Hello everyone. I'm new to the forum and I had a few questions. I have never owned a Porsche before, but the wife and I have been talking about a 1999 or so Carrera hard top. I have been a Ford man forever and have my eye on a new GT500, but I can't justify $42,000 to $45,000 for a Ford that I know is going to depreciate drastically regardless of whether or not it says Shelby. or, I suppose I could have just said I don't think a Mustang is worth $45,000.00!!

That being said, I have been searching the web for performance parts for the Carrera, but I have been unable to find a Turbo kit or other type of supercharger. Is there anything available? If we buy the 996 (correct designation?), am I stuck with only the additional power I can gain from exhaust and other bolt on's?

Thanks for the help!!!!

 

We install superchargers on the 996's, in fact my last 3.6L kit left on friday, he drove it back nonstop from Kansas City to Chicago. Puts down about 470 on the 3.6's and about 420 on the 3.4's running 5-6psi boost. Kits run about $12,000, and i have installed about a dozen of them. We have cars that have 40k on the kits, with zero issues. A turbo would not be feasible pricewise.

B&M short throw shifter is the first mod you do to these cars, period. Then you can add exhaust (fabspeed), ECU flash (GIAC), Intake for some minor horsepower.

www.imagineauto.com

 

Thanks for the info. How well will the engines in these cars hold up to the added cylinder pressure? Are we talking about forged crankshafts & pistons? Strong internals? What kind of mileage is too much for adding the supercharger? Who's supercharger is it? Is it a procharger? Can smaller pullies be used to gain more boost?

Also, when looking at a 996, what should I look for. What would be a typical problem area that I should pay attention to?

Sorry for all the questions!

Thanks,

Randy

 

Porsche engines have pretty premium parts and a lot of margin from the factory, so if you take good care of the car and do not abuse it, even with a supercharger it should be pretty durable.

 

We run the 5-6psi which has been deemed to be a safe level for the internals. You could probably run a little more, but then you start taking chances. The twin turbo motors are good to about 650hp before needing rods and pistons. The 996 kit utilizes a vortec supercharger and was designed by evolution motorsports (evoms.com) and VF engineering. On the boxster supercharger kit that we put out ourselves, we utilize the procharger C1 blower. Mileage really shouldn't be an issue if the car has been well taken care of. We have cars out there with 80k miles on. I have supercharged everything from 4k miles on it, to 60k miles on it. No issues.

As far as 996's go, look for the rear main seal leak which tends to be an issue, and depending on mileage, then you are probably looking at a clutch as well. Seems the average clutch life on these cars is in the 60k mile range. Especially if you are going to start adding power, the clutch will need to be fresh. They have also had quite a few 2nd gear issues, i have an 03 996TT in the shop right now that we put our GT700hp kit on, and it will pop out of 2nd gear if you are using the engine to slow the car down.

More or less though, the cars are pretty bulletproof. They don't like to "not run" you could say. Turn the key and go.

 

I'm supprised you people still have your drivers licences.[8D] Ain't these cars fast enough (for the road) already? Here in the U.K., if you get caught speeding 4 times you can wave goodbye to your licence and if you get caught doing more than twice the speed limit (or more) it could be less than that! Also most of our good roads have speed cameras on them.

 

Thanks for the info guys. I will take that into account when shopping.

So, Doc, you wouldn't see a problem in putting a supercharger with 5-6 psi on a a 2002 3.6 with 75K? This assuming the clutch was fresh and no leaks were present and compression tests & leakdown tests checkout ok? Is the $12K an installed price, or out the door? How difficult is an installation? keep in mind I have a pretty good history of engine building and R&R with Mustangs and small block fords.

Tigger, c'mon now. I have ridden on one of your "Roman Roads" in a friend's AC Cobra replica at over 140mph. You guys do it just as bad as we do. You just want us to think you're too "refined" to do such things! And, yes, all Americans are crazy!

 

I would not be worried about adding a supercharger to a 996 with 75k on it if the motor checks out etc. The 3.6 kit runs 10.9k + install which is about a 17 hour job. The 3.4 runs just under 10k, + install which is about the same. I don't know that we have sold any kits to someone who wants to install it themselves, it is a fairly difficult install. You must remove the injectors and replace them with bigger injectors. Porsche says you must drop the motor to do so. Working on the cars enough, we have found out how to do them blindfolded (all by feel) and with one hand, which is basically what you have to do since it is so tight. The ecu would also have to be pulled and sent in for programing for the kit.

 

Hey, I ain't saying that us Brits don't speed (The fastest I've been is 160mph) or modify cars to go faster, I'm just saying, Isn't a 174mph, 5.2 to 60mph, 300bhp 996 Carrera fast enough for ya that you have to make it go even faster?

My 149mph, 6.9 to 60mph, 211bhp 944 S2 is plenty fast enough for me. (I even scare myself sometimes!) [&:]

 

Lol, the answer is no. Once you start to feel a little more power, you want more, period. Everytime I install a stage 4 kit on a TT (605hp), it feels fast for about 2 days (because you know there is still a lot of hp to get out there), then you want more. Around 800hp it starts to get a little scary, but still very controllabe. I guess I should say that after driving 800hp twins, 605 feels slow to me. For most customers, I tell them they will look for more after driving the car for about a year.