Feedback on 997 Turbo Kits
 

I am seriously looking into turboing my Carrera and I was wondering if anyone with a turbo kit (Vivid, TPC, etc...) could share their experience.
Interesting questions are clutch life, noise, fuel consumption, assembly time, and whatever you find relevant.


Thanks for any info

All great questions, which I will be in a better position to answer in a cope of weeks. My '06 997 C2S cab is at Vivid at this moment to have their first turbo kit in a 997.1 installed, along wih a new stage 2 clutch (my original clutch has 43K miles on it and is on its last legs anyway) and a short shifter. My car is essentially being used by Vivid as a template to 'mold' the parts so they can build a reproducable kit which can then be drop shipped to anyone

Fuel economy for the heavy-footed is estimated to be around 12 MPG on 91 octane.

Based on the labr cost quoted for the turbo kit alone, I would say it's 2-3 days work, but Dan from Vivid can chime in there.

I wll keep you posted as soon as I get my car back (by the end of this month). :D

Tpc
 

I purchased TPC Racing's turbo system some time ago and have been very happy with it. You can find numerous posts including many from myself describing the experience. In a nutshell it's dramatically faster, has a great exhaust sound and perhaps most important of all, seamless with no driveability or quality issues. I looked at turbo and supercharger systems prior to purchasing and concluded that TPC had the most experience, the best reputation and was the safest bet.

I can sorta share my experience with TPC Racing... My car is a Cayman S, but I believe the kit's are very similar with just the piping and ic, etc in different locations.

Noise: I would say you get lots more good noise if that makes sense :) In my case normal driving around town was actually a bit less loud than my Tubi exhuast, but once you get on it though you get a nice growl. In between shifts if you have the window open you can hear the dump valve..

I installed the kit myself with help of friends and a lift and it was pretty straight forward. Since it was the first Cayman kit that was done DIY, they were very helpful in the whole process. Install time for me was 5-6 days or so with just working on it at night after work.
Here's link to my install for my Cayman https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...y-install.html

Overall I think you can't go wrong with TPC.. I have had the kit on the car for more than 2yrs now and it's been super reliable even in this hot Florida weather.

I also have very good experience with this TPC turbo kit my car running very strong 5000 miles and no problem so far... Turbo kicks in after 2500 to 3000 rpm and car drives very nice i change my clutch after 30000 thousand mile but i am the second owner of my 2000 996 C4 I think thair turbo system best in the market right now for our cars, They have build and install couple hundred turbos for caymans 996 and 997s others trying to, but TPC have the most experience..

What about ima twim turbo?

i've also heard good things about TPC / Casey.

from my understanding, TPC is a tuner co... and Vivid is a reseller. (correct me if i am wrong)

BTW Harajuka, love the conversion.. especially the front spoiler ! is that RUF?

let me know if u ever want to sell it. ;)

I've been talking with Casey from TPC for the last week on a 997S kit. You can't beat the customer service.

CrazyCarlitos:
That is not accurate.
Vivid developed their own kits for the 996 and now for the 997.1.
They have chosen a different layout / geometry than TPC with some sound reasoning behind their choices.

Please take the time to talk to Vivid before buying any F.I. solution.

I'm not associated with Vivid in any way. I did my research before giving them my car and I have looked hard at the other options out there.

I think you can't go wrong with either turbo kit. Both are nice. Each one is unique in its own way but gets a similar result.

kits...kits...
 

Thanks for all the feedback.
I am slightly inclined towards Vivid as their design builds on the TPC design with the advantage of not having water lines through the car.


I am wondering if any of these kits have any exposed evidence of the hardware, I would definitely prefer a total sleeper. From some images, the vivid kit had some exhaust visible from behind, can someone comment on this?

Thanks

Frm what I've seen, the car is a total sleeper once that rear bumper cover goes back on :D

Coming from a very high horsepower supercharged GTO I do like the air to water intercooler of the TPC setup. Both air to air and air to water has its benefits but my opinion (and it is just mine) is that in the rear engine setup the air to water will be more beneficial in the real world environment. The heat exchanger is out of the engine bay up front in a high velocity area. Again, just my .02.

My curent air to water setup with my TVS2300. Car made 805rwhp (stalled TH400 tranny) with 18psi boost.

Heat exchanger up front:
http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/c...00123-1314.jpg

Water tank:
http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/c...00123-1315.jpg

Aftercooler is sitting under that monster blower:
http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/c...00123-1315.jpg

This was my older Vortech aftercooler setup. Made 623 rwhp thru this setup on 10lbs boost.
http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/c...t/CIMG0995.jpg


The car:
http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/c...120ft/TVS5.jpg

I guess I'll chime in as well, I brought mine with the TPC turbo already installed. The previous owner went with a 'racing' setup with no cats and I failed emissions a couple of times due to the visual (no cats) with everything else 'passed.' I called Casey from TPC and they decided to send me headers with cats for free. Blew me away. I was expecting some help but not this type of generosity. I worked with Tom as well, they are first class and I would not hesitate to do business with them. My TPC turbo is running great, no issues, no problems starting, my only problem is trying to avoid getting speed tickets.

Wow. Very nice.