Do Porsche owners Mod or not?

Coming from a MINI cooper where enthusiasts add constant mods... not hard to add twice the cost of the car in mods ... in general, do Porsche owners really mod their cars or do they leave them OEM??? I just started to do bling things (e.g., clearbra, XM radio, BT, tint) and the costs are going up. Haven't even started with the catback/headers, CAI, chips, etc. I can see these adding up real quickly. So ... what is the consensus? Does the average Porsche or CS owner modify leave their car OEM or sink the money into mods (which usually you do not get anything back on resale)??? I'm not really talking about performance to track the car ... just Average Joe Smoe. Edited by - chows4us on 10/12/2006 4:47:45 PM

I will do some mods but surely not an outrageous amount.I cant imagine mods equaling the cost of the car for myself,but I have seen it done by others many times.

Some do and some don't. I got most of that out of my system in my late 20'sbut sure don't begrudge others doing it. I just hope they do it in a thoughtful manner and are not surprised at the hit they may take on trade-in value. There also seems to be a high percentage of leased Porsches relative to other cars which of course precludes a lot of modifications. Even though I don't plan to do a modification that is one reason I bought my car rather than leased.

I really dont consider something like satellite radio or adding Bluetooth as modding (its more bling) in that I am actually appalled that Porsche is SO far behind the times. At this level of monies .... this stuff should be just part of the car (along with HIDs). Its getting into the headers and CAI that is questionable. For a few more HP, its been my understanding that it actually DECREASES the value of a Porsche, especially in older collector cars ... I saw on Barrett-Jackson where a 930 Turbo with an aftermarket exhaust sold for far less than one with an OEM exhaust.

It would be great to do apoll of Cayman S owners to answer this question and break it downsimilar to below.(timeline is total ownership of the car, my numbers are plugged in) No numbers are a valid response. Electronics budget ($) Audio (2000) Traffic ticket 'avoidance' (750) Cosmetic budget ($) Interior Exterior Performancebudget ($) Bolt-on (6000) Engine internals Suspension Tires/Wheels etc., Other questions or breakdowns would be helpful for readers and sponsors.Is there a polling function here that can capture the information? Haven't seen it as an option. j

I hear you but it has been my experience over eight of these over thirtyyearsthat Porsche believes it should put its money into performance over minor conveniences[/quote] (witness the unwillingness to add cupholders for so long). If I had to choose I'd vote for factory performance too I suppose.

(witness the unwillingness to add cupholders for so long). If I had to choose I'd vote for factory performance too I suppose. [/quote] hmm. Satellite radio and Bluetooth are ubiqutious. They are everywhere. I see no valid excuse for not having them and do nothing to subtract from performance. I do not understand why they have a PCM module for satellite radio for Cayennes but not the other cars. Make no sense. If Porsche cranked up the HP, I could see this 'maybe' but everyone knows they have tamed this car to not embarrass the 997 so I can't buy this excuse.

I've had my Cayman S since April and added clear bra and short shifter (installed by dealer), clear side markers and Smart Key Remote. The only other mod I am considering, if you can call it a mod, is 19' Carrera Sport Design wheels. As tempted as I am, I'll not be doing a new exhaust or other significant modifications. Resale value will decline with the addition of such radical mods. Edited by - gatorcayman on 10/12/2006 6:05:09 PM

i promised that i would keep the car stock... until i came to this site, now i'm already making my x-mas list

From the few Porsche officials that I've met over the years I get the impression that drinking coffee (cupholders), talking on phones (bluetooth) and even music (ipods) are secondary to the driving experience. Different cultures produce different tools. Sure they will have to add these things to compete in the US marketbut I sense they really cannot believe that serious drivers need these distractions. You have to admire that in some small way.

And I do believe that listening to the engine and exhaust is sweet ... yet to compete in the US, some things ... especially music ... is just expected. Have they ever lost a sale because of it? Doubtful ... but its still is irritating not to be able to get 'luxaries' that just come gratis on most high end cars.

I'm up for any non-ostentatious mods to theCS... I have installed a short shifter, clear side-markers, H&R springs (before I bought the car)... would be interested in exhaust, silver accents etc... but definately not looking to put a big spoiler on the back...

Sport Shifter, Ultimate pedals, clear side markers, and soon...painted wheels. I'm happy with the performance....for now./fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/MWPX/drivingskid.gif

I thought I got it out of my system with the 350z (I went from stock 17's to 19-inch forged Volkrims, tint, clear sidemarkers, etc.). But I may be puttinga short shifter into the Cayman soon.... Trying hard to stay away from the other mods though....

ummm....well some of us buy porsches specifically to mod them. They are a great platform to work from. I had an exhuast and suspension ordered before I even took delivery of the cayman, and I was psyched at how cheap they were after modding my 996 turbo heavily. Turbo parts are more than double the price...chips alone can run $4k...wheels $8k, exhaust another $4k...it gets crazy, and thats just bolt-ons. And major mod will runs in the10'sof thousands. but there are many people that really enjoy doingthis. Take a look at the 997TT forum at 6 speed and see how many people's new turbos are already under the knife... its also pretty easy to retun your car to stock for sale or trade if you stick to bolt-ons and you keep your stock parts in storage...and you loose no value in the car. I know many people with leased vehicles that do this. I've known people that supercharged leased cars even. dw

mods...depends on how you define it....but i would argue that almost everyone here has modded their cayman... whether its factory mods...you know..all those 'modifications' you made to the out of the box cayman that porsche sold you.. aka...'options'...for those that ordered their cayman. or....aftermarket additions...most have 'modifed' their cayman to their own taste. i bought mine off the lot and had to personalize my ride with aftermarket...and a few porsche 'brand' mods. cheers /fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/MWPX/teeth_smile.gif

Most Porsche owners don't mod their cars. People that frequent forums like this are not typical owners. They tend to be much more likely to mod a car; one of the main reasons to come to a forum is to discuss mods. So, any poll would be heavily biased. My mods: Forgeline wheels, H&R springs, GT3 seats, customer rollbar, GT3 brake ducts, clear side markers.

My last two cars have had heavy modifications done to them, but with the Porsche I plan to do some things that aren't as obvious.

I did a lot of modding on previous BMWs and my experience was that wheels and suspension changes were of benefit, but exhaust, airflow, and chipping werenot. On my 986 Boxster I had some custom wheels but nothing else. On my CS I did the clear side markers, the springs, and wheels and that will be it.

This is my list. I have been going back and forth for a long time now and I just want to finalize everything and get it done all at once: AWE Catback, H&R Springs, 19' Techart Formula GTS Black or powdercoat my Sport Designs Black, Clear Sides, 35% tint, Boothe Design Black Chrome Tips for sure. And maybe Milltek/Fabspeed headers?

Mod Away! Just because the Porsche engineers were limited buy a price point and emissions standards etc doesn't mean you can't make a good thing great. "Not modding is like letting your wife never wear makeup or get a boob job!" -A wise man

There is a fine line between "improving" and "destroying". One thing for sure is that unless you find a buyer with similar tastes you are lowering the price of your car when you trade or sell it. But it is yours to do with what you want (unless of course you are leasing or the mods can be removed). As far as making the emissions worse well we all have only one planet to live on as far as I know. It would be nice to keep it like we found it.

I will only do a nice set of wheels when time to replace tires. I would only mod a track play toy or an older 911 that will never capture great re sale value to other issues with car. I don't think people mod street Ferrarri's. I think of my car in that league..maybe a small step below. ZEDD06