Someone made a comment the other day that got me thinking...

How are our motors affected by significant increases in HP and TQ that the Stage 4, etc. upgrades give us? Can they handle 50% more power than stock in the long run?

Back in high school, we used to do all the same types of mods to our Mitsubishi Eclipses and easily get 300-400whp. Those 4G63 motors were tough and seemed to take anything we did to 'em. On the other hand, some motors don't take the extra power near that well.

Has anyone out there with 600+ hp put a good 20k miles on their car? If so, how does it run versus when you first did the upgrades? Any major problems between then and now?

I guess what I'm getting at is this. Are the tuners selling 600+ hp kits not telling us something we should be aware of, or is it nothing to worry about? Anyone have comments on this?

Obviously to some people it doesn't matter because they can afford to plunk down $30k or $40k for a new motor and start all over if something blows up. On the other hand, many of us would not be too pleased if that happened ...

 

you know the answer already. if you want bulletproof, stay stock.

everyone has to decide their own performance/risk profile... in no warranty land [in less you're near McKenna porsche!]

 

stephen from imagine has the most miles on a 600+ horsepower car i believe. I know he is over 20,000 and also has many dyno pulls without a problem so far. i'm sure he'll chime in here.

 

A lot has to do with the way you use your car. Do you warm the car up for 15 minutes below 2k rpm? Change oil more frequently. I used to change every 3500miles now 2000miles. I have a friend with a 993 turbo S 700hp 60k miles no problems. I also think it's a matter of luck, how good was the engine in the beggining to start from. Take care of it and you should get 100k easily imo.

 

that's the reason the X-50 is so expensive per HP gain. It is still under warranty and Porsche stands behind it. They won't and shouldn't stand behind a modded car. That having been said, these cars are made to perform and perform they will. But to prevent Ferrari garage queen status, you owe it to yourself to watch boards like this, nip problems before they are problems, go to your tech sessions that your region sponsors and find a dealer that is mod/track friendly. Technically speaking, your warranty could be voided the minute you run on a track--but that would be hypocritical on Porsche's part and I don't know of anyone who tracks and had a problem that the dealer wouldn't warranty.

 

anytime you add massive power to an engine, you will reduce its longevity. More power and torque = more wear to all mechanical parts.

even though porsche overbuilds many parts, how much do you think they can overbuild?

 

FWIW, I have a customer in Colorado who has over 60K miles on his 01' 996TT. Of those miles, he has had the EVO stage 4 power upgrade for over 45K miles. The car still runs stronger than ever.

 

That is good to know, does he do any special maintenance?

 

xico in miami has 36k on his fvd level 4 car, He drives like he is on a race track 24/7. The only problem has been a cam sensor that caused problems over 6500 rpm.

 

does anyone know of any 996tt motors that have blown up due to mods??

 

No, Thats just it. Ive heard of failed turbos but no engine grenades. I suspect mods are pretty safe on this race derived block.

 

Failed turbos are fine ... a good excuse to upgrade.