Mods-Tech-DIY

‘My compliments to the chef’… kind words any enthusiast enjoys getting from a fellow fanatic. To the casual eye it’s ‘a Turbo’, still a Turbo… but the fanatic spends $5,15, 25K tuning and modding that car. The net is a product of their own personality, maybe part of what they thought the car company could-of, should-of, brought to the market.

Some mods are small tweaks & gadgets… and the other end of the list has cutting-removing body panels, pulling engines & drive lines. It’s often a gamble that tests both will & confidence of the fanatic because the result may or may not be as good as imagined… and any hope of ROI is only wishful.

The chef’s goal is, above all else, personal. The compliment is nice, but it has to be what turns your crank. A few years back, a fella at a Porsche Parade put it to me this way… ’I think you can feel good about what you’ve done if you find yourself walking away from your parked car and stealing that glance back… taking some pleasure in the view’.

Gadgets

Details help make the car

Fit-N-Finish has always been a fairly high on the priority for products from Zuffenhausen. That said, it’s a shame to cheapen that product with poorly executed accessories or mods. So… the obvious would be, avoid dangling wires, window suction cups, and crap that has no place in a great car.

The challenge for many is to make the addition seem natural and of course functional. Through the years I’ve seen some incredible ingenuity by Pcar owners. For me it’s a great challenge and part of the fun in personalizing that vehicle that is your second home.

Suspension

Project 989

One of the changes in the 993 over preceding 911s is the implementation of an all-alloy multi-arm rear suspension attached to an all-alloy subframe.

Its design was derived from the project 989, a four-door sedan which never went into production, and was later continued in the 993's successor, Type 996.

Today we still play with all the options available to us on suspension. Even with Porsche’s many variations of Electronic dampening and stability management there is still left much for the Driving Fanatic to play with to tune his/her ride. I have changed suspensions multiple times on all my cars... 1st probably back to euro or ROW hardware and settings. I’m a big fan of having control of damping and ride height... not of just throwing lowering springs on and hoping for the best.

Tuning & DYI

Buy this and get 5 more HP by tomorrow

After the 993 things got a tad more difficult to tweak, rebuild, and replace… but no fear, technology to the rescue. Today, thanks to newer ECU controlling technology from Cobb Tuning and others, there’s much that can be done without having to send your car on a carrier to a tuner.

While there’s still help from a dyno and from your good local shop, a lot can be accomplished by sharing a fresh data log via email and getting a refreshed program shot back your way. Not only does it work but as you add and upgrade the hardware you are involved in the progression… all the time monitoring the ‘vitals’ of your baby.

Wheels

The idea is not to use spacers

A frequently reoccurring topic on SixSpeed or Rennlist is wheels… people seeking help, advice and opinions. Wheels are fun and good wheels make the car more complete and more personal. I’m admittedly anal about wheels.

I feel they should complement not draw attention away from a car’s form & lines… that they should look good ‘rolling’ down a street, not just sitting in parking lot… and finally, that they should fit, both for the rubber you originally planned for the car AND for the offset your wheel arch and fender-line dictates. Good 3-piece wheels are not cheap but neither is a good pair of shoes.