987.2 Proven power upgrades

[jmcc42uk]

Hi Chaps,

Has anyone got a proven 355-360bhp out of the 3.4 9A1 engines and what mods have been used to achieve this?

There is a lot of talk about exhausts, GT3 plenums, 200 cell CATS, remaps...etc. Just would like to know what parts are proven to actually work and give good gains.

Autofarm seem to think it can be done for £1800 with no need to change the Cats - http://www.autofarm.co.uk/news/article/291

Is this correct?

Would be great to get a thread with peoples collective experiences


Thanks

Jon

[gtsralph]

If you want a real power improvement the best are

Jens Ehresmann in Dusseldorf see https://www.facebook.com/9x1.org/

or

Litchfield with Cobb Accessport and although they have just introduced this for the 981, Accessport is used in the USA for 987.2.

Also try planet9 and Reenlist for owners' experiences

[dom9]

The Autofarm upgrade does remove the secondary cats, which are a big bottleneck.

There are a good few threads from/ including MrDemon (possibly MrD at the time) that some Googlefu should reveal.

Softronic also do a lot of work on this, if you have a read of their site (but they are US based).

[jmcc42uk]

Cheers guys,

I saw MrDemons thread about his upgrades but his is a 987.1 which is a completetly different engine.

The 987.1 and 987.2 seem to respond quite differently to certain upgrades. An exhaust is definetly a good shout, but it's where to go after that. According to their website, the IPD Pleneums give a 20hp gain but some say the 987.2 inlet flows just fine and there is absolutley no advantage..... Autofarm reckon 360bhp is achievable with just an exhaust and map.

So by that rationale...if you then stuck and good manifold on with 200 cell sport cats, rear exhaust, remap and pleneum you could knock on the door of 370-375bhp?

[dom9]

jmcc42uk said:

Cheers guys,

I saw MrDemons thread about his upgrades but his is a 987.1 which is a completetly different engine.

The 987.1 and 987.2 seem to respond quite differently to certain upgrades. An exhaust is definetly a good shout, but it's where to go after that. According to their website, the IPD Pleneums give a 20hp gain but some say the 987.2 inlet flows just fine and there is absolutley no advantage..... Autofarm reckon 360bhp is achievable with just an exhaust and map.

So by that rationale...if you then stuck and good manifold on with 200 cell sport cats, rear exhaust, remap and pleneum you could knock on the door of 370-375bhp?

Apologies - I overlooked the 7.1/7.2 in the title and OP!

I have always been dubious about the IPD claims... However, some respected tuners do sell them and use them in their tuning packages. I didn't run one on my 996 track day car (but I did use new manifolds etc) but I would have tried one (had I not sold it) when I had run out of other bolt on mods, most likely.

I'll let others chime in on the specific abilities of the 7.2 engine but I would be fairly confident that Autofarm knew what they were talking about (I use them) and weren't peddling rubbish.

Secondary cats are generally the killer on these modern engines though. Whether an equal length manifold and 200 cell (or even 100 cell) would be better, maybe very few have done it. Would the gains outweigh the cost?

[boringbeige]

On my 987.2 boxster s I had Tech 9 install cargraphic manifolds and exhaust, cargraphic plenum and throttle body and then a techart chip, before and after dyno runs showed almost a 35bhp gain at 7100rpm and very little gain below 3000 rpm.

[hondansx]

So basically, unless you are thrashing the nuts off it, no real gain at all.

There is very little to be gained from a naturally aspirated car without spending a lot of money. For me, threads like this suggest you are bored of the car. Perhaps time to move on?

Otherwise, from a psychological point of view, louder feels faster! Just get a rorty exhaust.

[gtsralph]

jmcc42uk said:

Cheers guys,

The 987.1 and 987.2 seem to respond quite differently to certain upgrades. An exhaust is definetly a good shout, but it's where to go after that. According to their website, the IPD Pleneums give a 20hp gain but some say the 987.2 inlet flows just fine and there is absolutley no advantage..... Autofarm reckon 360bhp is achievable with just an exhaust and map.

So by that rationale...if you then stuck and good manifold on with 200 cell sport cats, rear exhaust, remap and pleneum you could knock on the door of 370-375bhp?

IPD plenum + 82mm throttle body + 200 cell cat Cargraphic headers + Tune = c370/375PS
Tune is required because ECU controls air intake volume irrespective of throttle/plenum (how else does same engine from Boxster S to Cayman S to Cayman R to Carrera produce different outputs). The parts in first line above will increase power and broaden torque range and tune allows them to be exploited. Keep OEM exhaust cat back unless you want different noise and to have noise trouble on UK track days.

[hondansx]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Why is more power more exciting though? Only up until the point you become used to it, then it becomes the norm. People on here keep moaning about modern Porschses being too quick for the roads; surely if you want a rush of excitement, you could put 175 section tyres on the car?

If the OP really thinks his car is underendowed, then having peak power isn't useful, because he's still going to be outgunned by a diesel Mondeo unless he plans sitting near the redline in a low gear all the time.

I have mapped most cars i've had, but crucially they've all been turbos. You get up to 100hp for a few hundred quid and no downsides. If you want to get a perceptible difference in power on a naturally aspirated engine, like i said, it's big bucks.

[hondansx]

I'm not against it, i'm against the value of it.

To make a real, noticeable difference you're going have to pay for all the parts, pay someone to fit them and - when it comes to selling the car - pay to get them removed or accept you'll probably have difficulties selling the car.

When you consider the value of the car to begin with, why not just a buy a faster car? Or, spend it better value modifications such as suspension and geometry, tyres, driver training and removing weight.

Edited by hondansx on Thursday 7th January 18:09

[jmcc42uk]

Yeah, that's what it's about really. It's the character of the engine, the sound and how enjoyable it is to interact with. As has been said, the worst thing you could do to a Cayman is stick a turbo on it. I think another 30 bhp would just top things off nicely.

Spoke to Parr in Crawley and they distribute Cargraphic exhausts and also have some other stuff of their own in the pipeline.

This is the sound I want but it could get slightly annoying when not in the mood !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf7b9trCZLY