991.2 Carrera HIDES SIGNIFICANT POTENTIAL
The 911 Turbo's little brother isn't so little anymore
TWIN TURBOS UNLOCK MASSIVE POWER POTENTIAL
Carrera / T / S / GTS
The 991.2 Carrera was a stark departure from all previous Carreras. Porsche decided to ditch the naturally aspirated flat 6 engine in favor of a more modern power architecture. The 991.2 Carrera features a 3.0L flat 6 engine with twin turbos. Each exhaust bank is met with a turbocharger. Between the different versions of the Carrera, Porsche tweaked the turbo geometry and tuning profile accordingly.
More specific turbo specifications are below but no matter the trim of your Carrera, easy power can be extracted through some basic bolt-on modifications and a proper tuning calibration.
Turbo Sizing
Porsche modified the turbo compressor and wheel sizes among the different trims.
| Model | Turbine Size | Compressor Size | Peak Boost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base / T | 49mm | 45mm | 13psi |
| S | 51mm | 45mm | 16psi |
| GTS | 55mm | 48mm | 18psi |
Intake
Whether your 991.2 Carrera is a Base/T, S or GTS the same opportunities exist in improving the air flow to the engine.
The IPD Plenum is a tried and true performance gainer on any boosted Porsche. The smoothed Y-pipe merge collector and golf-ball like dimple effect inside the plenum yield more air velocity and increase power. Many customers will also upgrade their OEM paper air filter to a high flow filter such as a BMC or AMS filter. We also recommend replacing the diverter valves that are prone to leaking for the Flat 6 Diverter Valves by EVOMS to take advantage of quicker and more consistent turbo spooling.
If you plan to run higher boost levels or track the vehicle, an intercooler kit also provides added cooling ensuring lower IATs.
Exhaust
On the exhaust side, many customers opt for either a partial exhaust or a full exhaust system. The 991.2 has 3 essential components to the exhaust.
Turbo Manifold: The turbo manifolds sit directly on the exhaust banks of the engine. They direct exhaust gasses into the compressor of the turbo. Having larger diameter tubing and a smoother flow design reduces turbo lag and increases exhaust flow thus making power.
Link Pipes (Downpipes): The link pipes connect from the turbo outlet and route exhaust gases to the muffler. The OEM link pipes are crippled by a high-density catalyst that restricts the flow of exhaust gases.
Muffler: The center part and final component of the exhaust is the muffler. OEM mufflers are designed with many baffles to ensure road & street compliance. They often restrict the flow of exhaust in order to eliminate or soften the sound of the exhaust. An aftermarket muffler will help increase the flow of the exhaust and provide a more aggressive tone.
BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER
Like any modern turbo vehicle, the software calibration can provide incredible increases in power. Porsche engineers left a lot of room for improvement or perhaps a lot of space to ensure the Carrera wouldn't compete with the 911 Turbo. Tuning tends to be the best bang for your buck with turbocharged vehicles and the 991.2 Carrera is no different. There are two very high-quality, engineered and track tested solutions available. Both offer a great increase in power while maintaining OEM reliability and drivability. If you pair tuning with the hardware upgrades above, you can easily outperform the 911 Turbo at a fraction of the price. Keep in mind all dynos read a little different so don't get too caught up in the differences between Cobb and APR in terms of power with the tune. They are both relatively similar in terms of a Stage 1 tune regarding power levels.
Cobb Tuning Accessport
APR
Cobb Tuning is a well-known and respected name within the Porsche tuning community. They have provided tuning options for Porsche owners since the 996 Turbo. In recent years, they have invested a lot into the Porsche brand introducing Accessports to many Porsche models.
The Accessport is a very user-friendly tuning solution that allows a customer to purchase and Accessport and perform the flashing process from their driveway or garage. You simply plug into your OBD II port, click a few buttons and the Cobb Accessport takes over installing your tune. The other huge benefit of the Accessport is upgradable maps based on hardware upgrades. We offer our Pro Tuning service to optimize all common modifications to your 991.2 Carrera.
In addition to engine tuning, Cobb also offers optional PDK tuning to help improve the performance and driving experience out of the PDK transmission.
POWER
The Cobb Accessport generates significant power gains for all trims of the Carrera. In addition, we offer full custom Pro Tuning services to make even more power with your specific hardware upgrades.
Base
Stage 1: +59HP +96TQ
Stage 2: +63HP +113 TQ
S
Stage 1: +50 HP +52 TQ
Stage 2: +71HP +59 TQ
GTS
Stage 1: +88HP +106 TQ
Stage 2: +88HP +115 TQ
APR is a well-known and respected name withing tuning circles. While they focus much of their products around the Audi/VW family, they have tuned Porsche vehicles since the 996. Recently, they entered back into the Porsche tuning market in a big way. They now support majority of the most recent Porsche vehicles and as the lines between Audi, VW, and Porsche blur more, expect APR to put their knowledge to use.
The APR tune must be flashed via the OBD II port at an Authorized APR Dealer. Flat 6 Motorsports is an Authorized Dealer and can provide flashing services in the Central Florida area or come visit our Flat 6 Motorsports Studio & Lounge located in the Orlando, FL area.
APR's tune for the 991.2 Carrera also provides some additional features such as the car defaulting with start/stop disabled, linear throttle response curves, left foot braking, and brake boosting.
POWER
APR tunes generates significant power gains. Their tuning platform is a well engineered program that offers world-class power delivery and reliability.
Base
Stage 1: +122HP +133TQ
Stage 1 w/ e85: +155HP +195TQ
S
Stage 1: +98HP +120TQ
GTS
Stage 1: +94HP +122TQ
Stage 1 w/ Intercooler: +121HP +131TQ
Stage 1 w/ e85: +152HP +160TQ
Stage 1 w/ e85 & Intercooler: +185HP +160TQ
WHY THE GTS TUrboS MATTER
The larger trim on the GTS turbos allows for higher levels of air flow that result in the ability to force more air into the engine. With the proper cooling upgrades and fueling calibration, when running 93 Octane, you can gain over 200HP! With E85 fuel, you can nearly double the output of the Base 3.0L Carrera. While the GTS turbos sourced from Porsche are not an inexpensive item, as a few more cars end up in accidents, perhaps grabbing a lightly used set would be a bargain with the power potential from this easy swap. Several companies are working on offering a bolt-on turbo upgrade kit as well, so stay tuned!
If the OEM turbos are too expensive for your budget, Pure Turbos offers a turbo upgrade service. You simply send your turbos in or pay a core charge and they upgrade the factory turbocharger with a larger compressor and turbine wheel. Recently APR tuned a 3.0L Carrera T with the Pure Turbo Hybrid Turbos and achieved 700WHP on E85 with only common bolt-on modifications! The power potential is quite remarkable on the new Carrera and leaves a ton of head room to make power.
VIEW OUR COMPREHENSIVE 991.2 COLLECTION
