AWE 700 kit review

[eclou]

tort as far as I know, I have the only non-prototype kit to date.

[golfguy]

Eugene

thanks for the write-up and the pics on this and your teaser post.

I'm wondering why any of the 911 turbo kits don't require header wrap. my previous modded (non-porsche) turbo cars (late 80's/early 90's) all came with header wrap. i seem to remember the theory was to keep the heat in the header in order to maintain higher exhaust gas velocity for quicker turbo response.

[eclou]

I have my 944 turbo's exhaust wholly wrapped, but the length of the exhaust tract from the exhaust ports to the turbine is very long - perhaps 3-4' of tubing. The path on all the 99x turbos might be so short that I would guess the radiative heat lost would be minimal, or perhaps retaining any more heat might actually be detrimental to the turbo bearings?

[Mike/A.W.E.]

Originally Posted by golfguy

Eugene

thanks for the write-up and the pics on this and your teaser post.

I'm wondering why any of the 911 turbo kits don't require header wrap. my previous modded (non-porsche) turbo cars (late 80's/early 90's) all came with header wrap. i seem to remember the theory was to keep the heat in the header in order to maintain higher exhaust gas velocity for quicker turbo response.

glofguy-

Good question. We don't wrap, but we use Swaintech Coatings for some of our Audi header applications. Their product is fantastic, so we had a set of our 997TT headers done to see if there were any worthwhile benefits.

There was zero difference in performance compared to the uncoated headers. Spool time was also the same.

Like Gene has said, on a vehicle with much longer plumbing, this would be a worthwhile mod. Coatings and wraps also work well on cars where hot pipes are in areas where a double wall header design was used from the factory. They can provide a great thermal barrier.

The headers on these cars are dangling from the bottom, so need to worry there.

In our professional opinion, no coating or wrapping necessary.

Hope this helps.

[eclou]

another update:

Here is the car making its virgin run at the Texas Mile. No aerodynamic tricks used (tape, removal of wipers or mirrors), PSM left "ON" and into a headwind, and my "weak sauce" driving skillz (my 0-60 was 4.2 sec)

997tt mile run

here is the 0-300kph graph from that run:



This was a strictly bolt-on kit with no special voodoo or antics required, and 100% or better than stock drivability and manners. No CEL lights on, no stumbling. By comparison, VRAlexander's CGT ran 177mph. Hats off to Mike and Todd for a great job on this!

[bbywu]

Nice run Gene. Am I reading this right? Around 28-29 seconds for 0-300 km/h? Do you think head winds made a big difference?

[eclou]

The head winds were strong enough to wiggle the cars over the last 1/4 mile or so. from my aero calcs even a 10mph headwind would increase the drag by ~50hp. Also from the graph you can see that with a better launch (0-100kph in 3.x) the car would be at 27 sec for 0-300kph.

[bbywu]

Originally Posted by eclou

The head winds were strong enough to wiggle the cars over the last 1/4 mile or so. from my aero calcs even a 10mph headwind would increase the drag by ~50hp. Also from the graph you can see that with a better launch (0-100kph in 3.x) the car would be at 27 sec for 0-300kph.

Wow...40-41 seconds for a stock 997TT...we're talking 13-14 seconds faster?!?

[rmani]

impressive. did i miss dyno numbers?

[eclou]

Bobby yes it is quite a bit faster to 300kph than stock, and pretty close to the RT12. The fastest RT12 at the Texas Mile turned only 184, and the 996 Ruf RTurbo turned 181. Some european tests have been faster, but their temps are usually much cooler than here in TX. I cannot imagine how fast the car would have run in say 30-40F!

[Niels E46 M3]

quite an impressive kit... congrats!

[HRTC]

I assume you're running the stock clutch. You having any trouble with the clutch slipping?

[bbywu]

Originally Posted by HRTC

I assume you're running the stock clutch. You having any trouble with the clutch slipping?

Gene replaced his clutch long ago...the clutch was fine, but the pressure plate couldn't handle his AWE stage 2 kit on race fuel. If you do a search, it happened before a previous Texas mile event, if I remember.

[eclou]

Nothing escapes Bobby!! Yes I discovered the stock pressure plate could not handle the torque of the Stage II kit just 2 days before the 2007 Texas Mile. The upgraded Sachs Stage II clutch I got from AWE holds fine with no drivability changes

[bbywu]

Originally Posted by eclou

Nothing escapes Bobby!! Yes I discovered the stock pressure plate could not handle the torque of the Stage II kit just 2 days before the 2007 Texas Mile. The upgraded Sachs Stage II clutch I got from AWE holds fine with no drivability changes

Sorry...didn't mean to beat you to the punch. I'm just so excited about this kit...all bolt on + software, 700ish HP. Crazy power. Sub 30 second 0-300 km/h !!!