997 c4s engine mods

[c4srojo]

With the skyrocketing prices of Turbos, I am contemplating keeping my 08 c4s and performing some engine mods. This will be a dedicated street car but I would like to prudently (by that I mean reliably) add some grunt and horsepower. A few questions:

1. What is the best way to achieve the most horsepower while erring on the side of reliability?

2. Can you get anywhere near Turbo performance out of the normally aspirated 3.8 without enhanced failure risks? Any tranny issues that might creep up?

The most I could spend on the mods would be 15k....but that still puts me 25k below what an 08 Turbo would cost me today.

Recommended builders?

I appreciate any suggestions or input.

Thanks!

[johnsjmc]

I would inquire with Jake Raby in Atlanta. He has jointly developed the IMS bearing kit with LN engineering. He does alot of watercooled engine work and if he cant help he can probably recommend someone.
I am personally not very knowledgable of what works on a watercooled car. I have a 993
Before modding for power consider the most reliable performance increases will come from lighter weight and chassis improvements. More horsepower is nice but a lighter car feels like more power and brakes and steers better,with less stress on everything.