Modifications

This topic ran once before, but now that we have more people on board, does anyone plan on the installation of power chip, BMC air filters or other reasonably simple modifications, as opposed to more substantial track modifications? Any suggestions or recommendations on chips? PS - I moved this thread to the Mods forum. K-Man S

In all honesty I plan to leave mine bone stock except for a few cosmetic items here or there. I have tried various 3rd party chips before on different Porsches and other brands.......they are always a mixed bag of good and evil and in mostcases going back to stockalwaysmade for a better running car. Most naturally aspirated Porsches are pretty much tweaked to give the best power in all situations......whereas Turbo cars can benefit nicely from chips. IMO, anything you can do to increase intake and exhaust efficiency is a better/safer bet than a chip, but with most aftermarket filters there are always trade-offs. All you have to do is look at the oil that comes out of a car with an aftermarket 'free-flow' filter and compare it to some that came out of a car running a factory filter.......you will quickly see why the other filter flows more air.........it's trapping half as much dirt! BTDT. If you look at the 'Power Kit' for the 997 you will find these additions.....all for 26HP and $16K..... Raises power output to 381 bhp. Includes modified cylinder heads, exhaust manifolds, ECU, additional radiator (only for manual transmission), carbon fiber air-cleaner housing, aluminium-intake system and sports exhaust system with pair of dual-tube tailpipes in individual design in chrome-plated stainless steel. Note: also in conjunction with Tiptronic S. So in other words its not that easy (or cheap) to get a solid, verifiable, and reliable HP gain from just a chip in N/A Porsches.

My 2000 Boxster S had the ECU reprogrammed, Headers, Sports Exhaust, and EVO Intake and dyno'd about a 30hp gain over stock. Never had any problems with it, neither does its current owner, but that being said, we all knew there was more HP in that 3.2L motor as Porsche has shown in the current configuration. I 'Know' there is more HP to be found in the 3.4L engine in the Cayman S because the first 996's rolled off the line with a 3.4L motor producing the same HP without VarioRam plus or exhaust improvements. The Cayman 3.4L should produce 310-315hp all else being equal so I'm sure we'll find a way to free up that HP either through ECU reprogram or exhaust or intake tweaking of a combination thereof. I concur Turbos get a lot more benefit though from a simple ECU change. Still, should be fun to see what the tuners can do with the Cayman!

Yes, that it will be!

All of us have seen some pretty horrible things done to Porsches in the name of more 'performance'. Unless <u>you </u>can see it on a dyno or measure it on a track with the same temps and weather conditions be careful paying for something you don't get. Tires may be the most reliable upgrade.

Thank you for the feedback. I think mine will stay stock, except swaping out the air filters for BMC.

My 01 Boxster S has ecu, headers, intake, and exhaust. I have never dynoed the car so I couldn't tell you any gains. But the sound that this car makes is alone worth every penny I spent. I have had absolutely zero problems with these mods over the last four years. I am planning on doing the same setup in my Cayman.

At what point does Porsche not warranty your car? Can you still get an aftermarket exhaust installed without voiding warranty? Intake? ECU?

I was wondering if anyone could tell me if there is any kind of modification that could bring the Cayman's 0-60 below 5.1sec and not void the warranty? Thanks Russ

Stepping on the gas and releasing the clutch at the right time will yield a 4.8 0-60 run from a factory stock Cayman S. No mods needed to achieve 5.1.

I read somewhere that the Cayman turned a 4.8sec 0 to 60 and a 181 top speed, but cannot find it anywhere. I was begining to think I imagined it. Thanks Russ

Road & Track got 0-60 in 4.8 seconds, but the top speed was est 171mph.

Yes! I just pulled out my issue and there it is, 'Zero to 60 is accomplished in 4.8 seconds and the quarter mile mark is reached in 13.3 at 106.2 mph' I guess the 181 was wishful thinking! Thanks Russ

Yeah, i guess it's really depends on the driver. But why does Porsche not advertise the 0-60 in like 4.6 sec, like many other manufacturers would do? (I heard a magazine got the 911 Carrera S to go 0-60 in 3.8 sec!) Oh well, I guess it's good to see a Manufacturer honest... Edited by - Crazy_fast on 11/10/2005 3:40:55 PM

But keep in mind that there have been rumors that Porsche detuned the Cayman because they were worried that it was going to be faster than the 997. If that is true, it would be nice to get the power that the purposely took out. I would love to see a Cayman with 325 hp to match the Carrera's motor.

B-Man, First of all welcome to the site! And yes I think we all would love to see a 325 hp Cayman, and I am sure that we will eventually. Aloha Russ

My friends performance shop is a rep for APR Tuning and he told me that when I get my car to bring it in and they will upload the factory computer information and send it in to see what they can put together for a chip. I will keep everyone posted, I just got the order date that my car will be finished on Jan 9th and figure approx 4 weeks for shipping till I actually see it. Regards, Drew

Thanks Drew! Keep us posted. Aloha Russ