rlips44

Just got a very decent offer from the ins co. Think I'll start looking for an '06 C2S like Phil suggested. I got lotsa time to find the right one.

With all due respect, PLEASE consider not driving any more. I know you feel you may be able to get your condition under control, but all it takes is for you be wrong once and you could end up a statistic. What if you had hit a cyclist or pedestrian?

I attended the funeral of a man who was killed by an driver who suffered an epileptic seizure, he was killed in front of his wife and young children.

There really is some utter cr*p talked about how to get power from a naturally aspirated engine - especially regarding how much is available from bolt-on mods. I think it's about time we discussed what does and doesn't work on these engines....

The 3.8 engine in stock tune produces 93.4BHP/litre. Not stellar by today's standards but still high enough that there's not a lot of 'low-hanging fruit' to be had. Also bear in mind that most engines that do a lot better are either forced induction or (more importantly to this discussion) rev much higher. The max BHP obtainable from an engine increases dramatically with more rpm (assuming the rest of the engine is engineered with the higher rpms in mind). Unfortunately, the 997S engine cannot be revved higher - it explodes. So 93.4BHP/litre is a good result for an engine that only revs to 7300rpm.

So what can be done. Well let's address the OP's question. There are 2 ways to get 400BHP from this engine without forced induction. The first is to have the capacity increased to 4-litres plus, the other is to start with the X-51 engine (the factory 381BHP upgrade). You simply cannot get the stock 355BHP engine to 400BHP. Period.

So what works on these engines? Well sorry guys but here's the absolute truth:

1) Induction kits. These have no proven effect whatsoever apart from noise. The standard airbox is very, very good and keeps intake air temps in check very well. A BMC-F1 panel filter is good for 3-4BHP but doesn't filter as well as the paper one. Your choice.

2) Plenums. Just don't go there. There were hundreds of discussions on 6-speed over these and eventually a lot of third party dynos. Trick plenums lose power in the mid band and give no gains elsewhere. (I bought one, installed it, found a performance loss, removed it and wasted my money so I'm well-placed to comment)!!

3) Exhausts. On the 3.8, the dire-looking pressed steel headers are far better than they look. The work well at low/mid rpm and only very slightly strangle the engine at high rpms. Good quality headers will give 6-7BHP in conjunction with a full exhaust system but only over 5000rpm. You may also lose some low and mid-band torque. The stock mufflers again flow very well and replacing these alone will give little to no gain (5BHP max). The standard catalytic converters however are very restrictive and a good pair of 200-cell cats will give 15-20BHP on this engine. The best solution is a good, matched system (headers, cats, mufflers) that will give 25BHP or so. Nobody has ever (to my knowledge) got to the +40BHP claimed by certain exhaust manufacturers.

4) Re-maps. This is so hit and miss. What does a remap do? Simply, it can alter the mixture or ignition timing at different operating phases of the engine. The standard Porsche maps are designed to run 98-RON (93-PON?) fuel and fuel the engine more or less optimally for max power so there is almost nowhere to go for a stock engine (despite the claims). Blindly adding-in timing (as some generic maps do) will just cause the knock sensors to wind it out again and the whole car will run dreadfully. Unfortunately some 'tuners' just alter the throttle mapping to give the illusion of more part-throttle power - naughty! The time when re-maps DO work is with other mods. Change the hardware (e.g a full exhaust) and you have changed the engine's volumetric efficiency at certain rpms. This usually requires the ignition timing to be changed by a few degrees to work optimally at those rpms and extra power will result, but it's very unlikely to be more than single digits.

So with a stock engine, a full exhaust, custom remap and BMC filter can give +30-35BHP (crank) and this is as far as this goes without very extensive further internal and external modifications to the engine.

The X-51 engine is a different beast however. Totally different intake system, bigger throttle body, high-flow airbox, gas-flowed heads, different exhaust headers and electronics mapped to suit make this a much better platform. This engine retains the stock catalytic converters that are now more restrictive than ever and a full exhaust on this motor will give you 25-30BHP with no trouble. There's your 400+BHP.

If you want 400+ BHP with massive torque, look at 9ff (German Tuner)'s large capacity, crated engines. Expensive, but will give you the fastest 997S out there.

When all is said and done however, to get 400+ BHP is so expensive that you could have one of the better cars Porsche already makes with 400+ BHP out the box (GT3 anyone). A full exhaust, remap and BMC filter combination however, is sensible money and makes the 997S go and sound like it should whilst giving 385-390BHP on a good engine. This would be my preferred route.

Precisely what I had done at Farnbacher-Loles, with the results as mentioned above. According to the dyno (MULTIPLE runs, temperature and density corrected) my car produced 357 hp as delivered (on 93 gas), when we were done, we had 393 (on 93) gas. Replace entire intake, air box, and exhaust system from headers to tips as well as custom software for the mods. The car drives perfectly at all rpms and throttle positions.

I recently drove the 997S-2 on the track at Porsche driving school, my car feels about the same, but sounds better. Total cost for me was 10k, which, in comparison to the Factory X51, was worth it to me at the time. Today, I would just order up a 997S-2. I drove it on the track with PDK, if you are tracking the car, that's the way to go. For every day use, I enjoy moving the gear selector and clutch, even though it is slower. It's just fun to me.

BTW, I have a perfect, stock 997S exhaust with the stainless steel tip option, 2300 miles. If anyone is interested, please pm me.

Next car will be the 2011 GT3.....

I just got my first Porsche. A 2006 997 C2. I am absolutely delighted with the car in ALL respects except one: The sound system, which is the base (ie not Bose) setup and which leaves a lot to be desired.

I traded in my BMW 335i which had a 17 speaker premium sound setup and am very dissappointed with the standard sound setup on the 997.

Is there any way, for a few hundred bucks, to improve the sound system? I cant afford to retrofit the Bose setup, and i want to keep the standard PCM setup, and I think I read that the amp is integral to the working of the cars CAN BUS system and cannot be chnaged.

Any suggestions? Powered speakers? Subwoofer (where and how and what)? Speaker upgrade?

Thanks.

Well, yes, just push your right foot down further, the sound will improve markedly;)

Seriously, I think our cars are a bad environment for listening to music, it seems that porsche does not really put too much effort into soundproofing, rather the cars are as light as possible. Enjoy the wonderful symphony right behind your head;)

Hi Folks

I want to get some warranty work done on my Porker. Can anyone recommend a dealer in the area that they have had a good experience with when getting their car worked on? I'm Actually in Hoboken, NJ, but don't mind traveling a bit to make sure that the car is treated well and competently.

Thanks in advance guys!

Steve

Paul Miller has done very well for me. There is a dealer in central Jersey who I will not name, in the Edison area, that has done a horrible job and Paul Miller was able to repair the damage done to my car by them. They ended up cutting a check to PM to do it.

R

I had Farnbacher-loles install a complete system on my car, everything from headers right out to the tail pipes. At the same time, they upgraded my stock air box to the X51 and dyno tuned the car. This even included such details as changing the oil filler tube to the correct length for a perfect stock look in the engine compartment.

According to Kip at F-L, the final results on the dyno were run # 26, with the engine heat soaked after multiple passes and tweaking the software.

The results: Car came in at 357 HP, went out with 393 HP. Torque went up 35 ft-lbs as well. I have over 300 ft-lps or torque availible from about 2100 r.p.m., so the car is responsive in almost every gear. The cost for all this was just a shade under 10K, installed tweaked and with a lifetime warranty. (Nice to know that the engine met or slightly exceeded spec, kudo's to Porsche here;)

I believe this to be an excellent value, especially in light of the X51 kit. My car sounds the same, but more so, if that makes sense. There is no drone, no buzz or vibration at any engine RPM. I have never seen a C.E.L., or had any hesitation, backfiring or any other unwanted behavior.

In short, the F-L mod to me is what Porsche should be offering as the X51 kit from the factory. I highly recommend it.

Cheers,

Ron

Hi, I have a 997 C2S, production date june 2007, and I bought it new in November.

It currently has 1300 miles on it, and I added 0.5ltr of Mobil1 at around 600 miles, since then no oil consumption according to the oil level indicator....

When I look to the rear of the car, and look at both sets of exhaust pipes, there is a difference in "coloring" between the two sides.

The Left side is a lot more black, and the right side, a lot more gray-ish.....

Should I conclude that the right side cylinder bank (which I believe corresponds with the left set pipes) "spits" out more oil or other contamination...??

Anybody else seen this before??

Thanks a lot, Pete :renntech:

Hi Pete,

I have a 2008 997 C2S, production late September that I bought New in November. I have racked up 4100 miles so far. Early on, I noticed the same thing you see; more soot on the left side. After about 2500 miles, things evened out.

Oil consumption steadily declined up to about 2500 miles; at first it used oil at a rate of about 1Q/2000 miles, not it is a rate of 1Q/3500 miles. I think you may not yet have the motor broken in. During the first 2000 miles, I always drove the car long enough for the oil temp to stabilize at 200 for at least 15-20 minutes. Pretty much never drove it less than 1/2 hour per start. I think this may have helped.

Best of luck and enjoy the car,

Ron

Hello everyone,

New here, just took delivery of a 2008 CS. I notice the tire pressures are set (cold) to exactly the door sticker recommendations, yet the on board system is recommending to release 4 PSI per tire.

I checked the pressures with my gauge, and they match what the computer is reporting. I have it set on 19", summer tires, partial load and the outside air temperature is about 50. I also noticed the manual said the ire pressures are calculated at 68F, could the 4 PSI be related to the difference in temperature, and do you think it would hurt to deflate the tires?

Tires are OEM Bridgestones (Tread wear 140!!!!).

Thanks in advance for your help