Real world mods
Rennlist Member
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 602
Likes: 2
From: Panama City Beach, Florida
Please be careful in evaluating the multitude of helpful suggestions your request for information will generate. Unfortunately, many recommendations, however well meaning, will be from writers who do not have your particular model and/or have never done the modifications they recommend. Some writers are well informed on aftermarket products that will work effectively for your car, but many are not. None of the writers have to pay for what they recommend or live with the consequences.
Research any desired changes carefully before doing any work. Put a few thousand miles on the car before doing anything. A modification that causes unintended adverse consequences can end up having to be removed, wasting time and money.
I am not trying to talk you out of modifying your car, in fact, I intend to do some of the same things myself. The only guarantee, however, is that you will spend money. For a few thousand dollars, you can screw up a hundred thousand dollar car.
Research any desired changes carefully before doing any work. Put a few thousand miles on the car before doing anything. A modification that causes unintended adverse consequences can end up having to be removed, wasting time and money.
I am not trying to talk you out of modifying your car, in fact, I intend to do some of the same things myself. The only guarantee, however, is that you will spend money. For a few thousand dollars, you can screw up a hundred thousand dollar car.
Advanced
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 96
Likes: 0
From: Laguna Niguel, CA
I think one thing to look out for is the loss of low/mid range torque. I modified my old VR6 GTI (chip, cams, exhaust; resulting about a 25% increase in HP. In most situations, however, it felt much slower.
Intermediate
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 26
Likes: 0
I have a non S 18inch wheel cab non PASM. This what I did and how I feel.
H and R--Looks like car made for it. Ride no difference.
Wheel spacers 18mm rear-same as above. 10mm front. Can not balance wheels-going to 5mm oem. Fill wells-let's me get by with 18's. Saves ride and $$$.
Tubi muffler-sounds unbelieveable. Love it.
Clear side markers--why not.
Bluetooth for phone--Motorola 1000-works like a charm.
So for a few thou-I don't believe I helped performance--OR HURT RIDE OR PERFORMANCE--and really enjoy the car enough more to be happy with what I did.
Not too complicated.
H and R--Looks like car made for it. Ride no difference.
Wheel spacers 18mm rear-same as above. 10mm front. Can not balance wheels-going to 5mm oem. Fill wells-let's me get by with 18's. Saves ride and $$$.
Tubi muffler-sounds unbelieveable. Love it.
Clear side markers--why not.
Bluetooth for phone--Motorola 1000-works like a charm.
So for a few thou-I don't believe I helped performance--OR HURT RIDE OR PERFORMANCE--and really enjoy the car enough more to be happy with what I did.
Not too complicated.
Three Wheelin'
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,698
Likes: 4
From: Longboat Key, FL
only mods i've made to my 997s cab are:
sport shifter and 5mm wheel spacers.
to be honest i can't really tell the dif with the wheel spacers but could be due to the short time i drove the car b/f having them installed.
i like the shorter throws of the sport shifter but was hoping for a physically shorter shifter as well. for me personally, it defeats the purpose to have one w/o the other.
if i had it to do over i probably wouldnt have done either.
sport shifter and 5mm wheel spacers.
to be honest i can't really tell the dif with the wheel spacers but could be due to the short time i drove the car b/f having them installed.
i like the shorter throws of the sport shifter but was hoping for a physically shorter shifter as well. for me personally, it defeats the purpose to have one w/o the other.
if i had it to do over i probably wouldnt have done either.
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Thread Starter
Nordschleife Master
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 9,274
Likes: 1
From: in a happy place
Originally Posted by MichaelL
Please be careful in evaluating the multitude of helpful suggestions your request for information will generate. Unfortunately, many recommendations, however well meaning, will be from writers who do not have your particular model and/or have never done the modifications they recommend. Some writers are well informed on aftermarket products that will work effectively for your car, but many are not. None of the writers have to pay for what they recommend or live with the consequences.
Research any desired changes carefully before doing any work. Put a few thousand miles on the car before doing anything. A modification that causes unintended adverse consequences can end up having to be removed, wasting time and money.
I am not trying to talk you out of modifying your car, in fact, I intend to do some of the same things myself. The only guarantee, however, is that you will spend money. For a few thousand dollars, you can screw up a hundred thousand dollar car.
Research any desired changes carefully before doing any work. Put a few thousand miles on the car before doing anything. A modification that causes unintended adverse consequences can end up having to be removed, wasting time and money.
I am not trying to talk you out of modifying your car, in fact, I intend to do some of the same things myself. The only guarantee, however, is that you will spend money. For a few thousand dollars, you can screw up a hundred thousand dollar car.
As far as others, the Sport Shifter is absolutely fabulous. It literally was the tie-breaker between two cars in the dealer's lot. Few gearboxes can match the one in my car.
One always must be careful when doing engine mods. Most performance kits for small displacement motors raise HP in the upper ranges and sacrifice a similar amount down low. My Evo MR is a good example. I took a stock car and extensively (I do mean extensively!) modded the entire engine/drive train. It is now among the fastest cars anywhere on the street, over 600 AWHP (depending on the fuel and consequent EMS mapping from my laptop) and turns quarters in the low to mid 10's around 140 mph, with an old fart (that's me) driving with the air and stereo on. One nasty vehicle!
However under 4000RPM it is very...tame. It requires concentration to drive well and can easily get you into trouble on a few different levels.
I'll bet you could get at least 80-90 more HP out of the Porsche without turbo, but the everyday drivability that we all love would be compromised.
So what I'm looking for is something more modest, maybe in the 40-50 HP range. With all due respect, only dyno and track times give you real feedback but I sincerely doubt that an intake and exhaust system alone will do it. The EMS will need reprogramming and perhaps some head work would be needed along with the flow system. In fact, without those two ingredients, I be willing to bet it won't work that well.
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