Possible 1989 3.2 Carrera Upgrades?

xxultramistersi · 08-24-2009, 04:04 PM

Howdy, this is my first post but I figure this is the best place to get well-needed advice. My dad's got a 3.2 carrera and it had a lot of work done for the track(tires, wheels, exhaust, chip, etc) prior to his owning of it. Right before I got my license, he felt it necessary to strip it all down and make it stock and "safer"(slower). Well it has been a few years and I have gone to numerous track days, so now I feel it is time to get it back in shape. I want to get some fat PS cups on there, what is the largest/best size for this model? I also wanna squeeze out some more power/up the red-line. Faster revving, and ideally that "thrown into your seat" feeling on hard acceleration. Even lighting upgrades are welcome! I wanna do everything and anything to make this car unique and better suited for track days! Thanks!

JeremyD · JeremyD's Garage

I'd recommend you drive the "stock" carrera until you feel like the performance of the car is impeding your progress up the run groups. Once you get to that point, then I would start making improvements to safety, then wheels and suspension, then performance mods. BTW the PS Cups are heavy - not good for the track.

xxultramistersi · 08-24-2009, 04:50 PM

Thanks, I guess I got a little ahead of myself while writing that and forgot the fundamentals to upgrades(i.e. engine last). As for tires, thanks for the advice about the weight, any suggestions as to which tires are best? Stickier the better, because we are taking them off for everything except track use, and it rains very little around here.

RichHawk · RichHawk's Garage

Where I agree that seat time is the best mod, I also like to give people advice at least *slightly* in the area they asked for.
The 3.2L is a strong engine. Many say it's the best of the aircooled for reliability.
I'll regurgitate all I've read recently. None is my personal experience
Hp mods are pretty much what your dad already had,
Better exhaust = less backpressure can unleash 20Hp (with a chip). Ditching the cat for a straight pipe seems to be a common mod, but won't work for smog in CA.

Steve Wong makes the best chip mapping which can vary from mild to wild, but always has to have the appropriate hardware on the engine.

After that more Hp costs a LOT.

If your Dad still has the mods he took off, bolt those back on.

I would personally start with suspension upgrades, replacement shocks/ struts, adjustable sway bars, and a second set of low weight rims with some track only tires to them. After a couple years of semi regular track days I finally feel the Hp of my Track suspension Miata holds me back. but only occasionally

So Hp is not the track King.
Richard

JeremyD · JeremyD's Garage

I'd look for a set of BBS 16 x 8 and 16 x 9 rims and stick some Toyo RA1 tires on for track days. At the same time I'd look at a DAS bolt in and bolt out roll bar for track duty. I'd also go on the elephant racing site and use the calculator and go from Street to track. The poly bronze bushings / turbo tie rods can make a dramatic difference.

As far as engine- euro premuffler, sport muffler - and steve wong chip is the performance sweet spot (don't bother with a K & N) from there it's cubic $$ to get performance out of a Porsche.

Look at the article in last month Excellence that shows the "spec" 911 vs the GT3 vs the Cup car - the spec car (1973-1989) lapped just 4 seconds slower that the GT3. These cars are very capable in the right hands.

xxultramistersi · 08-25-2009, 12:51 AM

One more question, I was looking at short-shift kits and when I asked the service guy at the dealer, he told me that it made the shifting really hard and did not like it at all. Does anyone have any experience with the WEVO G50 short shift kit?

Geronimo '74 · 08-25-2009, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xxultramistersi

One more question, I was looking at short-shift kits and when I asked the service guy at the dealer, he told me that it made the shifting really hard and did not like it at all. Does anyone have any experience with the WEVO G50 short shift kit?

Wevo makes good stuff, your mecanic is on drugs...

If your tranny is in good shape and the shifter is installed properly, you will have no issues, only benefits.