f4 plt

Paul: Have you put the Sharkwerks by pass on yet. I have had mine on almost 9 months and do not regret it at all. By the way I have almost 9000 miles on the C2S and enjoy every minute. It has made me forget the GT3 best of all no oil leaks. By the way i am getting a new toy, no the C2S is not going away and is still my daily driver. Hope all is well at your end. My back is holding and that is all I can ask. Eyes fair at best. How i do hate this aging process. Jack

Para82

Do you really think that Porsche didn't check all the ways to maximize hp production.

LMAO


Porsche does no wrong, gotta love the fanboys.

p-cardriver

There were some good threads on this a couple of years back, suggesting that the HP gains from intake are either from less filtration (like on a true race car) or cold air, or both. The filtration is certainly one that Porsche knows all about and decided against because of engine wear (added particulates in the intake stream will accelerate wear) for street cars. The cold air approach may involve other compromises like packaging or cost that caused Porsche to stop where they did. And of course Porsche cares about sound and volume.

I think it is a matter of what is important to you and what trade-offs/risks you're willing to make to get your preferences. Personally I would go for better sound and cold air but be very wary of filtration issues - but I drive my car year-round in a climate full of dust, dirt, salt, etc. My filters look pretty ugly coming out as it is and I don't want any of that in my cylinders! Of course I do get cold air intake starting about now and continuing for the next 7 months...so the mod is really only useful for me during the summer (track season).

Edgy01

Yea. Porsche has only been in the engineering business for nearly a century; and producing automobiles with their name on them since 1948...

RonCT

So wait a second, are you all saying that the X51 doesn't make any power? If it does, that would mean that things like the X51 intake do nothing. Yes, of course there are gains that can be made and Porsche themselves sometimes make them "options" to get us to pay for their continued R&D on "better parts". Ever hear of regulations in some countries for things like intake sound, exhaust limits, etc.? Might have something to do with why some mainstream models aren't 100% tweaked to get the last HP (or why it's something like $15k to get the nominal increase of the X51).

Of course the gains in a $ / HP calculation are terrible and one would wonder "why do it"? What will 10 HP do for you on a normal day? Shave maybe a hundredth off? Imperceptible. But, they make different cars for different desires, so of course some desire a deeper throatier exhaust, more intake noise, etc. Me, I'm a tracker, so I'm interested in additional power and torque and a higher level of sound so that at speed on the track with a helmet on I can actually hear the engine and shift by ear.

So, on say a 2005-2008 things like the X51 intake, X51 headers, sport cats, etc. all might add up to a great sound and some added performance.

Para82

Alex, put me on the list.

docjohnM

While porsche has excellent engineering credentials, it cannot be overstated that they also have a hugely profit-driven mentality. (interior cheapness, no LSD standard, insane option pricing, cough, cough.....)
If there is a part in the intake system that can be molded simply and produced cheaply, they would not replace it with a part that made 1-10 bhp and cost twice as much. That is one of the major reasons that most cars have at least a few BHP hiding in the design. Certainly not 10-15% more power, however. If they had a part that costs twice as much to produce, and added 10% more power to the overall engine BHP, I think that the cost benefit ratio would make more sense and porsche would grab it. Also, as the other poster noted, there are sound regs to consider, etc.
So, Where is the proof of this theory?
A: X51 package. If the car was ideally designed from the get-go, the X51 would be a cosmetic-only package. Instead, it adds a rather large amount of HP for an NA car. But, I don't think that carbon fiber airboxes are going to be regular spec on a 'basic' porsche ever!

NVRANUF

Some folks will always be from the "IF it sounds faster, then it must be!!" school,.... equating increased intake sound with a faster car.....

That said, I completely enjoyed the faster noise the EVO intake made on my C2S... !!!

but I refuse to drink the louder = HP cool-aid sellers have been serving on this site

awilks

I went with X-51 airbox which 2 yrs ago was around $900...But u need to do your homework from there. Spend some time reading old posts about this topic. There are some people who did the x-51 box by itself and/or w/ x51 headers and they had issues with rough idle becuase of the increased air flow, without making an ecu adjustment to compensate. I decided at 5k miles to spend $10k and did the Farnbacher Loles Power Plus package which dyno'ed at more hp and more torque than the full X51 kit from the factory at $16k. My car now has 15k miles, I have had it in for dealer service for warrantly work (vibration in front-end), and the service manager had no issues with mods nullifying my warranty. U should really take the time to talk to someone like Farnbacher or Shark Werks, who live with these cars every day. U cannot make any noticeable power just by adding a plennum or an intake. The biggest restriction is the exhaust. The Power Plus kit includes full exhaust (aprox $7k just for exhaust) including larger diameter piping than stock and 200 cell cats, they then re-tune ECU to get the new intake and exhaust to work most efficiently. My C4S picked up aprox 30hp and 35ft lb's or torque and it gained power and torque across the entire rpm range. This mod totally transformed my engine which used to starve for air above 5500 rpm's...I have had C2S owners drive it and they are blown away by the improvement. Car is an animal now, not too loud for daily use, and I would highly recomend anyone looking for real, useable HP and torque, on the east coast to contact Farnbacher Loles...10k miles and not a glitch with my work. That's my .02 anyways.

Edgy01

The fastest and cheapest way to produce power in these cars, particularly in California, is to put the octane it needs into the fuel tank. It detunes itself on this 91 octane crap.

Para82

Decided to keep it all Porsche.

David4315

I generally agree with the skeptics and some of the claims remind me of muscle powder offered to teenagers. Anything to get bigger and more powerful. It is important to remember however there is an internal struggle at Porsche and I assume many other automakers between the marketing departments, business development and engineers. There is a reason Porsche would not market a Cayman that outperforms a 997 though I know you can tune one to be faster than a 997 S.

And if anyone figures out what the best option is I'd love to hear about it. I actually was most likely going to go with the X51 retrofit. Does anyone know if you can but the engine cover panel with 2 holes rather than cut one.

cab&coupe

My `06 C2S has the EVO air intake, EVO headers, and Fabspeed exhaust... all installed by the PO. While I have yet to have the opportunity to get it out to the track, I'm looking forward to doing just that next spring. The car seems to come alive under hard acceleration and sounds great... now whether or not there is a real hp gain realized makes no real difference to me one way or the other. Sure makes me smile...

Carrera Mike

Para,

If you dont mind reliability going down big time because there's no filtration, like grinding it down slowly with street dust, here's the one that will give you THE BEST PERFORMANCE, the Cup Car's intake from Porsche Motorsports.

Para82

Wow! Wide open.

I've decided to keep it stock, the car is perfect from the factory imo.