HRE FF01 20×8.5 ET50 / 20×11 ET60 in Custom Fog Powdercoat 245/35-20 / 295/30-20 Pirelli P-Zero Tires
If you’re reading this we’re going to assume you’re a Porsche 991 owner, in which case go ahead and pat yourself on the back for making such a great choice. The 991 is the latest and greatest generation of 911 from Porsche, the result of improving upon perfection for the last 53 years. The only thing is, perfection is subjective, and it’s perfectly understandable to have a different vision for your 991 than the engineers, designers, & (unfortunately) lawyers in Stuttgard had during it’s conception. For the most part, Porsche design tends to be on the conservative side, unwavering from the 911 template that has been in place since the mid 1960’s.
Your standard Porsche 991 Carrera
In this article we’re going to look at the best ways to transform your car from Porsche’s 991 to your 991. From the boring factory wheels to the sacrilegiously muffled exhaust note to the intentionally detuned engine, your Porsche 991 has a ton of potential to be explored. Consider us your tour guide on the journey towards your perfect 911. Let’s get started!
1 Wheels
Nine times out of ten, the best modification you can do to a car to enhance its curb appeal is a new set of wheels; the 991 is no exception. Because there are so many wheels to choose from, wheels are also one of the easiest ways to set your car apart from the rest. With different fitments, styles, and finishes available, each set of wheels can be personalized to fit the theme for your 991, capable of looking at home on Rodeo Drive or your local track.
ADV.1 has some of the most stunning wheel designs in the industry. Famous for their forged wheels, ADV.1 brings the same level of designs and quality to the flow formed market with their Flow Spec line.
The ADV005 is a stunning split 5 spoke design that looks both classy and aggressive. The perfect fit the 911. The attention is in the details and this wheel really stands out compared to other split 5 spoke designs.
ADV.1 ADV005 – 20×9.0 et40 (front) / 20×12.0 et45 (rear)
HRE FF01 20×8.5 ET50 / 20×11 ET60 in Custom Fog Powdercoat 245/35-20 / 295/30-20 Pirelli P-Zero Tires
There are tons of options for Wheels for Porsche 991, a set of aftermarket wheels both beautifies the car and can enhance performance by allowing wider tires and reducing curb weight. Before we go any further though, we should mention that there’s a lot of misinformation out there on the forums – anyone who tells you a factory wheel or a BBS forged wheel “will never” crack is either outright lying to you or naive from not being around long enough. The fact of the matter is, no wheel, no matter how high the quality, is invincible. There are many reported cases of cracked factory rims – and no wheel is unbendable, no wheel is uncrackable. Don’t let a few anecdotes from a random forum scare you, because the wheel manufacturers we work with take excellent care of customers should an actual manufacturing defect arise, so you can buy confidently from any of the reputable wheel manufacturers we work with.
When you want a wheel with a reputation as legendary as your Porsche, look no further than a set of HRE Performance Wheels. Offering the same great looks as their much more expensive lines, the new HRE Flow Form line of wheels for Porsche are a great value for the money, combining pedigree, quality and performance into a single very affordable wheel. HRE FF01 Wheels feature a 14-spoke, angled mesh design with a flush face and just a bit of concavity.
HRE FF01 20×8.5 ET50 / 20×11 ET60 in Custom Fog Powdercoat 245/35-20 / 295/30-20 Pirelli P-Zero Tires
The FF01 can be had in a variety of finishes to suit your taste and style, not just the standard Liquid Silver and Tarmac Black – colors like Fog and IPA are also very popular choices, and look fantastic with most Porsches.
If you have a lighter colored car, a set of Tarmac HRE FF01s can really bring a nice pop to your Porsche 991.
If you want something with a bit more of a motorsports aesthetic, check out these Tarmac Black HRE FF15 Wheels for Porsche – when you pair the Tarmac black with black paint, it gives the car a truly menacing character.
Tarmac Black HRE FF15 Wheels for Porsche
Conversely, it works great on high impact colors like this gorgeous blue.
Tarmac Black HRE FF15 Wheels for Porsche
If you’re looking for something with a bit more concavity to it, check out this great option from Forgestar Wheels.
Forgestar CF10 Semi-Gloss Black Wheels for Porsche
Forgestar Wheels are custom-made to order for each individual car they’re ordered for, meaning it -will- take 8 weeks to manufacture your set from scratch, but they’re machined so that they’re taking into account things like whether you’re lowered, have a big brake kit, widebody and that sort of thing to give you a set with perfect fitment. The Forgestar CF10s on the Porsche 991 fitted with a Misha Designs bodykit really brings out the aggression in the car and compliments the lines of the bodykit.
Forgestar CF10 Semi-Gloss Black Wheels for Porsche
Since each set of Forgestars is manufactured to order, the fitment specs on this car are irrelevant because it’s standard 991 fitment, despite the bodykit.
Another great looking option for the 991 is available from Avant Garde wheels as a part of their Ruger Wheels collection specifically for Porsches. Offering classic European style with a bit of motorsport flair, these are a great option whether you’ve got a Carrera or Turbo.
Also available in matte black, these work well on everything.
Rohana Wheels also has some great options for the 991 – like the RF1 and RF2.
As you can see, each wheel design and finish gives the car a completely different look. Their common denominator is they all look way better than the lame factory wheels. You can go from bone stock to showcar just by swapping the wheels; the 991 Turbo on Rohana RF2’s above is a great example. If you have either a Turbo or GT3 with centerlock hubs, your options become far more limited and much more expensive. With that said, we’re fully capable of ordering centerlock wheels at ModBargains that will look great and make your 991 handle better than ever.
Suspension
The next thing to resolve after taking care of the wheels is eliminating the wheelgap so that your 911 looks like the powerful, high performance piece of machinery that it is. The factory ride height on everything short of a GT3 is intentionally set high enough that even the most careless drivers can fly through dips and gutters like a trophy truck, at the expense of sharper handling and aesthetics. Lowering your Porsche 991 911 Suspension will take care of the unsightly wheel gap and eliminate body roll.
There are really only two ways you can go – Lowering Springs or Coilovers.
A set of lowering springs is a great place to start if you err on the conservative side, offering a lower cost-of-part than coilovers, lowering the car enough to eliminate the wheelgap so that it looks “right”.
HRE FF01 20×8.5 ET50 20×11 ET60 IPA on Vogtland Lowering Springs
A set of Vogtland Lowering Springs for Porsche 991 Carrera will do just that, lower the ride height and eliminate wheelgap.
HRE FF01 20×8.5 ET50 20×11 ET60 IPA on Vogtland Lowering Springs
Here are some pictures of our technicians installing a set of Vogtland Springs on a pair of 991 Carreras.
911 Carrera S having Vogtland Lowering Springs installed at Mod Auto
As for coilovers there’s really only one option, KW V3 Coilovers for 991 Carrera. KW suspension is well known as being one of the premier suspension manufacturers in the world. The KW V3 Coilover system features 14-way adjustable dampers and 2 stage valving for low speed comfort and high speed stability. Even at their highest setting, these coilovers will lower your 991 by 1″, and lowering by 2″ at it’s lowest setting.
KW V3 Coilover system for Porsche 991 Carrera
Porsche 991 Carrera on KW V3 coilovers
If you’re one of the lucky few with a 991 GT3 and the factory suspension setup just isn’t cutting it on the track, allow us to present a solution, the BBI 991 GT3 Street Cup Suspension kit.
This package replaces every moving part in your 991’s suspension, including replacing all rubber bushings with high strength steel-alloy spherical mono-balls to ensure consistent wheel alignment whether you’re on the highway or the racetrack.
911 GT3 with BBI Street Cup Suspension upgrade
For those of you looking to make your 991 GT3 the ultimate track toy, a bolt in cage from GMG Racing will not only protect you in the event you roll the car (god forbid), but will also further stiffen the entire chassis of the car for sharper, more predictable handling. Though it may not be the cheapest of mods for your GT3, can you really put a price on your own safety?
For spirited driving and weekend track events, this bolt-in roll bar is definitely a good investment for increased safety without sacrificing versatility.
GMG Racing Bolt-In Roll Cage for Porsche 991
Now that we have the looks and handling sorted out, it’s time for us to talk about one of our other senses, sound.
Exhaust
The factory equipped exhausts for all of the 991 models are very restrictive, holding back that signature Porsche Flat – 6 sound. The sound of a 911 with a great exhaust taking off into the distance is enough to give you chills, so why would you ever want to drive around with the stock exhaust. There are several exhaust systems available for the full model line (Carrera, GT3, Turbo, etc), each with their own unique sound characteristics.
991 Carrera/S/4/4S
One of our favorite companies to work with is AWE Tuning, producing great sounding exhausts with excellent build quality. For the Porsche 991 exhaust, AWE Tuning has 2 options available, one for vehicles equipped with the valved OEM exhaust (PSE) & one for the standard exhaust.
The first option is the AWE Tuning Performance Exhaust for 991, for 991’s without the factory electronic exhaust valves. This system replaces the restrictive center muffler for a big change in sound. Aside from the change in sound, this system provides massive gains of +29whp and +33wtq!
AWE Tuning Performance Exhaust for Porsche 991
Here’s a video from AWE Tuning to get a feel for the sound:
AWE Tuning Performance Exhaust for Porsche 991
Porsche Carrera 991 with AWE Performance Exhaust for 991
Now if your 991 Carrera is equipped with a valved exhaust from the factory (PSE), AWE Tuning has the perfect system for you, integrating the original electronics for a seamless experience. The AWE Switchpath Exhaust for 991 features two sound levels, track or touring, at the push of a button. When the exhaust button in the cabin is pressed, the valves in the exhaust divert the gasses through either a secondary muffler section or a bypass pipe. In touring mode the volume is increased somewhat due to the elimination of the central muffler, but in track mode there is a more substantial increase in volume due to the complete lack of muffling, giving more crackles and pops on overrun than a bowl of Rice Crispies. Again, there is big power to be made here, with gains of +20hp & +25tq!
AWE Switchpath Exhaust for Porsche 991 Carrera
The character of this exhaust is hard to describe, so here’s a clip we found that really captures it beautifully:
Pretty awesome right? It’s all about the gurgle.
The Switchpath system also has the ability to reuse the OEM tips however we absolutely recommend upgrading to either the Diamond Black or Chrome tips which fill out the back of the car beautifully.
Porsche 991 Carrera with AWE Switchpath Exhaust with Chrome Silver Quad Tips
AWE Tuning definitely makes some great exhausts, but we can’t forget another of our favorite exhaust manufacturers, Remus. Remus makes such high quality systems that they’re an OEM exhaust supplier. Because of this, Remus’ products are literally the same quality as what your 991 came with, so you can upgrade with confidence. For your 991, Remus offers their Remus Sport exhaust system with 84mm Carbon Race tips. The less restrictive design is good for some nice power gains while still maintaining daily driver noise levels, making this system something of a goldilocks exhaust, not too loud but not too quiet.
Dyno graph of Remus Sport Exhaust for 991
991 GT3/GT3RS
Being a racecar for the street, the sound the GT3 makes should mirror its performance capabilities. The stock exhaust for the 991 GT3 is very restrictive on both noise and exhaust gas flow, muffling the vicious shriek the 3.8L Flat-6 would otherwise produce. Luckily, BBi now offers the StreetCup Exhaust Bypass for 991 GT3 & GT3RS. These pipes do exactly what they sound like; they bypass an entire resonator section which does most of the muffling. Aside from the bump in sound, these bypass pipes save 44lbs compared to the original resonators, making your GT3 feel that much lighter on its feet.
BBi StreetCup Bypass system for 991 GT3/GT3RS
991 Turbo/S
Perhaps the model that could benefit the most from an upgraded exhaust system is the 991 Turbo/S. With its twin turbo 3.8L Flat-6 making 540hp & 523tq out of the box, the 991 Turbo and its ‘S’ variant is an extremely potent package. However with some easy mods your 991 Turbo can be an absolute monster. With any turbocharged car, the stock exhaust system is usually the first area of restriction. The less back pressure, the faster the turbos will spool and the faster your engine will respond to throttle input. Aside from the performance benefits of changing the exhaust for your 991 Turbo, the OEM exhaust does far too good of a job muffling the already chopped up exhaust flow after it goes through the turbochargers. Let’s take a look at some systems to uncork your Turbo and bring those power numbers to truly supercar levels.
Again from BBi we have the BBi Barcode Exhaust for 991 Turbo/S, built on decades of racing experiences to be the go to solution for street or track use. This system consists of 2 HJS High Flow Catalytic converters and 3″ mandrel bent stainless steel for increased volumetric capacity, leading to faster spool times and sharpened throttle response.
From AWE Tuning we have their Performance Exhaust for 991 Turbo/S. With gains of +21hp & +31tq for the quad tip setup, this system is a proven performer. With larger diameter RSR style tips those numbers increase to +28hp & +34tq! Aside from the massive gains, this is one fantastic sounding system.
AWE Performance Exhaust for 991 Turbo/S
Below is a video from AWE Tuning showing off their 991 Turbo/S system in various driving conditions.
Fabspeed is another very respectable manufacturer, hand building each one of their exhausts by hand. The Fabspeed X-pipe Exhaust for 991 Turbo is another fantastic option for your 991 Turbo/S. Featuring optional 200 cell HJS Sportcats, this exhaust will not cause a check engine light or any other errors in your car’s computer. This exhaust is designed to be drone free while showing off the beautiful flat-6 sound, and as you can hear in the video below, they’ve accomplished this perfectly.
One of the most prestigious exhaust manufacturers in the world is Akrapovic, known for their ultra lightweight full titanium exhaust systems. When it comes to attention to detail, Akrapovic is at the absolute forefront, with systems that are just as nice to look at as they are to listen to. It’s no different for their Slip-on Titanium Exhaust for 991 Turbo/S.
Fully constructed out of titanium, this whole system only weighs 17lbs! In addition to the slip-on section, there is also the option to add link pipes with catalytic converters for bigger power gains, as well as the option to add a beautiful Akrapovic carbon fiber diffuser.
INTAKE
Now that you’ve freed up the restriction on one side of the engine, it’s time to do the same for the other. Your engine is like one big pump, pulling in air and then pushing it out the other end, and the more efficiently your engine can do that, the more power you make. Removing back pressure with an upgraded exhaust system for your 991 is a great start, however to make the most of your new exhaust, an intake should be next on your list. Going off of the pump analogy, if your inlet piping is 2″ and the outlet piping is 3″, your pump capacity is still limited to the flow from the 2″ inlet. This effect is illustrated perfectly in competition spec racecars that utilize restrictors to limit the amount of air going into the engine, and therefore the amount of power produced to stay within class regulations. In the case of the Viper GTS-R shown below, the restrictors (trumpet looking silver parts at the end of the intake runners) cut the power down from 650 hp to 500hp for competition use, that’s a 23% loss in power on an otherwise unmodified engine. While this may be an extreme case, it’s the same concept for your 991. So, now that we understand the importance of having a high flow intake, lets look at some of the intakes for your 991.
Intake restrictor plates on the SRT Viper GTS-R racecar
First up is the AWE Tuning S-Flo Intake for 991 Turbo/S. This intake is the complete package for your 991 Turbo, with an insulated full carbon airbox for the show stopping wow factor, a great growl from the engine bay and 22hp & 22tq gains over stock! Below you can see the gorgeous carbon fiber airbox stuffed into the cramped 991 Turbo engine bay.
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Due to the compact engine compartment, rising temperatures under the hood are commonplace, but your intake temperatures don’t have to be with the AWE Tuning S-Flo Intake. As air gets hotter, it becomes less dense and therefore packs less combustible oxygen than cooler air, making less power. For this reason, this intake was designed to keep intake temperatures low even in high temperature conditions, which you can see in the graph below which overlays the engine bay temperature in red and the intake temperature in black when equipped with the S-Flo intake system. Notice that as engine bay temperatures are rising, the intake temperature is actually decreasing!
Slightly different from your typical intake system, the IPD Intake Plenum for 991 Carrera does not replace the filter and airbox assembly. The plenum is the section of the intake system that diverts the air flow from the filters into the two banks of cylinders, however the factory plenum leaves quite a bit to be desired. IPD’s offering provides an additional 15hp & 14tq over stock throughout the powerband, resulting in faster acceleration times and better throttle response.
IPD Intake Plenum for 991 Carrera/S
IPD also has a similar offering for the Turbo/S models, in addition to a flow optimized Y pipe which brings air from the intercoolers to the plenum. The IPD Intake Plenum for 991 Turbo on its own provides gains of 45whp & 55wtq at 4100rpm! IPD’s plenum achieves this by moving away from the factory T-pipe design and towards a more efficient Y-pipe design for cleaner air flow.
IPD Intake Plenum (left) & OEM Intake Plenum (right)
This is the IPD High Flow Intake Y-Pipe for 991 Turbo we just mentioned, good for an additional 37whp & 40wtq at 3700rpm! As you can see in the second picture below, the entire inside of the Y pipe is dimpled in the same manner as a golfball, creating a clean, laminar airflow into the plenum which you can see has received the same dimpling treatment.
Here you can see how the plenum and Y-pipe fit together.
Between the IPD Intake Plenum for 991 Turbo & IPD High Flow Intake Y-Pipe for 991 Turbo you’re looking at massive gains in the mid range with a nice bump up top. It’s difficult to give an exact summation of the gains because they don’t add power in the same places, however the under the curve gains (what you feel in daily driving experiences) are enough to completely change the driving characteristics of your 991 Turbo for the better.
PERFORMANCE
With the era of turbochargers upon us, ECU tuning is now one of the most popular performance modifications people do to their vehicles. Manufacturers intentionally leave performance on the table in the form of conservative tuning for a variety of reasons, from legal liabilities to giving themselves performance padding between models. From the factory your 991 Turbo is in fact SLOWER than it was intended to be by the brilliant engineers in Stuttgart. Thankfully for you, COBB Tuning has you covered. The COBB AccessPORT for 991 Turbo provides massive gains over stock of 60whp & 70wtq!
With such a potent powerplant stuffed into such a small engine bay, heat is inevitable. As we discussed earlier in this article, hot air results in less power, so the logical solution would be to make the air cooler, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do, with an upgraded intercooler from AWE Tuning. The intercoolers are the intermediary step between the turbochargers and the plenum, cooling the pressurized air before it enters the combustion chamber. The stock intercoolers are barely sufficient for the Turbo’s engine in it’s stock form, so if you’re going to run higher boost with a tune, stepping up to the AWE Performance Intercooler will ensure reliable, big power numbers. Your 991 Turbo will thank you for the cooler intake temperatures by rewarding you with an additional 26whp & 21wtq.
At this point your 991 Carrera should be a more than stellar daily driver, your 991 Turbo should be a face melting rocketship capable of leaving even the most exquisite supercars in the dust, and your 991 GT3 should be the automotive equivalent of a surgeon’s scalpel. Realistically, with the mods laid out in this article, your Turbo will be making the dash to 60mph in the mid to low 2 seconds, breaking into hypercar territory at a fraction of the cost. Don’t spend another day driving your stock and boring 991. Every time you sit down behind the wheel should be an event that leaves you grinning ear to ear. Let US help make that a reality for YOU. Call us today at 714-582-3330 to speak to a Mod Expert who can help you transform your Porsche 991 into the rolling experience it should be.
