Least Expensive (but decent) combination of intake, exhaust, headers and chip

What is the least expensive you can go for intake, exhaust, chip, headers while maintaining decent quality? My independent quoted something like $5000 for the combo using all AWE and the GIAC chip. And the big question which I know has been hammered to death without a definitive answer - what sort of HP/TQ increases can be expected conservatively? Thanks for the responses! Dreamtipper 2002 911, Basalt Black/Black

Give Dan at vividracing.com a call.

realistically, you're looking at about 20-25 hp at the wheel at most with ALL those upgrades.... if you really want more power and really notice the difference, your best bet is an SC.........

I agree 85%

thanks washington......... i agree the other 15%.........

Here's what I did (not even close to $5000), though I did the install... 1) GHL exhaust (~$800) 2) Suncoast/evo headers (currently on sale at Suncoast for ~$900) 3) EVO intake (~$600) The GIAC software is $1000 pretty much standard. So everything should be in the low 3K - but then you have to do the install yourself!!! I just did the headers this past weekend, and it sounds great with the intake and the GHL exhaust. Can't wait to get it back on the road (live in the NE, maybe a couple more weeks till they get all the sand off the roads!!)

LOL!! The missing 15% is due to your word "notice". I'd say I "notice" the difference when going against stock 996's or typical cars that would give the 996 grief. But when driving alone I feel nothing.

Not to rain on your parade, but, as shown in another thread here, a header that advertised more power, when compared to stock on a dyno, actually made less. Porsche did their homework here and made a header that is hard to improve upon. A chip will potentially give more spark advance which on some cars will yield slightly stronger acceleration. Free flow mufflers may or may not add any power. An exhaust system must be balanced to the intake and also cam profile. Often in modern vehicles a substantially less restrictive exhaust will result in flat or dead area in the power curve because maximum cylinder fill relies on a designed amount of static pressure in the exhaust tract during the overlap of cam timing. Bottom line here, the Porsche motor was designed as a powerful and torquey unit and has extremely complex electronics interacting with mechanical components to produce acceptable results. If you substitute stock parts with certain aftermarket things you probably have more chance of making less power, than more. Or adding a slight increase at a certain RPM at the expense of taking away from another. Most all power claims are advertising fluff and published results cannot be obtained or proven. To disprove them is expensive and fruitless. Real and noticeable power gains come from increasing displacement, going with higher compression (turbo, supercharging,) more aggressive cam profiles, larger valves, better head design, etc. On a motor that has relatively high power output to start with, little can be obtained with simple bolt on devices or electronic tweeking on a NA unit. I have worked in this field since the '70s and continue to do so. The above are my opinions only and yours may differ. I base mine on personal experience helping people to build their dream machines and signing my name on every motor I tune or build.

Nick, I basically agree to your comments although I've a K&N CAI and a GHL exhaust on my car. Both sound great and fast but might not have increased HP. However, I still believe that there are legal restrictions like emission- and noise control laws, so Porsche has to choose sub-optimal components, especially for the intake and exhaust. In Germany for instance, cars need to be pretty quiet when passing at certain speeds. I think that's the main reason why Porsche had to add an on/off switch to their PSE system. It's further right that "complex electronics interact with mechanical components" but doesn't the ECU adapts to a changed set-up, even with the stock software? Beside power, car manufactures do also try to optimize the fuel efficiency of their cars (more and more regulations request a certain fleet fuel efficiency; the EU is going in this direction, so that's maybe one of the reasons why Porsche tries to buy VW) and set HP and acceleration points of their models in context to their- and other manufacturers car fleets as well as customer demands and market requirements. In a lot of countries tax and insurance premiums varies with the HP of the car, so a 310HP car would cause a higher purchase price and running cost than a 300HP car. Keep in mind, not all customers/P car owners are so car crazy as we are. To optimize (actually reduce) production cost, car manufacturers do also choose sub-optimal materials and designs for their parts (ever heard about lean manufacturing). Porsche as a mass car producer is there no exception. Summarized, I'm not a strong believer that Porsche squeezed every potential out of their engines but it might be right that quick wins are hard to find.