Upgrades?

[clubhead]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

Porsche's are Porsche's. Significant improvements will be very very expensive.

but the author of the article is being far too general and inacurate at times.
......

I agree with you. Most cars will benefit from proper ECU tuning to fine tune the fueling and ignition map. Factory programs need to be engineered with a wide variety of drivers/conditions in mind. From careful owners like ourselves to people who just plainly ignore the maintenance of their cars, from low grade fuel to high quality fuel.

I don't subscribe to the stock-is-best way of thinking as you can see. Quality aftermarket parts like you said will enhance the vehicle in terms of performance, looks and re-sale value.

It's generally difficult to extract significant performance gains from NA cars. Try tuning a Civic/Integra Type R and you'll know what I mean. The cams, compression ratios, fuel and ignition have all been but optimised. But that doesn't mean it cannot be improved upon. There's still that couple of % that can be extracted from the car... Blueprinting the engine is a good way to start. Even the exhaust can be worked upon. Just stock to reputable tuners like Mugen for the Hondas....

On turbo cars, I beg to differ. A downpipe upgrade with a free flow exhaust will liberate 15bhp alone! A boost controller works wonders for driveability. The STi mentioned in the article probably has wrong springs fitted or with the damper setting all screwed.

[Perfectlap]

yep intake and exhaust done properly can be done by the manufacturer for very little and produce an instant increase in HP when the car is in motion. Makes me wonder why Toyo, Honda, Nissan have allowed the aftermarket community to reap so many millions of dollars that they could just have easily made themselves.
THis whole Scion approach to "aftermarket marketing" seems long overdue.

Even an expensive car like the Boxster benefits from upgraded intake and exhaust. IF DONE PROPERLY. The newest 987S Boxster added another 30 HP without increasing the engine size or any other significant changes to the engine itself. Its not like putting in a 3.6 but 30HP by just bolting on some upgrades is pretty darn smart of those Porsha guys.