The $110 Hack That Finally Lets This $10,000 Porsche 911 Scream

A Much Deserved Ride And Handling Upgrade

The first step? Lowering the center of gravity and suspension, using aftermarket units from H&R springs, which cost just under $300. Because looking good is half the battle, right? It should on paper improve handling, a crucial upgrade for any Porsche. Danny admits we’ve never installed springs on a Porsche before, so this should be an interesting adventure. The first hurdle? Finding the elusive wheel lock key. After some creative thinking and a socket wrench, he’s in. These springs are massive – much thicker than anything that he’s ever seen before. While YouTube tutorials make it look easy, Danny knows there’s a lot that can go wrong, especially when you’re improvising. Danny liberally applies PB Blaster to every single bolt, hoping to avoid any snapped parts on this old ’99 Porsche.

The plan is simple: remove the strut to get the spring out. However, there’s a whole lot of disassembling involved before he could even touch the springs, starting with the calipers. Thankfully, this is a pretty standard procedure. Danny then moves on to the knuckle, which needs to be loosened to create some wiggle room. With a little persuasion, he creates enough space to remove the front strut. However, he completely forgot about the three sneaky bolts at the top that hold the strut in place! Luckily, there’s a solution (and a hilarious phone call to the wife for assistance, who also helped out in the previous video) and the old spring is out.

The new spring from H&R goes in (looking about the same height, but hey, trust the process!), but now he has to compress it to get the top bolts back on. To complete the look with their new wheels, he adds some spacers. The struggle is real with these things, but eventually, Danny prevails. By the second side, Danny jokingly claims that he practically qualifies as a Porsche suspension expert. The rear suspension is a whole new challenge. Danny has to resort to all sorts of awkward positions to access the bolts, this time inside the cabin under the rear seats. There’s considerably less space than in the front, but he manages to wrangle everything out. Putting it all back together is another story. But hey, that’s what makes working on cars interesting, right? With a little trial and error (and maybe a blatant disregard for safety), he gets it bolted up.

The $110 Exhaust Gamble

Now for the good stuff. Bone stock, this Porsche sounds about as exciting as a vacuum cleaner. Time to fix that, but staying on a budget. Enter the $110 muffler delete – a controversial move in the Porsche world, but Danny is here for the drama (and the sound, hopefully). Removing the mufflers on a rear-engine Porsche is a different ordeal altogether. These things are tucked away in a tight spot. The first muffler removal takes an eternity, thanks to a seized clamp. But eventually, it yields. The second muffler, thankfully, is a breeze. To complete the visual transformation, he adds some quad tips.

The million-dollar question: did this budget exhaust job work? Well, it was a pain to install, but the sound is actually more than decent. (Take a listen in the video linked below). Not bad for a couple hundred bucks! The project wraps up with a quick spark plug and coil pack change. The old ones were filthy, and one even had some oil in it (not a good sign). After spending $500, new parts are in, and hopefully, this Porsche will be running a little smoother now. This project has been a wild ride for Danny Z. He learned a lot (and probably broke a few rules along the way), but in the end, he transformed this budget 996 Porsche and it finally sounds as good as it looks. I for one can’t wait to see what’s coming next on this budget build. Watch this space.