I have a 2001 996 w/65k miles. I am looking for simple bolt on power upgrade
Options. Cold air intakes seem a bit questionable to me due to MAS
Failures (any opinions on this?) How about chip upgrades?
At the very least I would like to upgrade the exhaust system.
I understand that an H.P. Gain of about 10-12hp is possible.
Also I'd like to pull a more aggressive sound. I have heard good things
About AfterHours exhaust system (about $1050). Not too loud
At low Rpms but a nice sound when the motor opens up.
Any opinions are greatly appreciated.

 

These are the best mods I've done and best $2k I've ever spent . They gave me much more than I ever expected.
-Fabspeed Competition intake - amazing
-Fabspeed xpipe 200 cell cats - also amazing

Those 2 mods gave me the biggest gain for the money. The next 2 best options would be exhaust and ECU.

 

If you can find some x51 headers for a good price, definitely put those on.

IPD Plenum is also something to think about.

 

You can spend 10 thousand dollars on the c2 and get a whopping 10hp. The claims in HP are either not real or at the optimal spot in the power curve then adjusted for drivetrain loss just so the manufactures can advertise them.

Also, you will sound like you are going faster. Trust me, I went down this road (twice) with a NA996. I did exhaust w/ no cats, headers, intake, LWFW, tuning, lighter wheels, SSK, ect ect ect. The car sounded awesome, but the true (useable) whp gains were ridiculously small.

I sold my last one 6 months ago and bought a 996tt. It's another league of power for not much more than I spent on car + upgrades on the old 996.

 

I agree with NOLA. The motor is pretty much maxed out from the factory anything you add on will give you small gains, hardly noticeable. I also feel that doing a turbo or supercharger is not worth it when you can just sell the car and buy a TT for almost the same price. If i knew before what i know now about porsches i would have got the TT first.

 

Don't know if this is "best" bang for buck, but if you want to get it all NOW, buy the TPC Single Turbo Add-On for our naturally aspirated cars. Comes with full exhaust too.
http://www.tpcracing.com/products/TP...996-Turbo-Kit/
No affiliation... I just have it on my wish list

 

Twin Turbo it with IMA Motorsport like I did.....

 

Very true. Exactly the reason that on my 2nd Porsche purchase, I bought the Turbo version of the Cayenne. And it seems that Turbo models, at least when it comes to 911s, have a better resale value and immunity to IMS issues which are added bonuses.

 

I agree with Nola too.

Either spend the money on driving, suspension, tires where you can improve your driving skills and cornering on the car where it shines, or go big and just get some forced induction.

I believe Vivid Racing was having a sale on VF supercharger kits for a little over $6k. Far better deal for the hp gain you're getting.

 

Get yourself the VF supercharger kit! I have had mine on for 40k miles and no major problems yet!

 

Like they said -- spend the $$ on improving your driver skills to be able to take advantage of the perfectly sufficient performance envelope of the car.

Real bang-for-buck items are PSS9/10, GT-3 links and swaybars and RS engine mounts.

If what you are about is straight-line speed, maybe you're barking up the wrong tree -- go 996TT, Viper or AMG.

 

This is a real eye-opener for me. I just bought my first 996 which feels plenty powerful for my needs (at least right now) but I was thinking about doing the K&N intake (with a dry filter) and a Fabspeed exhaust just for some bolt-on HP improvements.

Now I'm feeling like I would be wasting my money. So are you guys saying that something as simple as intake and exhaust produce so little gain that they're not worth it or are you saying that there are simply limits to what is practical in terms of performance investment on Porsches because it's already engineered to the max? The latter I understand but the former has to be somewhat based on $/HP which in terms of the price of the car is already up there.

Just trying to fully grasp the thoughts here.

 

I have TPC turbo on my 996 C4 best mode for $10.000 grand.......

 

I think you are wasting your money -- if you're really into more power, just pay the $10M differential and get a 996 turbo.

I believe the K&F filters have caused some CEL/MAF issues (search for threads) and spending thousands of $$ for a 10 - 20 HP gain on the exhaust/cats doesn't seem like it makes sense unless you really want the difference in exhaust sound.

As I said before, what ARE bang-for-buck mods (including for the turbo) are in the suspension -- going to PSS9/10 or X74 suspension + GT3 sways, arms and links + RS engine mounts (depending on your labor costs $5M or so in total) + DE to learn to drive the car to its ample potential.

 

This was great feedback. I am a new owner of a 996 NB and was thinking of flashing my ECU and buying an air intake. Glad I read tris thread before purchasing.