

I thought the compression ratio was too high on stock pistons to safely boost an M96 engine?

AWDGuy

http://www.stanceworks.com/2015/05/bisimoto-porsche-911/

Dennis C

I thought about forced induction quite a bit when I owned my 996 C4S. I live at close to 8,000 feet of elevation in the Rocky Mountains, and forced induction is very nice to have up here. I seriously considered adding a supercharger kit to my 996, and there's a local shop here that was very confident in their ability to do the job. They have done similar jobs.

Ultimately, I decided to sell my C4S and buy a factory turbocharged car. There were many things that went into the decision, but I'm happy with the choice. I think a supercharged or turbocharged 996 would be a really fun car, and I probably would have been happy with that also.

pavster

I put a turbo kit on one of my cars - NA Miata ('95). Drove it with a turbo for 5 years or so. It was an expensive, well developed, and well supported kit. Here is my experience:

- power upgrade - yes it's awesome.
- limited slip diff - a must have - if your 996 doesn't have one, you will be wasting power
- reliability - crapshoot. I went through 3 transmissions on that miata.
- refinement - this is the biggest issue. never quite got the boost curve to be as smooth as I would like. So it pulsed a little between 13-15 PSI as the RPMs climbed. I am sure a factory turbo will drive much nicer.
- price/value - the kit for a 996 will cost you $10k minimum. You need a better clutch and a limited slip diff. Figure another $5k min. So $15k to add 150-200hp. You *may* blow your engine (that's $20k). You *may* blow your tranny ($??). When you will want to sell your car, the turbo will add ZERO value.

Based on this experience above, I've stopped modding my cars for power. I suggest you get a 996TT.