I've been doing some extensive research on 996TTs over the past couple of months as I'm considering getting into one. I'm a current Supra owner (no plans to sell) looking to add this to my collection.

Having said that, and coming from a Supra background where I have a basic single turbo setup (74mm, all the supporting mods, AEM tuned by me, RPS C/C twin disk) and the car can run mid-high 130s all day long with zero reliability issues, I'm wondering what is truly achievable with a P-car in the same street trim. Now, to clarify, although I do take care of my cars, I do like to DRIVE them...and this means more than Sunday drive-- plenty of highway races, runs at the strip, and the occasional track day (with the boost turned down of course to keep the heat under control under sustained lapping).

From what I'm gathering, building a 996TT to the mid 130s level shouldn't be too difficult, nor would it require going into the engine, and be pretty reliable for my uses? The only gotcha seems to be that there are very limited tuning choices and its either send the stock ECU off or take it to someone like Boost Logic for HKS VPRO install/tune so adjustments can be made later.

My supra has given me virtually zero problems at this power level, and my intention is to build a P-car that can do mid 130s and maybe one day 140 traps. What would it take realistically, and what is possible on pump gas from a trap perspective?

What I'm gathering is the 996TT is a virtually bullet proof platform, no issues with oil/cooling on tracks and can be built to 600whp/700whp pretty easily and reliably.

Any thoughts/info would be appreciated.

Thanks for your time.

 

600-700 AWHP reliably? maybe on a dynojet

I think you're pushing it a bit. the general thought is that 700 crank HP is reliable.

Are you planning on running race gas all the time?

 

for what your looking for the best route is going to be a set of gt3076 variant turbos blow through intake and big intercoolers. thats not cheap though looking 20-25k all said n done with fuel system and clutch.

this is stock heads/engine internals stock transmission and axles just bolt ons and clutch

youll trap higher 130's fairly easy

 

All of the info below applies to stock motors:

With a bolt-on K-24/18G setup (fuel, intake, exhaust, ICs and turbos), you can trap mid-130's all day long pretty easily. With GT30's or larger sized turbos and the same bolt-ons, you can trap 140+.

600 whp is extremely easy to get out of these cars, and 700+ isn't much more difficult. You'll need a clutch for both.

As far as fuel; a few people have hit 650-700rwhp on pump gas without meth, but it's not the norm. Most guys are running race gas, pump with meth, or a combinaton of the two at those levels.

Prices will be much higher than what you'd pay for a Supra for similar power, but I imagine you are already expecting that.

 

Put a set of K24/18Gs or Alpha28s on the car, with a proper tune and good clutch, and the only problems you'll have is wondering why you still own the Supra when all it does is sit in the garage.

These cars are dreams to drive, and on race gas you can make 550-600whp no problem AWD, a huge different in comparison to the Supra. It can actually be a bit cheaper to mod the 996tt than the Supra up to these basic levels because so much of the stock components can be used.

 

Thanks for the info folks.

Wes et al. -- is it realistic to have a 130mph pump gas / 140mph race gas car from the K24/18gs or Alpha28s reliably on the stock motor? I'm less interested in dyno numbers and more interested in achievable trap speeds really. I've seen numbers all over the place when searching and I'm assuming some of this is from the recent tuners such as Titan/BL/etc entering the market and utilizing their 2JZ knowledge in this platform and pushing previously thought "limits".

What boost / power levels are people open tracking these mildly modified cars? Also, are there any oil cooling / engine cooling / oil starvation issues that need to be addressed or are these cars bulletproof in this arena? I've done some searching and found very little information on these topics, so I'm assuming there just aren't any issues.

 

Ha ha. Amazingly, these high numbers are mostly coming from old, outdated porsche tuners that apparently don't how to tune cars.

I went 10.65 @ 136 with a 5 year old K24/18G setup at only 1.3 BAR in my old 996TT at 600rwhp. With the new I/Cs that are available and updated tuning methods (from those same outdated Porsche tuners who are using outdated Bosch motronics), I could have trapped 140 easy with the exact same setup with more boost. My current car on pump gas is faster than my old car ever was on race gas and surprisingly it was tuned/built by guys that have never wrenched on a Supra in thier lives.

No issues at the levels you are talking about.

 

I'm sure there are many, many capable tuners. My only point is that as time goes, people push the cars harder, beyond what was previously thought as safe, and new envelopes are opened. Its a LOT easier for shop that has hundreds of hours R&D work in FI engines to pick up another stout platform and push the development there. That's all I was getting at. When you do a search for power combinations etc, you tend to notice that as time goes on the cars just get faster, and faster on average. More boost, more development, etc. I apologize and did not mean to offend any one by that statement, and re-reading it I can totally see how it comes off.

It sounds like my goals are very achievable on this platform with basic upgrades. Thanks for the info. Sounds like you've had a nice history of cars there judging by your sig as well. Kinda OT- but what are your thoughts on the C6Z after owning that and the P-car? Its a consideration of mine actually.

 

eh... nm... Stick to your roots of who you use.

 

I think the Z is a really great car. 'Especially' with light mods. With basic bolt-ons, it's fast and still very reliable.

I probably went a bit too far with my old one and thus crossed over into the area of unreliability. I ended up having to get a built motor, built tranny, and a built rear-end to safely handle the power I was making. All things I wouldn't have needed for a P-car at the same power level.

All in all, I believe Porsches are better cars, but bang-for-the-buck, the Z06 is very hard to beat. I've actually considered getting another one from time to time, but not replace my GT2 with. Rather, to compliment it.

 

Coming from a Supra, you're in for a treat...and I echo the comments that you'll probably just generally enjoy driving the car more so overall (compared to the Supra). Porsches are real drivers cars, even the "cruiser" 996TT. After nearly 10 years of owning Supras, I have zero regrets about making the switch...but still love Supras very much.

 

Steve, I know you were a weight reduction/tracking mad man with your Supra. How do you find a 996TT in that regard?

 

There are tremendous weight loss opportunities with the 996TT, particularly if you are willing to consider going RWD with it. However, the car is so good the way it is that I don't find myself quite so obsessed about removing things from it. That, and the costs are much higher than in the world of Supras!

Check out the sticky thread in this very sub-forum showing the weight loss potential of the 996TT for lots of great ideas.

 

+1

I made the switch about a year ago. I do still love supras, but there really is no comparison when it comes to the joy of driving. This will be a shock to you, but in a p-car, you can actually go into boost hard, while turning without having to drift it thru the turn.

All of that being said, I am now looking for another Supra to park under the 996TT in my garage.

 

and i was about to post your threads from supraforums