i have a 2004 996 4s. i am looking for any suggestions on upgrades to increase hp.

 

trade it in for a 996TT

 

+1

Seriously, all else is a waste of money as their claims are all false. Unless you want to put a supercharger or turbo in (which begs the question why not get a TT in the first place), chips, exhaust, intake, etc... no matter what the claim, will not yield you the results that you are looking for. Ask me how I know... I can put any of my cars on a dyno and depending on how I set it up on the dyno, I can yield all the +10, +15 and even +20 hp gains (gains manf's claim by adding chips, exhausts, intakes, etc) by adding nothing to the car. If you want something you can "really" feel, then I suggest getting seriously light wheels. This will yield you hp gains on the dyno much more so than the others.

 

While I agree with most of the above....^^^^,

you will tell a difference with high flow cats and a re-flash.

 

If you really like your car and aren't interested in trading it in for a TT your best bet is to look for a nice turbo kit for you car. Search for IMA Motorsport in Northern VA, they are doing pretty cool things. If you look into them tell them TMAC (Troy) sent you.

 

Light wheels, Flash, lighter seats, lighter battery (braille batteries @ suncoast for example), remove rear seats. These and a few more things should do the trick... then you have to go into a supercharger but at those prices you might want to trade it in for TT yes. Turbo has stronger transmission (bty all this cars carry Mercedes Benz transmissions and the TT is the strongest of them all), better brakes, suspension, transaxle, and bulletproof engine (It does not blow like the C2's).

I'd do a few modest upgrades that will definitively change the driving experience and enjoy for a while.

 

Light weight Flywheel. It will rev up like a sportbike.

 

+1

I forgot about that one. Actually, if you remove the cats entirely and get an ECU flash, then that's probably the best bang for the buck. But then you are running for off-road purposes only.

 

Light tires, body kit, front hood, go magnesium rims, IForged, BBS, Champion wheels are the best for 996's. They have real carbon roof tops for Porsche's now. Don't forget lighter front & rear rotors I was told. The trick is too lighten the rear as much as possible, this way you will gain so much lbs/hp ratio which is better than most performance upgrades except for Turbo & Supercharger. Keep the car 50/50 ratio balance and remember turbo upgrades and supercharger kits are extremely expensive try $10,000 to $20,000 including labor. You have to ask yourself is it worth it to pay 15K in mods if the car is only worth $30k if that? Otherwise I go for a twinturbo or a GT2. My next car will probably be one of those.

 

As someone who's done almost every bolt-on available, I can say that none of these mods really give you that "HOLY CRAP this is faster!!" feel. I've enjoyed the process of modding but with such relatively small, naturally aspirated engines, the gains are never HUGE. My car is definitely quicker than it was when I got it, but I'll still lose in a straight line to a Vette.
The whole process has given me alot of quality time with my baby though, and for that I will continue to mod. I'll take any excuse I can find to get under my car on my day off.
Good luck with whatever path you choose to take (modding or buying a turbo...... then modding it)

-John

 

What would be the price range and will it work with a 99 996 tiptronic with cable throttle??
Thanks

 

I disagree that bolt-on mods are a waste of money. I have always seen very rewarding and noticeable changes on all the cars I've tinkered with over the last 30 years.

My experience has been that individual bolt-on's singularly make little difference but a well thought out package will net results. The proper intake, exhaust, and ECU remapping can be done pretty inexpensively and can be done over time if you cannot afford to do it all at once.

In addition, bolt-on projects give one a sense of accomplishment while you learn more about your car. There is great joy in modding a car by your own two hands instead of just paying someone to do it. My Dad still tells me the stories about he and his buddies taking their old stripped down flathead V8's to the dragstrip. I could ramble on and on about this but will not...

 

So what are the lightest rims out there? Anyone know the weight of the stock 18" rims on an 02 C2 and how much the lighter rims weigh??

 

good question I am trying to figure out that myself. Anyone have the answer?

 

I'm not sure how much the stocks are but you can go OZ 18's for about 1600 without breaking the bank. F:18lbs and R:20lbs.
I'm sure the stocks are at least 3-4 lbs more per wheel.