gonz911

I'm looking to mod my recently acquired 997 and I'm wondering if anyone can suggest a vendor(s) where I can score the following. I previously modified an E46 M3 'Vert and I had various experiences with vendors.

Suspension: I ran KWv2 on the 'vert, and on my 996 I had H&R springs. I'd like to drop the car just a little.

Exhaust

Aesthetics: I have a whip for an antenna - drives me nuts looking at it. Is this there a Porsche retrofit that's plug and play; front/rear bumper (GT or retrofit to new), sidemarker replacement - don't like the amber

Wheels

Any performance upgrades for increase in power? I'm going to begin perusing the forum to see what others have done, just thought I'd throw this one out there.

Edgy01

For the whip antenna--I'm surprised that you have one! Perhaps 3% of the 997 fleet has one of those--if that high! It's only used to augment AM reception. I would imagine that you can disconnect it and call it a day. I would talk to Eric with bumper plugs about designing a painted plug to fill the hole if you decide to remove it entirely.

The sidemarkers are clear on the Euro versions. Every dealer in the country has them available and will gladly sell them to you. (My dealer simply gave them to me when the car arrived in the USA). Perhaps Eric has them, as well.

Increases in power--pursue this carefully. Porsche did not leave low hanging fruit. Power will cost you money, and you always run the risk of screwing things up worse. The so-called "cold air kits" are a scam and racket. The 997 is delivered by Porsche with an inherent cold air intake. Don't make it worse thinking you will get another 35 horses out of it. For real horsepower gains, make sure that you are putting 93 octane fuel in it. Too much is a waste of money--too little and you are not developing peak power.

Wheels. Unsprung weight is not your friend. However, only you can decide how much you are willing to pay to shed some of that. The answer is never inexpensive.

When you drop the suspension on these cars you will affect handling--negatively. Unless you truly know what you are doing, it is best to leave it alone. Most shops are not truly equipped to drop these cars and then rebalance them.

Exhaust. Aside from the the PSE (we don't know which 997 you have since you don't mention the MY) Tubi is very popular. It's all about noise production, vice power production.

gonz911

Thanks for the input. The 997 is a MY 2007. I removed the front plate, although in TX it's required. I moved here from MN where I had multiple citations for not running one on my M3. I lived here for a year driving the M with no tickets - now I'll get one.

I'm going to head over to the Porsche parts dealer and pick up the marker replacement - thanks.

The car came with 18" and I want to run 19". Not sure which wheel setup but likely HRE or a custom setup from Vorsteiner. I had a fully modded V-CSL M3 and I liked their stuff. Wheels would be fairly lightweight. The only other wheel I was thinking of would be OEM.

Given the above, I don't really like a lot of wheel gap. The H&R springs I ran on the 996 were decent, just a far cry from the KWv2 I ran on the M. I'll likely get the "springs". Since this post I found a place to score them.

I do want to update the look of the car with replacing the f/r bumpers. With a little search I've found some potential. I just need to shop around for a good source, perhaps Vorsteiner as well.

I think for now I'll leave the power alone. This car won't come close to the power I had in the M, but it's so nice to be back in a 911 - totally love the car.

The "whip" antenna is coming off.

Thanks again.

pissedpuppy

I need to part w/these factory 19"s....well, don't need to, but don't need them in the garage either

DHC

Your car came with 18s, but I see the red calipers of an 'S'?

Quite a few people prefer the 18s, but you van always go for OEM Carrera Classics which will give you a similar, 5-spoke look in 19".

gonz911

The original owner had another set of wheels on the car and sold them. It has the red calipers and I thought they were black on the standard Carrera but unless they were powder coated red it's what color came with the car (definitely not painted).

I need to lower the car, that's for sure. Leaning toward H&R, although I viewed a picture of a Carrera on this forum with Eibach Pro and it looked pretty good. Definitely not interested in slamming the car (my M3 was), just a little gap delete.

Chaos

Nice wing

Vjgtrybno1

If you wish to run a front plate but don't want to mess up your bumper - try moweraxle.com ; Larry has a kit that fits in the tow hook receptacle

gonz911

I'm hoping to avoid the front plate. I suspect it's going to depend on the number of citations and cost.

Vjgtrybno1

BTW, Dan is one of the best sources of information for us 997 folks. I added Suncoast SS Headers and a permanent air filter. Those are both easy. I didn't want to mess with too much. I am thinking about the X-51 airbox, but that involves cutting sheet metal.

halsyknox

my 2006 C2 came from the factory with red calipers and 18" wheels.

I bought the car used. The window sticker says the red calipers were a $1500 option. Thats a lot of money, but they look damn good.

Ynot

I have the same GT3RS Carbon Fiber style wing and the rear bumper from Vorsteiner, it looks great. Do it. I know 20" wheels are frown upon here but I have 3-piece wheels and they usually look an inch smaller. Plus my 20"s weigh the same as the 19" OEM's and with 500 plus horses, I think it can handle a few extra pounds. As for mods to increase horsepower. I've seen people do many things to it, including headers, ecu flashed, exhaust, the whole 9 yards only to gain 0 hp, if you want engine mods, forced induction is the way to go. Save up 13K, get a turbo/SC and you will feel the extra 150 plus hp and 100 lb/tq, plus you'll get a custom exhaust (pic below).

808c2s

+1. FI is the only "bolt-on" engine mod that you can really feel for the money; not, "I think it's more peppy or responsive" kinda feel. It's more like, "Oh yeah, now that's what I'm talking about" feeling. If $13K is too steep, you could consider getting the S/C ~ 1/2 the price of the turbo package right now.

gonz911

Man, that looks really sick! I'm very familiar with Vorsteiner and I had a tricked out E46 M3 with the full V-CSL package, plus their wheels, carbon fiber faced Brembo BBK, and lots more. I also had an ASA supercharger on the car from ESS tuning with an output of 500 HP, made 429 WHP and 320 WTQ. Pretty much the same cost as what you've referenced. I see Vivid has done some work with the single turbo setup and that's a real possibility for me.

I love the rear of the car! Any more pics you can share? I like the Vorsteiner 3-piece five spoke setup. I'm leaning hard in that direction and a 20" at that.

Thanks.

Vancouver-BC

If you're considering all of these mods, wouldn't it have been cheaper to go with a 2007 turbo in the first place?