911 Tuning

"The Real Porsche."

The 911 represents the epitome of everything Porsche.

With the right mods you can improve the already impressive 911 and shave precious seconds off your lap times.

One of the most reliable supercars around thanks to the impeccable German engineering it is loved by prestige fleet hire companies and city brokers alike.

You buy into a lifestyle when you get a 911, and you certainly get one hell of a car.

The 911 has enjoyed a long production run, giving Porsche time to perfect the engineering. Companies like RUF have come along and taken the 911 to new levels. The performance is certainly matched by the handling.

Because the styling has changed little over the years you get the same emotional response from a classic 911 that you get looking at the latest one in the showroom. Some of our members have used Porsche engines in other projects including a Morris Minor and a number of Classic VW Beetles.

The engines were built for power and the sheer reliability of the engine indicates that although powerful, Porsche were playing it safe with the power figures. So what should be on your 911 tuning projects parts list?

The following modifications are usually performed by our members, decide how far you want to go before you begin.

Getting the right mods for your planned usage of the car is vital. Stage 3 (competition) mods just don't work well on the road.

Please watch our video which covers the 5 principles of tuning your car. Be sure to keep up with our latest YouTube content and subscribe.

Best mods for your 911

1. Brake Mods - Enhancing your stopping power needs to be listed in your priority list.
2. Lighter flywheels - a reduced weight flywheel will significantly improve the engines free revving nature. In some cases flywheel lightening is not suitable for all 911 engines.
3. 911 Suspension - Replacing worn bushings and shocks radically improves your 911 handling Poly Bushes and Coilovers are typically fitted to achieve this
4. Intake Mods and high flowing exhausts - Please note that on their own these mods won't ADD TORQUE in most cases, but they can help release power after other upgrades by minimizing the restriction.
5. Head work - The goals of porting and flowing the head are to get air flowing into the engine while removing flow restrictions and turbulence.
6. Upgrades to turbochargers and superchargers - forced induction is the most dramatic method to improve intake air supply, ensuring you are able to use more fuel and make better power figures. Although one of the most costly mods you'll see massive gains.
7. Remaps - 911 engine tuning/remapping gives the biggest gains compared to cost, aftermarket ECUs, and inline Tuning boxes are all alternatives.
8. Fast road cams are generally the biggest mechanical mod upgrade, but TorqueCars recommend they be fitted by someone qualified to set them up properly and some cams are hard to find but there is usually a local firm to regrind a stock cam for you.

911 Tuning Stages

Typical stage 1 mods often include: Lighter flywheel, Sports exhaust, Alloy wheels, Remap, Panel air filter, Suspension upgrade (drop ).

Typical stage 2 mods often include: fuel pump upgrades, Ported and polished head, high flow fuel injector, Fast road cam, Power/Sport clutch.

Typical stage 3 mods often include: Competition cam, Sports gearbox, Adding or upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Engine balancing, Internal engine upgrades (pistons/head/valves).

Fast road cams offer one of the biggest performance gains as far as a bolt on part goes. Don't forget to uprate the fuelling when you are increasing the power - it makes the car more thirsty. Improve your cars response to the throttle with a Fuel pressure boost valve. Uprated injectors will enable you to supply sufficient fuel to the engine. When increasing your fuelling you will also need to get a bigger fuel pump to supply it.

Porsche 911 Intake and Exhaust.

The next area for modification is the intake and exhaust. For small 911 engine sizes go with a washable panel air filter. On larger engines and turbo vehicles an induction kit will help increase power. Do not go with the biggest exhaust you can find - the best for power gains are usually between 1.5 to 2.5 inches.

When you start tuning your 911 you will find that the standard clutch starts to complain so get an uprated clutch. Turbo engines are just begging to be custom remapped.You will see big power gains on most turbo engined cars including diesels making a tune/remap one of the most cost effective modifications.

Adding forced induction will see big power gains but this is usually too expensive to be cost effective. It is easier to bolt on a supercharger than it is to get a turbo working. It is harder to map a turbo as the boost comes on exponentially with engine speed. It is easier to map a supercharger because the boost is proportional to engine speed on a linear curve. Decreasing the engines compression ratio will allow you to add forced induction, water injection may also help prevent detonation.

Porsche 911 Wheel Modifications.

The benefits of alloy wheels include a lower unsprung weight and more efficient brake cooling. The downside to large alloy wheels on your 911 is that you alter your effective final drive ratio and this will have a detrimental effect on performance. For this reason we would advise sticking to a maximum wheel size of 18 inches, although we know some of our members have gone larger than this with no problems.

Please join us in our forum to discuss the 911 options in more detail with our 911 owners. It would also be worth reading our 911 tuning articles to get a full grasp of the pros and cons of each type of modification.

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This article is flagged for an update, so please pass on specific tips below that I can include. All articles, and content was written by me, Waynne Smith TorqueCars founder. Some outlines are just too general so I appreciate your feedback and suggestions. This entry was filed under Porsche. You can leave a response below or join our forum to discuss this article and car modification in detail with our members.

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