Sorry for the delay. Just got home from work. Anyway, here we go....

First, here's a few shots as proof that I was actually in an EVO car today. It was an 01 with about 35K miles on the clock. This car was nice! Stereo, wing, wheels, bumper, exhaust. Very trick. He's selling it to pretty cheap if anyone's interested.

I'll start off with a couple shots of the kits itself.

 

another

 

last, a shot of his wing. apparently it's a techart piece that isn't commonly sold here. very nice. i really liked it. he had to order it from germany. i had never seen this one before.

 

love that camera phone. comes in so handy.

on to the meat any potatoes. i had the owner take me for a ride. he offered to let me drive, but i rode in the TPC so i didn't want to skew things by driving this time. figured everything should be the same. besides, both cars had awesome drivers so it let me concentrate on hearing the engine and watching the speed/tach.

i'll say this right off. it doesn't pull anywhere near the TPC car. the tpc car pulls much harder and felt a lot faster. granted this was an 01 so it's not really comparing apples to apples as the TPC car was an 02. the bottom end was kind of weak. not as much of an issue once in 3rd, as when you shift you're remaining in the power band. however, 1st and 2nd roll ons were a little soft down low. i had him hammer it in first at about 3k and the car went no where till it hit 5K and then it thrust me back in the seat. the owner's biggest complaint was that it really lacked bottom end, much of which we already knew looking at the dynos. however, as you proceed through the gears shifting near redline, you seem to be able to stay in the powerband and maintain the HP. i would really like to ride in an 02 or newer as i'm sure the big bump in HP torque would make a huge difference over the 01. the TPC has an advantage as you don't need to rev the motor to make boost. it's always there. the EVO seems to feel very stock until you give it a lot of throttle and run the rpms up.

the kit was just installed about a month ago. problems the owner has had so far....check engine light and a blown oil return feed line. shocker. i have to say this though, the installer was very quick to make the repair with very little downtime.

i'll post more in the next one to break this up a bit.

 

both kits will really make the car hustle. they both do it in a little different way, but they're both fast cars.

one big issue that i have concern with is after install support. i have to say, advantage EVO. my local Porsche dealer is an EVO dealer. They also have all the necessary tools and electronics to install and properly diagnose problems. my only concern with the TPC kit is that I won't have the same support if something went bad that I would get from the dealer. i don't think i will probalby have any significant problems with either kit, but it's nice to know that i can call the dealer and have them make it all better.

 

both kits are going to damge the motor over time. the bigger injectors have some issues, as do the 7th injector. there also seem to be some advantage/disadvantages to flashing vs. piggy back ecu. seems like depending on who you talk to it can be argued either way. i'm not an engineer, so i won't even try to give you a technical opinion. i've listed to many people and they all have different ideas on how this should be done. one thing everybody seems to agree on is that GIAC does a great job with regards to ECU programming.

 

i could still really go either way at this point. the power of the TPC was more impressive, but the dealer network and support system for EVO is pretty impressive in it's own right. not to take anything away from the EVO as it was very fast, just didn't feel as violently fast as the TPC. I'm sure the 3.6 kit EVO would be much more impressive. TPC's kit seems to work just fine, albeit seemingly more crude that EVO's. Why can't EVO use a roots blower??? This would be such a no brainer

 

There are a few questions that need to be answered before really making a decision on which to buy if you have any concern at all as to the reliability and longetivity of the kit.

Maybe Todd at EVO or Nik from VF can chime in here. I'd love to post some comparisons on the board as to a few different specs in relation to these kits and stock operation. I'll get TPC's numbers for comparision.

 

One thing I thought of as to why, theoretically, the EVO would not be as bad for the motor is that it is not available all the time. So if you drove the car more conservatively, it would not come on at all. But when needed, HOLD ON. Just a thought.

Dog- like your posts so far.

 

Is the extra power over stock worth $10K

 

Okay...

What is the A/F ratio for idling and WOT (wide open throttle) on a stock 3.6 996?

What is the timing set for at idle and WOT on a stock 3.6 996?

What is the normal intake temp on a stock 996 after a few heated runs? ball park hear, i know ambient temps vary.


Now, what are the same number for the EVO kit?

Does the EVO ECU have the ability to retard and advance timing depending on boost conditions?

Does the EVO ECU have the ability to adjust A/F ratios?

Lastly, are all the engine's safety management features kept in place?

 

so your back to where you started. support is a big plus. like i said before the evo kit looks good. what would it take to get the TPC kit to look good?

 

I will be happy to answer your questions. A phone call is sometimes easier than the board for me. Let me know

 

Depends on if you like to race

All kidding aside, yeah, these kits are overpriced. without a doubt. Will I still probably buy one...yeah. I really like my car. I can't afford a TT cab. This is the next best thing though. The power upgrade is signifcant. It is very noticeable and they both pull very hard. Feels very much like a TT rush after the boost kicks in. If you plan on keeping your car for a while and you like to romp on the car a bit, they yes, i'd say it's worth it.

Just wish it had been an 02. I know they make a lot more power and I'm sure I would have come away a lot more impressive with it. On that same note, it was still very fast and I liked it so I'm sure the 3.6 kit would be great. If this kit was $6K, I wouldn't even thing twice about it. However for almost $11K, I'm gonna do some homework

Which one am I going to buy...we'll see. I'd really like to see EVO answer my questions online and I'll get TPC to do the same thing. If TPC can't control the timing or the A/F ratios with their piggy backs, then I'll probably have to sacrifice the better performing kit for the better running kit

I don't think you can go wrong with either at this point. I just don't want to monkeying around with either kit all the time trying to get the car to run right.

 

Todd, would you mind posting the answer to those questions up here on the board and I'll call if I think of anything else?