Vivid Racing Superchargers Project 996 - Full Details Inside

Article on VividRacing.com is HERE A long time ago I came across TPC superchargers and wonder what their deal was. They reappeared to me when I was at SEMA in 2005 and I saw the supercharger kit in person on a yellow 997. At one point I said I was totally satisfied with my 996 and I would not touch it. I got the bug and wanted more power. With the cost of Turbo 996�s still up there, I wanted another solution, I wanted to do something that most people don�t see, and I wanted to show what Vivid Racing is capable of doing in the Porsche world. Making a call to Mike Levitas of TPC put Vivid Racing in motion with a project. Shortly there after a 996 Supercharger Kit appeared and the install process was ready to begin. The idea behind the kit is good. Using a roots style supercharger similar to OEM�s like Ford, gives for good consistant power. The liquid to air intercooler was engineered well and the overall packaging was on point. Enter Vivid Racing� After doing some pulls on our Mustang dyno, our car made about 230 rear wheel horsepower. The supercharger kit was expected to add about a 100 horsepower. Diving into the car and removing components and installing the kit was definitely a TEDIOUS task. Like most aftermarket parts, there is always a little something you have to do, and that is why you pay to have it installed correctly . 95% of the install went good. Their cooling system utilizes the factory 3rd radiator kit. We already had the 3rd radiator kit to keep the cars temps down since we are in AZ. So we utilized a PWR cooler which we side mounted as seen in our pictures. Now we have the ability of perfect engine cooling and supercharger cooling. Amongst some different tweaks we did on the install, the kit was finally shoe horned in. With a fresh oil change and some new spark plugs it was time to fire it up. We turned the key and were golden. Some revs of the engine told us that there was a supercharger that was ready to rip. Moving the car to the dyno, it was time to get some power. The piggyback ECU that is available with the kits is pretuned for 93octane. Since we run 91 octane, we needed to retune the software. This is a basic fuel controller and is very easy to adjust. Having our diagnostics software datalogging and the other laptop making the adjustments, we changed fuel and tuned the car to make 330 rear wheel horsepower on 91 octane. I have been personally running around in the car as a daily for a week now. Averaging about 88 degrees the car runs good. TPC has an upgrade piggyback ECU that offers much more control that we will switch to shortly. Once this is done we should have some new numbers. They are currently using this ECU on their 997 kit that is making well over 400 WHP. I have watched this whole process from start to finish so can answer any questions regarding the kit, fitment, performance, installation, and other costs. Check out our install photos, promo video (for fun), and if you have any questions, fastest response is to shoot me a email at [email removed] . Retail of the kit is $9995. Call for special Vivid Racing price. [phone removed] x222 CLICK HERE FOR INSTALL PHOTOS CLICK HERE FOR PROMO VIDEO CLICK HERE TO BUY TPC on VividRacing.com

That was a great article in this months Roundel about your spuercharged M3.

Thanks... M3 was NA btw

Very nice, thanks for the write up and video. I was really wondering what it sounded like since you read a lot of things about how loud it is. It seemed fine to me. So the standard kit uses the 3rd radiator kit to cool the supercharger, and you decided to go with an additional one, correct? Did you notice the temps riding higher than they were before? How much does the kit weigh? I should get that kit and then try to win this... http://www.superstreetonline.com/upc...6_time_attack/

No worries Mike, I know you were waiting. The 3rd radiator keeps the cooling fine. We ALREADY had the 3rd radiator installed working with our coolant system. Instead of reverting, we just switched to use the PWR for a cooler. We use that same cooler on our race car and we use their radiators on all our cars here.

Dan was great about answering my questions so I hope I actually buy something from him someday. I actually liked your car better when it had the LMs and the OEM aerokit even if you're forced to run spacers in the back. I'm a fan of superchargers v. turbos especially if it's aftermarket. i'm curious as to how it sounds. Good job on purchasing it and installing it. I don't understand how Vivid Racing did anything really special tho. It's just a simple supercharger install and basic tune which is a good thing... keep it simple!

dan, thanks for the write-up, she must run beautifully now.... benjamin, with LMs it is not required to run spacers like it is with wide bodies....

watch the video for sound.... BTW LM's dont require spacers. Thanks!

i stand corrected. but it sucks that you can't run them wide with the lip. the front lip and rear lip is the same is it not? i wish BBS made them fit like it does on the M3 or at least some variance front and rear. don't mean to highjack the thread.

Great job and I'm glad you finally got the muscle you have been looking for so long. I would like to also commend you on taking the time for the install pictures and the fun video and have to admit it really does move. Kudos Ps: Where did you tap in to get the power/ ground for the water pump?

just curious, you got 230 whp stock, but your site shows 292.8 for the 3.6... is there a 62.8 whp difference? any word on 0-60mph or 1/4 mile times?

Yeah, isn't 230 whp really low for the stock 3.6 (and yours wasn't completely stock)? Even on the Mustang dyno which I know reads lower?

i believe theirs is a 3.4, not a 3.6, which still leaves the question of the 62.8 whp difference

Dan, please forgive me for asking a stupid question. I am looking at buying a 2001 996 C2 tip, low mileage 25K km, and in the process I would be contemplating installing a supercharger, being in Europe I am looking at RUF or Gemballa. But a question to you as a professional, do I need to upgrade the brakes, the suspension and can the gearbox handle the extra power. The car has the same rear spoiler as yours the front one is a different on but also incorporates a third air intake for a cooler. Great sound on the car and superb video congratulations Regards ROnny

Mother - Pump is underneath car behind panels. Grounded then tapped into a Tranny wire. Dont remember which one as my tech did it. Ayaz - I have a 3.4L. TPC uses a different Dyno then us. We have a Mustang AWD dyno. Designed more for Tuning. Alot of people run on DynoJets which read big numbers. What you need to look for is the BEFORE AND AFTER. If I went and ran on the SAME dyno TPC did their test, you would probably see a 20HP difference or less. Vandereydt - Suspension is a must if you are tracking the car. A good set of PSS9 or JIC Cross coilovers along with GT3 sway bars and our Agency Power sway bar links. Drive train will be fine. Again if your tracking the car, get bigger brakes or at least do steel braided lines and better pads. Thanks for the message Ronny! Good luck.

Man I thought I would have much more interest and questions...any opinions?

Dan, I think it's cool that you marketed the product the way you did here. But it's really nothing ground breaking. Slapping on superchargers is a common thing. And the power increase is great, but nothing that will put fear into the hearts of Turbo owners. I'd figure if someone is willing to spend the kind of dough to put an SC on a Carrera regular, then they'd already pony up for a factory Turbo. The sound is too Mustang like for me. I actually love the way the N/A car with sport exhaust sounds. Just my humble $.50

what i can't get over is the TPC SC whine. it's pretty loud and not even at full load. it's actually louder than the exhaust. some ppl might like this though. JMHO

When I had my MINI, we added a CAI and drilled holes in the airbox to increase the sound of the SC whine. Pure music.

Sounds like my electric RC car.

Dan this isn't directed toward you but the price of this kit is way high. 10k for an eaton blower is ridiculous. EVERY other sports car has a kit for 1/2 that. Why does it cost so much? Because it's a "Porsche"? If it was 5k I would do it in a heartbeat. Even the Evo kit is a vortech supercharger. The vortech kits with the same exact blower is 5k for a mustang with a cooler and tuning software. Why do they cost double?

dude, it's the porsche tax. if you haven't realized this yet, ya gotta pay to play when it comes to porsche parts AND service. the increase is unbelievable. you are right, the parts themselves should be the same price as offerings for different cars, BMW, audi, civic but the porsche tuners will always blame it on development the same vfengineering vortec SC kit for the vwRS32 with basically the same SC unit is 6K and 10K for a porsche. both are giac tuned, both have VF roto molded parts yadda yadda but the porsche kit has the porsche tax included GRRRRRR ok, off of my soapbox now

Ronny, I would think that the tranny would be ok with the kit. We've done a good few Tiptronics with the EVO SuperCharger so I'd guess it'd be fine with the TPC as well? The tranny isn't the same one as in the Turbo, which is a shame, since it can take upwards of 700HP

Ok good, it's not just me. It's very frustrating because I would like to sc my car. On a positve note, Dan your car looks amazing and I like looks and sound of the blower. 434 horsepower on a 2900lb curb weight car is scratching new Z06 and Ford GT territory. 6.5 hp/wt ratio is amazing and probably so fun to drive. Plus having all that torque down low is awesome. Having some tire shredding torque in a carrera has to be a good time. I like how you have done your homework and come up with those cooling solutions. Is the intercooler air to air or air to water? BTW the black aeros with the yellow stoptechs looks so nice.

Awesome! I did not say I invented the space station, but who else is using a TPC kit??? For those that like the car, thanks!

i love your car man!

Nice project ! Love the sound of the car. The problem of charging Porsche tax is defintely with the manufacturer, not with Vivid. Their prices actually seem very competitive.

Ahh yes, the good old porsche tax!