2002 Porsche 996 Turbo w/ 29,000 miles

After a long search, https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...8-vantage.html , I've finally picked up the 996tt. I've had the car for about 3 weeks now and am absolutely loving it. Picked it up out of state, took a vacation in the Carolina's with it, and drove it home; I've driven 1,750 glorious miles since then. In true enthusiast fashion, I was awarded not one, but two tickets from the same cop on the drive back; well, one was a ticket for having a radar detector in VA (jerks), and one speeding 75 in a 65 (which I would dispute as I was not speeding because I knew the cop was there (ie radar detector), but I think since he knew I was out of state and wouldn't contest it). Whatever; lets just say there were a few spots that would have been a lot more inconvenient to get pulled over at during the long drive home .

Last weekend I installed the Europipe Stage 2 Loud Exhaust w/ Cat Bypass pipes. So far, no CEL's from the cat deletes. Took me about 6 hours total to install, and while quite straightforward, I had no prior experience and was being careful. It sounds absolutely glorious, a huge improvement over stock in both sound and performance. Turbo spool is much faster and I can clearly hear the turbos with the EP, which was not the case with stock. I'm told it should have bumped HP from 415 to 440-450, especially considering the cat deletes, but that I really need to get a ECU flash to unleash this beast . I definately notice a stronger pull. It sounds very exotic and definately turns heads with the gurgling and turbo spool sounds. Cold starts are glorious . I would highly recommend this exhaust others.

My next mod will be putting 19'' 997tt wheels on to update the look. I found mint rims off a 2008 997tt with nearly new front PS2's for $1600 on ebay (a steal!), and they were shipped today. Rear tires for these wheels on my car must be 315/25/19 for proper ride height and rotation so as not to rub or overheat the center diff. I couldn't bring myself to pay $560 each for rear PS2's in this size, so I went with new Nitto Invo's off ebay for $623 shipped for the both of them. Nearly $2k in PS2's would just be stupid expensive considering the short lives of ultra performance tires, and it'd make me feel like driving aggressive is just roasting $10 bills every few seconds .

I'm currently looking into Switzer's ECU flash for $1k + $300 for the wire, which should really waken up this beast and bring it to 500hp+ with the EP 2 Loud exhaust.

Please enjoy the pictures. I'll upload more to this thread when I get the 997tt wheels put on.

EDIT: 6/18/10 - See a few posts down for pics with the 997tt wheels installed.

 

Some more pics, including exhaust install process and a pic from another member's 996tt with 997tt rims like I just ordered.

 

Congrats!!!

 

Nice car.

 

Welcome to the family!

 

very nice post congrats and enjoy it in good health!

nice car and it's looking very nice with the tint and the 997tt wheels!

the flash is a must have!

 

Looks good with those 997turbo wheels

 

Nice car and welcome to the forum. You did get an absolute steal on your 997tt wheels.

 

Thanks. Let me ellaborate a little more about the wheel deal:

Mint OEM 997tt wheels with 90% good PS2's on front, no tires on rear (I asked seller to take them off since I need a different size for my car, 315/25/19, not 305/30/19), and he lowered price from $2100 to $1600. He offered $1300 for rims only, but for $300 I took the PS2's already installed. (Keep in mind, I was actively searching everywhere for 997tt wheels for nearly a month before locking this deal, after having 2 prior deals fall through).

Then, I used Bing 8%, Ebucks 2%, another cashback program 5%, and my credit card 6% cashback for 21% additional off, making the cost to me $1264 shipped. , this wheel upgrade was hardly any $ outflow at all, especially since it probably increases the value of the car (and will look fantastic!). If you can't tell, I do various forms of arbitrage for a living.

 

Front: 235/35/19 - 25.5'' diameter
Rear: 315/25/19 - 25.2'' diameter

For the 996tt, you need to stick to 25.5'' or lower to avoid rubbing and you need front and rear diameters within 3/12'' to avoid overheating the center diff. I know many sixspeeders just use stock 997tt wheel sizes (235/35/19 and 305/30/19 if I recall correctly), but I'm told thats a risk.

 

love your car, not the wheels!

 

...not sure if you are a track guy or have the room, but maybe you might consider keeping the stock wheels, (and powdercoat them black) and keep them as a set of track wheels with some sticky tires? Beats changing tires...

 

Congrats.

 

Actually, this is a really good idea. I've never done a track day before, but its absolutely something I want to do. The 18'' tires on the 996 wheels are also MUCH cheaper than the limited selection I have with the 997tt 19'' wheels.

 

Congrats! Awesome car and enjoy!