TPC Supercharger going on my '07 Targa 4S
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Powder coating is mostly for when you don't want to leave the metal bare (rust) but paint won't hold up over time. Powder coating does well in the engine compartment since it is baked on with high heat as part of the coating process. Personally, that raw aluminum piece wont rust and it looks so nice I wouldn't bother coating it. Just a matter of preference.
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Powder coating is mostly for when you don't want to leave the metal bare (rust) but paint won't hold up over time. Powder coating does well in the engine compartment since it is baked on with high heat as part of the coating process. Personally, that raw aluminum piece wont rust and it looks so nice I wouldn't bother coating it. Just a matter of preference.
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SC Feedback
I installed Cattman's VF-E SC kit in my '06 C4S w 25k miles, and results have been unreal.
First off, a public thanks to John for absolutely going out of his way to make sure the kit had all the minor particulars - he even went out of his way to order a few bits and ship them to me after the fact. His personally written instructions were also helpful to the shop that did the install - covered a number of things the VF instructions didn't touch on. The guy truly cares. Thanks!
The SC kit took the shop 25 hrs to install, (VF estimates 16-18), though shop said they had more than that in it. Shop was indy Porsche shop that is very well regionally regarded for air-cooled Porsche work, but has less experience with 997s I'd say. Not a lot of other options in Louisville, and I was happy with finished product.
Ended up needing to modify one of the SC bolts so it could fit, but no other mods on the install. Ended up with an unbalanced belt, that they ended up having to re-install the kit a couple times to get it to fit in right. VF charged $1100 to program the ECU/ECM chip itself, since it was a used kit. The shop that did my install complained that VF didn't want to do much support, presumably since it was a used kit - despite paying the ECU/ECM programming charge etc. VF just released a new software upgrade so we waited a tad longer, and also upgraded to their new airbox and one other item.
My feedback: Everyone raves about how stock this kit feels for DD - in a good way, and I think that's a pretty good way of putting it for driving around town. 2-3.5k RPM's feel about the same, maybe with an extra 15% power. Same manners. But then things start ripping after that. The main difference to me is once you have the RPM's hanging around 3.5-4k, the second half of the accelerator becomes deadly, and there's an initial burst that it will unleash, that is a touch unexpected, and it is non-linear, but very fun. Its manic from that point forward. More power than I was expecting, very on-demand / instantaneous.
I went with an SC over Turbo because everything I'd read said it would give more power to the low RPM side of things, and that it is very linear. I don't have experience with other Turbo's or SC's on 911's, but from my simple expectations, the powerband still seems very 997, there's just more of it, especially as the RPM's take off. Not exactly what I was expecting - just from my unfounded expectations - but it makes perfect sense. And the experience is very gratifying.
One thing I haven't heard addressed is the way the Sport Chrono - Sport mode - engages with this system. It used to be my favorite before I had the SC installed, now it's a bit too unkempt / lurchy for spirited driving around town. I find myself only engaging the tightened suspension, and just enjoying the SC without the condensed gas pedal sensitivity from Sport Mode. Anyone else with an SC weigh in on Sport Mode?
You do hear the whirring of the SC, but mostly at idle, and very low RPM's before the exhaust note takes over. I would say that its noticeable, but only 15% of the sound until the exhaust takes over. I'm thinking about doing the Gundo hack, which will probably further reduce its noticeability.
Overall, I'm very happy with the kit. It definitely transforms the car - but only when you want it to - and is still just as civil as a DD as it was before.
First off, a public thanks to John for absolutely going out of his way to make sure the kit had all the minor particulars - he even went out of his way to order a few bits and ship them to me after the fact. His personally written instructions were also helpful to the shop that did the install - covered a number of things the VF instructions didn't touch on. The guy truly cares. Thanks!
The SC kit took the shop 25 hrs to install, (VF estimates 16-18), though shop said they had more than that in it. Shop was indy Porsche shop that is very well regionally regarded for air-cooled Porsche work, but has less experience with 997s I'd say. Not a lot of other options in Louisville, and I was happy with finished product.
Ended up needing to modify one of the SC bolts so it could fit, but no other mods on the install. Ended up with an unbalanced belt, that they ended up having to re-install the kit a couple times to get it to fit in right. VF charged $1100 to program the ECU/ECM chip itself, since it was a used kit. The shop that did my install complained that VF didn't want to do much support, presumably since it was a used kit - despite paying the ECU/ECM programming charge etc. VF just released a new software upgrade so we waited a tad longer, and also upgraded to their new airbox and one other item.
My feedback: Everyone raves about how stock this kit feels for DD - in a good way, and I think that's a pretty good way of putting it for driving around town. 2-3.5k RPM's feel about the same, maybe with an extra 15% power. Same manners. But then things start ripping after that. The main difference to me is once you have the RPM's hanging around 3.5-4k, the second half of the accelerator becomes deadly, and there's an initial burst that it will unleash, that is a touch unexpected, and it is non-linear, but very fun. Its manic from that point forward. More power than I was expecting, very on-demand / instantaneous.
I went with an SC over Turbo because everything I'd read said it would give more power to the low RPM side of things, and that it is very linear. I don't have experience with other Turbo's or SC's on 911's, but from my simple expectations, the powerband still seems very 997, there's just more of it, especially as the RPM's take off. Not exactly what I was expecting - just from my unfounded expectations - but it makes perfect sense. And the experience is very gratifying.
One thing I haven't heard addressed is the way the Sport Chrono - Sport mode - engages with this system. It used to be my favorite before I had the SC installed, now it's a bit too unkempt / lurchy for spirited driving around town. I find myself only engaging the tightened suspension, and just enjoying the SC without the condensed gas pedal sensitivity from Sport Mode. Anyone else with an SC weigh in on Sport Mode?
You do hear the whirring of the SC, but mostly at idle, and very low RPM's before the exhaust note takes over. I would say that its noticeable, but only 15% of the sound until the exhaust takes over. I'm thinking about doing the Gundo hack, which will probably further reduce its noticeability.
Overall, I'm very happy with the kit. It definitely transforms the car - but only when you want it to - and is still just as civil as a DD as it was before.
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Chapman,
Glad you are enjoying your S/C from cattman. He has "the justatoy modified version" of the VF-Engineering kit, so it has more power than what you would get from the stock kit, I believe.
A question, could you show a pix of the new air box and what other new item that was released from VF?
Sorry for the hijack from DominDen's thread.
Glad you are enjoying your S/C from cattman. He has "the justatoy modified version" of the VF-Engineering kit, so it has more power than what you would get from the stock kit, I believe.
A question, could you show a pix of the new air box and what other new item that was released from VF?
Sorry for the hijack from DominDen's thread.
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I installed Cattman's VF-E SC kit in my '06 C4S w 25k miles, and results have been unreal.
First off, a public thanks to John for absolutely going out of his way to make sure the kit had all the minor particulars - he even went out of his way to order a few bits and ship them to me after the fact. His personally written instructions were also helpful to the shop that did the install - covered a number of things the VF instructions didn't touch on. The guy truly cares. Thanks!
The SC kit took the shop 25 hrs to install, (VF estimates 16-18), though shop said they had more than that in it. Shop was indy Porsche shop that is very well regionally regarded for air-cooled Porsche work, but has less experience with 997s I'd say. Not a lot of other options in Louisville, and I was happy with finished product.
Ended up needing to modify one of the SC bolts so it could fit, but no other mods on the install. Ended up with an unbalanced belt, that they ended up having to re-install the kit a couple times to get it to fit in right. VF charged $1100 to program the ECU/ECM chip itself, since it was a used kit. The shop that did my install complained that VF didn't want to do much support, presumably since it was a used kit - despite paying the ECU/ECM programming charge etc. VF just released a new software upgrade so we waited a tad longer, and also upgraded to their new airbox and one other item.
My feedback: Everyone raves about how stock this kit feels for DD - in a good way, and I think that's a pretty good way of putting it for driving around town. 2-3.5k RPM's feel about the same, maybe with an extra 15% power. Same manners. But then things start ripping after that. The main difference to me is once you have the RPM's hanging around 3.5-4k, the second half of the accelerator becomes deadly, and there's an initial burst that it will unleash, that is a touch unexpected, and it is non-linear, but very fun. Its manic from that point forward. More power than I was expecting, very on-demand / instantaneous.
I went with an SC over Turbo because everything I'd read said it would give more power to the low RPM side of things, and that it is very linear. I don't have experience with other Turbo's or SC's on 911's, but from my simple expectations, the powerband still seems very 997, there's just more of it, especially as the RPM's take off. Not exactly what I was expecting - just from my unfounded expectations - but it makes perfect sense. And the experience is very gratifying.
One thing I haven't heard addressed is the way the Sport Chrono - Sport mode - engages with this system. It used to be my favorite before I had the SC installed, now it's a bit too unkempt / lurchy for spirited driving around town. I find myself only engaging the tightened suspension, and just enjoying the SC without the condensed gas pedal sensitivity from Sport Mode. Anyone else with an SC weigh in on Sport Mode?
You do hear the whirring of the SC, but mostly at idle, and very low RPM's before the exhaust note takes over. I would say that its noticeable, but only 15% of the sound until the exhaust takes over. I'm thinking about doing the Gundo hack, which will probably further reduce its noticeability.
Overall, I'm very happy with the kit. It definitely transforms the car - but only when you want it to - and is still just as civil as a DD as it was before.
First off, a public thanks to John for absolutely going out of his way to make sure the kit had all the minor particulars - he even went out of his way to order a few bits and ship them to me after the fact. His personally written instructions were also helpful to the shop that did the install - covered a number of things the VF instructions didn't touch on. The guy truly cares. Thanks!
The SC kit took the shop 25 hrs to install, (VF estimates 16-18), though shop said they had more than that in it. Shop was indy Porsche shop that is very well regionally regarded for air-cooled Porsche work, but has less experience with 997s I'd say. Not a lot of other options in Louisville, and I was happy with finished product.
Ended up needing to modify one of the SC bolts so it could fit, but no other mods on the install. Ended up with an unbalanced belt, that they ended up having to re-install the kit a couple times to get it to fit in right. VF charged $1100 to program the ECU/ECM chip itself, since it was a used kit. The shop that did my install complained that VF didn't want to do much support, presumably since it was a used kit - despite paying the ECU/ECM programming charge etc. VF just released a new software upgrade so we waited a tad longer, and also upgraded to their new airbox and one other item.
My feedback: Everyone raves about how stock this kit feels for DD - in a good way, and I think that's a pretty good way of putting it for driving around town. 2-3.5k RPM's feel about the same, maybe with an extra 15% power. Same manners. But then things start ripping after that. The main difference to me is once you have the RPM's hanging around 3.5-4k, the second half of the accelerator becomes deadly, and there's an initial burst that it will unleash, that is a touch unexpected, and it is non-linear, but very fun. Its manic from that point forward. More power than I was expecting, very on-demand / instantaneous.
I went with an SC over Turbo because everything I'd read said it would give more power to the low RPM side of things, and that it is very linear. I don't have experience with other Turbo's or SC's on 911's, but from my simple expectations, the powerband still seems very 997, there's just more of it, especially as the RPM's take off. Not exactly what I was expecting - just from my unfounded expectations - but it makes perfect sense. And the experience is very gratifying.
One thing I haven't heard addressed is the way the Sport Chrono - Sport mode - engages with this system. It used to be my favorite before I had the SC installed, now it's a bit too unkempt / lurchy for spirited driving around town. I find myself only engaging the tightened suspension, and just enjoying the SC without the condensed gas pedal sensitivity from Sport Mode. Anyone else with an SC weigh in on Sport Mode?
You do hear the whirring of the SC, but mostly at idle, and very low RPM's before the exhaust note takes over. I would say that its noticeable, but only 15% of the sound until the exhaust takes over. I'm thinking about doing the Gundo hack, which will probably further reduce its noticeability.
Overall, I'm very happy with the kit. It definitely transforms the car - but only when you want it to - and is still just as civil as a DD as it was before.
Glad you are enjoying it! The extra power is nice!!!!
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Hmmm, interesting. Thank you.
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Sorry for the delay in responding. I got my car back last week and have been traveling. The answer is despite the modification to the the inlet pipe, the TPC Supercharger still does not fit.
To make the supercharger fit it would require internal engine cabin work. The problem with the internal cabin work is Porsche diagrams the steel used in the body based on the structural strength of the steel. Some of the steel that needs to be modified is structural and to Velovity Motorsports' credit, after calling a number of body shops on how that work would alter the structural integrity of the body, they did not want to take the risk of pounding out structural steel.
Also to Velocity Motorsports' credit, before the install both Velocity and I called about the install and we weren't told there would be any issues. Whether or not it was due to the car being a targa or not is a question we both have. Luke at Velocity has never had a project he hasn't finished and despite that frustration he has been 100% professional and did not charge a dime for his work. We are in the process of fixing an O2 sensor that's acting up and a small coolant leak. I plan to do more things with Luke, he is extremely good and professional.
I just got on a plane, I will have to follow back on what my choices are at this point in time.
To make the supercharger fit it would require internal engine cabin work. The problem with the internal cabin work is Porsche diagrams the steel used in the body based on the structural strength of the steel. Some of the steel that needs to be modified is structural and to Velovity Motorsports' credit, after calling a number of body shops on how that work would alter the structural integrity of the body, they did not want to take the risk of pounding out structural steel.
Also to Velocity Motorsports' credit, before the install both Velocity and I called about the install and we weren't told there would be any issues. Whether or not it was due to the car being a targa or not is a question we both have. Luke at Velocity has never had a project he hasn't finished and despite that frustration he has been 100% professional and did not charge a dime for his work. We are in the process of fixing an O2 sensor that's acting up and a small coolant leak. I plan to do more things with Luke, he is extremely good and professional.
I just got on a plane, I will have to follow back on what my choices are at this point in time.
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Dang, sorry to hear about your situation. I'm impressed with Velocity Motorsports' philosophy regarding the installation.
Sorry for the delay in responding. I got my car back last week and have been traveling. The answer is despite the modification to the the inlet pipe, the TPC Supercharger still does not fit.
To make the supercharger fit it would require internal engine cabin work. The problem with the internal cabin work is Porsche diagrams the steel used in the body based on the structural strength of the steel. Some of the steel that needs to be modified is structural and to Velovity Motorsports' credit, after calling a number of body shops on how that work would alter the structural integrity of the body, they did not want to take the risk of pounding out structural steel.
Also to Velocity Motorsports' credit, before the install both Velocity and I called about the install and we weren't told there would be any issues. Whether or not it was due to the car being a targa or not is a question we both have. Luke at Velocity has never had a project he hasn't finished and despite that frustration he has been 100% professional and did not charge a dime for his work. We are in the process of fixing an O2 sensor that's acting up and a small coolant leak. I plan to do more things with Luke, he is extremely good and professional.
I just got on a plane, I will have to follow back on what my choices are at this point in time.
To make the supercharger fit it would require internal engine cabin work. The problem with the internal cabin work is Porsche diagrams the steel used in the body based on the structural strength of the steel. Some of the steel that needs to be modified is structural and to Velovity Motorsports' credit, after calling a number of body shops on how that work would alter the structural integrity of the body, they did not want to take the risk of pounding out structural steel.
Also to Velocity Motorsports' credit, before the install both Velocity and I called about the install and we weren't told there would be any issues. Whether or not it was due to the car being a targa or not is a question we both have. Luke at Velocity has never had a project he hasn't finished and despite that frustration he has been 100% professional and did not charge a dime for his work. We are in the process of fixing an O2 sensor that's acting up and a small coolant leak. I plan to do more things with Luke, he is extremely good and professional.
I just got on a plane, I will have to follow back on what my choices are at this point in time.
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Yes, it was a hard deal for both of us and we shared a common goal of wanting to get the job done. I've got a kit that doesn't fit.
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What are you going do ?
Stacy