Hi everyone, I just joined this group after enjoying reading some of the forums. I own a 997.1 '05 that I am looking to upgrade in power. I am thinking at intake (I like the fabspeed competition), ECU (I saw softronic is very popular and well rated) and eventually exhaust and pipes (not sure what's best). Are these the best choices? I am looking for approx +50hp and to spend not more than $3-$4k. Which is the best upgrade available? Welcome suggestions please. Also, is this going to affect the life of my engine? Thanks to all

 

That is definitely going to be the best way to get some easy HP. If you wanted the most power you would have to get an exhaust that eliminates the cats. PM me if you were interested and I can get you a package deal for exhaust/intake/ECU tune.

 

200 cell high flow cats from AWE or the like, OEM X51 headers or similar, 83mm IPD plenum and GT3 throttle body, plus a tune. If you look around you get them for about $1K plus or minus for each one. This is the setup I went with. The tune is from VRTuned (Vivid). Couldn't be happier with the setup.

I'd also add Fister/Gundo modified mufflers to the list for sound only, no HP improvements, to complete everything.

 

You are not going to get +50hp with $3-4K, your car might sound better and be a bit lighter but there isn't much hp to be gain with simple bolt-on mods.

 

You can gain a good amount with an ECU flash/bolt ons

 

The only way to get a significant increase in HP is the addition of forced induction.

There are many mods that I would prioritize over this, but that's my opinion. You have to ask yourself about you goals for the car, how you'll use it, etc.

 

My opinion, get a flash to optimise power band and delivery, and spend the other $2k on cosmetic mods such as steering wheel etc.

 

Flash is definitely going to be the biggest single HP upgrade outside of forced induction

 

50+ hp, is only going to happen with a supercharger or a turbo kit, and if you want sound then exhaust, and of course a short shift kit. After over 40 + years of taking cars apart and making them faster (and owning over 400 cars myself including 40 Porsche's), adding bolt on mods is a suckers game. You buy this, then you buy that, and gee you just spent 10K and you will not come close to what a supercharger or turbo will give you. Nothing against the vendors on here but if anybody tells you that they can duplicate a supercharger or a turbo on a 997 NA engine with an ECU flash and exhaust they are selling you a fairy tale. Of course not many people are as crazy as I am and spend more to modify a car than it cost brand new, but it was supposed to be my final car project. Do yourself a favor start driving your car without the traction controls on, you just might find it is pretty thrilling just as it is.

 

yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, yep and yep. oh and YEP.

 

I don't think any vendor is claiming that bolt ons will get you to forced induction levels. But to say that mods like exhaust/intake/tune is a suckers game is wrong. You WILL see gains, especially with a tune.

 

You could sell your car and get an S - 35HP right there. Best part is you still have a stock car.

 

MrPrice]50+ hp, is only going to happen with a supercharger or a turbo kit, and if you want sound then exhaust, and of course a short shift kit. After over 40 + years of taking cars apart and making them faster (and owning over 400 cars myself including 40 Porsche's), adding bolt on mods is a suckers game. You buy this, then you buy that, and gee you just spent 10K and you will not come close to what a supercharger or turbo will give you. Nothing against the vendors on here but if anybody tells you that they can duplicate a supercharger or a turbo on a 997 NA engine with an ECU flash and exhaust they are selling you a fairy tale. Of course not many people are as crazy as I am and spend more to modify a car than it cost brand new, but it was supposed to be my final car project. Do yourself a favor start driving your car without the traction controls on, you just might find it is pretty thrilling just as it is.


I have had many cars, spent money on a lot of advertised mods, gains were so small, the normal driver would not notice. The factory did a pretty darn good job on the engines performance.
Take the advice MR Price has said, and don't look back!

 

The only way you to add 50HP or more is through boosting. No disputes here, completely agree. Going to boost via turbos or superchargers puts you in the $10-15K range installed but power increases to +100HP or more (30%).

The NA M97 engine is fairly well optimized for power in its stock configuration. Yes it's possible to add some power with NA bolt ons, but not a lot. NA bolt ons add maybe 10% power at best (+35HP). There really is nothing you can do to land between the NA range or the boosting range. OP's question was 40-50HP, more than NA bolt ons can do but less than what boosting can do.

Porsche makes an NA OEM X51 power adder kit, also originally sold as an option. For the 997.1 S series power goes from 355HP to 381HP. That's +26HP (7.3%) for about $12K installed (ouch!). The kit includes a larger diameter throttle body, larger plenum, intake manifolds, dual port airbox, and larger ported exhaust manifolds. Porsche increases the amount of airflow to the engine and removes airflow restrictions on the exhaust side to add 7.3% more power.

The biggest NA aftermarket gains are by mimicking Porsche's airflow increases of the OEM X51 kit - more airflow means more power for the M97 engine. 200 cell high flow cats on the exhaust side and a tune have a huge impact on power alone, but adds noise to your exhaust. Add the same larger diameter throttle body as the OEM X51 kit with a better flowing plenum from IPD on the intake side, then add the X51 style exhaust headers, and you can meet or exceed the +26HP Porsche supplies with their kit. How much is debatable but it's reasonable to say still less +35HP (10%). The upside here is going aftermarket you get OEM X51 like performance or slightly better at less than half of the cost. But you are still at sub-10% increase in HP with bolt ons. Pretty expensive way to go for a 10% increase in power. And still less than the 40-50HP the OP asked about.

OP - you will not get the power gains you want for your budget. But you can get halfway to two-thirds of the way there with bolt ons and your budget.

 

+1 semicycler