Hello everyone. I am pretty new to this forum and have been enjoying everyone's ride on this forum so much that I am looking to purchase a Turbo myself.

Unfortunatley, I do not know much about the Turbos (Been a BMW M driver for quite some time) and I was hoping you could all please help give me tips and advice when I start looking to get myself a Porsche Turbo.

I know maintenance is a little bit more than BMW M Series cars (How much approx?), but what sort of issues are involved and what things will I have to be ready and take care of.

I hope you all could help...I will greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advanced

 

Pourky, the engines, modeled after the GT1 race engine i believe, are pretty much bullet proof. So maintained well with normal services, oil changes, plugs, fluids, etc... you shouldn't have too many problems there. I've heard of one engine on this forum going 250k with absolutely no problems with regular oil changes and maintanace checks ups. The one thing you've got to watch out for, second gear pop outs. Do a search, its been beatin to death on this forum. Aside from that try and get a car with a CPO done and maitance shouldnt be too much higher than that of your m-series cars, aside from a little more for oil changes and having to add a quart of oil here and there. Great luck!

 

Thank you very much for that information. Really appreciate it. So I was doing a search on KBB and 02+ Turbos are going for $67k, correct?

Also I've been doing searches whats the difference from a X50 to a non-X50? Just power (and how much)? I'm only going to do a few performance mods (Exhaust, Software, Headers).

 

Pourky,
The X50 has larger turbos, intercoolers, and reportedly a beefed up tranny. Its rated at about 30 more hp but its all at the top end. With intake, exhaust and software you can get about the same HP increase from a regular turbo. No need to buy headers, they don't add much HP and you can port your factory headers instead. Spend some mod money on the suspension first. The US cars ride much to high and too soft. Pricing is all over the place with used 996TT. The cheapest car is almost never the best value. Have the engine computer check for overrevs. Don't buy a car with type 2 overrevs. If you can find a lower milage CPO car from a dealer, it gives you a 2 years warranty, which will let you sleep better at night for the first 2 years at least. Good luck on your search.

 

bulletproof is misleading until you get shot!

 

if i'm not mistaken, the x50 comes with k24 headers? am i mistaken?

 

Yah you're right.

 

to continue the analogy, > 1.4psi might be equivalent to a grenade. check the vehicle's history carefully.

- chuck

 

Oh really, thanks for the Info. So for my case I should stay with the non-X50 and just do those 3 simple performance mods. Suspension, really? What is recommended:
Coil-overs or shocks & springs?
How much does it need to be lowered?
Which one has a smooth & comfortable ride?

On my M I ordered a Ground Control Coil-Over Track/Street Kit and regret getting it since it was such a stiff and ruff ride (handled amazingly though). I agree with you on that, cheapest one is not always the best value...what's an average price range for 02-04?

Also do the years have any differences?

Thanks for your help

 

Depends on how much end hp you want. I believe the 16's are good for about 400 whp with an exhaust, ecu flash, and dv's, although the dv's wont add any hp more of a precautionary upgrade. With the same mods i believe the 24's are good for about 450whp or so.

 

Depends on what you wanna do with the car (track, spirited-driving, DD, etc...) and how much you're willing to dish out. A set of Motons, JRZ's or Ohlins will set you back about 8k but will handle like no other and ride better than stock. The option down would be a set of JIC coilovers. They'll set you back around 3k and handle extremely well, but you'll end up sacrificing a decent amount of ride comfort. One down from the JIC's would be the Bilstein PSS9's. These are the closest to the stock ride but definitely improve the handling. They go for around 2.5k brand new. But if you want to go real low, like GT2 ride height, stay away from the 9's. IMO it's not neccessary that you go that low unless you're tracking the car. Here's a picture of mine with the 9's before i went with a Moton setup and it looks fine IMO. This was also not the lowest i could go with the 9's but at that height i could roll over speed bumps and steep drive ways without scrapping.

 

I believe the difference between the three years is negligible. Go for a low mileage, CPOed 02. I found mine for 66k with 12k on the odometer. Great luck!