So, most of us figured out a long time ago, it's not what something costs to produce, rather what a customer will pay for it that drives price. As things go in the 997 world, we seem willing to spend plenty. A midpipe and tune for GTR is $2k and nets 100HP. A good tune and exhaust for my turbo is $6k give or take depending on what you choose and nets about 100HP.... but it doesn't stop there because your plugs WILL need replacing and your DV's WILL need upgrading eventually and your stock clutch WILL fail (mine did after about 100mi). Plan on spending over $10k for that 100HP and likely a bit more. The next 100HP will likely be $15k more... and then.... I'm not going there

So anyway, my car sounds and drives great! But I can't shake that awful feeling in my gut....just spent over $12k in 2wks (had some other stuff done too) on a 6yr old car. This "pay-to-play" stuff is new to me... I'm sure I'll get used to it. The tt is super fun though!!

Paying 4-6k for exhaust on a p-car is crazy. Just think about the amount of tubing you are paying for!!! I paid 3k for a cat back system on my M5 which requires at least 3 times the tubing. I thought the BMW aftermarket was over priced!! This is why I'm going GT3. It may not be as fast but it's much easier to work on and sounds better out of the box!

I think I paid less than $3k for that extra 100hp in my 996TT. That includes Softronic tune, Clutchmaster clutch, free exhaust mod and spark plugs. That $3k includes install of the clutch too.

But I agree. The cost of an exhaust for these cars are very inflated. It's the cost of entry I guess.

$6k included tune.. still steep

My Sachs 2.5 was $3300 installed with tax... seemed a bit high, but came with some upgraded parts/bushings/etc. I thought it was going to come in around $2400 ($1650, plus 8hrs labor, plus tax), but admittedly ignorant when it comes to this stuff.

I got my clutchmasters on sale from $1875 down to $1450. And a friends shop installed it at 5 hours labour. I got the tune on sale From $1550 to $1300 plus like $150 for the cable. So I guess with the install it was a bit over $3k for those 2 items. I did the free exhaust mod and the plugs myself so I saved there.

I wait until good deals come up but all that to say I still agree with you 100%. There is a Porsche tax for sure.

Could you explain?

$2000-$2800 Softronic
$1200-$1800 Clutchmasters Clutch
$60 for Plugs

=$3000 installed?

My math never works like this for me.

oops didnt see previous post.

You forgot about the Race Gas needed to really get the most out of your Mod's, it's not Cheap!

Definitely ways to do it cheeper.. Softronic had tune for $1800 in Nov. and good used exhaust (not EP) for $1200-1800. Could stick with DV until they actually fail, do plugs and install exhaust myself (no time right now for that though) and maybe done it all for 6-7k including clutch if just basic Sachs 2.5 with no other preventative maint.. I'd just be asking for trouble and more visits to the shop. Considering, the nearest shop is 3hrs away for me, just need to get it done and hope for no more issues. Whole point of thread is to just be ready should you want to mod these cars in any way for performance. Crazy expensive!

As for the new clutch....much "grabbier" and engages low and still with the crappy assisted no feedback feel. I've stalled twice now in traffic, which is quite embarassing in a car like this. Should have done the GT3 slave conversion

interesting thread. With just an Exhaust and Tune you are looking at somewhere in the neighborhood of 550hp-600hp (crank) depending on the tune. I know of and have read many posts with lots of folks running stock clutch, DVs and plugs.

I don't think you have to assume that your plugs, DV and clutch will experience imminent failure with a tune and exhaust, especially if they are in new / good shape. There are guys who've run 20K+ miles on stock DVs and Clutch after a tune and still going strong.

The EVOMSit tune I have is considered Stage2 or 2+ with the supporting mods we've done. Supposed to be 590-ish on 91oct and near 620 with 630tq with 93 and higher oct. I have no dyno to support this, but after less than a day of adapting to the new tune my clutch was slipping bad. Even the new plugs misfired and we went another step colder to stop it. Much of this may be tune related and I could have kept the stock DV's, but again, don't live close to any Pcar shops and would have been SOL with a failure

Just got an EP exhaust last november and love it. Was thinking of tuning my car after the warranty runs out in August. I had heard about needing plugs faster with a tune, but this is the first I've heard of DV's going bad. How common is this? My understanding was that although it costs a lot to do tune and exhaust, these engines are "bullet-proof" and a tune and exhaust represents a very minimal risk to the engine and is the best bang for the buck.

I'm not sure how long the stock DVs would have lasted. Youre basically going from 17psi max boost to mid 20's. They are not that expensive and sound nice too

I thought the stock\OEM BOVs start leaking at around 1Bar of boost or less… Most tunes probably run a little more than that right?
Best bang for the buck should be:
Air filter
3" Exhaust with 100Cel (More than $3.5K seems excessive)
BOVs (I have seen them as low as around $250. Piece of cake to install on 997)
Tune
Clutch(it would be nice if the stock clutch could take the power! Would save around $2K)