Best 997 performance mods??

Imagined?

I would have thought there would be small improvements? I know it won't be the same as turbo cars but I would like to think I could get another 20hp out the car??

Sounds like you don't think so on a NA car?

As above, the NA cars are fairly much at the limit of tuning as they came out of the factory. You can make them sound different and ride different but will really struggle to have any real effect on the actual power output. Turbo's however have a lot more room for play.

To be honest I'm really surprised.

I would have thought there would be something more than improved sound?

Free flowing exhaust, air filters, Re maps etc, most of these do talk about small increases, both of the above suggest not. I've videos with rolling roads before and after on an exhaust system. Gains of 10/20hp appears possible?

Oh well, just have to buy that turbo. 😂🤣

Newbe said:

To be honest I'm really surprised.

I would have thought there would be something more than improved sound?

Free flowing exhaust, air filters, Re maps etc, most of these do talk about small increases, both of the above suggest not. I've videos with rolling roads before and after on an exhaust system. Gains of 10/20hp appears possible?

Oh well, just have to buy that turbo. 😂🤣

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Got are the days of restrictive exhausts and air filters a la Max Power tuning. The 911 is a seriously well engineered thing and any gains will be marginal. Not to say they aren't possible I think there was an x51 performance package from factory with some improvements so they are in the Carrera package, but what is 20bhp?! Like less than 10% gain, would you ever feel that on the road? Better to make it sound and feel faster, or be able to drive it faster. Either that or sell it and get a machine with more horses if that's what you are chasing.

Just think it's not worth the money for the gains personally, not like a turbo car where you can remap and get an instant 20% gain.

Just bear in mind the so called gain of 10hp or 20 hp can be achieved by running on a cold damp day as against a hot dry day, the temperature of the cars engine, altitude, new oil etc etc not anything that is guaranteed repeatable.

If you want to improve the performance, focus on the handling and stopping.

If you have PASM the TPC Racing DSC box is a good shout, as it updates and improves the handling (anti dive, anti squat, more body control). You can add spacers to widen the track and springs to lower the car. You can also add a stiffer rear anti roll bar if you want to change the balance/dial out some understeer. And everyone who's been raves about a good set up from Centre Gravity. I also found that stiffer engine and transmission mounts removed a lot of the wayward feel of 300kg of mass moving around behind you.

As to stopping, add braided lines, uprated fluid and more aggressive pads. These, along with lightweight rims and fresh Michelin rubber, will add tons of confidence.

And finally, if you have a comfort seat, swap it out for something much more focussed.

As they say, power is nothing without control. This lot should make you faster and you should be able to keep up with supposedly much more 'powerful' cars. :dont know:

Some good comments and views and as always a mix of mods to an NA wont ad anything to those that think they will .

After spending many thousands on mods for both my gen1 and gen2 997s over the past 7 years .I can tell you some mods will add a bit and some wont . I have found the gen1 response better to the standard group of mods than the gen2 my assumption being that Porsche themselves used some of the avail extra getting the gen2 up to 385bhp from 355bhp on the gen1.

It is also true that the gains are not huge and many just wouldn't spend that money to gain a bit, but I fall into the category that enjoy trying things and I would rather spend the money playing with my car than playing golf and if you look at it like a hobby then the costs are in line will other bloke hobbies .

It is also important to note that although everyone seems to chase top end BHP its not the most important thing for a fast road car and improving the power delivery curve in the low mid range is IMO more important and even if you sacrifice a few top end BHP that you would rarely if ever use to make the car better in the low mid range to me is a good thing.

So with this in mind here are my suggestion of what I did.

Induction, after much investigating and trying things clearly the best option is the OE air box with BMC filters. if your happy to give up a few top end BHP for sound and looks then the Fabspeed twin cone performance induction looks and sounds amazing but I did end up removing it and going back to OE airbox and BMC filters after back to back trials on the rolling road with a live remap from chipwizards .

Having said that I do feel an urge to try the AFE MAGNUM COLD AIR INTAKE SYSTEM( see the pic ) to see what thats like :grin: :grin:

IPD GT3 throttle body plenum , I did this on both the gen1 and gen2, the gen1 gave a better response to this mod as the gen2 already had been given the bigger throttle body at the factory ( funny how guys say it doesn't do anything when Porsche used it as part of getting the gen2 up to 385bhp)
dont let people tell you you dont need a remap as these cars can relearn new parameters , its true the can but not to the level of the changes these mods make

Remap
Dont just get a cheap generic reflash spend the extra and get a live rolling road remap custom tuned for your car with you mods . a remap for £300 is going to be throwing money away and may even damage the car by making it run too lean/rich etc. you would be looking to spend £700/£1000 on a proper remap after all the other mods to bring it all together .

underdrive pulley.
I fitted a 4" underdrive pulley and shorter belt . this added no extra power but it did redirect unused energy in other parts of the car to the back wheels but infact the biggest win for me was the very slightly heavier power steering this mod gave . the steering is quite light on these cars and the slightly heavier steering added a great deal of confidence to the way I drive the car.

Exhaust,
I fitted on the gen1 a full valved stainless topgear sports exhaust with 200 cell big bore cats and on the gen2 a full Cargraphic valved super sports exhaust with 200 cell cats and third muffler delete to a central outlet aka gt3 type.

the exhausts are lighter and better flowing than OE and 200cell cats were singly the biggest performance gain I did on both cars. on the gen1 the IPD was the second biggest gain.

Handling
As yours is a cab its not going to be quite as stiff as a coupe but there are things you can do . RSS semi solid engine mounts , there are others inc poly filled oe mounts but I found the RSS gave the least amount of NVH of any I tried ( I haven't tried the 993RS mounts with longer bolts so cant speak for those but hear they are very good) as the engine hangs off the mounts and is in the rear this is by far one of the best handling mods you can do and as you corner you wont have the feeling the engine is waggling around making the rear feel twitchy combine this with lowering either springs or coilovers and suitable size spacers ,for a massive improvement in the way the car handles and the confidence it gives you LOW and FLAT into bends add this to the already great way the 911 corners and you will see why the 911 has the reputation it does.

These mods wont ever be adding 100/150bhp like you could with a turbo or supercharger and realistically 20 to 25 bhp max are the gains but as I said earlier an improvement in power delivery in the low mid range making it feel like a lot more BHP than you got. that and the handling improvements will get the very best out of your car and make it feel so much more fun to drive

you can also look at things like DSC PASM upgrade module , I did this to the gen2 and was amazed at how it changed the PASM from too hard in sport to too soft in normal ( some say off but you cant actually turn it off fully) I now drive 80% of the time in sport mode . its more expensive a mod for the gen1 as you need the accelerometer as well , but if you can find a used kit grab it .

These are the things I tried and worked for me . If you have an itch to tweak the car and are happy to spend the money based on the gains I have talked about and accept that this is realistic unlike the reported gains by the various manufacturers then do it and enjoy the car knowing its now as optimum as it can be without getting into many many thousands of pounds on turbos or superchargers or major engine work.

heres few pics of my gen1 and gen2 :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

Porsche 997 3.8s Remap. Is it worth it??

Hi

Just wondering what the general thoughts are on a remap on a N/A engine? I know it's not a turbo and the gains are limited but just wondering if it's worth the gains and if there noticeable? I'm sure it's come up many times (No I'm not buying a turbo😂).

Threads merged by 911uk moderator

Thanks for your write up Phil, there's a fair bit you've done. Pics of the cars look great👍

I'm no where near a remap stage, I've only replaced the air filter. The exhaust is next. I have to do it slowly to keep the wife off my back! I like to plan ahead which is why I asked about the remap and gains.

I was wondering what gains a remap had, did you get any print outs? Where did you get the remap done?

Newbe said:

Thanks for your write up Phil, there's a fair bit you've done. Pics of the cars look great👍

I'm no where near a remap stage, I've only replaced the air filter. The exhaust is next. I have to do it slowly to keep the wife off my back! I like to plan ahead which is why I asked about the remap and gains.

I was wondering what gains a remap had, did you get any print outs? Where did you get the remap done?

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There are smallish gains to be had from a remap of a NA car the improvement is seen more in the improved power delivery curve in low mid range than in max BHP . If you want a remap the only guy to take a NA 911 to is Wayne at chip wizards and its worth the drive and overnight stay if needed. Ideally you would be combining it with a sports exhaust 200cell cats and maybe the IPD throttle body kit. But as I am sure your finding with the 911 its not all about power, there are many improvements to be made to the handling making it corner low and flat that will give you far more enjoyment that 20bhp extra. I would be looking at doing RSS semi solid engine mounts and lowering it a bit before a remap . There are lots of cars out there that can outpace a 911 in a straight line but very few that can outpace a well set up 911 on a windy B road and thats where the fun is to be had :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

I've discussed power with my tuner (he's done a bit of work for me on other cars), as he had a nice yellow GT3 in the workshop at the time, and his view is that on the 3.8 DFI you can improve the manifolds from aftermarket, add sports cats (although you may end up with emissions and inspection challenges) and the intake plenum, and a full custom remap can add some power, but mostly it'll add smoothness.