JeffPGH

As a newer member to the community, I've found incredible value in all of your wisdom and commentary and felt it was time to give back. Briefly, I had a 991 Turbo PDK, switched to my current 08 997.1 TT Cab w/ 35k miles. It needed its major preventative + coolant pinning. I'm in Pittsburgh PA and track my E46 M3 and plan to track this car, so I went all in with Kevin from UMW and splurged on some upgrades. I'm a data-centric guy (software engineer) by trade so approached things meticulously and wanted to share data.

Here I'll start a thread to share my config, results and lessons learned.

First, the car setup

• 2008 997.1 TT 6sp Cab, originally from NYC, purchased from California, ~35k miles.
• Car showed one range 6 overrev; the prior owner missed a shift, panicked and put it up for sale within 45 minutes of engine runtime. I bought it anyway - its been rock solid for 1000 miles

Major maintenance and upgrades since purchase

• Front radiators/condenser cleanout (removed bumper), detailed, bought Porsche floor mats, front lower spoiler from ebay, track + winter wheels from kind, fellow Rennlisters
• Bluetooth radio module, interior LED light conversion, windshield washer pump replacement, cabin filters
• Ran it stock, then did a UMW stage-1 tune w/ Kevin (phenomenal), then went back to stock and did engine out service via a phenomenal local Indy in Pittsburgh; DM me for info
• Pinned coolant pipes + new water pump, thermostat and all hoses & gaskets (over a dozen, almost two)
• New turbo aux electric pump. Power steering flush, oil change
• New clutch from Kevin at UMW (the Sachs 2.5) - kept factory dual mass flywheel, learned that slave + accumulator was already done
• Europipe EP1 from Stef - phenomenal experience + wideband O2 sensors + Do88 intake pipes
• Spark plugs (gapped to .25), coils, fuel filter, coolant expansion, "light" track alignment (got to almost -1.5 on front)
• Pending: transmission + diff + awd fluid & brake flush to SRF (this weekend or next). Also pending are intercooler upgrades.
  
  

JeffPGH

Here is a quick perspective on the "results" from my experiences so far. The careful reader will recognize that this is not super scientific and conditions are only pseudo controlled, plus there are, well variables. But bear with me, and stay tuned for stock vs Europipe EP1 sound.

Using Kevin from UMW's excellent datalogger (and his infinite wisdom, patience and guidance), I performed tests at WOT (wide open throttle with the pedal mashed to activate over boost) in 3rd gear, sport mode, ac off, starting at about 3000rpm to redline...

Kevin's UMW custom tune took a full second off of my 44-96mph 3rd gear pull. That's something like a 15% gain from his initial, modest tune. I can attest wholeheartedly to the enormous virtues of even this modest tune. He added 3-4 max PSI but it's not peak horsepower but torque that made the big difference. The car was infinitely more drivable. Kevin explained that I'd be spending more time in 3rd gear for daily driving, and he's right - the torque gains were enormous even down low, double maybe triple digits. Consider this: Kevin unlocks maybe 100ft/lb more torque, available when you need it most.. it literally makes the 997.1tt platform come to life. Vastly more responsive throttle, improved sound (turbos spooled earlier). Absolutely outstanding, and of course a painless process with Kevin and his software/OBD module & instructions. Fun too.

Stef's Europipe EP1 with the Do88, some Torco to compensate for bad Pittsburgh winter gas, new plugs + coils & all the aforementioned preventative without Kevin's tune took three quarters of a second off, around 12% gain on the exact same run. Throttle response is hugely improved and the data speaks for itself on performance gains.



Before anyone tears into me on the validity of these tests, please know that I acknowledge the imprecision here. I did repeat these a few times and observed consistency. I do recognize that a half can of Torco itself makes a big difference, so that makes the Europipe & Do88 results a little suspect. But this is all positive and I hope this helps folks in their considerations and musings about the virtues of these enhancements and maintenance.

More to come; I'll post before/after EP1 sound videos, observations, and, Kevin and I will do another tune and I'll post the 3rd gear pulls thereafter. Love to hear folks thoughts!

Steve Theodore

As someone who is lucky enough to live near Kevin @ UMW, I can certainly attest to his character and his awesome modifications. He came to my house and performed his flash tune to my previous 996TT and it really woke up the car versus stock. He is extremely thoughtful about how he performs his tuning, and the real world results are extremely impressive. I'm so glad you're enjoying your upgrades!

saabin

Glad you are having fun with it. Kevin is good people. Intercoolers should def be next on your list, once the weather starts warming up those stock coolers will really show their true colors.

Cheers!

sdematt

I know for my 996TT I went with the 997 GT2RS IC, and they've been great so far. Best bang for buck intercooler out there, but I'm sure you can spend more money on something nicer