Best mods for 997.1?
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Everyone I know that bought SC thinking it was a "track tool" tried it and never pressed "Sport" again for a couple of reasons. The throttle is jumpier and on the track we all want linear and smoother. Rain makes no difference. Think about this... Some times you pick up a computer mouse and it's calibration is off and it's jumpy, while others are smooth and predictable. Similar with the SC. Yes, you can get used to it, but why? Just learn 1 throttle advancement scale (normal) and stick with it on street and track. Some talk about "SC increases PSM threshold" and that's irrelevant too. If you are driving such that PSM kicks in whether with or without SC, then you are driving poorly and need to learn to control the car. I've got maybe 6000 miles on the track in a 997 S with PSM and PSM never kicked in.
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I tried a variety of things on my 2007 C2S and in the end realized the following...
The OEM PASM suspension is as good as it gets. Don't mess with success and besides, this is a street cab anyway, spend your time on mods for the race car. You can spend big bucks on trying springs (requiring lots of labor and re-alignment) only to find the ride isn't as good, that you now scrape every driveway apron / speed bump, etc. Consider a nice set of aftermarket wheels with a more aggressive offset instead - make your car more unique and still have the great ride of the OEM suspension.
30 HP is imperceptible on these cars - so you can spend lots of time and money and in the end, the car won't perform any better. That being said, the one thing I do advocate and found was "worthwhile" was: X51 headers, AWE cats, and OEM mufflers with Softronic software to make everything work / feel better (ie: throttle response). Sound was intoxicating with the freer flowing headers and cats.
Sport Chrono - probably 1000 threads on this. It's a "do nothing" option - so get it if you really like that timer on the dash. Yes, it tricks you on the throttle advancement, but if you press your foot 1mm more without SC, you get the same amount of throttle. Something like Softronic will actually do something positive for performance.
Never will use an oiled filter again - not since my factory fresh one fouled my MAF.
Best of luck!
The OEM PASM suspension is as good as it gets. Don't mess with success and besides, this is a street cab anyway, spend your time on mods for the race car. You can spend big bucks on trying springs (requiring lots of labor and re-alignment) only to find the ride isn't as good, that you now scrape every driveway apron / speed bump, etc. Consider a nice set of aftermarket wheels with a more aggressive offset instead - make your car more unique and still have the great ride of the OEM suspension.
30 HP is imperceptible on these cars - so you can spend lots of time and money and in the end, the car won't perform any better. That being said, the one thing I do advocate and found was "worthwhile" was: X51 headers, AWE cats, and OEM mufflers with Softronic software to make everything work / feel better (ie: throttle response). Sound was intoxicating with the freer flowing headers and cats.
Sport Chrono - probably 1000 threads on this. It's a "do nothing" option - so get it if you really like that timer on the dash. Yes, it tricks you on the throttle advancement, but if you press your foot 1mm more without SC, you get the same amount of throttle. Something like Softronic will actually do something positive for performance.
Never will use an oiled filter again - not since my factory fresh one fouled my MAF.
Best of luck!
what are x51 headers? better than other headers? and is softtronic dynotune or a coockie cutter program? do you have pse?
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There are no CEL with sport cats. X51 headers are OEM and thus really inexpensive at about $625. They are better than stock (which are actually undersized leftover parts from the 996), but probably not as good as the really expensive aftermarket units. Softronic is pretty well know as an excellent tuning software - you can read up on it at their website (they are a site sponsor). I don't hve PSE, nor would I ever buy a car with it on. Additional weight, more complication, and no performance improvement -- all for $2500. For that same $, I did X51 headers, sport cats, and software and did get an improvement in performance and got a much better tone.
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There are no CEL with sport cats. X51 headers are OEM and thus really inexpensive at about $625. They are better than stock (which are actually undersized leftover parts from the 996), but probably not as good as the really expensive aftermarket units. Softronic is pretty well know as an excellent tuning software - you can read up on it at their website (they are a site sponsor). I don't hve PSE, nor would I ever buy a car with it on. Additional weight, more complication, and no performance improvement -- all for $2500. For that same $, I did X51 headers, sport cats, and software and did get an improvement in performance and got a much better tone.
I cannot comment on the Softronic software but everyone that has it says the same thing, that it is the way to go.
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I will second Ron's comments on the PSE, it came with my car, but I wasn't impressed by it's sound, and only put it back on when my Evo mufflers where too loud with the Cats and Headers. The PSE mufflers cut the noise down (in normal mode) and the power difference was nil between the two systems. If I was buying a new car, I would spend the money on other options or aftermarket mufflers.
I cannot comment on the Softronic software but everyone that has it says the same thing, that it is the way to go.
I cannot comment on the Softronic software but everyone that has it says the same thing, that it is the way to go.
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Good question, I go back and forth on it based on what people on this forum say, however my first 997 had GIAC and my Audi S4 had APR and I found that the gains on a NA engine are nothing to talk about. Also all my mods and can be reversed without a trace incase I have a problem with the engine. After the warranty is expired, I will do it for sure.
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Good question, I go back and forth on it based on what people on this forum say, however my first 997 had GIAC and my Audi S4 had APR and I found that the gains on a NA engine are nothing to talk about. Also all my mods and can be reversed without a trace incase I have a problem with the engine. After the warranty is expired, I will do it for sure.
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As much as I enjoyed modding I would have loved buy my car the way it is today from day one.
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Really? That's interesting. So is it then that the non-PSE car has "middle" volume, while the PSE car has "low" volume and "high" volume?
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From: Leo, IN
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Thanks!
I appreciate the detail in many of the responses. I will begin with wheels and coil overs. I really like the HRE P43s. Mostly I want to get that agressive look. I don't want to change the ride or drivability of the car in normal use too much. Nice to get the input about the Sport Chrono, I thought that may have been more of a performance advantage than it really is. I have had excessive cars in the past (Viper, and Superformance Cobra) those are not drivers! I really like the useful nature of the Porsche cars and want to drive this thing daily. I probably will go with the heavy C4s just because we get snow and ice here and I want to be able to drive the car in the morning if it is nice out and not feel worried about getting home. I doubt I will ever really get the car out in bad weather, but I don't want to skip driving it because it may turn nasty later. The Hp increase through some mods is a nice thought but this car will not come close to the 600 RWHP I have in the 427S/C. I think the whole idea with this car is better balance, comfort and reliability. Those are the things that come from Porsche engineering so I agree with many of the comments about just leave it alone and drive it. I have a frined that always says "If you want to go faster buy a faster car." My problem is that I cannot just leave things alone! 
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I would imagine that the normal mode on the PSE, is about the same sound as the non PSE muffler.