It flunks the visual part of the inspection because it doesn't have the required cert#. As well, you'd have to reprogram the ECU.

 

I suggest you speak to a Porsche tech who is not in the business of selling supercharger kits. You will get some very different responses than what you might expect.

My local tech (who specializes in late model / GT3 cup cars) says that a supercharged 996 block will need a rebuild MUCH sooner than a non-supercharged version. He thinks that you might see a major rebuild as soon as 30K-60K miles, depending on boost.

He has done a few conversions for people, but it involves an X51 naturally aspirated engine and some tweaks. This X51 conversion with the tweaks is turnkey for about $14K (w/ core exchange) on 2000+ cars (drive by wire). You add about 50 horses and shave about 200-300 pounds off the car. This puts you up in stock GT3 or low-end Turbo performance.

You could actually drop in a Turbo engine in a regular 996 car if you wanted to. It would be about $20K-$25K for the conversion, and the engine would come with a full warranty.

 

How does it shave 200 to 300 lbs off the car? As well, the torque in the X51 is nothing short of pathetic relative to an SC'd 3.4 or 3.6. The turbo has arseloads of torque and the GT3 revs to 8k+. Just adding 50 low rev HP without the torque won't get you close to either car. An X51 would be spanked by either.

I bet ya you would most certainly not have a warranty on that turbo motor unless you put it in the car for which is was designed.

 

will it be reliable for the Cayenne?

 

I realize there are a number of super charger kits out there currently on 996 and boxster engines but the 996 wet sump and case design are just no where beefy enough to support the added horse power for the mid to long term. I don't reccomend them for my customers. Besides, the superchargers are kind of hard on the hard parts in comparrison to a turbo charged set up even at similar boost levels.

 

I submit that changing any part of an automobiles performance parameters will also affect its' relaibility and other driving characteristics. So, it should come as no surprise that the ultimate motor life will be diminished via supercharging. How much is probably going to be hard to tell because it is relatively soon in the 996 model life. But gentlemen, there is no free lunch.

Having said that if you can stand the potential shortened life, hook it up! I think a supercharged relatively light weight early C2 could be an interesting idea. They've come down in price and you'd get some serious fun factor with some other mods......

 

What does the oil system in the 996 have to do with horsepower?? The oil circulates the same through the engine whether you have 100 HP or 500 HP. If you don't understand how something works, then you shouldn't comment on it. There is plenty of false info on this board as is. And your comment regarding being harder on the "hard parts" than a turbo makes no sense at all.

 

Might be better off with a x51, chip upgrade.

 

thank you for all the responds.

 

I was theorizing this on the 996 section and several people got mad at me for suggesting a supercharger might actually not be the best thing for an engine with an 11:1 compression ratio. Guess we'll have to wait and see though, maybe the engine is built up enough?

 

I have done quite a bit of research and read a great deal about Superchargers and forced induction. As a result, I will be installing an EVO Supercharger on my brand new 04 C4S in the spring. (I'm waiting for a break in my schedule) I will attempt to shed some light on my decision and the relevant facts as I know them.

Important Point: I have made what I feel is the best decision for my car based on my risk tolerance and reward.

Facts: (at least the ones relevant to me)
• A turbocharger is a supercharger driven by exhaust gasses.
• Superchargers are cheaper/easier to install, maintain and are more reliable than turbochargers.
• Engine longevity depends a great deal on the way the car is driven and tuned. Premature engine failure is always a possibility when driving a sports car under stress be it under boost or hard driving.
• Installation of a supercharger may or may not void your warranty. While there are those quick to point out Magnuson Moss or others quick to suggest the dealer will void, I personally know of no instance in which a Porsche warranty claim was made let alone denied because of a supercharger. Ultimately, it will depend on the unique circumstance presented.
• The Porsche engine has a long tradition of operating under boost. Engines built by Porsche in the 80's with much lower standards of quality than those produced today have a long track record of performance under boost. Engine failure due to boost pressure has not been a leading cause of pre-mature engine failure.
• The 996 3.6 running at 6lbs of boost with 92 octane gas will produce an additional 40% more HP. Let me say that again, 40%!

Opinion
• I think the tradeoff is well worth it. I believe I will get a major increase in power for no appreciable difference in longevity. While I agree that is slightly more probable a supercharged engine will experience challenges before a normally aspirated would, I don't think I will notice any difference over a 100,000 mile range.
• I believe the supercharger package developed by Evolution MotorSports and GIAC represent the best in class technology available today. The only other competitor is TPC and while the roots type blower offered by TPC will produce more power at lower speeds, the EVO/GIAC package of tuning and parts is far superior to TPC.

Research Links
http://www.giacusa.com/
http://www.evoms.com/porsche%20ec%20art%20test.htm
http://www.superchargersonline.com/index.asp
http://www.vortechsuperchargers.com/...te_papers.html
http://www.powerdyne.com/tech.htm
http://www.vf-engineering.com/

 

I don't mean to be a stick in the mud, and being an enthusiast I'm all for the added power, but I really think you should not expect "no appreciable difference in longevity." The fact that Porsche has built forced induction motors is mostly moot - motors designed for forced induction have different internals than NA motors (mainly to lower compression).

Until someone has driven their SC'ed 996 for an appreciable amount of time, I don't think it's safe to assume forced induction is completely safe for the motor. As I've said before, talk to some techs who do not sell or install superchargers and get their input first - tuners will say whatever they want to sell their product.

As a disclaimer, I'm not saying don't supercharge - look at my car, I run more than twice the stock boost. I'm merely saying be aware that the engine could, but hopefully will not, fail sooner with forced induction. The risk is probably worth the reward though .

 

Ruf do a very reliable and powerful supercharger for the 996 3.6, they also give you a 2 year or 40k miles warranty.....


all the best
adam

 

I must admit that if I were to go through this process I would only contemplate the EVO SC. The TPC system has yet to prove itself, IMO. The number of "blown" boxsters is a testament to that. The local tuner, Fitzgerald Racing had the first SCed Boxster in Melbourne. It lasted 6 weeks. They spent months in redeveloping the TPC system and they finally produced a reliable TPC SC which is still running strong. After talking to them they highly recommended the EVO setup over the TPC setup. The Ruf setup also looks great with the added safety of the warranty but at nearly twice the price. Now that would be an option but I dont know of Ruf in Australia

I too am reluctant to go ahead just yet. I need more data to become available and a few more miles/kms before I make the jump. Tell you what though, it sure is tough holding back!

 

The supercharger in working together with the engine, where´s the turbo might be off most of the time during a long trip, this alone will save some stress from the engine.

Those engines were not not made to receive force induction without several internal modifications, in order to lower the compression ratio among others.
I found the EVO system very appealing regarding price vs power, but you have to know the risks you´re into. I´ve been tempted to drop this system due the power increase, but I prefer to waite a bit more, and get a 996TT a year from now.