2006 Cayman S - What mods to spring for?

Hey guys! I bought a white cayman s 2 weeks ago and have been reading up on mods ever since... What I want from the mods in order of importance: - more power, mainly in the midrange, since I'm more on canyon roads than on the racetrack. I certainly don't mind additional top-end, but as a daily driver I feel that great mid-range is really important (10% more hp would be plenty) - more sound (got that covered already with a local shop here that have a modded silencer that a customer recently returned to them) - all round better drivability, "get up and go" - I already installed the evom v air intake Mods I read about: - "small" or "big" plenum with or without GT3 throttle body - de cat headers - racing cats for the second cats "down the exhaust line" - EITHER a simple softronic OR a custom rolling-road-tune (we have 2 tuners here near munich, one of which is specialized on porsche racing engines. the other did some great work on my brother's 135 BMW ) So considering that I already have the air intake and will have an internally moddified muffler (a bit less restrictive for gasses as well as sound): Which kind of mods would get me closest to my goals? Thank you so much for the help and warm greetings from Munich, home of the Octoberfest! (PS: I LOVE that one of the Cayman meets in the US is called "Croctoberfest", whoever came up with that is a GENIUS! :-D)

Just about the only bolt on mod that will get you more midrange is long tube headers. UD pully will get you a bit as well. Everything else is top end.

Thanks for the tip with the pully, will check it out! Also, let me correct myself: It's not that mid-range is the be-all end-all for me, I just don't want to tune for MAX-hp at top-rpm just to have a high number on a dyno-sheet, while sacrificing everyday driveability...

I noticed an immediate improvement in overall throttle response when I installed the AWE cat back exhaust. It's loud from 2k to 3k, although some love it.....to loud for me, but I just can't go back to stock now. I've also done the underdrive pulley, but there was no noticeable power increase from that, at least in my car. Although if you plan to track, then the UD pulley is a smart move.

I have shorty headers from Fabspeed. I gained a noticeable amount of mid-range torque. That, coupled with a tune for throttle response made me happy and I have a 2.7. Also you'll end up with a great sound with just catless headers and the stock exhaust. No drone. Generally long tube headers yield more top end gains.

I LOVED my AWE exhaust. It was nto too loud for me but I live on a HUGE hill and coming up it put me right in the drone RPM range. That was the ONLY time I had a problem with the drone, if it wasn't for that I would still have that exhaust. I noticed a great increase in power with it and it sounded amazing. I ended up with the carnewal (stock w/ modified internals) and it's a nice compromise. Good sound, no drone, but not as much power. I'm moving later this year and if the opportunity comes up I'll pick up a used AWE.

I'm going for a TBD as my first real mod as it's needed before any power or suspension upgrade for track use.

The AWE sounds great, but there is no way in hell that the German TÜV (I believe you call it MOT) will be ok with that... What is more restrictive? The first cats in the OEM headers? Or the second cats, further down the exhaust line? My plan right now: - the already installed airfilter - 100 cell sport cat (the second ones, not the ones in the headers) - internally modified Muffler - ECU modification, most likely a custom one on a dyno - maybe the "small" plenum or the "competition" plenum with GT3 throttle body. Are they worth it?

The first cats.. the seconds are only to catch what the first didn't when not up to operating temp.. cheers,

On my car the softronic plenum, tune, UD pulley and AWE showed little gain in the midrange on the dyno. Yes the throttle response was better and the mid range "dip" was a little flatter but it was nothing worth paying all that money for. The real improvements where above 5k. Very useful on the track, not so much on the street. It sounded mean though!:hilarious:

DD: All I can say is that I drive my car very little above 5,000 and it's a lot nicer than stock. Feels and sounds like an expensive sports car should. Dyno or not, that's worth something. I found both the torque hole and the PASM behavior in Normal let the car down. Fixed em both and I really love the car now. I have no experience with long tube headers. They sound like fun. I want my car to pass emissions and it does the way I have it. I've heard that headers on the stock exhaust cause the dash light to come on and that the car won't pass emissions with errors on the ECU . As far as value for money, there's not much I can say about a couple of Porsche parts combined with some specially organized electrons for almost 2 grand. I'm not a Softronics booster . I had a lot of trouble with my purchase, my install and just about everything. They got me through it, but it wouldn't have been necessary if they'd be more clear about all the procedures and their policies.

Perhaps mine wasn't set up right. As I said throttle response was better but the real noticable benefits where at the top of the rev range. I'm glad it's working well for you:cheers:

DD: I have a real Softronics plenum and throttle body...I think they are the GT3 bits. My flash is the 4.0 version which is different from the basic flash without a plenum. I have a SpeedART TUV cat-back...eliminates the 2nd cat on each side. It's not scary fast or anything, but the around town behavior is more natural feeling and when you get on it...well, you know what happens...it goes, This pipe starts to wail above 4500 or so...very nice. I agree it's not cheap. The TTP turbo is a comparative bargain if you're counting $/HP, but I don't really need that much in my car except on track days...then it would be nice. More power always is. I was very interested in the header/stock muffler combo but the dash light/ ECU error is a non-starter for me. I need a legal car. Also heard that you can fry the rear cats on track days with this setup. You are not the only one who likes them though. I add something every year. I put Damptronics on the car last year. Better damping than PASM by far in Normal mode. In Sport, feels about the same. It's coil-over, so I'm able to raise or lower the suspension at will without changing springs. That's pretty nice. This year I'm getting rear toe links and I'm going to camber the wheels a bit more and maybe drop the ride height some more. It's at Cayman R height now and corner balanced, the alignment tech was telling me I could go -3 or more with good settings, but winter was coming and I don't need that much with winter tires . They don't generate enough lateral stick to make use of -3 camber, so it's at -2 front and rear and is working OK. I love goofing with all this stuff and seeing what does what. It's not the cheap way to go, but it's interesting. :cheers:

Softronics sells plenum race kit that includes an older 78 mm GT3 throttle and plenum. This size is just right for increased torque mid range along with Soul long tube catless headers. Scott makes sure you get exactly what you ordered. The combo of John at Soul and Scott at Softronics made me a very happy camper. I have a 7000 hard stop, so any throttle body that needs excess of that is a total waste as the torque band is being moved upward and not replaced on the lower end. So why do it if you have a hard stop right were the larger throttle body gets the more hp/torque? If you are reading this post, please read the entire thread.

Holy necro bumped thread