From Porsche C2 toTurbo

[Hroussard]

Just saying hi to all of you. Finally found my new ride. A very low mileage 2003 Turbo with lots of goodies. A California car that has been kissed good-night every day with a nice color combination, a Mezger engine and a 6-speed on 19 inch pushing a JIC Cross suspension with some added symphony Porsche sounds through a Fabspeed header / exhaust system, an Evoms Air intake and some tinkering with the ECU to deliver additional fuel to the Hybrid Turbos. It will be fun!

[rogerjohnsen]

Welcome! Please post some pictures!!! :)

[RxPorsche]

Welcome to the club :thumbup:; how do you like the JIC suspension :drive:?

[phillipj]

Sounds awesome... :clapping: Pictures please !

:welcome:

[Hroussard]

Thanks Guys ( and Gals??)... So the car is being shipped to me in the next few days. It will be interesting to see how the car "behaves" in real life on those 19" Sportec's with the JIC Cross suspension. I do like the lip on the rear rims. It looks clean , Teutonic and efficient and 315 / 25's lay a serious patch of rubber I am sure.

Originally I was looking for a totally non-modded car but looking at the background of the Turbo a bit more, it became clear that if Porsche can put an X-50 on the car for 17K, a serious tuner can do the same without upsetting the ride and driving characteristics. And of course, when your start looking at that, it's a good idea to see what other mods will "enhance" that complete package . That is something you do not get from the X-50 of course. It's the header/ exhaust/suspension/ecu upgrades. NO wonder that the X-50 basically loses almost all it value ( actually - it adds about $2500) to the value. So your grand loss on that package is about 16K including sales tax on the original purchase price. Pretty steep depreciation right there.

So, my focus changed to finding the right car with the right upgrades and the usual low mileage requirements, 1-2 owners at the most, a California car, modified in California to make sure ALL the bits are approved in CA as that may give you a nasty surprise in the future it they are not. Making sure that the tuners are all still in business was another requirement. Frankly my initial search also included some exterior paint / colors I was particularly looking ie red/white/ yellow or paint to sample with a nice contrasting interior but as there are very few of those cars around I decided to focus on finding a nice interior color as that is what you are looking at when you are driving the car :-) . My previous 996 was basalt black with the boxter red - terracotta interior and i liked it a lot so I happily made that change in my search criteria.

I am thinking that the 2002-2004 Porsche Turbo is THE best value for money of ANY Porsche's at the moment. I looked at Ferrari, Maserati , Aston Martin but there are really no comparable daily drivers that will last in that environment or that will be at the same running costs as the Turbo.

I sold my 996 because of the risk to have a detonating 996 engine rendering the car basically as an heap of useless bits an pieces. The car was running just fine but I was not going to bet against the factory on this issue. So buying a 996 or a 997.1 would be out of the question and I did not like the idea of having to spend a wad of money on the check light for the 993 series. So the Mezger engine was the only way to go.. We will see :-)

BTW I have some 996 pieces for sale : an OEM exhaust system ( really like new) complete with stainless steel oval Porsche tips, a Schnell cold air system ( no additional HP but a nice "snarling sounds from the engine on the inside) and a set of terra cotta floormats ( new in box). Ping me if you are interested.

[Hroussard]

So, here is an update. I got the car and drove it for a few 30 minutes sessions ( did not have more time). First of all, the Fabspeed system is AWESOME but definately not for the feint of ears. The engine rumbles.... at a low pitch at idle. That tone really does not changes much up to about 3500 Revs. Thereafter, it's a glorious roar!. What I really like is the change of sound and gurgle when you lift the throttle. Also, although the car is lowered and is running on coil-overs, somehow I seem to have less ie NO bottoming-out when driving the car into my garage, compared with the C2 996 which seems to have the exhaust substantially lower under the rear body of the car . That was another real good thing for me because I expected to have to make a change to the gradient from the road to my garage. The JIC Cross are quite solid but not harsh and make the car feel well planted. I like it. I have not yet been able to make some decent pix but here... a few just to show how it looks like. Did I mention the great 19 inch Sportec rims with almost 4 inch deep dish in the back?? WOW.

[Loren]

:thumbup:

[Sunnyside]

Very nice car and sounds like you have some excellent mods done already.

Enjoy and keep us all updated as you get to drive the car some more.

:thumbup:

[phillipj]

Congrats ! That is a beauty! What is HP with your mods?

Just my opinion but some Porsche crest center caps would look really nice on those wheels.

Enjoy!

Edited September 9, 2011 by phillipj

[Hroussard]

Well, as I also have and ECU tune I have been told I should have around 520HP. That's a good idea on getting the Porsche crests on the center caps. Have not seen that anywhere, not even on the Sportec website. :-) Thanks for the nice compliments.

[AMTRAK]

Beautiful car. Enjoy it!

[Hroussard]

So, here are some thoughts after 3 months of ownership. First, there is NO comparison between a C2 and a similar model Turbo. This thing is frighteningly fast whereas the C2 can be driven with full throttle up to 6th gear, the turbo is just too fast and will hit triple digits before you know. It's a good idea to only hit the go-button when you are reasonably straight. The car just hunkers down and goes, boost comes on very quickly and holds .9BAR (I have Alpha 28 Tial turbos) all the way up. Gear shifting is smooth and consistent... but a bit long ( if you are used to a shortshifter). Brakes are powerful and inspire confidence for sure. Must say I like the "weight" of the front part of the Turbo. It is not "floaty" and it is planted very well. Perhaps my JIC Coil overs have something to do with that. I decided to raise the car about 1/2 inch to get some more cushioning as I am running 19 inch wheels. It is still quite low and looks right to me. I also bought a set of Porsche Hollow Spokes and I am planning to swap them over some time in the future to see how the 18 inchers feel as I am running mostly on 405 freeway type roads. I think the 996T is a real good bargain at this moment but I also believe that the prices are started to climb and that many 996TT are in the hands of folks that have no intention of rotating them out in a year or so... I believe that, because of the Mezger engine, lots of people will be hunting for these cars as the engines can be modded so easily and the engine can go to 700 HP without problems. There are lots of parts and tuners that have options and parts for these cars. They will be there for a long time to come.

[phillipj]

Agree with you on the Turbo. I love my turbo and want to mod it more. I'm going to wait until my CPO warranty is over in a year. But who knows what I will do at that point. Maybe I'll get another Turbo or keep mine.. It is pretty rediculous how quickly you do get to 100 mph. The other day I found a stretch of completely empty freeway. I live near the Rose Bowl in Pasadena and after the parade the city gets pretty deserted. I got my car to 170mph. it did it pretty easily. That was fast enough for me. I never speed on the freeway so this isn't somethting I do alll the time. My car has about 550 hp now and I would love to have more.. That's sick....So if I get 700 will I want 800? :eek:

[wross996TT]

Congrats on going the turbo class. Car looks awesome.

[logray]

170 phillip are you nuts? C'mon, 200 is only a little farther away, Clarkson did it on a stretch of highway in Germany, I believe a little over 200mph.

[AMTRAK]

The 997 shift mechanism fits right in, and shortens the throws nicely... My turbo S actually came with it from the factory. Thank you to the PO.

[phillipj]

I have factory short shifter in mine and I love it.

[phillipj]

170 phillip are you nuts? C'mon, 200 is only a little farther away, Clarkson did it on a stretch of highway in Germany, I believe a little over 200mph.

Logray,

I know.. It was pretty stupid. I have zero tickets and no accidents. Usually when I'm on the freeway i set the cruise control to 72mph amd watch all the BMW's fly by me. I guess they are trying to impress me....

I would love to take it somewhere and legally try to hit 200 mph. I saw Clarkson do that.. That was fun... It amazing how much torque that car has in 6th gear. It just keeps pullin....

[Hroussard]

This is what happened last week....I exchanged my Fabspeed Loud Gen 1 for a factory OEM exhaust. What a job!!! FabSpeed is for sale...

[Hroussard]

Fabspeed sold! Still have a 3.4l C2 exhaust complete with EOM tips available... 450 buckaroos!!

[Hroussard]

Update after exhaust change. Folks, it is a different car for sure and I must say that I do like the way the engine sounds now. The sound is "there" for sure and gets a " urgency" when running above 4K revs. I am thinking that perhaps this exhaust is "tuned" by Porsche to give a quite uniform sound foot print at a set of frequencies that is pleasing to the ear ( hey I am a musician so I hear that stuff). Somehow, the engine seems to be pulling just as hard as before and more importantly, the engine sounds "happier" and more linear in power build-up with this OEM exhaust. It just could be me of course!! :-).

Also, I notice that - unlike the 996 - the 996T seems to have less of a problem with ambient temperatures, the engine temp sits just at 180 degrees and does not move too much north whereas the 996 temps goes pretty high up to 200 + in the summer months. It was something I did not like too much and yes, I kept the radiators clean.

All-in-all it is a very positive change. Happy face <here > :drive:

Edited February 27, 2012 by Hroussard

[Hroussard]

Check this out... Just a little tidbit to personalize the car. Ferrari does it so it's OK, I guess.. :-)

Edited March 10, 2012 by Hroussard

[Hroussard]

Always trying to do something.... Got the idea from... Ferrari of course... So cheezy or cute??

Edited March 18, 2012 by Hroussard

[Hroussard]

Could not resist so I acquired a set of 18 Inch Porsche Original Hollow Spokes - Turbo rims. They are currently tireless :thumbup:

And.. I am starting to think about what set of tires I am going to put on them. My plan is to swap the 19's Sportecs out for a while, just have some summer fun with the 18". Ahhh the hunt !!!

[phillipj]

Check this out... Just a little tidbit to personalize the car. Ferrari does it so it's OK, I guess.. :-)

That is cool! Where did you get the Porsche crest and how did you adhere it to the paint?