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I am excited to announce that I have recently picked up a mint 997 turbo. I have always loved Porsche, so I figured I would just suck it up and buy one. I will try and post pictures later this evening when I am out of work. As far as modifying, what have you guys started with? I just did a stage 1 tune to wake it up and man does this car haul. Waking up was a complete understatement when I plugged the ECU back in. It has much better throttle response and overall power (obviously), but what is next? Exhaust and stage 2 retune? I look forward to chatting with you guys, cheers.
Mods to any Porsche can quickly become a slippery slope. I've had a few cars over the years and recently picked up my totally stock cab. After driving it for over a month now, I have three issues with the car. First is the clutch activation system. With power assist, the clutch has very little feel to it, and God forbid that you leave your foot slightly touching the pedal as you go through the gears. So, for me, mod one has got to be installation of the GT2 mechanical system, which is replacement master and slave cylinders. And, you get to eliminate the accumulator which has been a reliability issue with a lot of these cars.
My second mod would be an exhaust. I have had all sorts of loud and louder exhausts over the years. I don't need loud any longer. But, I do want some sound. Right now, the stock system sounds more like my Lexus; so, I would like to upgrade to something more fitting for the character of the car.
The third issue with the car is that first gear is too short. So short, in fact, that on a spirited launch you will redline the car is less than a heart beat. The fix is to start out in first and immediately shift to second. I proper fix is to install a longer first gear to correct the issue. Having said that, the cost is very high; so, I will just have to live with the gearing. The balance of the gearing in this tranny is very good.
Personally, I am happy with the 480 hp motor right now; so, I don't see any advantage to tunes that increase the power. Unless they improve throttle response and reduce turbo lag. I'll have to see where that goes.
My favorite Porsche mechanic, who owns a speed shop had advice for me in that I should never buy a car with more power than I can use. For street driving, it's hard to beat the power of these turbos, even in stock form. So, my inclination is to heed my mechanics advice.
Beyond those mods, folks begin changing out intercoolers and intercooler piping. Then they move to engine mods. IMHO, you will never recover the costs of these mods, and may, in fact, lower the resale value of the car. The number of mods out there all point towards creating a 600 hp engine. Other than on a drag strip, I can not imagine where you can put that type of power to use. But, that is just my opinion.
The other thing that I have noted, having come out of owning a 993, is that parts and labor costs for a 997 turbo are orders of magnitude more expensive than for my 993. And, the 993 was not a cheap car to maintain. So, a large check book is needed if you are going to go down that slippery slope.
Mods to any Porsche can quickly become a slippery slope. I've had a few cars over the years and recently picked up my totally stock cab. After driving it for over a month now, I have three issues with the car. First is the clutch activation system. With power assist, the clutch has very little feel to it, and God forbid that you leave your foot slightly touching the pedal as you go through the gears. So, for me, mod one has got to be installation of the GT2 mechanical system, which is replacement master and slave cylinders. And, you get to eliminate the accumulator which has been a reliability issue with a lot of these cars.
My second mod would be an exhaust. I have had all sorts of loud and louder exhausts over the years. I don't need loud any longer. But, I do want some sound. Right now, the stock system sounds more like my Lexus; so, I would like to upgrade to something more fitting for the character of the car.
The third issue with the car is that first gear is too short. So short, in fact, that on a spirited launch you will redline the car is less than a heart beat. The fix is to start out in first and immediately shift to second. I proper fix is to install a longer first gear to correct the issue. Having said that, the cost is very high; so, I will just have to live with the gearing. The balance of the gearing in this tranny is very good.
Personally, I am happy with the 480 hp motor right now; so, I don't see any advantage to tunes that increase the power. Unless they improve throttle response and reduce turbo lag. I'll have to see where that goes.
My favorite Porsche mechanic, who owns a speed shop had advice for me in that I should never buy a car with more power than I can use. For street driving, it's hard to beat the power of these turbos, even in stock form. So, my inclination is to heed my mechanics advice.
Beyond those mods, folks begin changing out intercoolers and intercooler piping. Then they move to engine mods. IMHO, you will never recover the costs of these mods, and may, in fact, lower the resale value of the car. The number of mods out there all point towards creating a 600 hp engine. Other than on a drag strip, I can not imagine where you can put that type of power to use. But, that is just my opinion.
The other thing that I have noted, having come out of owning a 993, is that parts and labor costs for a 997 turbo are orders of magnitude more expensive than for my 993. And, the 993 was not a cheap car to maintain. So, a large check book is needed if you are going to go down that slippery slope.
I appreciate your input! The tune substantially improved throttle response and turbos spool quicker and pull harder. The software is also lifetime warrantied, so I did not see a downside in doing it. I am very happy with it so far, but was curious to see what others have done. Exhaust was definitely my next thought. As far as modifications, you never get your money back, but that is all the fun in doing it lol.
Leave your current tune and go with a quality exhaust. Love my stage 1 EP. Gt2 sway bar is nice to. Enjoy!
Do you have an upgraded exhaust system on yours? and what is EP? Sorry if that is a dumb question lol and yes I was looking into suspension components as well. I considered air suspension due to the on the fly adjust-ability and the mean look the car has when it is hard parked.
Do you have an upgraded exhaust system on yours? and what is EP? Sorry if that is a dumb question lol and yes I was looking into suspension components as well. I considered air suspension due to the on the fly adjust-ability and the mean look the car has when it is hard parked.
EP is europipe. Expensive but a fantastic exhaust. EP1 is quieter, EP2 louder.
+1 on adding a Europipe exhaust. I just had my stage 1 installed and am very happy. I can now hear much better what the car is doing and as a result, the issues that I had with the stock clutch are much reduced.
I am excited to announce that I have recently picked up a mint 997 turbo. I have always loved Porsche, so I figured I would just suck it up and buy one. I will try and post pictures later this evening when I am out of work. As far as modifying, what have you guys started with? I just did a stage 1 tune to wake it up and man does this car haul. Waking up was a complete understatement when I plugged the ECU back in. It has much better throttle response and overall power (obviously), but what is next? Exhaust and stage 2 retune? I look forward to chatting with you guys, cheers.
We have some great exhaust options for the 997TT from our 2.5 "quiet" X-Pipe with mufflers and OEM tips to a full 3" loud straight X-Pipe with 3" dual tips and several options in between...contact us if we can be of assistance. If interested, there is plenty of feedback on our testimonials page, as well...
Ah the stage 1 is what they call the exhaust lol I see now. I thought they were offering software as well. You guys should look into a software upgrade to coincide with the exhaust upgrade. I sent my ECU to AMR Performance and I could not be happier! I will post the link for reference:
These cars have an enormous potential to unlock. Basically, let it breath, let it shift and control the ride. Here are a few things I did in order. I went with breathing first which produced a significant amount of power to the wheels with a tune. You are limited on power from a tune if you don't open up the breathing of the car. I then went with ride control for the suspension.
Engine
EVOMS ECU Software Upgrade
EVOMSit TCU Tiptronic Software Upgrade
GT3 Throttle-body (82 mm)
IPD Plenum (82 mm)
EVOMS "Leak Proof" Throttle Body Conversion Kit
IPD Y Pipe (82 mm)
Champion Motorsport Intercooler Hoses
Champion Motorsport Intercoolers
BMC F1 Replacement Air Filter
EVOMS Boost Recirculation Valves
Fabspeed Sport Headers
Fabspeed Maxflo Sport Exhaust with 200cell Cats
Suspension
TPC Racing DSC - Dynamic Suspension Control
Bilstein B16 DampTronic kit for PASM
H&R Wheel Spacers
In my opinion (please don't attack, just my take) leave the car stock if you plan on selling one day. You will never recoup the $$ you spend on the mods and it looks less attractive to most Porsche buyers who want an OEM car. Why are all these nice modded 997's not selling? Because they were modified. Just my 2 cents.
If you're like me, I've got the mod bug and I know I won't get my money back out if it. But the journey is also part of the experience. I also plan to keep my 997 for some time.
I went with the following setup from Sam through By Design:
65mm upgraded VTG turbos
By Design Intercoolers
IPD Plenum
Ypipe
GT2 throttle body
Fabspeed intake
Evom intake tubes
Kline catless exhaust
Custom tune by Sam and Mitch
Attaching latest dyno and picture of car. This is on pump 93 gas. Little over 600hp to the wheels and 640wtq.
05-24-2017, 04:01 PM
New 997 turbo owner, mods?
