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Last weekend was entirely 991 turbo. Today it was awesome getting back into the 996!
Even at our current covid-inflation driven prices, a properly set up 996 Turbo is still IMHO wildly under-appreciated and under-valued. It *never* fails to put a huge smile on my face on a spirited mountain drive!
Great variety of cars today. Couple of 458 Italia's, 991.2 Turbo S, 3.2 Carrera wide body, and of course 996 Turbo.
May you share what a properly set up 996 Turbo is in your opinion? Especially if you have a 991 Turbo but think the 996 is more fun. Since I'm still new to mine, I've been putting a list together of different things I've read in threads for me to research further, put on my to do list, etc. and it would be super helpful to see the main things that make the experience even better!
May you share what a properly set up 996 Turbo is in your opinion? Especially if you have a 991 Turbo but think the 996 is more fun. Since I'm still new to mine, I've been putting a list together of different things I've read in threads for me to research further, put on my to do list, etc. and it would be super helpful to see the main things that make the experience even better!
IMO my car is the perfect street car, setup great. Not the OP, but I figured I'd add: Coilovers, full adjustable arms everywhere, intercoolers, intake, Y-pipe, bov, shifter, aero, etc. Stock turbos with a tune makes the car really perfect for a daily street car.
IMO my car is the perfect street car, setup great. Not the OP, but I figured I'd add: Coilovers, full adjustable arms everywhere, intercoolers, intake, Y-pipe, bov, shifter, aero, etc. Stock turbos with a tune makes the car really perfect for a daily street car.
May you share what a properly set up 996 Turbo is in your opinion? Especially if you have a 991 Turbo but think the 996 is more fun. Since I'm still new to mine, I've been putting a list together of different things I've read in threads for me to research further, put on my to do list, etc. and it would be super helpful to see the main things that make the experience even better!
Originally Posted by s65e90
IMO my car is the perfect street car, setup great. Not the OP, but I figured I'd add: Coilovers, full adjustable arms everywhere, intercoolers, intake, Y-pipe, bov, shifter, aero, etc. Stock turbos with a tune makes the car really perfect for a daily street car.
Opinions will vary quite a bit on a proper setup for a 996 Turbo... I've driven at least a couple of dozen turbos, stock and modified and can tell you what i think my suggested recipe is...
Start with proper baseline setup. Without this, you'll be chasing your tail on any upgrades. Assume all stock.
.
Good tires, good rotors, good OE brake pads, balanced wheels.
Stock suspension that isn't worn out and a decent factory alignment.
Boost leak checked. Several of threads on this, but there are lots of common leaks that can occur on our ~20 year old cars. Easy to test for, semi-easy to diagnose, not always easy to get to the offending leak. This is really key! You would be amazed how many cars are running around with small or medium size boost leaks and the drivers are not even aware.
.
Now that the car is running as it should from the factory, time to start looking at upgrades. My favorite 'first' upgrades are below. Do these, and you will feel like you have a new car
.
Tune. I like Cobb with a custom or off-the-shelf tune. There are some other good tuners and tunes out there as well. Plenty of threads on that.
GT2 size tire/wheel setup and GT2 alignment (or as much camber as you can get.) Front: 18x9” ET46 with 245/40-18 tires Rear: 18x12” ET45 with 315/30-18 tires. Tires themselves are hard to find in those sizes, but get the best rubber you can find. I run Apex SM-10 wheels and Azenis tires. Somewhat ironically, I think this is not that common of a mod, but it will make (again, IMHO) far more difference than many of the mods owners are anxious to do to their cars. Really transformative iIMHO.
Basic suspension upgrade. Personally, I think expensive coil-overs are not needed and I love my Bilstein B8 shocks with H&R Sport springs. Stiffer springs, sportier shocks, lower ride height = big improvement in handling.
Exhaust. I love my topspeed titanium catless. Again, you don't necessarily have to spend big bucks to get a great exhaust.
.
Next comes the upgrades that really start to make the car even better. Many of these are personal preference, not in any particular order:
.
Shift console upgrade. OEM or aftermarket short shifter (but beware, some aftermarket are junk)
Brake upgrades. An easy upgrade is to go with 997 Turbo 350mm rotors and one of the kits that allow re-use of stock calipers. Still OEM pads (I like Textar), but you can also swap in track pads for track days.
Clutch & slave system. The stock 'boosted' clutch is notorious for several failure points and a lack of feel. It's not 'if', but 'when' you will have a failure of either the accumulator, slave cylinder or both. I converted to an OE GT2 clutch slave and clutch disk setup. It is *awesome* when driving twisties. It *is* quite firm pedal pressure and some don't like that.
.
More stuff you can do... I personally think the Turbo with a tune and an exhaust makes great power, but if you want even MORE power (doing drags, airstrips, want bragging rights, etc.) you can start going down this list. I'd suggest *not* worrying about any of these until the car is really driving fantastically without them.
.
Turbo upgrades
intercooler upgrades
diverter valves, plumbing upgrades
air intake upgrades
.
Another upgrade I'd consider after a car is 99.8% sorted and you are looking for even more is this. Likely my next mod as the next step in going Turbo -> GT2!
.
RWD conversion with limited slip
.
On the suspension side, I'd suggest only considering these after your car is really well sorted and if you are planning on doing lots of track days or just really enjoy modifying your car...
.
Full coil-over adjustable suspension, corner balanced.
Sway bars.
monoballs, suspension arms, etc.
.
Again, these are my personal preferences and recipe for building a well sorted Turbo without throwing tons of money at it, lots of other opinions out there I am sure!
IMO my car is the perfect street car, setup great. Not the OP, but I figured I'd add: Coilovers, full adjustable arms everywhere, intercoolers, intake, Y-pipe, bov, shifter, aero, etc. Stock turbos with a tune makes the car really perfect for a daily street car.
Originally Posted by pfbz
Opinions will vary quite a bit on a proper setup for a 996 Turbo... I've driven at least a couple of dozen turbos, stock and modified and can tell you what i think my suggested recipe is...
Start with proper baseline setup. Without this, you'll be chasing your tail on any upgrades. Assume all stock.
.
Good tires, good rotors, good OE brake pads, balanced wheels.
Stock suspension that isn't worn out and a decent factory alignment.
Boost leak checked. Several of threads on this, but there are lots of common leaks that can occur on our ~20 year old cars. Easy to test for, semi-easy to diagnose, not always easy to get to the offending leak. This is really key! You would be amazed how many cars are running around with small or medium size boost leaks and the drivers are not even aware.
.
Now that the car is running as it should from the factory, time to start looking at upgrades. My favorite 'first' upgrades are below. Do these, and you will feel like you have a new car
.
Tune. I like Cobb with a custom or off-the-shelf tune. There are some other good tuners and tunes out there as well. Plenty of threads on that.
GT2 size tire/wheel setup and GT2 alignment (or as much camber as you can get.) Front: 18x9” ET46 with 245/40-18 tires Rear: 18x12” ET45 with 315/30-18 tires. Tires themselves are hard to find in those sizes, but get the best rubber you can find. I run Apex SM-10 wheels and Azenis tires. Somewhat ironically, I think this is not that common of a mod, but it will make (again, IMHO) far more difference than many of the mods owners are anxious to do to their cars. Really transformative iIMHO.
Basic suspension upgrade. Personally, I think expensive coil-overs are not needed and I love my Bilstein B8 shocks with H&R Sport springs. Stiffer springs, sportier shocks, lower ride height = big improvement in handling.
Exhaust. I love my topspeed titanium catless. Again, you don't necessarily have to spend big bucks to get a great exhaust.
.
Next comes the upgrades that really start to make the car even better. Many of these are personal preference, not in any particular order:
.
Shift console upgrade. OEM or aftermarket short shifter (but beware, some aftermarket are junk)
Brake upgrades. An easy upgrade is to go with 997 Turbo 350mm rotors and one of the kits that allow re-use of stock calipers. Still OEM pads (I like Textar), but you can also swap in track pads for track days.
Clutch & slave system. The stock 'boosted' clutch is notorious for several failure points and a lack of feel. It's not 'if', but 'when' you will have a failure of either the accumulator, slave cylinder or both. I converted to an OE GT2 clutch slave and clutch disk setup. It is *awesome* when driving twisties. It *is* quite firm pedal pressure and some don't like that.
.
More stuff you can do... I personally think the Turbo with a tune and an exhaust makes great power, but if you want even MORE power (doing drags, airstrips, want bragging rights, etc.) you can start going down this list. I'd suggest *not* worrying about any of these until the car is really driving fantastically without them.
.
Turbo upgrades
intercooler upgrades
diverter valves, plumbing upgrades
air intake upgrades
.
Another upgrade I'd consider after a car is 99.8% sorted and you are looking for even more is this. Likely my next mod as the next step in going Turbo -> GT2!
.
RWD conversion with limited slip
.
On the suspension side, I'd suggest only considering these after your car is really well sorted and if you are planning on doing lots of track days or just really enjoy modifying your car...
.
Full coil-over adjustable suspension, corner balanced.
Sway bars.
monoballs, suspension arms, etc.
.
Again, these are my personal preferences and recipe for building a well sorted Turbo without throwing tons of money at it, lots of other opinions out there I am sure!
Wow thank you so much this is super helpful and gives me a great starting point! I'm taking it to the shop next week to make sure all the basics are sorted, but good to know the eventual upgrades in case I want to just do them for the items that are in need of repair instead. I budgeted $5k right after purchase to do any necessary repairs/fixes so hopefully it'll be under that and I can use the rest for a tune to start as I've read that's the most beneficial upgrade out there.
The first upgrade I would do is coilovers. The OEM springs and damper are horrendous. A $1200 set made in Taiwan are a hundred times better than stock.
bang for the buck mods I have done in order of smiles/$
1) remove the shift weights from the shift lever on the transmission. ( free) this really give you a better feel for the transmission. it's like you can feel every stage of the shift. before doing this the shifting was like a stick in a bucket of water.
2) 964 RS engine mounts ( $200 uro kit version work fine) makes any transient movement of the car more planted and stable feeling. didn't notice it at first but the more I drove it the car was just more composed. also over road heaves where the car would unjulate before it just soaked it up. ( the engine doesn't swing around as much)
3) $100 used rss clutch stop. ( made a ton of difference on clutch pedal travel with my stage 2.5 clutch, on a factory clutch it might not be as drastic because the engagement point is lower in the pedal)
4) The car already had a 997 Ssk when I got it but I test drove a car with a factory stick and it was way too long of throws for what I thought a Porsche should be.
5) DCTMS T96 steering wheel. The factory wheel was to skinny and too big of diameter. the steering felt over assisted to me like a 60s car. The fatter smaller diameter wheel made the steering more weighty/ had more feel. (650$ black Friday deal)
Sure I have a tune, exhaust , and coilovers but for someone just getting the car I think the above mods are relatively inexpensive ( except the steering wheel) and offer a good bang for the buck. Most are easy DIY as well. The car is already faster than any thing you owned before likely so I would wait a year for a tune or so so you can really appreciate it ( and get used to the car) or at least until black Friday when the tuners put their tunes on half price sale. Same goes for the exhaust. Just find out which one you want and watch for one to pop up used. I did that and saved like $2K on the exhaust. my 0.02$
Yesterday I went out for a spirited drive and had the Master clutch cylinder fail. I was recovered but while I waited I took some pics, she looks good broken down.
Yesterday I went out for a spirited drive and had the Master clutch cylinder fail. I was recovered but while I waited I took some pics, she looks good broken down.
where abouts in the UK are you JP. Car looks like mine.
06-27-2021, 11:16 PM
Since I'm still new to mine, I've been putting a list together of different things I've read in threads for me to research further, put on my to do list, etc. and it would be super helpful to see the main things that make the experience even better!
