I wanted to post some thoughts on some parts and experiences I've put on the 996 recently. I have a '99 I picked up for a reasonable price and the aim of the car is DE/AUTOX/backroads fun car.

When I purchased the car, I had a comprehensive PPI done at a reputable shop in Berkeley (Griffin Motorwerke) where I have been taking my cars since 2005. This is my first Porsche and the car felt strong, and other than feeling like some of the bushings were a bit mushy and a small oil leak (RMS perhaps not installed correctly?) it checked out great. The oil loss/consumption is inline with what I've read for a 16 year old car. I have a whole list of parts from B&M SSK to Onlins R&T waiting to go on. I recently moved to Philadelphia (burbs) and bought this this summer in California with the intention of a winter project car. I added new Recaro SPG XL's and have been happy with those and it's always fun contorting to get out of the car! Yoga anyone?

So, the point of this review is to talk about Fabspeed's complete exhaust system (PRE-ECU TUNE), the effects I've felt, and then I'll add the addition of other items I've installed since. The car will have the ECU tune performed in a couple of weeks at Fabspeed as well, and I failed to get dyne numbers stock because it was raining, I was bored and I have shelves full of parts. So, this is seat of the pants +Driving impressions.

Fabspeed:

I am not new to parts swapping, but have never worked on the Porsche, so the posts here and other forums/vendors pages were very helpful. The 996 is very easy to change the exhaust on, except the muffler brackets. I chose the Fabspeed MaxFlo mufflers, Cat Bypass, and headers. I will run the EVOMS intake (which arrived today).

Install went well and the fit was very good. One minor issue I had is O2 sensor clearance on the right side of the X-Pipe with my home-made spacers. I had to grind 3mm off of the engine support bracket lip because the o2 sensor wires were smooshed up against it. The Fabspeed or other angled O2 sensor spacers would have been a better fit, but I was going quick and dirty and everything is tight, nice and clearanced perfectly now.

Sound: The Maxflo are very quiet IMHO at idle/around town. ABSOLUTELY NO DRONE, at all. In fact, on start-up and under 3500k, it's nearly stock sounding, but with a deeper tone. On the gas from 3500-7k it sounds awesome! I think the catted X-Pipe would knock this down even more and I would only imagine any wife/GF/BF/FWB would be pleased. I took a trip to NJ and the RSS engine mounts transmit more NVH than the exhaust at highway speeds.

Performance: Going from stock to this I only notice more power, and especially high-end. I don't notice a huge dent in the lower mid-range at all. It just seems to go. It spins the tires in places it didn't before, and feels noticeably quicker, especially in the high RPMS coming out of corners on the country roads.

Stoke Level: The price was not cheap, and I considered a cheaper route. I will likely keep this car (it has a very nice body kit) for a while, and the quality is exactly as promised. So, stoke level

IPD Plenum: The plenum offers big gains, but I'm a realist. It's not my first rodeo. It's a sexy piece you will never see again. Car sounds a little better on the stock airbox, and I felt a small increase in power after a few drives- again, seat of the pants picking up 2-4mph exiting certain corners. It seems happier, again, at high RPMs with this mod.
Stoke Level:

RSS Underdrive Pulley: Well, I was going to put a new belt on anyway, so I bought an RSS and the shorter Conti belt as a kit. Install is not well documented on the web, and that had me concerned. I've heard about lowering the motor, etc, and then people saying it took them an hour... so off I went. Airbox out.

Install- the stock pulley timing mark was not super easy to see. Its on the backside of the pulley (top) and I had to look online for 15 minutes to figure that out... but I should have just lined up the "oval" hole with the boss on the case where you put the pulley holder (er, 8mm bolt) in. So, second time that would take 30 seconds. Pulley came off with a medium breaker bar and the 24mm socket with a little effort (3 out of 5 on the gorilla scale). Dropping the motor you would zap off with an impact in 2 seconds with ease (I own said tool).

Putting the new one on requires quite a bit of grinding of the boss, and honestley it was hard to get a good angle to make it look factory clean. Patience and experimenting with dremel bits won. Be sure to plug the pulley bolt hole! In fact, this would be a great use of that blue tape you have. I vacuumed out the engine compartment of all of the metal shavings, cleaned the pulley wheels, etc.

Intall was straight forward from there, I torqued it with red loctite to 58lbft and put the belt on (Following the Pelican Guide). All was great until....

:: I noticed a small coolant leak at the AOS return line beind the pulleys at the plastic bracket/union. I might have bumped it putting the IPD in the week before. Well, I decided to take a look and the plastic fitting snapped right off... great. Both sides of that part (male) were toast... so I had a bit of a delay fixing that... which only worked OK and resulted in a better, more permanent parking lot fix 5 miles later. ::

Impressions: Car revs quicker. No doubt about it. Maybe it boosted some mid-range, not really sure. Overall the car is fantastic right now! It was a "relatively easy" install and I haven't seen a downside (100 miles since install) yet. Haven't noticed low charging voltage, etc.

Stoke Level:

So, that's where I am. I will have the throttle body bored out to 76.8mm next week and then take everything to Fabspeed for the custom tune and dyno runs in 2 weeks. I'm not a dyno queen, so I don't really "care" about the HP numbers, more the curve and feel of the car. It revs faster, makes more power, sounds great, passes the wife test.

In Closing- over beers with friends, the subject of who's car is fastest came up. One has a 2012 Camaro SS, the other has a Charger Hemi of similar vintage to the Camaro. My 911 was quickly dismissed in conversation. I took my friend with the SS for a ride yesterday and, well, let's just say his mind was changed pretty quickly as to the capabilities of the "little 6 cylinder". He said, "wow, this car is fast!!"

NEXT MODS:
Ohlins R&T with Tarrett shock mounts, GMG Sway Bars, B&M Short Shifter.

Thanks for reading!

 

Very cool. Thanks for the write up. If you had to choose onlyrics one of the mods you've done, which one would it be?

 

Here's what I think, and I'm only familiar with the path I chose:

On a budget- Pulley was easy enough and the freer revving engine is nice. It was the cheapest of all the mods. Maybe it added a couple hp, but for sub $300 it's great.

Second- I did get the Evoms intake on today. Sounds awesome. Sub $600. Car was fun to hear driving tonight. But, maybe the BMC filter and resonator delete is the value play here. My car had no flapper valve anyhow.

The exhaust made a BIG difference to me. I am always at 4k or above and it braaaaps!! I went with Fabspeed because they are local, John G has given me exceptional service, they are Motorsports people, their facility is amazing. It was expensive but the quality is top notch. The experience of owning a car like this has to be the sound. It has to inspire me when I get on the gas.

The mod that most makes me think "ef yeah" is the exhaust.

 

You will def notice more power with ecu tune. Factory ecu tends to dump more fuel than necessary when adding those mods.

Important thing here is that those mods add little to the peak hp but do add a decent amount under the curve where it counts, especially in a street driven vehicle.

The single most improvement IMO if you only had to pick one would be the 200 cell cats.

 

Your write up was great. I was very interested in the underdrive pully as that is on my list for this winter.
I am concerned about the grinding, can you detail that a little? Was it just the brand you purchased, or do all underdrive pullies require grinding. I was leaning toward the Evolution Motorsport Pulley, those folks did my tune and their service is second to none.
David

 

David,

So there is boss that is cast into the motor that protrudes out about an inch. (Pic is of a 991 I think which doesn't appear to have the tensioner pulley) http://s636.photobucket.com/user/Stu...kit_9.jpg.html

This boss' purpose in life is it to be an anchor point on the case so you can remove the stock pulley by locking it at top dead center inserting a tool or bolt through the pulley and into the boss. Your stock pulley is taller (6"), so it clears this with the regular recess. The under-drive pulley is much smaller, so it interferes with the boss, and you won't use the boss anymore with the new pulley. Any under drive pulley will have this issue.

Now, I saw "lightweight" pulleys, and I honestly don't think the weight is the benefit as much as the size because you are changing the pulley gearing, effectively, and centralizing the mass of the crank pulley with has a net positive effect on spool up... and it will be lighter anyhow.

The first cut is the deepest, and I was not super stoked, but once I got into it a bit, I was OK with it. I used the pulley to figure out how much I had to grind off. Turns out 1/2" is the number. Maybe a small angle grinder is a much better tool as well?

http://pedrosgarage.com/Site_5/Cheap_horses!.html This is a pretty reassuring article. And no one will see your craftwork after the fact, so it doesn't have to be perfect.

I chose the RSS pulley only because it popped up on an ad from Ebay with a belt. EVOMS seems to have a great rep, and I like the airbox I just installed.

 

Can't wait to get the tune! Thanks for you insight! I know (and can feel) there is a lot of room now for correction.

Dave

 

David,
I want to personally thank you for the excellent write up! You're doing everything right and we can't wait to see what's next. We truly hope you're enjoying the car and please let us know if you need anything else at all!
Thanks again!

 

Back in the late 1970s when I had a small block camaro drag car. One of the modifications to the motor was a new product moroso came out with. A 50% under drive pulley cut on lathe from aluminum. Great item. But if you were to run on street, you needed to increase cooling capacity by a lot.
Did you or anyone else who has installed a under drive pulley on 996 experience cooling issues?
I was worried about it, so I investigated and found center radiator Kit from suncoast @ $700
I never thought about charging issues with smaller pulley.
Hopefully folks who have had them for a while can ring in on this.
Thanks for the detail about grinding, I don't like the idea of it though.







QUOTE=Relegate;4410279]David,

So there is boss that is cast into the motor that protrudes out about an inch. (Pic is of a 991 I think which doesn't appear to have the tensioner pulley) http://s636.photobucket.com/user/Stu...kit_9.jpg.html

This boss' purpose in life is it to be an anchor point on the case so you can remove the stock pulley by locking it at top dead center inserting a tool or bolt through the pulley and into the boss. Your stock pulley is taller (6"), so it clears this with the regular recess. The under-drive pulley is much smaller, so it interferes with the boss, and you won't use the boss anymore with the new pulley. Any under drive pulley will have this issue.

Now, I saw "lightweight" pulleys, and I honestly don't think the weight is the benefit as much as the size because you are changing the pulley gearing, effectively, and centralizing the mass of the crank pulley with has a net positive effect on spool up... and it will be lighter anyhow.

The first cut is the deepest, and I was not super stoked, but once I got into it a bit, I was OK with it. I used the pulley to figure out how much I had to grind off. Turns out 1/2" is the number. Maybe a small angle grinder is a much better tool as well?

http://pedrosgarage.com/Site_5/Cheap_horses!.html This is a pretty reassuring article. And no one will see your craftwork after the fact, so it doesn't have to be perfect.

I chose the RSS pulley only because it popped up on an ad from Ebay with a belt. EVOMS seems to have a great rep, and I like the airbox I just installed.[/QUOTE]

 

Can't wait to see your results from dyno.
Our modifications are similar so far.
I have 03 3.6L
BMC filter, IPD compitetion plenum 82 mm with GT3 throttle body.
Kline headers and 200 cell X pipe and Tubi Style mufflers.
Evolution motorsports stage IV tune.
Just ordered lightweight flywheel and Sachs performance clutch package.
Under drive pulley and high output coil packs will finish the motor.

 

I can't do the 82mm because I'm cable drive. Considered the FVD 77mm t body. Might get it to get it.

Haven't noticed cooling issues but it's pretty cool out these days and I'm just dd it with some back roads where possible. Previous owner put a lower temp thermostat in (Southern California).

 

No cooling issues here too and I've been through two different size aftermarket underdrive pulleys(just to try them out).

 

Guys/Gals/Aliens, I wanted to add on to my exceptional experience with Fabspeed. My 99 has an aftermarket GT2/Turbo/KindaCool body kit on it. When I ordered the Fabspeed package, I didn't even think about the body kit. Installed everything and the tips were too short as the kit is really a 996.2.

I was bummed because I had installed the tips, and the V-band clamps definitely made some marks at the union with the muffler... but these weren't going to work. I contacted John Gaydos, who I have been dealing with, and I explained the situation. I'm pretty open to the idea it was my fault and I was hoping I could pay a restocking fee, or just buy the correct set and hock those on here for a killer price (They are gorgeous, btw...) John said to bring them up.

Since I live 13 miles from Fabspeed, I jumped in the car and drove up and saw John. Alex happened to be walking by when I got there and took a look at the tips. John stated my case for me, and I said I wasn't looking for a straight swap as these would need some touch up to sell.

Alex said- Nope. No problem. We'll swap them straight across.

Now, think back to the old posts here and on Rennlist when this level of customer service wasn't as common. I can say that from the time I first spoke with John when I was in California, to every interaction since, I really feel like the level of service is the best I could expect from any manufacturer (I also own a company and we always try to accommodate our clients, even when the ROI might be uncertain).

So, I got the new tips, installed them last night. Now, the only thing I would say, besides the fact that they make the car look WAAAAAAY better than the old stockers, is that I wasn't going to get the tips. I was going to get them later, because as I start to get into the suspension (and oil leak), I am sure that $500 will be needed elsewhere. BUT, I am VERY glad I did, because they look BAD A$$!!

 

Relegate,
That was a nice write up. While I have not purchased directly from Fabspeed, I have been to there facility, very impressive.
Your statement about customer service is so true.
My wife and I own a few e-commerce stores that retail boots, nowadays, price sells the first time, but if you want repeat buyers, folks like Fabspeed, Evolution Motorsport or Bydesign Sam, all step up to the plate.
I recently purchased a Trans mount from a very large performance shop and the customer service was not nice, it was my first and last purchase.
(I won't identify, not my style)

 

Thank you again, Dave! We're passionate about our products and our customers. If we can make you happy, we'll do everything in our power. Our facility affords us the ability to tailor products to your exact specifications, we do often run into unique situations where body kits and custom exhausts necessitate customization for best fitment and we are happy to oblige! Stop in again any time!