So the time has finally come. I'm in the market for my first Porsche, in fact my first sports car in general. It will be a weekend car and probably rarely/never tracked. I have bounced around many cars and have now settled on a 996tt because of the great price/performance ratio. A good friend of mine has an E90 M3, so I have to be faster than him.

The big question in my mind is whether or not to buy a modded car or a stock car and do some mods myself. Speaking strictly from a reliability standpoint, is a highly modded car a bad idea?

I found a very nice modded 996tt with a stage 2 GMG kit. The owner says he has all the service records and GMG receipts. Seems like it has been well maintained. I know this would be a great car to have, and would save me a ton of cash up front by buying a pre-modded one. However, with this being my first sports car, I probably don't NEED 650HP just yet. I also don't know anything about GMG or their quality. This car has 46k miles. I want it to be reliable, would this be a bad decision? I really like this car.

Another car I'm looking at is bone stock and a few thousand cheaper (and cabriolet, which I'm impartial to) but the mileage to me is a bit on the higher side. Is 72k miles to much? This car also has full service history available. I've read about some 996tt's approaching 200k miles, even on the original clutch. Should I worry about 72k miles? I would put about 5-7k miles a year on it. Without question this car would see a ECU flash and exhaust.

Lastly, I've seen a small handful of 996tt cars with X50. From what I understand this is a bonus, but I shouldn't go shopping for it. What sort of numbers/performance can you expect from an ECU flash and exhaust from a stock X50 car?

I'm open to other ideas, thoughts, questions, and "Don't do it man!" comments. If I start with 650HP right out of the gate, I have nothing to look forward to. If I started with 414-450HP, some small mods would make a feel-able difference and give me something to work up to.

 

With Kevin's UMW flash and 1bar wastegates on an x50, you're looking at a 70hp increase and 100ftlbs over the stock x50 numbers. Roughly speaking, around 430hp and 500ftlbs to the ground (correct me if I am wrong).

The x50 is good if you don't plan on upgrading the turbos, and it has larger IC's, but not by much, etc.

650hp in the 996 is nice, depends on what you want. Do you want the monster power? Yes, it will save you a ton, but I personally like upgrading myself and feeling the difference from one mod to the next. It's personal preference... do your research on the car, maintenance records, PPI, etc.

 

Thanks for the info. I seriously doubt that I would ever upgrade the turbo's. In fact I probably would just do a flash and exhaust and leave it at that. I'm not much of a modder, but hp = fun.

 

If you're going to reflash, you'll probably be happier with an x50 and 1 bar wastegates than you will a k16, but that's debatable.

The modded one will give you some options, might be the better way to go if you want a high powered machine. You can always sell the modded parts, convert back to semi-stock, and make some money if you're into that.

I wasn't impressed with a flash on a K16 coming from a K24 (x50) setup. However, the K16's provide a longer band of power, you don't feel it as much but they spool up about 1000rpm before the k24's do.

Just for reference, the 996's come stock with the K16 turbo, the x50 has the larger, K24 turbo. A common mod for a K16 is to send them in and have them modified (K16 hybrid, etc), which gives you more power, while keeping the better spool. Do this with a reflash and an upgraded FPR and it's fairly inexpensive.

Shops like Kevin at UMW, Markski(sp?) at 911tuning, Robert at Evolution Motorsports, Vividracing, and many others also offer upgrade packages.

If you've got 10k to dump into a stock 996, you can get it to 600hp at the crank fairly easily.

 

Since the GMG Stage 2 car I'm looking at is only $3k more than the stock car, this is a good deal then. Does anyone have any information on GMG? How reliable is their Stage 2 kit? Does GMG do quality work?

 

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...resh-pics.html

 

Go with a mod car seems like your leaning toward that way. Its less painfull on the wallet

 

Let me get this straight, $3K more for a well modded car with 26K fewer miles than a stock car??? No brainier!

 

A 650hp 996tt is a hell of a way to get started with sports cars. BTW, I just looked at GMG stage2, and 650hp is on race gas. That's going to be less power in Cali.

Personally I think buying a used car with mods can be a great bargain if you can find one with the mods you like. As long as they are bolt-ons that you can remove your self. I also think it is important that you have a good understanding of all the mods and how they affect the car, so you know what you're getting into.

 

Also an ECU and exhaust on the stock 996tt is probably going to cost you more than the $3k difference, so you will end up with a slower, higher mileage car for the same price

 

All great points here, I appreciate any input. I do realize that the 650HP is on race gas, I'm looking at about 610HP on SoCal pump gas. This car has more mods than what I would do if I bought a stocker.

I was more concerned with making sure the mods were done right. If I do the mods myself and it costs me $2-$3k more, but I know they are done right, it's worth the extra price tag. I don't want any headaches, I'm looking for quality parts/work.

I do agree that I need a full list of what mods were done and how they affect the car. It's tough to do this when you buy something pre-modded.

 

The only issue with a modded car is knowing who and how the mods were done. A modded car almost always means the car was pushed harder than a stock car. In the overally porsche world (not the crazy few on here - myself included), modifications detract from the value of the original car. The only time it does not depreciate the value and rarely increases the value is when you find a buyer that wants a modded car.

 

Well said. This is my exact concern.

 

I'd get the modded one. If you're in SoCal take it to Callas Rennsport in Torrance for a PPI. Tony does a PPI like no one else.

 

This place is right down the street from me. Excellent place - highly recommended!