The Ultimate "Mod" thread for newbs

Hey all Good morning! Well, I got the 996. Now is the time for tuning. My goal is the ultimate expression of a '99 996. That would be for me, a street drivable track car. Essentially, a Clubsport version. Lightweight, fast with an incredible ability to corner. So, I ask you all. Let's list the best mods available (in your own opinion) for those newbies (like me) out there who are just starting up on their own project. Here are the list of Mod Topics (feel free to add): Intake / Intake Manifold - Engine breathing Exhaust Engine Misc. Suspension Safety Wheels Body Aerodynamics Misc. (interior trim, doodads, etc.) Thanks all! I look forward to the posting the final list! -Chad

Track time with the car stock is most important before changing suspension and tires.

Sell your current car and buy GT3 and avoid all the aggravation of upgrading your car. From what I can tell, that would address all of these mods! I have a few of these, but just read about most of them. For what its worth, I agree with Justin and will not upgrade suspension and other things until I have some stock track time. Intake / Intake Manifold - Engine breathing Fabspeed Coldair intake !. Fabspeed manifolds Exhaust Fabspeed (sounds great, thats about it) Others like: GHL Porsche (has a switch to make it quite!) Ruf $$$ Engine Misc. Supercharger X 51 factory package (essentially an engine rebuild) $12-15K after install Suspension People rave about the PSS-9, getting it installed next spring/summer There are two factory options as well aka ROW suspension KW -- Stainless steel RUF -- Sway bars, appears the factory GT3 bars are the preference. Safety Roll cage 5 point harness Fire extinguisher and mount (required if your going to track your car) Wheels Eh, personal choice. Body Aerodynamics Factory aerokit Ruf Aero Kit, my favorite Misc. (interior trim, doodads, etc.) Short Shifter (if you don't have one, get one!!!) Pedals (better grip, heal/toe, a little bling) RUF Look here for an idea of what most of this costs and other info. http://www.carnewal-europe.com/main.htm http://www.weissach.com/ruf_parts_de...id=r9650050550 http://www.fabspeed.com/ http://www.kwsuspensions.com/products.htm https://rennlist.com/tequip/index.htm http://www.schatzmotorsport.com/GT3Products.htm

Keep your car!, You just got it. I agree with Chris's mod list. You shpuld track the car 1st before suspension work. Exhaust and a BM short shift are mandatory now!

how much money do you want to **** away? if you're serious about 'tuning', you can forget the interior "doodads" body kits and the like. imo, the best return on the $ is swaping out the suspension for the Row m030 or preferably the x74--both porsche parts. any mods involving the engine or 'bling' will give you very limited ROI. and since it's '99, better stash some $ away for the eventual repairs

I would like your opinion on the possible increase in wear and tear to components due to BM s.s., I know it's an amazing mod., but I sure wouldn't want it without knowing the tolerance of gear components to the new mod. Thanks.

Thanks all. I do most of my own work to my cars. All my Porsches included. Maybe when I retire from my daily grind, I'll become a independant mechanic. I just dig working on these things. Chad

Chad good that your a DIYer. IMO most of the mods to the engine are a waste of money. There really is not that much to be gained so you can forget about exhaust, headers, intake ect. I would only put mufflers like PSE Fabspeed or GHL because the 996 is too quite. The only real HP gains either getting a blower or get the x51 kit. The x51 kit for the 3.4 is sold through PAP at a reasonable cost, but it involves lots of work as it replaces intake, exhaust, heads, cams. It is listed as only a 25HP upgrade, but I'm told it really is under estimated and its more like 40 HP. I'm a little wary of a blower because IMO any boost to a 11.3:1 engine is not a good thing. Your best bang for the buck is suspension mods. The pss9 is good, but if you don't want to adjust a suspension you can't go wrong with the X74 factory kit or the m030 but its a little soft for real track work. I think for aero mods go with the factory kit as it actually can add increased resale value compared to after market kits. As far as the other cosmetic stuff its up to you as your the owner.

Chad, I love the idea of building a 996 Clubsport. Here would be my approach. First, you need to shed some weight. How much depends on where you start but you should be able to get to car to around 2950 lbs. A few ideas. Remove rear seats Remove rear carpeting and sound proofing. Replace with light trunk carpet. Remove spare tire and tools. (someone will now warn you that it's an integral part of the crash system which is BS) Swap seats for something lighter. GT3 if you're rich, SPGs if you're not. Swap the exhaust for something lighter or get rid of the mufflers all together. Now that you're addicted to losing weight, keep going. There is no end to places to remove weight. Next, improve the suspension. Forget M030 and x74. You will want H&Rs, PSS9s or dual adjustables like Motons or JRZs. It all depends on how much you want to spend and how stiff you want the car. My choice for your application would be Moton Clubsports. Spring rates will vary depending on how much you value your kidneys. Now that you are lighter and can go around corners you should beef up your safety gear. Forget the roll-cage unless you plan to wear a helmet. I would go with a roll-bar. DAS Sport makes a nice one. I would add a 6 point if you plan to track a lot. You now have a great street/track car. If you want to improve the on-track performance you will want to put some better pads in the brakes. I like Pagid orange in front and blacks in back. You can use these on the street but they don't stop very well until they get hot. There are several vendors that sell LSDs. Guard makes a good one. For areo, I don't think you can beat the factory kit. It looks good and works really well on the track. If you've got some serious cash left, I would slap on a SC. If not, I would leave the engine alone. (see comment about adding exhaust to save weight above. NO PSE) As for dudads, a short shifter is nice but not necessary. As for other stuff, remember it's a Clubsport. Less is more. Just my 2 cents worth. Jim

JimB - thanks!! BTW - Do you know Joe Rothman? I think I have seen you in some of his club race videos from Brainard (sp?). I couldn't agree more with your thoughts on weight, etc. I want to keep the power as is, with maybe a boost in power from small mods. (exhaust, intake, etc.) I think this endeavor is going to be exciting. I want to do it right! Clean, fast and tight. Thanks for the input. Greatly apprecaited. C.

Sure I know Joe. Hopefully he showed you video of me passing him rather than the other way around. Joe can make that car fly. Good luck with your project. Email me if I can ever be of help. Jim

Justin, I'd agree completely if I was a total noob to track driving. Thankfully, that I am not. I have owned 3 previous P-cars and tracked'em all. My last car was a 1998 BMW M3 coupe with about 11K in track goodies. I loved passing more powerful cars. Many times, after the run they would walk over to me and ask, "What do you have in there?" With a big grin , I would say..."300hp and a sweet suspension." Thanks for the input Justin. I know you are trying to be of help. I do appreciate that. cheers, Chad

noob...boob...what's the difference?