Would these mods really add 40-60hp??

Someone posted this video in another thread and I thought it was interesting. Around the 2:10 mark he starts talking about mods and he mentions 2 14yr olds hacked the computer to increase HP. What is he talking about? That seems like a LOT of supposed HP increase for an air intake and exhaust so I am curious about the computer mod. You Tube

Untrue. Simply untrue. NA cars don't benefit from ECU tunes nearly as much as forced induction does. An exhaust, tune, and air filter won't add that kind of power. That kind of addition takes a whole pile of money.

Horsepower gains aren't additive either. Meaning that if a manufacturer advertises +10hp for an exhaust, +10hp for an intake, and +15hp for a tune - you don't get 35hp additional horsepower if you install all 3 modifications.

...and would you really trust your Porsche ECU to be modified by two 14-year-olds?

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Wow, that video is worth watching just for the scenery!

Yup, takes a lot more than just tweaking the ECU! But is it ever a lot of fun after that!!

actually pretty entertaining and as someone stated...scenery is beautiful....from the plates it looks like Solvenia

I agree that you are not going to see the gains like stated but I had to get others opinions.

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Definitely. This I understand, I was more interested in what the computer mod was specifically and if anyone knew of it. I wouldn't try it on my car as the risk isn't worth the reward in my opinion...

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I made a YT video on modifications for the 996 and how they are a waste of money. However, that is true as of today. There might have been break throughs in tuning for our cars that flip that theory completely upside down. Curious if these kids have done that! I am in the IT industry. I would have no problem handing over my Porsche ECU for 14-year olds to mess with. On many occasions, I have seen young kids do some amazing things. Check out some of the things these kids are doing in ethical hacking competitions.

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Agreed my issue isn't letting 14 yr olds do it, my issue would be doing it in general. I find teens know more than most adults in the computer electronic world.

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I can completely understand that. I would be weary if I had a nice car. That's why I usually stay away from them. lol My gf is finally starting to understand why I get excited about seeing crappy houses and crappy cars. lol I get excited about the possibilities, not what is in front of me. Break-throughs happen when you break stuff anyway!

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If you go this route, be sure to have the current BIN file saved off. I sent my DME to VF Engineering back in 2012 for them to flash after installing their supercharger. Now I'm doing a rebuild (3.4 to 3.8L) and will NOT be using that flash, but have no "stock" file to flash back. From what I understand, the PIWIS can do this, but will cost you.

The simple answer is no. With a full exhaust, intake, and tune on that 996/997 platform you might barely squeak out another 25hp. It's an excellent driving experience over factory, but you should go into it with proper expectations. If you ever want to pursue kicking things up a notch, we are here to help and would be happy to work with you.

Short answer is no , there are no external bolt on or programming mods that can be applied to the m96 in any combination that will add 40-60 hp . Even porsche couldn�t do this with the x51 option and that was a bit beyond bolt on even spending 6k on the full computer , intake exhaust etc � Stage 3 package� you�d be luck to see 15bhp , likely half that . You may even find it is just louder not more powerful even less power is likely to get an extra 40-60 hp from this motor which is already producing 100 Bhp per litre , increased displacement ( bore x stroke ) plus head , cam, fuel , intake & exhaust work would be needed . That�s pretty much what mr.Raby makes his living doing .

In my direct experience these bolt- on items will have a tendency to reduce power at most RPM points. This is because most of the time the focus is on sound or asthetics. Last week we bolted on a very well known system.... Back to back the engine lost 17HP average under the curve, AFR went from low to mid 13s down to 11.5:1... It was so rich the engine was emitting black smoke, like a diesel. The provider would not take it back, even when presented with hard data. So, l crushed it with my tank, and threw it in the scrap bin, at the request of the customer.

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Agreed, I feel like is Porsche, one of the best car builders in the world, didn't get more out of the engine then some aftermarket junk isn't going to. I was intrigued by the computer part only because I had never heard of anyone messing with the ECU on one of these. Didn't sound smart to me...

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We beat the factory at their game almost everyday... Each morning when hit the door, thats my only goal for the day, and it has been for 27 years. When it comes to exhaust it is VERY hard to beat the stock arrangements across the board, without losing somethinmg, somewhere. Modifying the stock systems with a bypass has remained our only real choice, its the only thing that makes things �sound better� without some negative, somewhere. Building something to offer to the market that truly beats the factory set up in every way, at every RPM and load point simply would not be profitable for anyone to build, and resell. Been there, done that 17 years ago, and many times since then. Even my 4.3 and 4.4L M96 and M97 engines use a modified stock exhaust system, and at most they�ll end up with a set of performance cats (not made in China) to produce the efficiency l demand.

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I wasn't trying to imply that is you build an engine you can't beat stock, what I was saying is that if you ad "bolt ons" most likely you will see little to no chance, or like you said gain a few HP here but lose a few there. If we are talking a build with different internal parts of course you could see improvements. Keep doing what your doing and if I am ever in the unfortunate position of needing a rebuild I know where I am going. (And I knew before this exchange your reputation proceeds you, in a good way.)

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Thanks.. My rule is, stock engines stay 100% stock. l won�t change exhaust, intake or anything else until the engine goes big... When it goes big, then the gloves come off and l use what we�ve developed to work. Nothing good comes from bolting stuff onto a stock engine, l guarantee that every peak HP gain with a bolt on mod will create some loss of torque and even HP at some point under the curve where it matters.. l don�t like losses, especially at low RPM, where its used every time the car is taken through the gears, only to gain a peak value that you might only see 2% of the time the engine is being operated.

"The provider would not take it back, even when presented with hard data. So, l crushed it with my tank, and threw it in the scrap bin, at the request of the customer." ^^^This is classic!!!^^^ I'd love to see a video (with the manufacturers name blacked out of course)...

Agree with the above. To the extent that claims of power gains are valid, they will essentially always apply at a carefully chosen point. The claims will naturally include nothing about losses seen elsewhere. Another point is that an inescapable consequence of extra power output is extra waste heat. Unless this is taken into account (unlikely), you may be buying big reliability problems.