Virtually every car, even performance models like this gorgeous 997 Porsche Carrera S Cabriolet, have even greater potential than their manufacturers gave the car to you with. This 997 has been with us for a few days as we’ve performed some fairly major bolt on performance upgrades. With a Cabriolet, handling is going to be a bit of a challenge. Fortunately the Mod Experts, who specialize in suspension performance/modification, were on hand to recommend a few minor Mods for Porsche 997 to make this Carrera a bit more fun in the twisties.
First on the list was a set of Eibach Pro-Kit lowering springs for Porsche 997 to give the Porsche a tasteful drop and a slight sharpening of its handling performance. The Eibach Pro-Kit springs for the 997 suspension offers a significant drop of 1.2 inches both front and rear, giving this Carrera S a much more aggressive stance and lower center of gravity. The black finish on the Pro-Kit springs gives the upgrade a subtle look as if the car came that way from the get go, and match brilliantly with the performance brakes for Carrera S that it already came with.
Next on the agenda was a set of performance sway bars from H&R Suspension. These H&R Sway Bars for Porsche 997 give the car sharper response with less body roll than the OEM sway bars, and the H&R setup offers 4-way adjustability in the rear, allowing you to tailor the car’s rear end behavior to suit your preferences and driving style.
Up front you can barely see the H&R logo peeking out from behind the front under tray and front suspension knuckle.
A set of H&R Sway Bars takes the precision of this 997 Cabriolet’s handling from a knife-edge to a scalpel. The H&R Sway Bars for Porsche 997 are fixed up front but 4-way adjustable and it’s easy to see why that’s the case – comparing the access between the two, good luck getting at the front bar. The rear bar shines in a contrasting blue finish.
But we didn’t stop there. The OEM wheels leave a bit to be desired, but a little accent was all they needed to look fantastic. The owner sent out the wheels to be powdercoated whilst we were upgrading the suspension – take a look at how those came out. One of the services we can offer when you’re buying your set of wheels is that we can often have them custom powdercoated for you to suit your taste and style.
The OEM Wheels for Porsche 997 Carrera S look fantastic powdercoated black and give the car a much more aggressive look without the need for a new set of wheels. Michelin Pilot Super Sport rubber wraps all four tires to keep this rear engine ragtop glued firmly to the tarmac.
Following the wheels and suspension mods, it was time to turn our attention to power mods. We needn’t look any further than FabSpeed to find a couple clever ways to unlock more ponies from the Carrera S’ flat six. This FabSpeed MaxFlo Cold Air Intake for 997 Porsche Carrera delivers a nice power gain of 19whp and 21wtq, offering improved throttle response and power with added benefit of giving your Boxer Six an exotic engine note.
The carbon fiber finish on the intake tube also lends to creating a bespoke look, giving you something worthy of showing off when you pop the rear bonnet.
Like we said, the Fabspeed MaxFlo Cold Air Intake system for the 997 Carrera/S offers a unique combination of benefits – it delivers a significant horsepower gain you’ll feel instantly on the ol’ “butt dyno”, the free-flow intake design and streamlined intake tube allows you to hear the song of your flat six at full-tilt more clearly and the bespoke carbon fiber look makes a dramatic improvement to the aesthetic of your engine bay, giving it a sporting aesthetic.
With the suspension assembled and the intake in place, now we play the waiting game. You see, if this Porsche Carrera S could talk, it’d say “If I Only Had a Brain”, like the Scarecrow from Wizard of Oz. Why? Because we’ve removed the ECU from the car and sent its brain overnight off to Fabspeed to be reprogrammed with a new performance calibration which yields a +14whp and +14wtq gain on a stock Carrera S – and since we’re pairing it with Fabspeed’s intake system, the combined effect should translate into a major change in the character of the car! We’re stoked to find out what the end result will be.
Tune in next time when we install the car’s new brain and get our chance to hear this baby fire up and onto the street for shakedown testing before we send her home.
Interested in modding your Porsche? From Porsche Wheels to exhaust to Suspension, we can help you take your late model Porsche to the next level. Talk to our friendly and knowledgeable Mod Experts at 714-582-3330, email us at sales@modbargains.com or use the “Live Chat” function on ModBargains.com.
Thanks for reading, see you next time!
Story & Photos Nicholas Gregson