Yes I saw that...When I e-mailed Hans about the conversion he didn't mention anything about a price increase. Needless to say it's possible. If so, I definitely know what I'm going to do and not do. $20K is my limit for a chip/ exhaust and clutch. Ruf is a great name but I gotta draw the line somewhere.

 

I think I'm in the same boat as you...I've been waiting for their suspension components and body pieces to be updated...no word on coilovers yet...however, RT12 front and rear end are available...

Since I live fairly far away, I was going to ship my car down over the winter months and have things put together.

Good luck to you.

 

Its modified turbo's as well, which kit were you getting?

 

According to their website, the 550 conversion consists of ECU, air filter, exhaust and new clutch. When you get into the 600 hp conversion there are new turbos etc ($45K).
I'll e mail them this week and find out.


RUF engine performance kits for 997 turbo

Engine performance kit: 510 hp (375 kW) at 6,600 rpm – 705 Nm at 2,300 rpm

for 6 speed transmission and tiptronic



510 hp (375 kW) performance kit – manual transmission

Fine tuned engine electronics, sports air filter
R97 100 100 54 ...... $6950.00
510 hp (375 kW) performance kit – tiptronic transmission

Fine tuned engine electronics, sports air filter
R97 100 100 64 ...... $6950.00


Engine performance kit: 550 hp (404 kW) at 6,500 rpm – 780 Nm at 2,500 rpm

for 6 speed transmission and tiptronic



550 hp (404 kW) performance kit – manual transmission

Fine tuned engine electronics, sports air filter, conversion of exhaust with 4 round 76 mm end tips and sports catalytic converters, stronger clutch
R97 100 100 55 ..... $ 19950.00
Assembly of 550 hp (404 kW) – manual transmission (Term: 1 week)
550 hp (404 kW) performance kit – tiptronic transmission

Fine tuned engine electronics, sports air filter, conversion of exhaust with 4 round 76 mm end tips and sports catalytic converters
R97 100 100 65 ..... $ 19950.00
Assembly of 550 hp (404 kW) – tiptronic transmission (Term: 1 week)


Engine performance kit: 600 hp (441 kW) at 6,500 rpm – 850 Nm at 2,750 rpm

for 6 speed transmission and tiptronic



600 hp (441 kW) performance kit – manual transmission

Fine tuned engine electronics, sports air filter, conversion of exhaust with 4 round 76 mm end tips and sports catalytic converters, RUF VTG turbo chargers, stronger clutch
R97 100 100 56 ..... $ 44950.00
Assembly of 600 hp (441 kW) – manual transmission (Term: 1 week)

 

I respectfully disagree with a couple of points in this statement. Alois Ruf has been building cars for decades, and has race winning cars in his stable of achievements. His know how is at the leading edge of tuning, and out of all the the "tuners" mentioned, only Ruf has manufacturer status with their own VIN numbers.

As far as warranty goes, Ruf is legendary. If something serious goes wrong with your car, they will stand by it, warranty or not. I also know that their intimate relationship with Porsche and quality product means that more often than not, any warranty issues are handled by Porsche dealers in concert with the techs at Ruf.

A lot of the arguments being floated here were the same I heard a few years back when I did my 996TT to 550 hp specs...just a chip/exhaust etc, not worth it, save some money etc etc. I can tell you this, the car was a rocket and clearly making closer to 600hp with a long flat monster torque curve. I had a second gear synchro issue with the car after warranty, and the techs at the dealer spoke with Ruf in germany. They were told to fix it, do whatever they needed under factory warranty, and send Ruf a bill for the rest ! I know this much, the lads at the dealership had nothing but respect for Ruf Automobile (even more so after they drove it), and no "tuner" attitude was evident.

My only regret auto wise, is the fact that I sold that car....it was astonishing and probably the fastest car I have ever owned. My wife and I look forward to the day we can go over to Pfaffenhausen or Bahrain and build a Ruf from scratch. Once you deal with Ruf, you are a customer for life.

Go with Ruf, you won't regret it.

 

I am sorry, I meant to say 'don't race Porsches AS MUCH'.

RS-Tuning IMHO (and others) are as good if not better at tuning as Ruf, the difference is RS-Tuning is nowhere near as good at aftersales as Ruf is. Ruf will certainly look after you very well indeed.

I will be very interested to see what Ruf (and all other tuners) do when Porsche switch out the GT1 engine for a consumer grade non-modifyable one. Porsche are making it very clear now that they don't want people tuning their cars after they leave the factory. Tuners will have to just concentrate on handling improvements as the core of their business.

 

Porsche also happily sells body shells to Ruf that they know are going to be rebadged and VIN'd as Ruf cars...the R+D interchange between Ruf and Porsche is one characterized by mutual respect and a long history...I honestly doubt Ruf will have any supply issues from Porsche, engines or otherwise.

 

It's not whether the supply will stop, it's what's being supplied!

The current GT1 997 Turbo engine is supplied pumping out a factory 620/680Nm torque and Ruf (or whoever) can then work their magic and up that to at least 900Nm torque after tuning (healthily).

The new Facelift Turbo engine (cheaper M97 with Turbos) will pump out about 700Nm and if anyone tries to tune it - it will probably break! It will almost certainly not be as strong.

Hence my comment about how the tuning companies will react to this.

 

While this is getting off topic a little, I believe this is pure speculation. We have no idea what the new engine will do, or is capable of...I would doubt that the engine is incapable of producing more than it's stated HP rating...the real issue is will it have the durability of the GT1 block. THe bottom line is we don't know.

We have simply been fortunate recipients of excellent engineering in a very reliable engine for several years...we have gotten quite spoiled in the massive HP gains with tuning. However, to suggest that it will break down if tuning is applied is speculation at best.

 

Have a read: Rennteam.com: GT1 engine GONE