I just put on the K&N cold air intake and it sounds great!!! worth it in my opinion just for the sound after 4,000 rpm your vrooooooooooooooooooooooooom

 

pse hack for sound.... like they said suspension, oil change every 5 k.... drive it ike you stole it... you wont be able to wipe the grin off!

my .2

 

ROW 030 is all you will ever need for the street... lowers the car a bit but not too low to scrape... really makes a difference in the handling department without being harsh... and if you decide to go to track it works really well.... and its inexpensive @ $1K... forget the pss9 coilovers and GT3 sway bars and control arms if your not tracking... that is very serious track equipment... (not to mention the cost of parts and labor $$ !!)

for engine some quality 200 cell hi-flow cats with PSE gives good power and awesome porsche sound; I've heard the combo and it rocks...

if you have a 99-01 996 the GIAC flash works really well.. that will give you a good 20hp... I wouldn't bother with any intake kits if your not going to track it...

 

The cost of getting a Turbo is wayy higher than upgrading to a supercharger, or aftermarket turbo. Just ask anyone about their insurance rate on a turbo, I think you will be double thinking the jump to a turbo.

 

I sold my car- put up 12 thousand and got a turbo. Insurance went down (do not understand why) and I'm in a car that is 2 years newer.

They are not totally out of reach

 

Thanks for the advice C70. Who would you recommend i purchase the cats from?

 

So besides the flash, hi flow cats and the intake it really is not worth modding the 3.4 as far as $ vs Hp?

My long term goal is to get some more hp out of the 3.4 with the above mentioned mods and some minor suspension upgrades.

 

I don't agree that the engine is maxed out from the factory.

You have to remember that Porsche needs to balance performance with fuel economy regulations, sound regulations, reliability (debatable with RMS etc), etc, etc

HP gains can be seen by allowing more flow of air in (intakes/plenum), flow of air out (cats), and ECU tuning. These all effect performance, fuel economy and noise errr sound.

Coming from a Dad that has been a hot rodder since way before I was born, the $/HP in a Porsche is far worse than a lot of other cars out there like muscle cars, etc.

However, to say there is little to no effect that can be felt, I'd say that is debatable as well. One could say that numbers don't lie and dyno shows the increases, but I personally hate dynos as each one says something different.

I too recently went down the road of looking at selling my C2 for a Turbo and what I found in this market was that it would take me about $20-30k to go for a newer Turbo. Especially one with some performance mods already done as I can never leave anything stock.

When Vivid put on the SC sale, to me personally, it was a no brainer to keep the car as I had customized it almost to where I want it. So putting on the SC for some more HP gains made sense.

Last thing I need is exhaust and a few interior cosmetic things I want to modify, and my car is finished besides any maintenance.

I will echo others on this thread, suspension, tires, brakes, and RS engine mounts are an awesome upgrade. Especially if you have someone that knows what they are doing corner balance it for you.

I also love the LWFW I installed, but it does cause more noise and gets you away from the luxury aspect if that is part of what attracted you to Porsche. I personally like it and the faster spin up in the RPM band between gears is great.


PS I have the K&N intake on mine, it sounds awesome once you get up to WOT or over 4000 RPM, it will be posted for sale soon as my SC kit arrives this week...

Cheers
Aaron

 

Cargraphic 200 cell cats would be my pick... although the new X-Pipe from fabspeed is also a good value....

 

if your not going to track it don't bother... I'd do the exhaust and 200 cell cats for the sound alone... it will sound frikkin amazing!! especially with a PSE/Cargraphic/Ruf exhaust.. there is some performance there but you'll need to hit the track to realize it...

as for LWFW I've heard some engines blew up because of it... I'd avoid that... I know people who have it and love the fact the engine revs faster but there is a danger of it destroying your motor... something to do with harmonics and vibration transmitted to the crankshaft due to a lighter flywheel... the stock one absorbs most of this so it doesn't transmit it...

 

Ditto on the Cargraphic 200 Cats.

 

the insurance on my turbo is the lowest out of any car i check besides a 1998 toyota corolla was the only car that way actually cheaper then my turbo to insure. and i was 24 when i got it paying 900/year for maxed out coverage under insured, uninsured, towing, rental, PIP, etc.



on the topic at hand dont expect more then 25-30BHP not wheel hp from a intake and exhaust on these cars.

yes it sounds so much better with a proper exhaust, intake is cheap also just dont use a filter that needs to be oiled.

 

Hi binks, I know you are hesitant to do an intake upgrade but I recommend trying our new Competition intake which really wakes the car up in power and sound. I can guarantee you that you will not have any issues with the MAF sensor and you will love the instant improvement. The Carbon Fiber Air intake is a direct replacement for the stock airbox and will really improve air flow into the engine. I also recommend doing our X Pipe Sport Cats for increased HP and also a little sound improvement. The sport cat complies with all emissions and no CE light. I can offer you a nice member discount on both items if you are interested. Check out the pictures and more info on our website.

http://www.fabspeed.com/996_GT3.html

Air Intake Video: http://www.fabspeed.com/videos/996%20intake%20demo.wmv

X Pipe Sport Cat Video: http://www.fabspeed.com/videos/996%20sportcats.wmv