BUILD BIBLE: Warren’s Porsche 991.1 Carrera GTS – Street Build

Warren’s Porsche 2016 911.1 Carrera GTS

Hey All! – My name is Warren Morris from Orlando FL and I am a huge car enthusiast and Porsche fan.  I have had the chance to visit Stuttgart and the Porsche museum back when I was 27 – and since then have been on the hunt for my dream car build.  I traded in my GT350R for this car when I found it locally – realizing an opportunity to make this my version of a “911R” or 991.1 touring.  I have worked closely with the wonderful folks at Porsche Orlando (Maitland store) and the awesome guys at Driver’s Choice Motors, Inc!  Many of the visual upgrades were completed by Samuel’s Auto in Sanford FL.  None of this would have been possible regarding the performance and visceral sound emanating from this car without the help of John Gaydos and his team at Soul Performance.  My project that you see is a 2016 GTS (last of the NA).  I chose this vehicle for 2 simple purposes.  It came with a back seat that I could use for my kids and the NA motor with wide body was the closest I would get to GT3 performance but as an everyday driver (if so chose to).  

EXHAUST / ENGINE / POWER

• Soul Performance Products Competition Headers – This was my first upgrade to the performance of the car and I can summarize in one word – “intoxicating”!  The car woke up and felt very responsive.  The tone at idle was very deep and ready to engage.  Under mild throttle, you could hear the car was modified but when you hit the gas, it really came alive.  You will definitely feel the upgrade in your performance.   
• Soul Performance Products Valved Performance Exhaust System – Probably the most asked question – “How much louder and aggressive are the valved exhaust components when added with headers?”  Well – let’s just say, you have options.  The valves allow for you to completely turn it off (the loudness) and you have zero drone and zero aggressiveness.  This is because you keep your side mufflers.  I promise you it’s like having a stock car.  Press the exhaust button (sport or sport +) and it’s like a whole other animal.  When you start the car it sounds awesome – GT3 like for sure.  Mild throttle around town and you will get some looks and smiles.  Full throttle and under load…this thing screams and it’s amazing.  You really hear the NA motor and to me it’s the perfect tone – not too deep or raspy.  It’s full motor and great fun.  The car genuinely feels like it can open up like it should and not held back.  This would be the closest you can get your car sounding like a GT3 without actually putting that motor and exhaust onto your car.  Very minimal (if any) drone on the highway at low RPM and you can either turn it off completely or down shift a gear.
• COBB Accessport – Including PDK Tune – I wanted every inch of performance out of my NA motor including optimizing the upgrades I had installed with the free flowing headers and exhaust so this was a must for me. This added additional HP and made my car feel smoother throughout the RPM band but the biggest upgrade was the PDK tune.  You’ll find out driving a GT3 PDK that the “lesser” cars are sluggish in the upshifts and downshifts.  No problems now! – I installed the Sport+ map from COBB and I have immediate response in my shifts.  I did not go with the race/aggressive map as I do not track my car at all.
• BMC High Performance Air Filters – Very simple and effective way to squeeze out additional HP from your car.  Most folks would suggest that you do this during the next service you get as it’s a quick upgrade. 
• Updated Sparks and Plugs –  I did not believe it in the beginning but after these were serviced and switched out – I was a believer.  I would recommend this upgrade as I noticed at times the car felt slow and sluggish.  Once this was done, I honestly think it gave me 10+ HP that was lost somewhere.

BRAKES / SUSPENSION

• Bilstein B16 Damptronic Coilovers
• DSC Sport V3 Suspension Controller (GT3 Touring file and changed parameters to fit the B16’s better)
• Corner Balanced and set up by Driver’s Choice Motors, Inc.

Although I am not going to track the car, I felt that it was necessary to upgrade the suspension with quality parts.  The B16’s are controlled as if they were stock shocks and respond to the buttons inside the vehicle.  Paired up with more aggressive springs – these are allowing me to get the lowered stance I want with the performance (and not bottoming out) that I needed.  I think they are awesome and a must upgrade to this car.

WHEELS / TIRES

• BC Forged MLE81 20×9″ and 20×12″ (aggressive offsets and polished lips)
• Michelin PS4 (255/35R20, 315/30R20)

One of my favorite upgrades to this project.  I went with what I thought was as aggressive of a fitment that I could go with and color combination to highlight the wheels.  I felt that the black stock wheels get lost and it is hard to see any of the details.  I love the polished stepped lips of these MLE’s and how they make the car look even wider than it is.  The red calipers really look great behind the gunmetal centers.

EXTERIOR

• GT3 Front Bumper with Inserts
• GT3 RS 991.2 side skirts 
• Mosshammer rear lower diffuser 
• Soul Performance Products Black Chrome Exhaust Tips 
• Full ceramic coating and paint correction

The GT3 front bumper was a must for me to complete the “911R” look I was after.  If you remember the 991.1 actually did not have a touring edition – but it did have the 911R.  Obviously my car is just a shadow of that car but after seeing one in person, I always wanted to complete a similar project with the duck tail.  I figured mine is a blend between touring and the 991.1 R without the hefty price tag!  I am also not afraid to put miles on this one. The side skirts are ankle cutters.  You need to be careful getting in and out of the car but wow, does this upgrade make the car look aggressive.   That with the similar color of the wheels really brings it all together.   I switched from the Vorsteiner diffuser after I had some heat soak issues.  The old diffuser sat way to close to the exhaust and engine, which did not allow heat to escape.  Eventually it cracked under the heat and had to be replaced.  The Mosshammer version does not travel under the car much and allows the engine to dissipate the heat.  It also looks great.

INTERIOR

• GT3 RS “Thicker Steering Wheel” with top center stripe in red
• Ceramic Coating

 

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