Planet 9

Schwabe · #1 06-02-2009, 09:40 AM

Working in DC I could not pick it up myself in time. Wifey brought it back in a thunderstorm, I almost wiped out in 4th gear when I took it for a short spin

, had too of course.
It is definitely the thing to have for the Cayman, it will be hard to replace the car with anything else down the road. Will have to work a little more on the suspension, car feels light on the front end. TPC adjusted the little they could on my H&R coilovers, swaybars and TPC's adjustable toe-links. It is exilerating but nowhere as scary as some people are describing it, yeah it is fast and getting there faster but you are not going faster then before, just accelerating harder. It is very smooth.

Funny thing is they had huge problems getting the car to produce HP. They added 5 gallons of fresh BP (which they claim is the cleanest fuel) and without any changes and not taking the car of the dyno it jumped from 350 to 390HP. They say that Shell and Exxon have too many cleaners etc in it and that indepenent tests showed that some Shell 93 actually came out to be only 89 octane. Then further testing, they still had vibrations in the engine etc etc, could not get above 400. Then tried a new MAF and bingo 424HP at RW. Turns out they say that may MAF was for the 997, same order number but 1 digit off. Dunno, all sounds very crazy, but with the little things we found during our mods (ripped off studs in the door panels, glass under rubber door gaskets, crumbled window gaskets) I am not sure what was done to the car before I bought it, a 2006 CS with just over 600 miles, but it would not explain the wrong MAF sensor.

Anywho, I am on day 2 commuting to DC about 10 miles in the city and 40 on highway one way, but both, highway and city, take about 45 minutes each. Today MPG shows 33.3 and it is still going up, at this rate I expect pushing 40when we get to NC for RnC. My lifetime MPG on 20K miles was 22.3. niiiiiiiiiiiiiiccccce

IT IS SO OOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN .....

Exhaust is nice, not as loud as the B&B and higher, not as much low grumble, but very aggresive when you step on it and then there is the TURBO noise, the pop-off valve, and for the first time you hear the air intake LOUD AND CLEAR. Absolutely no drone, really almost too low during normal driving after you had an aftermarket exhaust but it HOWWWWWLS when you kick it

Ready for contra-dance now

the biggest question will be: What to buy next???? An old RSR or just a used Targa 4s and have TPC ooomph it up???? hmmmmmm

casualsurfer · #2 06-02-2009, 10:15 AM

wow that's great!

i thought i read somewhere that the TPC can do ~450 at the wheels?

when you say the front end is light, do you mean it's lifting during acceleration or light as in understeer while accelerating?

thanks for sharing!

Schwabe · #3 06-02-2009, 10:19 AM

light as in needing more downforce/rake on the front-end, unless braking heavy I expect I will experience definitely more understeer at this point.

You can get a boost controller which I believe could give you another 30HP.

This is what I had bought:

• TPC Cayman S Turbo Kit
• TPC adjustable toe links
• TPC Lightweight flywheel & X51 clutch package
• GT3 Cup spark plugs
• GT3 brake pads set

**prodgers** · #4 06-02-2009, 02:04 PM

Getting back to that gas thing you were talking about . I really notice a difference in performance in the Gas I use .I filled up with costo gas and my car feels slower? can that be or am I just over-analyzing.
Also what Gas station or type of gas can anyone recomend for the Best performance ?
I feel your excitement for your turbo !!!! simply awsome

***DaveN007*** · #5 06-02-2009, 03:31 PM

I am likely to get slammed for this, but...

Someone tells you that switching brands of gasoline made a 40 RWHP difference and you believe it?

Dude, spending money at a tuner shop isn't the same as selling your mind and soul to the devil. This sounds like Stockholm Syndrome. The captives start identifying with the captors. No one wants to believe that there is the possibility that they have made a mistake by handing their car over for modifications.

They owe you a better explanation than that. Are you required to only use BP gasoline now? Must you use octane boost or 100 octane fuel?

I guess they are saying that their modifications mean the car is no longer a "daily driver" kind of car? I can buy gas from Shell and my car runs fine.

Come on, guys.

Don't insult our intelligence.

casualsurfer · #6 06-02-2009, 03:38 PM

Originally Posted by DaveN007

I am likely to get slammed for this, but...

Someone tells you that switching brands of gasoline made a 40 RWHP difference and you believe it?

dude you're so gonna get raped for this

how dare you! we've all been drinking the koolaid you know

i seriously hope it wasn't TPC that said it was the gas that made a 40WHP difference...or maybe the OP had accidentally filled the tank with 87

?

BMWalsh · #7 06-02-2009, 04:38 PM

I agree with you on the scary comments. The car has a lot of power but it's not unmanageable. The new tune, however, is much smoother and makes a big difference. With my original tune the boost came on more abruptly and made you pay a lot more attention.

Are you running with stock sway bars? If so, you may need more front bar. I've got the TPC bars and it feels very well sorted to me. I am in Maryland, so PM me if you want to compare.

Schwabe · #8 06-02-2009, 05:18 PM

Yes it was TPC who said that, true or not, not matter to me. The car was there for 3 weeks so the gas may have gotten stale too, certainly the fuel brands have gotten way more dilluted then they used to, you are getting less gas then you actually pay for, for sure, and more cleaners, ethanol, and other additives. In addition you can see that also the MAF sensor was wrong, why I have no idea. The ECU constantly changed the timing back from what TPC had set it. I am not the tuner, I do not care, they worked longer and got the result they promised. Car runs super smooth, no hickups. Are you getting more HP on the wheel if you add a octane booster with say 3 points? Sure, maybe 10 or so, why would everybody else use 100 octane race fuel on the track. There is certainly a max where the octane will not improve HP depending the compression of the engine. There is also a low end what your engine can actually digest, even so the ECU will adjust to a degree. Once you have low octane, degraded fuel I am sure the effect will be more then say 10HP then if it was just 3 points lower. Who cares, stories are just that, the car runs awesome.

Suspension is H&R coil overs, H&R swaybars front and rear and TPC adjustable toe-links.

silberrosa · #9 06-02-2009, 05:50 PM

Yeah, something about gaining 40hp by changing fuel brands doesn't ring true. Has to be more to that story. However, you ultimately got what you paid for so you're happy. My guess is that the wrong MAF sensor had more to do with the outcome than different fuel. Turbo cars are a rush.

**jcriggs** · #10 06-02-2009, 06:25 PM

Congrats on the Turbo Schwabe! Look forward to seeing you again soon.

**tme110** · #11 06-02-2009, 06:39 PM

All I know is that if some point during RNC6 you car seems like it has 200 less hp it'll probably be in your head. I wouldn't worry about it. It really wouldnt make any sense to waste time seeing if someone else with an artic silver CS accidentally switched cars with you either.

**suneet** · #12 06-02-2009, 07:26 PM

You're nuts man... can't wait for a ride!

Somehow I really doubt you'll have any issue keeping up or passing me anymore on the twisties.

Kor · #13 06-02-2009, 09:22 PM

Hey guys,

My father used to work on gasoline chemistry and blend gas additives for major brands and after talking to him for 5 minutes there is a huge difference in what each company puts in their product. Basically the small guys just use straight gasoline from the refineries, but the additives and secret ingredient blends from the major companies are carefully designed by chemists, calculated, blended, and tested for performance and the best possible running engine and engine longevity. They really do put a lot of thought into it and have whole labs devoted to it. That being said my dad insists a couple brands are much better and he is pretty religious about avoiding a couple others. We are up in Canada but for those of you who are up here, I would recommend you only put Esso, Shell, and Petro in your Porsche.

Furthermore if someone tells you that a company is selling 89 octane gas as 93 that is BS, it would be illegal just for starters, and they have nothing to gain by doing that.

-KR

droy3 · #14 06-02-2009, 09:54 PM

Originally Posted by Kor

Hey guys,

My father used to work on gasoline chemistry and blend gas additives for major brands and after talking to him for 5 minutes there is a huge difference in what each company puts in their product. Basically the small guys just use straight gasoline from the refineries, but the additives and secret ingredient blends from the major companies are carefully designed by chemists, calculated, blended, and tested for performance and the best possible running engine and engine longevity. They really do put a lot of thought into it and have whole labs devoted to it. That being said my dad insists a couple brands are much better and he is pretty religious about avoiding a couple others. We are up in Canada but for those of you who are up here, I would recommend you only put Esso, Shell, and Petro in your Porsche.

Furthermore if someone tells you that a company is selling 89 octane gas as 93 that is BS, it would be illegal just for starters, and they have nothing to gain by doing that.

-KR

Agreed. Chevron makes my car fart...Shell works pretty good.

USMMA89 · #15 06-02-2009, 11:50 PM

What was the cost of your upgrades? Thanks

Schwabe · #16 06-03-2009, 07:16 AM

here is a shot this morning when my fuel light came on, usually I only had 50 miles range left:

and here another shot with a new high MPG arriving at work:

Schwabe · #17 06-03-2009, 07:19 AM

Originally Posted by USMMA89

What was the cost of your upgrades? Thanks

The MSRP for the Turbo kit I believe is aproximately $10K, the other parts (FW, clutch, brake upgrade and center radiator) is about another $4-5K plus installation, I also had a suspension tuning done. Best is to contact Tom at TPC and get a quote, I am sure they are happy to provide it.

Schwabe · #18 06-03-2009, 01:43 PM

and back home, notice the range left after driving 46 miles after the fill-up

notquitefob · #19 06-03-2009, 02:15 PM

I believe the ridiculously high fuel economy reading is likely due to the ECU not offsetting for the larger injectors.

ie. 50% capacity for the stock injector puts in less gas than 50% capacity for your upgraded ones. if the computer doesn't account for this offset, then it'll read higher.

please do a manual calculation the next time you fill up by dividing total miles traveled by the amount of gas purchased.

thanks !

Vik · #20 06-03-2009, 02:35 PM

+1 to notquitefob's comment ..... trust me, you're not getting 35 - 36 mpg!!!

btw, congrats on the TPC Kit! they seem to be doing an incredible job ....