I have been thinking of a 996tt for a daily duty kind of car and like any good boost/hp junkie the vast array of big hp modded cars for sale is very tempting.
Question is, for the 550 and up hp mods, are the cars reliable?
Are there tuners/systems to avoid? Or for the sake of a flame free thread, let me rephrase that-----Are there tuners/systems that folks can recommend?

At what point do the mods and hp start to create issues with reliablity and miles? I want some nice mods but not the issues

 

Every tuner has skeletons in the closet. With that said, most of them really try their best.
550HP is very mild. 700 hp is better. 800+HP is wehre you need to do the motor and do a lot of custom work...
I can tell you that at 700 hp you are fine.
You asked "reliable" - Most higher HP cars need a MAf that will handle that power. So if your tuner has a grasp on the maf you shoould be fine.

good luck,
markski

 

Mine makes about 625 and I drive the **** out of it, zero issues

 

Marski, thanks for the info, sounds good. What kind of power are you running to turn sub 10 1/4 mile?

Derboost, is your 625 from a kit or ala carte?
Used to live in Montana(Flathead Lake), lovely place.

 

some issues i've encountered (over 2-3 tuners, and no, i'm not divulging who's who w/ what's what)

- blown motor
- constant stalling w/ LWFW
- blown spark plugs < 5k miles
- pinhole in a gas line
- blown MAF
- knocking (even on race gas)

that said, when the car runs, i'm very happy w/ it. but i'm glad i no longer use it for a daily driver.

- chuck

 

On a 996 a stage 2 (tune and exhaust) is about all you want for a rock solid dd.

Then again w/ AWD you might be ok w/ bigger turbos (stage 3).

IMO, GT 700 is a bit much for a DD, but the perfect weekend car.

 

GT700 daily driver from April to November over 15,000 miles no problems.

 

He has 850 rwhp on high boost and race gas.

 

Dr J,
Is stage 2 usually the 550 hp kit that uses stock turbo's?

Too bad the blown m3 did not work out, or maybe its for the best, as that car has been for sale for a long time as I looked at it last fall(06).

 

Damn, that is some serious driving in just over 6 months!
Whats the total mileage on your car and at what mileage did the GT700 kit go on?

 

I think when you hit the "700" and above kits, you are risking
the possibility of issues. I was willing to take that risk and love
every single moment of driving the car. Having said that, doing an upgrade that
involves ONLY turbos, exhuast, FPR, and an ECU tune should be rock solid reliability.
Some tuners/kits have issues with the MAF, do your homework, you have great
resources on Northern CA.
Since driving my car home from Protomotive this spring, I have had one and only one
problem. My greddy boost contol unit went dead. They overnighted me a new one and
it has been fun and frolic ever since. I do understand the risks at this level.

Good luck,

MK

 

River,

Yes, stage 2 uses the stock turbos. For a dd you want, IMO to lean on the side of reliability. Like Marty and Buddy I have had no issues w/ my GT 700. Nonetheless I do not recommend it as a dd. Too much power for when I have my job, my wife, my mistress, my investments, etc on my mind and I am running late to my 9 AM class and trying to slam some coffee down. Oh yes, its raining.

 

Agree with Marty and Buddy. I have had EVOMS stage IV, GT640, and GT700 and except for the MAF, which I think I blew around 4 they were great daily drivers! My Proto project which I seem to drive between upgrades feels great! It should produce 800 rwhp? But what I love about Porsches is how drivable they are and that is why I stick with them. Good luck

 

Most of the 700 hp packages offered by the various tuners are tried and tested, and proven to be reasonably reliable. Once you get above 700 hp, reliability becomes a more significant concern.

Craig

 

on a 3140 lbs. car running 1.25 bars it probably was mid to high 700s...