After some time, some tribulation, more cash than expected, and more parts than expected I have my car back - woohoo!

I bought a proEFI during a special at Undercover from Garth something like a year ago. Having owned standalone before and hating the idea of having to have someone update the tune of my car for me this was perfect for my needs. However I knew I wasn't going to do the base tune since these motors cost so much to replace. Before having it tuned though there was a few things I wanted done!

SRM intercoolers were first to go in, Sean modified the passenger side for an intercooler differential gauge with probes on both inlet and outlet. This shows me those temps and the temp drop between them - it's huge! I've got an install thread here somewhere, love these! Time passed and I ordered more parts from Sean - complete fuel system and injectors sized for E85. To this I added a GM E85 sensor and good fittings for it.

However after looking at the effort it was going to take to install Sean's fuel system and injectors plus the dillema of getting the car to Undercover to tune it on big injectors I opted to have it done for me. Yup, I'm a wuss!

Up to Undercover it went! Took me time to take it up though as I was coordinating with Irish100p so we could both get work done. Not long after it arrived Sean was sending me an SRM Y-pipe and plenum About this time Garth parted ways with Undercover and my car was moved to AIM Performance for completion.

Garth began tuning it shortly afterwards after a nice set of fenderwell intakes appeared Pump gas yielded around 685whp up from the 400ish it had been making on W/G. It did manage to toss the accessory belt and trash the crank pulley however, doh! Next up was E85 tuning, second pull my 7yo Clutchmaster clutch gave us the finger and checked out. Checked out bigtime, I'm told it didn't like moving under power.

Garth wanted me to try the newest ERP clutch but between the price and my knowing it been through more revisions than I can keep track of I wasn't biting. My piggy bank was suffering hard and I couldn't do it. I was pondering the Sachs 4.0 setup but it adds up with the GT2 hardware too. Krazy then reminded me about Sean's new Tilton setup, I was pretty sure I couldn't afford this either but I made the call.

Sean's setup is a custom flywheel and Tilton Ceramettalic disks with floaters. 2 disks held Sean's 1200whp and I'd ridden in his car. Sean is selling this for under $3k but both he and Garth recommended 3 disks for softer engagement. Sold! However Sean was waiting on his flywheels to come back from heat treatment and I needed it like NOW! Sean happened to have his car apart and promptly overnighted his flywheel for me - thank you! New friction plates and floaters along with the hydraulic throwout - no GT2 needed.

AIM has a great deal of experience with Tilton clutches but the slightly used flywheel and small diameter clutch pack gave them pause lol. In it went and it turns out this sucker is awesome! An RSS clutch stop from Amazon ensures I don't over extend the throwout Clutch travel is "short" and the slip point is slim but thus far I've only stalled it once :-P The ceramettalic does screech a little when slipped but peeps can stare all they want, this puppy flies!

Back on the dyno and Garth pulled 748whp and just 638ft lbs. I'll post dyno graphs when I've pulled them from runviewer. When I picked it up Garth showed me the large number of safeties he's put in to protect my rods and the motor. The poor thing is actually gimped pretty good down low and would be far stronger with rods in it. There's tricks to save my transmission as well, the proEFI has a great deal of flexibility. I'm a data junky and now have lots to begin looking at including exhaust backpressure, EGT, fuel temp, IAT, and on and on. One thing Garth spotted was that from the intercooler exit to IAT sensor quite a bit of heat is being picked up, I'm going to investigate this but we know it's not the sensor calibration. I may instrument the driver's intercooler to log the data further and may also take some pressure readings.

Some misc things done: Numeric cables installed (NOISY!), 997 trans mount, RMS, changed trans fluid, removed weight from trans shift arm, few sets of plugs (coils good!), swapped coolant jug and cap, DOT4 cap up front, capped the P/S pump properly, swapped in a new crank pulley, larger throttlebody, and the list goes on! Oh yeah, and a coolant hose when the car bumped the rev limiter on that 748whp pull, I have Niagara on video He could've gotten a few more to smooth the curve up too he says but I was happy with the power and saw no reason to abuse the coolant system further

Car drives well as I get used to the clutch and having a fast car again. MPG gauge doesn't function and I need to tweak the clutch pedal switches but no biggie. I expect I'll be hunting bigger brakes before too long and I'll have some rear suspension work with alignment done when I can. First thing will be semi-solid motor mounts as mine are 14yo.

A VERY big thanks to Sean at SRM for his innovative reasonably priced parts. I won't be surprised if one of his new brushless pumps ends up on my car eventually too! He's always answered my questions and provided good feedback on proposed parts changes.

Garth too has taken good care of me. He's listened to (and continues to listen to) my endless questions and he moved my car to a quality shop when he and Undercover parted ways. He's been patient explaining the proEFI system and knows his way around it extremely well to include knowing the limits of the Mezger.

Last but not least Joe at AIM Performance! He sheltered my car, he did some terrific fabrication, he and his guys swapped my clutch for a fair price, handled my coolant disaster, handled my pulley biting the dust, and was an awesome host when I showed up to get my car and wanted some last minute tweaks

P.S. Sorry for the book but this has been a lengthy project and I wanted to give credit to the folks who worked hard as well as share results. I'll pop up some dyno graphs as soon as I can and answer questions if folks have them. I can't wait to get comfortable with the car again and begin hitting it harder. Wish E85 was easier to source, I'll be speaking to the race shop up the street shortly

 

The ERP clutches are IMHO one of the best out there even back to some of the earlier versions. Most of the slight revisions were to just make an already super clutch even better. For the bigger power guys they are worth every penny due to their strength and lasting characteristics.

 

Congratulations on finally getting your car back!
Now make your way up to MD to hang out with the rest of 996 Crew here!

 

glad you got it all back and running strong james!. brushless is the way to go a single pump handles 1000 hp and all in tank. 12mm studs and rods and let that big dog eat!

 

Ten hours labor to R&R unless I do it myself, I wasn't willing to risk a failure. Earlier versions were apparently awesome and I know folks running them but some of the later versions had issues that I wasn't willing to risk. Sean had the right price point, had it sent fast, was willing to make me a promise, and parts are as close as a phone call to Tilton. This will hold all I throw at it and he's hit his with 1200+, I can't complain particularly at his price point. Okay, it does make a metallic noise at slip I hope goes away

 

I think a single line out vs dual lines would be much easier to work with. I'd like a brushless for sure however it wasn't available when I bought mine and I had hoped to help Sean out beta testing this setup for him as it was one of the first - I failed him miserably at that! My car doesn't come close to needing that kind of fuel and I can't afford it right now but I do surely lust for it!

I might try PWM the primary Walbro if I see fuel temps too high but for now I want to DRIVE the car. I'll find some bugs, bet on it, and I'll sort them. I badly need t get used to the power too, I managed to scare myself a bit once already. I need to tone down the exhaust too. Putting the cats back in will help but not that much, I may have to break down this Winter and ask Chris to build a lightly muffled one. If so, this exhaust will go up for sale and I'll ping you first

Where about in Maryland are folks hanging out? Irish100P should have his car back soon too so a road trip could possibly happen!

 

Bro im to drunk to read all that but i hope ur mods are amazing and ur 996T is wicked fast.

 

Glad you have it back. Sounds like a beast.

 

Congrats James good for you! Always helping people and sharing!

 

I look forward to hearing about your's getting on the road as well!

 

Congrats on the build. Enjoy the car!

 

Raining a bit here, lowest power level doesn't have traction control for ease of tire heating. At medium level I stepped into it a bit... Traction control and the minimal PSM that remains was no contest

At some point a 997 front diff and a Wavetrack will likely find themselves onboard. ProEFI can manage the 997 diff to only engage on launch and loss of traction if I wish

 

Finally!

 

Lets see some engine pix!

 

It's always exciting to get a project vehicle back after months or more of the modding process.

I do this stuff with motorcycles as my livelihood and have for decades.

I couple of questions if you don't mind.

1) What is your primary usage or ultimate goal for the car? 0-60, 60-130 roll on pulls, drag racing, top speed runs. Canyon racer, road racing, etc?

2) How long did your build take?

3) Have you modded your suspension, how so?

4) Approx what should one consider spending within $5K to do what you have done. I'm not asking what it cost you, I'm more curious what one should budget for such mods, I know you stated it cost you more than anticipated. This could help a lot looking at similar packages.

I look forward to hearing how you like the end result!