Hello All,

I am a first time Porsche owner (October 2009). The odometer reads 6200 miles and it is not my primary car. I want to add some mods and was hoping to get some advice from you guys since you all have MUCH more knowledge than I do at this stage. I have been reading through this site for some time now and I have come to the conclusion that posting this thread will give me the best information and I want to thank those who respond in advance. Ideally I would love to have more hp and louder sound (but not too loud). There are a few things that I need to take into consideration before making my decision: My budget is around $4,000...the dealership where I purchased my car will only deal with AWE Tuning (I have heard very positive things regarding AWE so thats cool)...and I would like to stay within the Porsche warranty.

Thanks

-Charles

 

Charles,

I would pick up a Tubi exhaust system and call it a day.

 

Hey same ideas - I thought to open a similar thread. Just with a bit lower budget.

I hope this turns in a nice conversation and also can take some advices.

Porsche warranty is also a point for me. I read somewhere that the warranty expires when you change electrical or engine parts.
My dealership said that mods like bumpers, sideskirts etc. would be OK.

How about the OEM Sportexhausts from Porsche(PSE)? Round about 2200$ and than you can decide.
And I would take a additional EVO V-Flow Intake with a Light Weight Flywheel ?

 

Positive things with AWE...for sure!

Great guys,great shop.....GREAT parts!
If you can buy one thing....I suggest the high flow cats.....better flow and the SOUND is awesome!

Stacy

 

AWE is top of the line- work with Michael Romano, he's a class act.

Within your parameters (budget and requirement of working with AWE) I'd do this:
-$1,700 AWE cats
-$600 EVOMS cold air intake
-$400 OEM short-shift kit (SSK)
-$1,000 AWE chip

Good luck.
CATTMAN

 

+1 for AWE exhaust. Provides both h.p. as well as better sound. You can also do it piece by piece (cats, mufflers, headers) as your budget allows.

 

Do you need the whole package to gain the additional HP/ better sound? (I think I can answer the question myself) To be honest I have no clue about all this exhaust stuff -

Is there any increase in sounds and hp when taking the muffler with the AWE Tips(btw: can you choose between stainless and black tips)?

The sounds is just incredible

 

AWE exhaust, for sure, not to loud but sounds sweet. Softronic tuning really livens up the car, much more responsive. I like Softronic because you can return to stock at any time which is important to those of us that live in California. I swapped out the stock shifter for a B&M, and like it a lot, shorter, more positive shifts.

 

Is your dealer Brandywine? They are very pro AWE, from what I remember. As others have said, AWE makes great products.

 

Surprised no one said a good pair of driving gloves and a Snell 2015 helmet.

 

Within your budget, you can skip mufflers and headers and just go for the AWE cats, EVOMS CAI, AWE ECU flash, and SSK. Mufflers and headers, in my experience, don't do much if anything for power. The AWE cats will add power AND sound, the best of both worlds
CATTMAN

 

If your imperative is not to upset warranty then ECU flash is probably out of scope, unless you will decide to go with reversible one like softronic.

Then first thing to do it probably proper alignment - if you decide to stay stock - then get maximum camber in front, -1 degree or so, 0 or 0.02 toe, rear camber -1.5, toe 0.10. Also you can get 996 GT3 LCAs to increase maximum front camber to limit of -3 degrees. I think is best mod possible to improve steering.

For exhaust - get X51 headers, AWE cats and AFTER that decide if you do want put louder mufflers or not. Mufflers will not add up much power, they mostly add sound. So it is somewhat personal.

Buy BMC oiled air filter panel into stock airbox.

And then I think $4K are gone.

 

Ok i'm taking it all in. Thanks to all who have responded so far. It certainly isn't if, but when i'm going to make a move. Probably sooner rather than later but since im in New Jersey and my dealer (Porsche of the Main Line) is about 25 miles away, I want to make sure I don't get stuck in between snowstorms. Hey Cattman, just out of curiosity are the prices that you listed include labor? If not what should I expect?

Thanks!

-Charles

 

The priced I noted were for the parts only. I tend to think everything is a DIY, so I didn't note labor hours. However, the EVOMS CAI is definitely a DIY. The AWE cats are, too, but you could just pay a couple hundred bucks to get them put on, I suppose.
CATTMAN

 

+1 on the AWE CATS.

I didn't have very good results with the EVOMS CAI suggested by others though - the drop in BMC filter costs much less and actually sounded better on my car.

SOFTRONICS, approx $1k, is also within your budget and certainly worth your consideration - a DIY so no need to worry about being locked into a particular speed shop's preferred vendor.

...or you could put the full $4k toward some coil-overs - the single best mod IMHO.