Best place to start adding power....

Quick info; 01' c2,6-spd My dad is looking to give his c2 an edge and I was looking for recommendations on where to add more power first;exhaust,intake,change the throttle body,headers & so on? Thanks in advance.

man... this is a "SEARCH" question... lots of thing you can do, but noticable differences will be difficult. i think with the exhaust, chip, headers, you'll gain around 25-30hp at the wheel, and this will cost you... the other thing flying around and looks to have some promise is the Plenum by RSS..... that one tends to yield a nice number......... again, check with the SEARCH and you'll find some things here........ best bet, do nothing and save up for a TURBO.....

I think you will generally find that if you simply saved the money you spent on upgrades you could probably just sell the car and take the saved cash and get "more car". I.e a 996 TT or something along those lines. Maybe even a 997S. Seems horsepower gains come at quite a $$ for these cars.

IMO, the best "edge" you can get is to upgrade the driver . Get some track seat time or instruction, then upgrade car accordingly. But, if you just want to spend money to win some kind of pissing contest, then just buy a super charger, big reds, PSS9, aerokit, MPSC as a start. Oh, there is only one magic bullet to getting more HP: the "wad of cash" bullet. -td

nahh... go get a GIAC chip installed and then some 200 cell hi-flow cats from Cargraphic... then throw away your stock 18 "twist" rims and replace them with some champion RG5 rims... the weight reduction in the rims combined with the ECU upgrade and hi-flow cats will make the car much quicker than it is right now... exhaust you can do last... but it is only a "sound" mod... you wont' get more than 4-5 hp for exhaust 1. GIAC upgrade 2. K&N Panel filter 3. 200 cell hi-flow cats 4. Champion RG-5 Rims 5. aftermarket exhaust...

guys it's nothing new... it costs $$$$ period to up the hp/tq on a naturally aspirated ride. so make sure if you get one you're happy with the power from the factory. if you're an n/a loyalist like me, get the Gt3 or better yet the CGT.

PorscheSmile is right, put the money towards a TT....as a matter of fact...I went and drove an 02 TT this morning....now I wish I had saved all the money I put into all those mods and applied them to the absolutely stunning TT I drove this AM. I'm salivating like a Pavlovian dog.

I have spoken to many people about this same issue and all say the same thing. There is really nothing out there, with the exception of a SC or the X-50 package, that will give you noticeable power increase. A SC will cost you about 10k to 12k and then there is the question about durability. The X-50 upgrade from Porsche is extremely expensive and will only add a few ponies. I agree that getting the most of these cars starts with learning how to drive them. Once you have mastered that, get a GT3 or TT if you wish to keep it in the Porsche familiy

Best place to start adding power.... hmmm the pocket? lol sorry couldn't resist

Intake - plenum - throttle body - ecu tuning - headers - cats - mufflers then ssk, suspension, wheels

996 Turbo is a hell of a car... but a 2 wheel drive porsche is a lot more fun around those corners!!!

I would start with pair of good straight through mufflers and an intake. Don't expect any gains from headers and the verdict is still out on plenums. Can't comment about ECU programming since no one on the board ever posts a dyno. For real world results, I gaines 22 RWHP (from 270 to 292) on a Dynojet adding a pair of Fabspeed mufflers and a K&N 63-series intake. Or you just just have the best of both worlds and get a GT2.

Supercharger. Everything else is a waste of money. (Based on HP per dollar ratio)

This is probably true, if "adding power" means power you can feel in normal driving. IMHO, the 'breathing mods' (intake, exhaust) give you a little at the top end, but actually make the car more docile at lower rpms. Especially true of headers. You really need to know what you want before you mod. And I say that as someone who did the intake and exhaust. For how I drive, the tradeoff was worth it.

Thanks for the input!

Plenum, intake and exhaust. The plenum really made i difference for me. Car is freaking fasttttt..... now!!!! It's like a totally different animal with the plenum. Don't recommend the K&n intake though. GIves me a cel every 1000 miles. I have a dyno-scan tool so i just clear it. Quite troublesome, but bearable.

which model year of 996 do you have? are you chipped as well?

I've a '00 C2 with the K&N CAI, GHL exhaust and RSS Plenum. Had to replace/upgrade my MAF to a '02 post one with the CAI and no issue since then (5k miles). CAI and GHL are for the sound, Plenum for the 5-7k RPM acceleration - I always end up in the rev limiter since I installed the Plenum. The car got very fast!

I have an 02 and no chip. I'm debating it, but can't see myself forking over 1k for a software upgrade. Plus i'm seriously considering selling my car and going with an 02 turbo. Gotta make some good calls in mlb then we'll see..... But anyone who hasn't got a plenum yet.... I highly recommend that you invest in one cause it sure does what it says it does!! No dyno's to prove, but the pure joy i get every time i drive it now is enough for me...