New to the club!

[Hijack]

Hello all. Since I figured I would be pretty active here now (more on that to come), I figured I'd make introductions.

I just bought my first Porsche (2004 996TT Triple black Cab w/19k miles) this past fall. Living in Pittsburgh, I obviously didn't drive it much at all before putting it to bed for the winter. The car is as stock as can be, and prior to getting to know it, I didn't think I'd be doing much to it (I can hear you all giving a collective giggle right now). Of course, I was wrong. Apparently there is a disease that is contracted upon sitting in the drivers seat of a 996 that makes one unable to stop from looking for upgrades!

First, the bad. Thanks to a less than forthcoming dealer and also partly to the fact that I had no idea what I was getting into, I ended up with a great looking car...that had leaking rads, wrong sized tires, a radio that won't pick up anything, and bad alignment. Lesson to those looking at these cars...a full inspection by a trusted mechanic is a must. Let's just hope an upcoming Durametric investigation doesn't turn up any nasty engine history. At any rate, I found a good shop here in pittsburgh (C&G Performance) that corrected my issues for about half what the local Porsche dealer wanted.

So now the oddessy begins. I've already ordered the most common of upgrades. I've got a Fabspeed Maxflo system w/new cats on it's way. I'm going to give the engine a thorough leak check and see if the DVs are up to snuff, but I may also upgrade those and all the boost hoses as well as adding a Fabspeed intake. At that point, I'll decide what if anything I want to do with the turbos. I am certainly not out to create a 600+hp monster at this point (but then again, I thought I was happy with 420 at first). Today, I'm spending time with what I'm sure many of you 996 owners have dealth with...the radio/nav system. What a PITA. With Porsche apparently deciding that they needed a completely unique method of pushing power and signal from component to component to speakers, looks like I'm going to have to replace everything if I want ipod/better nav/bluetooth capability.

So here I go. I've been pouring over the forums looking at the amazing amount of knowledge shared by this group. Other tibits I've gleaned have me thinking about headers, coil-over suspensions, possibly swapping out front bumpers (or at least making better grills for the rad intakes!).

If anyone has any words of wisdom or thinks there are other first steps I should be looking at, I'd be in your debt!

[RxPorsche]

WOW nice find and welcome to the club. Love it with the top down. Do not give up with those little problems remember that this are 10 years old cars. So not be so picky just begin with the whole liquids changes and basic things like oil, spark plugs, brake liquid and pads, etc. After that then go for the mods but be aware that is a never ending hole ;). For power with stock turbo a computer re-flash will be the mod that will give you more power. Begin to read here an in other forums and you will learn a lot from people with more experience that me. Enjoy in good health.

[Hijack]

Well, I got the exhaust installed and I have to say, I'm a bit torn. I don't really know if I'm a huge fan of the raspyness under full throttle. I like the basic tone, but the thing sounds like a dirtbike when I give it the beans. I wonder if there was a problem getting a good math between the cats and muffler?

At any rate, new DVs and boost hoses come tomorrow and the intake next week. Then, based on all the threads here, flash time!

Everyone was right. This is an addiction!

[fedmax]

Welcome to the club. I can tell from my experiene that even though you'll have repairs with that car it'ill reward you with great driving experience and put a smile on your face every time you do an overtaking that would not be possible with most cars.

[phillipj]

Well, I got the exhaust installed and I have to say, I'm a bit torn. I don't really know if I'm a huge fan of the raspyness under full throttle. I like the basic tone, but the thing sounds like a dirtbike when I give it the beans. I wonder if there was a problem getting a good math between the cats and muffler?

At any rate, new DVs and boost hoses come tomorrow and the intake next week. Then, based on all the threads here, flash time!

Everyone was right. This is an addiction!

Right now might be time to stop and start thinking before you have regrets. (ask me how I know.) First of all Fabspeed lies and their turbo exhaust is notorious for it's nasty resonance. Their intake will give you nothing. It's waste of money. Be very careful with the flash as well. I have the GIAC in my car it it works well. Remember that turbo cars can get very troublesome with extensive modding. There is a member here with a 2003 996 TT with over 300,000 miles on it. he still has the original engine, tranny and clutch. The only was this is possible is that he never modded ANYTHING..

I was just like you.. I got my stock turbo and started bolting on anything I could find for more power. I did the flash which was awesome. I put on a Techart exhaust..again awesome. But then I added a Larger plenum and a GT3 throttle body. Then EVOMS BRV valves (diverter valves on the 996.)

And of course the infamoous BMC air filter. I was talking to my friend who builds race engines for P cars. He told me that the paper flows just as well and the mesh oiled filter. He said actually better! He does not condone oiled filters for street cars.. Boy the filter companies sure have us fooled!

Well the TB and plenum and BRV valves caused so many problems I just returned everything (BRV valves and stock TB and plenum and air filter) to stock and now the car runs perfect. Now I have very expensive paper weights...Not to mention the install and re install labor costs..

You don't need new boost hoses with 19k miles. Go ask a tech how often stock boost hoses fail. They don't...

The aftermarket tells 997 turbo owners that their OEM BRV valves are a weak link on their turbos. That we should should upgrade to their better, stronger valves. Well again after I put them on my tech toild be he has never heard of those valves failing..ever.. In fact Porsche doesn't even sell them seperately for the turbos.. WTF? I fell for that?

If you stick with the exhaust and a flash you'll be fine. If you go with the larger Turbo's, intercoolers etc.. Your looking at a very fast but very unreliable car that is going to be a PITA.

Look at how much used highly modded Turbos go for. Much less than stock ones..

And for God sakes don't buy anything from VIVID racing.. They are an unsavory bunch..

Enjoy your car. With the chip and the exhaust you should be getting around 500 hp. Maybe that should be good enough..

Just my two cents brother..

[Hijack]

Thanks for the feedback. I learned the hard way with the Fabspeed exhaust. I hate it. It sounds like a fat piped Honda Civic now. Truth be told, I'm probably going to take it off and try to sell it, replacing it with Europipes or the like. The DVs were also a pain in the *** to install myself, but I got them in and they seem to work fine, so no huge loss there I suppose. I'm not going to do much else to the car other than the flash as you suggested. I too, was given the inside scoop before I did too much. I'm skipping any additional engine work. The only other things I'll be doing after the flash include installing mesh grills and possibly a 997 shifter.

[phillipj]

Thanks for the feedback. I learned the hard way with the Fabspeed exhaust. I hate it. It sounds like a fat piped Honda Civic now. Truth be told, I'm probably going to take it off and try to sell it, replacing it with Europipes or the like. The DVs were also a pain in the *** to install myself, but I got them in and they seem to work fine, so no huge loss there I suppose. I'm not going to do much else to the car other than the flash as you suggested. I too, was given the inside scoop before I did too much. I'm skipping any additional engine work. The only other things I'll be doing after the flash include installing mesh grills and possibly a 997 shifter.

Awesome..

You will be very happy with the effect on the car with the flash. It really transforms the car. The Europipe exhaust has a great reputation .. Unfortunely these are expensive lessons we learn. Enjoy your new toy.. It's a beauty!:clapping:

[daytrip00]

Hijack, I'm a recent addition to the club too! Just got an '01 turbo. Actually, on mine, the stock DV had already failed. I do think the tuners are right about this. Those do seem to fail quite often from my reading. The parts i removed seemed pretty cheap. My failed one had a cracked diaphragm valve.

philipj, what turns you off about vivid? Are they not that reputable, or is it that they mostly sell cheapo aftermarket parts? Another thing, what happened with the BMC filter, why was it so bad? I guess it could cause MAF CEL's, which I guess would mean you might have to clean your MAF regularly... What were your issues with it?

I was thinking about taking a plunge into the exhaust/tune world myself. Have been looking at the AWE exhaust and the Switzer L1 package. Any opinions on those? I also understand that most of the tuners are replaceable with one another.

Thanks!

[phillipj]

Hijack, I'm a recent addition to the club too! Just got an '01 turbo. Actually, on mine, the stock DV had already failed. I do think the tuners are right about this. Those do seem to fail quite often from my reading. The parts i removed seemed pretty cheap. My failed one had a cracked diaphragm valve.

philipj, what turns you off about vivid? Are they not that reputable, or is it that they mostly sell cheapo aftermarket parts? Another thing, what happened with the BMC filter, why was it so bad? I guess it could cause MAF CEL's, which I guess would mean you might have to clean your MAF regularly... What were your issues with it?

I was thinking about taking a plunge into the exhaust/tune world myself. Have been looking at the AWE exhaust and the Switzer L1 package. Any opinions on those? I also understand that most of the tuners are replaceable with one another.

Thanks!

Day Trip,

My experience with Vivid has been awful. I first purchsed their carbon airbox. When I received it I was shoucked at the poor quality of the CF. The CF box did not line up properly on its frame and it was very poorly engineered.

I returned it saying it was flawed nad they got back to me saying tht there was nothing wrong with it and there would be a 25% restocking fee. If there wa nothing wrong with it I would have installed it on my car.

I got into a big battle with Dan there. He finally agreed to give a credit toward another purchase.

So I decided to buy their larger throttle body with plenum. Dan said "if you have any problems just call me!". So during the instally my tech was shocked to see the the penum did not come with the proper vacuum hose adapters. So I called dan. He was of no help. He said "just cut the stock fitting and make it fit". I said "what"? I'm going to start butchering my $100k car to make their crap work?

So eventually he sent me the proper vacuum hose adapter. I installed the unit and my tech was complaing the whole time about how crappy the plumbing was and that I might have problems down the road. Well I did and was forced to remove the unit because of numerous vacuum leaks and other design problems. Their stuff is crap..

These guys come from a world of modding Japanese cars. They have no business working on cars like ours,

Just stay away from them.. Trust me.

Now regarding the AWE exhaust.. I don't know anyone that has one. You have to be cautious because a lot of these exhausts have a terrible drone and resonanace. I have the Tech Art on my car and I love it. I bought it used off of a lease return car.

Another thing you may consider is "gutting" the baffles in your stock exhaust. There are a few shops around here that do this. My tech told me that there was a study done on turbo exhaust and that the guttted stock exhaust flowed better than any of the after market exhausts.. Something to think about..

I'm all for modding the exhaust and flashing the car. But the other stuff is a waste of money. I have driven my car with the BMC filter and the stock filter and there is no difference. It's not that the BMC filter is "Bad". It just doesn"t do anything..

There was a device installed on my car when I bought it that does make a difference in performance. I wouldn't have believed the claims form the manufacturer. It's called a "Turbo Tuner" made by "Split second".

Recently I took my car in for warranty work and my tech asked me about it and told me that I should remove it because it really doesn't make a difference in performance. We took it off and I drove the car home. Believe me.. That little box makes a BIG difference. I put it back on immediately. It just attaches to the boost sensor cable that attaches to your "Y" pipe. Takes 2 minutes to install. Kind of pricey but it works and you can take it off for dealer work in a second.

Hope this helps and just be cautious with you car.. Try to find a car with the AWE exhaust so you can hear it before you buy it..

Here's a link for the Turbo Tuner.. http://www.splitsec....s/plugnplay.htm

I don't know anything about the Switzer L1 package. Just proceed with caution.

Edited June 7, 2011 by phillipj