Jdubbya's '05 CTT mods and fixes
 

Well I figured I might as well collect all the odds and ends that I've been posting in other threads and at least put a short note about everything I've done to my '05 CTT.

So here goes nothing...

1) Replaced the trans valve body with a Revmax rebuilt unit... http://www.revmaxconverters.com/valv...lacements.html Was a very straightforward replacement that pretty much any decent home mechanic can tackle. I raised it up to "special terrain mode" then ran it up on four small Rhino ramps and was able to easily get under it and do the work. Messy job but not hard. ~$1,000 (after refund of $700 core) with fluid and filter kit from ECS and a Motive power fill to get the fluid up in there. http://www.ecstuning.com/Porsche-200...ain/ES2738993/

2) Replaced all four brake rotors, pads/sensors and fluid.. Again a pretty straightforward job but I had a very hard time getting the front caliper mount bolts loose. Finally was able to heat them and use a sledge to break them loose. After that it was all pretty simple, replace the rotors, install new pads/sensors and bleed the brakes. Mine has the iE81 option so had the big rotors which made this a spendy job but not hard. This was my set....http://www.ecstuning.com/Porsche-200...Kit/ES2602322/ Biggest pain of this job other than the front caliper mount bolts was jacking this monstrously heavy beast up far enough to get jack stands under it and wheels off!!

3) Softronic ECU tune. Thought this one was going to be simple but I ended up having to change things up a bit when I had to pull and mail in my ECU. Not a big deal, I just had to do some planning as this is my daily driver and my other "toy" car isn't fully functional right now. Once I had the plan down and coordinated with Scott at Softronic it was simple. The ECU is under the hood and simply unplugs and snaps out of clips. No unbolting at all. Shipped it off and Scott had it shipped back the same day he got it. The only pain was he's on the east coast and I'm on the west so I had to ship it on Saturday so he'd have it first thing Monday. I had it back and the car running again Tuesday night though. As for performance, what can I say. I noticed much better throttle response right off the bat. Shifts seem to be crisper and maybe even quicker too. Boost builds quicker and pegs the needle easily. Lot's of fun and one of the best improvements I've made so far!! Well worth the money and Scott is great to work with!! Got it on one of his sales for ~$1,000.

4) Sprint Booster throttle signal booster. I actually put this on before the Softronic tune and I noticed it seemed to help with the apparent lag of the drive by wire throttle of the Cayenne. There were a couple times turning left I thought I was gonna get hit because of the lag. This seemed to help a LOT. Simple to install and quick improvement at a reasonable price!! $300 http://www.sprintboostersales.com/de...nne&engine=Gas

5) ECS/Ziza LED interior lighting package upgrade. This one was pretty simple too although there are a couple where having three hands or being able to stand on your head might be helpful. Other than that very straightforward and they give you great instructions too. The LED lights are much brighter than the old bulbs too. Loved this change. http://www.ecstuning.com/Porsche-200...ior/ES2570154/ $160.

6) Magnaflow exhaust. I have all the parts for this, just need to make time to get to my local shop and have them install it all. If it all works, looks good, and sounds ok I'll come back and post part numbers. Honestly though, I found all the parts on Amazon believe it or not. ~$300 in parts and should be less than $200 to install. Hoping the whole thing comes in under $500 total. That includes two mufflers, X-pipe, and new tips. EDIT: Adding part numbers.... X Pipe-Magnalfow #10790, Mufflers-Magnaflow #11226, Tips-Yanaka YMET001.


7) LED tailights upgrade/swap. Started this one tonight but not sure it's gonna work properly . Will update later on this one too. These are the lights I bought....http://www.ebay.com/itm/271551607007...84.m1497.l2649 Looking at the pics on the ebay page maybe they actually did work like they were supposed to but I want to make sure they have all the functions before I leave them in. Simple swap by the way, pop the rear hatch, pull the two little plastic covers and remove two torx screws and the whole assembly pulls right out. EDIT: The seller informed me that I needed to swap in two bulbs from the stock lights and everything works just fine now. Brighter than stock!

8) Agency Power diverter valves. Just got them today but have read good things about them. Figured I'd be ahead of the curve once and get these done before the higher levels of boost from the Softronic tune blows out the factory ones. Will probably tackle this install next weekend as I have other plans this weekend. $300 http://www.agency-power.com/catalog/...2to83tb092scv6

Future projects include blacking out the trim and wheels, it needs a good paint correcting detail, possibly doing secondary cat delete pipes and God-only-knows-what-else I find to blow more money on. Oh, and am going to lower it a bit with the Durametric cable! Keep forgetting to get this done. Also have a new "auto" headlight switch on the way, should have it soon. :)

Seems like there is more but that's all that comes to mind right now. If anyone would like more details about anything just ask. I'd be happy to help or elaborate.

I knew I was forgetting something. I replaced the struts in for the rear hatch and window. Again a pretty easy job just took a little patience to get the struts snapped back on the clips. Pretty easy overall though. $175 http://www.ecstuning.com/Porsche-200...rut/ES2593719/

Thank you for the support ;) It's always appreciated. Keep us updated with the future modifications as them come along.

Excellent write-up. Costs add up fast in these things!

Thank you too. Great customer service, fast shipping, and great products! You make it (almost too) easy to spend money on these things. ;)

Yeah, I'm used to it with my other car but didn't think it would add up so quick with this one. But hopefully I'm about done for awhile and I'll be able to just drive it. Sure is fun to stomp on that gas pedal though.

I'm glad you are enjoying the beast :).


Best,
Scott

Thanks for working with me to get the tune done too! Did a few deserted-road take offs the other night. Holy cow!! :)

Do yourself a favor & start with the drivers side diverter valve...it is such a major pain in the butt due to access restrictions, that when you do the passenger side, you will feel a huge sense of relief! It is very much worth the effort though. Have fun!

I found a pretty good thread on how to get to them. Good advice though! I was always taught to start with the hard part that way the rest will seem like a breeze!! Doesn't mean I always do... ;)

Just wanted to update this thread even though I posted info about it in another place. Got the Magnaflow exhaust installed last night.

I am not totally thrilled with it but it's not bad. It is not much louder at startup or idle. Also not sure if it's just that I'm not used to turbos or what, but something sounds not-exactly-right at WOT. Not bad, just not what I expected or was hoping for. I know I've heard before that mufflers will "open up" a bit once they are used so I'll see how it goes.

As for fit, all the pieces went in fairly easily and the new tips look pretty good. The kid at the shop installing it was having to help with another car someone else was working on so it took him a LONG time to get it done, but honestly not that much of the time was spent on mine. Pretty straightforward install. I'll post the part #s in the first post when I get a chance.

Do you have the cat bypass pipes?

Nope not yet but will probably be getting some soon!

Might really help get the sound you are looking for. I think the guy who did the original magnaflo had the cat bypass pipes.

Just an update. Still haven't tackled the diverter valves but might get to that next weekend. I also ordered some secondary cat delete pipes that should be here by then so might try to get it all done while it's up in the air. (Will update on the pipes when I get a chance, some folks will be surprised where I bought them)

I let a friend drive it last night and she backed into someone else's car. Looks like the only damage is my upper rear bumper cover. So guess I'm looking for a new bumper now too. :(

Here are a couple pics of the fun I have coming up....