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4K views 15 replies 7 participants last post by  Voyager6 
#1 ·
Anyone turbo'd their 981 yet? If so views on sound and performance and any problems please. Thanks
 
#2 ·
I PM'd TPC about their kit, and I'm still interested, but I am still on the fence. I wanted to get it done for this track season, but then I realized that I'm still a pretty big newbie out there and the extra power might get me into trouble. So, I want to sink a little more money on myself as a driver before I add lots more power to the mix. Hopefully by then there will be some more news about the kit around here.

That said, there have been mixed feelings about their kits for the 987, but, while there have certainly been some outliers, I feel as though overall people have been pretty satisfied.
 
#3 ·
I would very strongly recommend against a turbo kit if you plan on tracking your car.
 
#4 ·
I don't track mine but like to drive quick where appropriate and once a year a group of us do a 2 week drive through the Alps in Europe where the cars get pushed hard for 2 to 3 hours per day. I'm still undecided but think the looks, handling and chassis deserve more power. My issue is I've had nothing but bad look since I bought my first Porsche. This is my second as the first had that many faults they gave me a new one and don't want to be back and forth to the garage constantly again
 
#5 ·
With a turbo kit, you immediately invalidate your entire drivetrain warranty. If you ever have a problem with the engine, transmission, or other other part of the drive system, you are on the hook for it out of your own pocket. The engines alone are about $20,000 and you could easily find yourself with a blown engine if something goes wrong with the tune.

Part of the reason why not many people have turbo kits for this car is because not many folks are wanting to spend that much money just to put their engine at risk and forfeit their warranty.

So long as you're not driving at 100% for extended periods of time, a turbo kit for this car is a good way for a power boost, but its expensive and comes with some caveats.
 
#6 ·
The cheapest way to get a turbo is to buy a 718. You'll get a warranty and a factory tested turbo installation. You could wait for the GTS versions to come out or even get on a list for the Spyder/GT4
 
#7 ·
Very strange things to say. Cheapest way to get a turbo is to spend £60000? And still have less bhp than I have now. If the idea was to just get a turbo I would take the one off my van and put it on the passenger seat. The purpose is to give the car the performance it deserves. waiting a couple of years for a gt4 will do me no good right now and would still be under 400bhp.
 
#8 ·
IF a turbo is what you want and when I say this I mean in your current Porsche then why not check out the TPC kit? The spec says 100 additional HP... so for you'd be running at least 430HP, that enough?
 
#9 ·
Would rather have na car but apparently around 375bhp is the most you can get without a turbo. Been watching the development of tpc turbo for about 2 years and they can get 530-550 with methanol injection. Was just asking if anyone had done this yet. By the sound of things my best bet is to wait till I can afford a more exotic car. Peoples views seem to be it can be very risky. Spent a week with my mate in his supercharged 4.2 v8 Audi s4 with 550bhp and he had to fix it 3 times so I'm becoming less interested in turboing/supercharging
 
#12 ·
Hi Mark,

I was waiting to see what others said on this thread as I was mulling over similar thoughts. I've been wanting more torque and power but not wanting a 718 either, been mulling chip tunes, turbos etc.. Anyhow I did a bit of web searching on TPC and peoples results. Obviously the internet would be most vocal about negative vs positive reviews. As someone mentioned there were a few people complaining about engine issues or other part failures or problems. Despite that TPC claims a fairly decent number of people happy with their kits. However from my talking with other people and friends I would be cautious. This isn't to say anything about about TPC specifically...all of my info was more generic, even other brands of cars. It's just that from what I have gathered engines that are not designed for forced induction don't always last so long when turbo is added to their naturally aspirated setup. It generally sounded to me like most people were of the opinion that it's isn't a matter of if a FI converted NA engine or component will fail, but more a matter of when.

I'm not any sort of engine expert but that's just generally what I have come across in talking to people who have experiences with cars. It's certainly a cost effective way to add a ton of HP quickly but after my investigation I decided it wasn't for me as I would want to keep my car long term. Just seemed risky to me. Parts could fail here and there as they aren't designed for those limits. etc...

My advice if you are set on getting more power out of your existing car would be to do an engine swap to a larger displacement but still NA flat 6 porsche engine. Basically similar to just making your car gt4 like or beyond.... From what I can tell BGB Motorsports in Florida is a good spot to get an engine swap done. It's not cheap. But would likely be the best way to get something that will last and get you more power. They can actually drop a larger 3.8L engine in... should be what you are looking for I am guessing. The flip side to this is of course is that it is invasive, non reversible, costly and will certainly void any warranties. At some point you have to ask if it is worth it to do a swap vs. just buy another car entirely. Plus like a turbo addition it is likely to remove value from your car should you sell it unless you can find the right buyer.

Anyhow here is a link to BGB website with some info: 3.8 Cayman Engine Conversion

Side note...if you have an S or GTS 3.4L model now like me, the cost to swap is actually a few k more as the 2.7L engine has a higher resell value than the 3.4 to BGB...go figure... just fyi.

If you do turbo your car I'd be curious to hear how it lasts over time...

PS: Does your techart front end include the techart front splitter or was that a different one added? Be curious to see any pics... One of these days I'd love to add some techart bits... still saving the $...

Good Luck!
Michael
 
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#14 ·
I'm not very good with technology. There was supposed to be pictures on that last post. I used to use imgur but it no longer works so not sure how to get photos on. Will try work it out when I have more time. Or you can look on my Facebook timeline and photos. Mark Anderson in Huddersfield UK. My car is my avatar on there as well. There are pictures and videos of our recent Alps trip.
 
#16 ·
Just a few thoughts about a turbo.

Turbos work best at lower compression ratio. The 991.1 turbos run about 9.5:1. The 987 engines ran 12.25:1 and the 91 engines run 12.5:1. This limits boost before knocking and other bad things happen.

The cylinder wall coatings on a 981 are alusil. Porsche used Nikasil on the 991 Turbos as it is stronger. The new 991.2 and 718 turbos use a sputtered steel coating, far superior to either.

Second, the piston rings are soft to not scratch the cylinder wall coating. The extra heat tends to soften the rings.

My personal feeling is that if you want the engine to last with a turbo, the engine needs to be built to handle the loads.


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