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As has happened with many people, it started as a coolant leak and the plan to fix/pin fittings... which means might as well knock out sharkwerks elbows, all the other basic maintenance (plugs/coils/hoses/water pump etc). Since the engine is out, need to pin the cams.
Then black friday deal on AMS Alpha Intercoolers popped up and ECU/TCU tune from Markski. Realized that it's not right to put the stock exhaust back on, so picked up Kline SS exhaust. Intake pipes should be here next week too.
Now I am at a crossroads on whether or not to do injectors (in the event I want to try out E85) and/or 63.5/65mm VTGs.
I drank the kool aid and went with the IPD plenum and GT3 throttle body. It comes with a nice hose and cap to delete the helmholtz resonator that comes with everything.
I am not sure what the gains are because I drove home in stop and go traffic but the throttle response now feels somewhere between normal and sport mode and there is a bit more induction noise that sounds good. I might go out and blast around tonight just to see what's up.
Last edited by jamesinger; 03-06-2020 at 12:37 PM.
Reason: typo
I drank the kool aid and went with the IPD plenum and GT3 throttle body. It comes with a nice hose and cap to delete the helmholtz resonator that comes with everything.
I am not sure what the gains are because I drove home in stop and go traffic but the throttle response now feels somewhere between normal and spot mode and there is a bit more induction noise that sounds good. I might go out and blast around tonight just to see what's up.
welcome to the slippery slope and butt dyno dreams
so its recommended to reset your ecu memory by unplugging your battery for a few minutes. this will clear out some old fuel maps and you can then start rebuilding them with your new air intake setup. Do a combo of highway driving but more importantly try to get some full throttle pulls in every gear. It will take some time to fully adjust but your improvements will mostly be in throttle response and mid range power.
you also want to do a throttle position calibration. 2 schools of thought on how to do it.
#1. Turn ignition to on (switch position 1) for 60 seconds then off (switch position 3) for 5 seconds then back to switch position 1 (ignition on) for 15 seconds - during process you do not turn the switch to position 2 (start engine). After the last 15 second step key is returned to position 3.
#2. RECALLIBRATING PORSCHE THROTTLE BODY PROCEDURE
To perform this simple reset / recalibrate procedure of your TB follow the following 3 steps.
1. Turn key to the “ON” position (one click before engine starts) for 60 seconds.
2. After 60 seconds with the key still in the “ON” position depress throttle Pedal all the way down to floor once and release.
3. Turn key off and pull key out of ignition.
Most of these mods work best in combo with ecu tune and exhaust, but you can still enjoy the improved throttle response.
So, I followed @qikqbn 's advice and tried the #2 recalibration method because it sounded mellow. The car was not searching at idle or acting weird already but I figured, I might as well. Then, I got on the freeway and headed over to Angeles Crest. I blasted up to Newcomb's. On the way up, lots of people were really nice about getting over and letting me by but I still had to vary my speeds to be within the bounds of social acceptability (i.e. not blasting past parking areas and ranger stations...). I sat up at Newcomb's trying to decide if I wanted lunch or not but decided against solo lunch there. On the way back down, I got super caught up behind some really really scared driver in a Civic. I ended up passing him on the right in a turn out area because he was acting weird and then kept to the left at the previous turn out. FML. Then, I got hung up behind a guy in a Prius who smoked a whole joint while in front of me. I may or may not have gotten a contact high. Finally, I drove local home. This made it so, I did some typical LA freeway driving to ACH, drove from the 210 up to Newcomb's and back, and finally I did all local from a couple exits east of ACH all the way back to Pasadena's east side.
What is immediately obvious is the sound. Above 5k it sounds like a super car. This sounds hyperbolic but I think I might even have some issues with it rattling things in the car. It is LOUD above 5k at WOT and it is screaming! I am into it. The rest of the time, you get a little more noise on throttle.
The other thing that is obvious is IDK if I get more HP or whatever because 10-20hp on a 350+ HP car isn't going to make a difference to someone like me. Maybe a pro driver would notice. What I do notice is the feeling like the car is remapped somewhere between sport and normal mode. There seems to be more torque on tap from take off on, and the motor seems to rev up quicker BUT it does not feel as jumpy as it does in sport mode. THEN, in sport mode, it is WAY more torquey and jumpy feeling, which I only find useable at speed. I will use it on the freeway, in canyons, and on mountains. If I go to the track, I will use sport mode but in any stop and go situation it is more sensitive in the sense that the on/off throttle feel is now even more torque driven in feel.
Other than that, it looks pretty nice. I wasn't going to change the hemlholtz resonator but the IPD intake hose looks nice and the cap is fine, whatever. I also would rather an aluminum intake plenum rather than whatever that plastic thing is called. A friend of mine cracked one. That is what got me to thinking about changing it out. He tends to pop his "hood" a lot to cool his car. I told him not to do this because the heat rises past all the components but it is his car, so his plastic plenum cracked. IDK what he did to replace it but last time I saw him, he said he was having drivability issues and found that the intake plastic piece was cracked. I am glad to have that be aluminum and I think the GT3 throttle body has to perform better just by default over the C2S one. It can flow more air, so...
In summer, I will probably get headers. I will update if anything exiting happens. Mondays and Wednesdays are my big drive days, so on those days, I have 2-3 hours of sitting in my car each day to think about it.
Last edited by jamesinger; 03-06-2020 at 06:34 PM.
Reason: added some follow up info.
Added the Porsche aero kit front spoiler, and then some additional black vinyl wrapping (roof and exhaust shroud) to round out the car.
Think the new lip really balances out the car with the wing in the back.
Just crossed 70k miles, with 8k being from my ownership
Sure. Got the setup from Rod Birch - Car Audio Innovations - www.caraudioinnovations.com & www.cai-store.com. He's a wealth of knowledge when it comes to audio in these cars. I kept it simple and got a Kenwood Excelon HU, MOST Hur and used the Bose amp and speakers. Rod preloaded the HU with the Porsche logo at startup and also prewired everything. I also got a pretty trick antenna adapter from him that hides the GPS antenna under the front plastic cowl. It could have been a DIY but i decided to have my audio guy do it. Very happy with the setup!
Added the Porsche aero kit front spoiler, and then some additional black vinyl wrapping (roof and exhaust shroud) to round out the car.
Think the new lip really balances out the car with the wing in the back.
Just crossed 70k miles, with 8k being from my ownership
Installed Sharkwerks center bypass on my 997.2S 6sp.
Like everyone else, I'm hugely impressed. Great tone and no downsides. In combination with my factory PSE it really gives the best of both worlds. In normal mode it sounds the way a 911 should sound. With the valves open in sport mode it sounds like a high-end R-Gruppe car. Can't believe I waited 5k miles to do this mod! So happy!
03-05-2020, 12:54 PM
