Teamspeed.com - Say Mashallah... 550HP were unleashed !

> WARNING: Long Review... if not into story details, scroll down to BELIEVE IT OR NOT section.

INTRO
How does reading about the Flamenco in a book compare to watching it on TV?! I was lucky enough to watch it live few times on stage but yesterday I got to dance. The streets of Riyadh were my stage as my Mistress and I went ballroom dancing... in her case, it took a turbo to Tango! There were things she didn’t really need but she just wanted! Since the day we first met she mastered the game of seduction. She’s flirtatious, she’s irresistible and whenever I took her for a drive she was seen as a poet’s lost rhyme, a pirate’s treasure ship or at times a Playboy bunny in metal sheets. But like all Swabian Reptiles she wanted the boost of the hot anus chili-pepper; i.e. the so-called turbo!

If I’m to custom-build my perfect Porsche it would have the looks of the 918 Spyder, the sound of the Carrera GT, the madness of the GT2 RS, the dominance of the GT3 RS, the sophistication of the 911 turbo and the handling of the Cayman at the price of a Boxster. Therefore when I first heard of the kits developed by TPC Racing back in 2009 I had no doubt this could be as close as a dreamer would get to his ultimate machine. The modifications started in the last week of April with nothing for me to do but wait anxiously 600 km away. Anorexia was my daily companion until the night fell down, that was when insomnia used to come and share my bed. The wait took longer than expected... much longer! When I got the news on a hot afternoon I could wait no more. The very next morning -on June 10th- I was on the early flight to Riyadh. I knew they didn’t manage to test drive the car yet, as they kept on working on late at night. And I had to wait for a couple of hours for them to finish bolting back the engine cover, trunk lining, the bottom shield... etc.

THE EXPERIENCE
I started the car and went for the test drive with the technician for him to keep an eye on the Boost Controller LCD screen. With radar cameras, undercover police cars and city traffic jam, I had no choice but to behave and abide by the speed limits until I get to the city outskirts. The car felt, drove and almost sounded the same to an extent that I felt I got robbed. Like a little boy sneaking away to commit a mischief, I continued driving with frustration below 3500 revs until I was so upset with myself and the money I wasted. As I took an exit going under a bridge, my hands were rapidly sweating and my heart was drumming in my ears. It was a conspiracy between my body parts.

All left my brain in the dark as my foot reacted by itself hitting the pedal down to the metal on a semi-circular loop/exit. I was in 2nd gear when I knocked the gate to Middle Earth down and by then I had no brains to interfere. The obedient Stuttgart Stallion kicked me in the back in an attempt to break loose. I could hear a hissing snake getting angry, turning into fire-breathing raged beast. It happened so quickly, I could no more remain the same. The engine was being haunted by 550 demons unleashed from the black gate of Mordor. I shifted into 3rd gear and straightened the car out of the exit shouting hysterically “YEESS!”; injuring my throat and (thank God I wear sunglasses) bringing down emotional tears. It was a scream of dominance taming evil demons, a roar of arrogance defying diabolic boundaries and a cry of self-denial in conjunction with the joy of make-belief. I knew then... I knew with that my own transformation was complete.

I looked at the technician as if I was a kidnapper and asked him firmly about the readings of the LCD screen. He exclaimed “how do you think I could see that?”. He asked me if I have a racing background -that was when he woke me up- and he went on in shock expressing how well the car steered and remained stable. He said “if you did this in a 911 you would’ve killed us.” And he was right! The car drove like a Cayman, steered like a Cayman but pulled like a 911 turbo. I was very much worried that this huge 550HP upgrade would sacrifice my driving confidence in the best steered Porsche... but I was wrong!

THE RACE BUTTONS
Nevertheless, I didn’t wait for one more kilometer to build my confidence in the saddle of this freak. I stopped the car on the right and asked the technician to keep his eyes now on the LCD screen. Just like the Race button in the Ferrari now I know about the undeclared TPC Race buttons. And for my Mistress is a “She Wolf” in disguise, two buttons were set for activation. With the Sport button on, and the PSM off -be warned her hips don’t lie- I took a deep breath then revved the RPM up to 5500 before launching a monster so upset, so mad and merciless. She was so loud and violent. She went on and on torturing the asphalt nonstop all the way into 2nd gear. The road retaliated at first trying to spin her off her feet but she was determined and got me to steer. The road gave way eventually declaring its defeat. Spreading out her rear wing, she took-off into 3rd gear plucking the feathers of drag queen peacocks down the street. Meanwhile the technician went on saying loud the readings under forced confessing. Yet she remained fearless... she’s a woman of steel !

BELIEVE IT OR NOT
When I returned back to the service center, I was overwhelmed with the following unexpected surprises:
1) The car is still a daily drive Porsche. Below the boost it remained 100% stock to an extent that within the city I felt (forgive me Mike) I got robbed by TPC.
2) I did absolutely no modification to my suspension system. Therefore, I cannot stress on this enough but to my surprise the car under acceleration and ‘street’ cornering maintained my driving confidence, its steering and stability. It just added lots of angry -yet tamed- power.
3) The ill-reputed aftermarket LWFW sound: believe it or not, when you are in the car you can’t hear it clearly at idle. Outside the car with my ear close to the rear wheel I could hear a soft rattle mixed with the exhaust note. The mechanic comment was “yes, it is very soft to the ears not like the grinding noise of the GT3 RS!”
4) The ill-reputed aftermarket LWFW deceleration pull: believe it or not, it doesn’t exist! The fear of affecting your driving style because the car pulls back hard once you remove your foot off the gas paddle is a MYTH with TPC’s LWFW.

THE REGRETS
1) I’m still not used to the turbo whoosh sound... I miss my angry exhaust note!
2) I wish I never wasted months worrying and delaying the turbo upgrade.
3) I cannot wait for the stage 3 turbo upgrade kit to smoke the Veyron 0-60 in 2.0 seconds similar to TPC’s 911 Blitzkrieg 775HP kit (forget what TPC’s website says).

THE PROS & CONS of TPC
PROS:
1) ‘Refinement’ is the biggest advantage of TPC’s developed parts among aftermarket competitors. In other words, what you hear about specific aftermarket parts doesn’t necessarily apply to TPC’s.
2) Very, very, very friendly customer service over the phone.
3) Professional customer service through emails.
4) They are trustable consultants and honest advisors not salesmen.
5) A humble team with a wonderful sense of humor who are crazy about fast cars and once I tell Mike “God bless you” he replies warmly “and God bless you Hassaan”.

CONS:
1) TPC know how to race cars and R&D kits but lack marketing skills.
2) TPC neglect a major layer of potential customers. For example: in all their posts, emails and website they -assume we are car racers or car mechanic experts- highlight the kit is safe on the engine because the boost doesn’t exceed 5-7 psi. For me, this never rang a bell. Have I known that BMW’s (or any car manufacturer’s) turbo boost goes above 24 psi I’d have bought the TPC kit last year without fear.
3) The manuals and CD provided with the kit are complete but not thoroughly detailed and it lacks troubleshooting and checklists, requiring the installer to check with them from time to time for clarification or a go-ahead.

THE CONCLUSION
Nothing -absolutely nothing- could prepare you for this experience. In the world of math, this Frankenstein has now more power than any Porsche ever built. TPC Racing has whipped more horses into my engine than any TechArt, Gemballa, RUF or Hamann ever bred in a Cayman.

But forget the boost, it is expected and it comes with the package you pay for. What you get for free is that your Porsche remains a daily drive, steers and drives like a Cayman. Need I say more?!! It’s a wet dream with a boost control !

THE KIT
TPC 550HP Stage-2 Power Turbo Package
LWFW & X51 clutch package
Stainless Steel High Flow Catted Race Headers
Electronic Boost Controller w LCD Boost Meter
Special ECU Mapping w 3-Way Map Switch
GT3 Cup Spark Plugs
Center Radiator Kit
Oil Exchanger Upgrade
TRAKPak VOS
De-snorked Intakes
... and more extras!