Recent changes by Porsche to 05/06 engines.
The changes were not to the compression or to the displacement but to its efficiency. The camshafts and their operation were drastically changed in 2003. Their were other changes for a total increase then of 6kw. The other 15kw evolved in the 987 from the Motronic 7.8 with faster processor speeds up to 40Mhz and memory of 1Mb. This translates into faster corrections and mapping of the engine management. The fuel injectors were also upgraded along with the intake system and exhaust. When you put all of this together you get this increase in KW (KiloWatts) .
In general there is not much you can do to gain more power with your engine. The bolt on after-market air intakes,exhausts and chip upgrades do little and often lower your power. Should any of this been that easy then Porsche wouldnt have to spend millions for product research and development. These products that show power gains by Dyno testing are all in the area of error. I could change spark plugs in an engine and Dyno it 3 different times and most likely show a gain of 3-6kw on one of them. I could now use this to sell my product and say that you can gain this amount in power by using these spark plugs. I only used spark plugs as an example. An air-freshener inline with the intake stream would have worked also. Perhaps pine scented?
Scott Slauson - PCA WebSite - 12/4/2005
I tend to agree with Slauson. We know that Porsche will increase horsepower as time goes on but it will not be with some easy add on. 30hp increases with magic chips fall into the Easter Bunny catergory to me. But we all know that there will be plenty of aftermarket stuff on offer and just as many owners whose butt dyno confirm their success. Buyer beware.
Well I'd really like Mr. Slauson to explain a 30+ HP gain in my old
Boxster
S as shown on the Dyno from the mods I made, that is certainly NOT within the range of 'error' but there were real tangible gains. There is simply no way that a 1999 3.4L 996 engine puts out more HP WITHOUT varioram plus than a 2006 3.4L WITH varioram plus and other subsequent improvements without some 'detuning' and it is this detuning that should be easily overcome with the Cayman S aftermarket goodies.
Now I do agree that most aftermarket companies tend to report only best case scenario peak gains in their marketing materials.
Very interesting thread... I read that on the PCA site last month, too.... but he's answering a question from someone asking if he can tweek his 2002
Boxster
S engine to get the 2006 hp figure, and he's explaining the evolution of the engine from 2002-2006... so this is taken a little out of context.
K-man S - this would all depend on what you did to your engine to get the horsepower gains you mention. The 1999 996 engine put out 296 hp according to official specs, and actually did have varioram, but not varioram plus. Also, from what I understand, the varioram system is designed more for getting a wider and more flat torque curve than for increasing peak horesepower, although it does to that too. My guess is, with the right tweaks - ECU, varioram plus, variable intake manifold, higher compression ratio, etc. the 3.4L could probably put out as much as 350 hp if they wanted it to, maybe more.
brad
I would tend to agree with Brad to a point, the 3.4 liter should develop at least 340 bhp, and I refuse to believe that Porsche can't do it. Likely they will never do that for consumer with the 3.4 normally aspirated, because it enters into the territory of "race prepped = hand grenade". There are warranties to be supported. Nope, I'd wager Porsche will only increase power substantially in the 987 C7S when they choose to increase power by going first to a 3.6, and then finally the 3.8 liter motor. The stock crate motor 3.8 liter would be understessed powering a Cayman S, likely having a longer trouble free life (see RUF), providing a nice-round 365 bhp. The RUF supercharger is the only way that our first year Caymans will get a significant power boost...80 bhp additional for a theoretical total of 375bhp for about $20K, process takes about two weeks in Dallas. It's a pretty complex modification, down to the short block I'm told, hardly a bolt-on garage project. I was also told by Ruf that chips, cats, intakes, and pipes would not produce a noticeable power improvement, and would cost nearly $10K. They're big on the supercharger, I'm thinking that way too.
