1988 911/930 needs some HP!

[Stainless]

Hello Everyone! I am new on this site and looking for some advise.
I have a 1988 911 with the 930 body kit. Factory but no turbo. Its a cabrio also! It has 15,000 original miles and needs a little "pick-me-up" I have been driving this beauty since day one. It seems to have lost some of its get up and go.

I would like to do some bolt on mods to increase the HP. I have a local mechanic, "Wicky" but he has lost his contacts in Memphis for parts. Can anyone reccomend a kit or what I could do to my car that would keep it reliable yet make it run much stronger.

Thanks!

Stan in Nashville.
www.TeamShooters.com

[pozee]

www.911chips.com

[Stainless]

Originally Posted by pozee

www.911chips.com

Do you have any experience with this product? What else would I need to do along with installing a chip?

[Walter_Middie]

Stan,

Do you have a "Turbo Look" car, with just the fender flares from the factory? Or do you have a real 930 that has had the turbo taken off of it? A 930 without the turbo would be pretty slow.

If you have a regular 911 motor, have you lost some performance lately? Maybe your ignition or timing needs some help.

[Stainless]

Originally Posted by Walter_Middie

Stan,

Do you have a "Turbo Look" car, with just the fender flares from the factory? Or do you have a real 930 that has had the turbo taken off of it? A 930 without the turbo would be pretty slow.

If you have a regular 911 motor, have you lost some performance lately? Maybe your ignition or timing needs some help.

Yes, regular 3.2 motor, no turbo. But has flares, tail, brakes and suspension that the 930 would have had.

[beepbeep]

Installation of 930 engine, turbo-conversion of 3.2 Carrera engine or installation of 3.6L C2 engine are probably only options where "more go" would be noticeable.

[TRE Cup]

Start with routine maintainance, including valve adjust. Check to make sure the plug / coil wires are in good shape (you will need a scope for that) .
Then decide on making more hp.
Before ordering a chip from 911chips , figure out your budget as changes to the exhaust system (which yields more hp) can add substantially to the bottom line

A popular upgrade is to use SSi style heat exchangers (with attendant conversion parts) , a sports style two inlet muffler (our host sells the MK line) , a KN filter, and the chip

There are plenty of threads that show the dyno results of this upgrade; its worth it!

caveat is your state's emmissions regulations- check that out first

[the]

If you have a factory Turbolook (i.e., "M491") car with only 15,000 miles on it, and you want to significantly boost the power, you are much better off selling that car and using the money to buy a Turbo.

A 15,000 miles M491 is worth just as much, or more, than a Turbo. If you have an M491, you'll kill its value by modifying it to increase the power, and it still won't be a factory turbo.

[Stainless]

Very good suggestions TRE. Budget wise, 5-10k should get me what I need, yes?
Does any one have a "kit" to cover all those upgrades?

[Stainless]

Originally Posted by the

If you have a factory Turbolook (i.e., "M491") car with only 15,000 miles on it, and you want to significantly boost the power, you are much better off selling that car and using the money to buy a Turbo.

A 15,000 miles M491 is worth just as much, or more, than a Turbo. If you have an M491, you'll kill its value by modifying it to increase the power, and it still won't be a factory turbo.

How can I verify the M491? is it on the VIN? or sticker?

[RarlyL8]

Contact Ben at M&K. He can help you turbocharge the Carrera engine and has many of the parts needed. Will not cost $10K and can add 100hp.

M491 is an option code for a wide body and 930 suspension/brakes.

[the]

Originally Posted by Stainless

How can I verify the M491? is it on the VIN? or sticker?

You can't tell by the VIN. It is on the option code sticker, which should be under your front hood, also somewhere in your owner's manual.

Another way is to post some pictures of your car, particularly the wheels where we can see the brakes. That could possibly give some clues, i.e., if it has non-Turbo brakes it is a conversion.

[GaryR]

If it's a real 491 it already has everything a turbo does (brakes and suspension) except the turbo motor (and it has a G50 5 speed!). Put a supercharger kit on it.

[TRE Cup]

Chip/Exhaust upgrade will cost you about $2400-2500 for all the parts. Figure on a day at the shop to convert over the oil lines, heater ducting, hoses, exhaust, install the chip. If the shop has done it before, and your existing hardware is not rusted, then perhaps 5-6 hours labor to do a clean job of it

HP gain? about 40-45. NOT turbo territory, but significant increase and it may suit you.

Like to play with working on your car ?, then consider a turbo conversion kit, but if not, do as the suggested; sell the car and get a full turbo. You will probably find one that has upgrades done to that with 325-400 hp

[wholberg]

Originally Posted by Stainless

How can I verify the M491? is it on the VIN? or sticker?

the 491 option will be on the underhood sticker, or possibly the sticker in the owner's manual if you have the original.

An unmolested Turbo Look with the mileage you describe should sell for >$40K, although it may take some time to find the right buyer, and may be slow with this economy. They lose value quickly as the mileage goes up. If it's going to be a garage queen, leave it stock, or add reversible modifications, exhaust and chip. If you want to drive it and don't care about the collector value, then who cares?

These cars handle better than a standard Carrera because of the brakes and wider stance, but are about 150 lbs heavier than a standard Carrera and are therefore a little slower.

Whatever you decide to do, have fun!

[spence88mph]

Mine's an M491, was completely stock with low Ks and after doing chip bypass & exhaust it was marginally faster, but not worth the money in my opinion, it still felt pretty sluggish. About a year ago I added a turbo kit with low boost (7psi) and haven't looked back. I don't understand why people say it's irreversible as there is no cutting welding etc, very simple, I could do another in an afternoon and return it to stock very quickly.

The performance gain is incredible, it's another car full stop and so much more fun, it really hauls ass! People said the same thing to me, buy a 930, but I loved my car and CIS is just a step backwards IMO apart from the fact my car would walk a stock or mildly modded 930 anyway and I have a g50 which you wont get unless you find an 89 930. Also all the 930s I found were dog boxes anyway. Go turbo, plenty of info and willing advice on here to do it.

[911st]

Maintenance first including valve adjustment, fuel filter, and air filter. Make sure everything is up to spec.

The best value in HP is a cat bypass, adding a second tail pipe to the passenger side of the muffler (you can hide it up under the valance if you like & cap it if you want a stock sound again), and a 911chips.com custom chip option.

After all in installed, take the car to a dyno and have them check the Air Fuel ratios. Then send them to Steve and 911chips to have them fine tuned. Total cost under $1k. This will make as much power as the SSI's for a lot less.

You can also take the spare, jack, and tools and replace with a can of flat fix to take 50 lbs off the car.

After this it gets expensive to gain a very little advantage.

Spend the rest on a good shocks, corner balance, sport alignment, and tires.

Turbo charging that car is not an economic option in several way.

Just my $.02 worth.

[laughac]

Originally Posted by Stainless

Hello Everyone! I am new on this site and looking for some advise.
I have a 1988 911 with the 930 body kit. Factory but no turbo. Its a cabrio also! It has 15,000 original miles and needs a little "pick-me-up" I have been driving this beauty since day one. It seems to have lost some of its get up and go.

I would like to do some bolt on mods to increase the HP. I have a local mechanic, "Wicky" but he has lost his contacts in Memphis for parts. Can anyone reccomend a kit or what I could do to my car that would keep it reliable yet make it run much stronger.

Thanks!

Stan in Nashville.
www.TeamShooters.com

Hi Stan,

I'm in Nashville and today I took a ride in a friend's recently turbo-charged 3.2 cabriolet in Franklin. Wicky is great but he sticks to stock factory work and won't install a turbo kit, so it was done by an engineer in Murfreesboro. He is about to install a similar kit on my car next, but you can probably get in line for an upgrade this year.

If a turbo kit is over the top you may consider a better gear ratio with lower profile tires and reducing weight with another exhaust system. Adding power is never-ending pursuit but reducing weight improves mileage along with acceleration. There is also a guy on the Rennlist.com classifies who sells chips, which more directly answers your question.

[pozee]

Sorry, stainless - no personal experience with a chip but great experience with Steve Wong/911 Chips.

Seems you have gotten a ton of great advise.

I'm the boring car-guy so to speak. I like most of mine stock.

Good luck!

[911st]

Turbo charging is a rush. However, would expect the car to be worth the same or less after doing so in your case unless you take is off and not honestly disclose such to a later buyer.

If you are going to turbo it, use a reputable kit like the Protomotove. http://www.geocities.com/protomotive/index.html

Exhaust, chip, weight, and gears are all good thoughts.