996 Upgrades

[Darren]

smankow wrote:

I was a little torn as to where to post this thread - DE, water cooled or ask the tech chair. I opted for the water cooled.

I've already implemented many safety features into my car (roll bar, seats, harnesses, HANs, etc. ) and some minor performance ones, too (exhaust and H&R Sway Bars).

Now I'm trying to determine which performance upgrade offer the "best bang for the buck" and at what point they should be considered. I am planning on keeping the car streetable. And, although I don't really envision Club Racing at this time, I certainly would want to ensure that these upgrades wouldn't be detrimental to classes. Here are a few (in no particular order). What else should be considered:

1. suspension - PSS9's, JIC Cross, KW Variant, etc. [/*]
   
2. brakes - brembo big brake kits [/*]
   
3. camber plates - yes/no (not looking for "extreme" camber) [/*]
   
4. steel brake lines [/*]
   
5. Rotor upgrade - AP Racing, etc. [/*]
   
6. Lite weight flywheel [/*]
   
7. RS Clutch [/*]
   
8. GT3 Cup brake ducts (or something similar)

Feel free to offer suggestions, including necessity and possible order.

[/*]

1. Suspension -- PSS9 is ok, but I wish I would have gone to something more aggressive. I run no mufflers on the street, so take that for what it's worth. To race with these you need to re-valve and re-spring them, which at the added cost you could have probably gotten a double adjustable kit with streetable springs. Whatever you do isn't going to be ideal for the street or the track because you want a compromise setup. I'd talk to Larry when you are ready to find alignment settings and see if he has some advice on a good compromise.

2. Brake upgrads -- Will be wasted if you want to race. Your calipers look almost brand shiney new, so I don't think you are making too much heat in them. Take a look at the white Porsche lettering on some of the other 996's in the club.

3. Camber plates -- Required IMHO for PSS9 or more aggressive struts. The factory strut mounts don't cut it. Also you can't get enough camber with just the PSS9 to make it worth even having those struts.

4. SS Brake lines -- I use them but probably not necessary. Kam doesn't and he has had no issues. The pedal already has a very solid feel.

5. Rotors -- I wish I could find some without the annoying holes -- they just make the rotors crack, and since I don't clean them out every run, they obviously fill back up and are then useless. I'd like to try some solid or slotted rotors, I think these are available but I haven't spend the time to track them down.

6. Flywheel -- expensive to do, but worth it if you are doing the clutch anyway.

7. Upgrade Clutch -- I have a Sachs upgraded clutch, it was a kit with the pressure plate. It's noisy as heck, but it seems to grip a bit better. Going back I think I would have rather put in a solid racing type clutch -- this one still has the anti-shock springs in it.

8. Brake ducts -- Like I mentioned, several people have been doing this, though the kid from Weltmeister is very very expensive ($750) and even then to have someone put it all together is not going to be cheap. Come check out my trick setup at the track