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Author: Midwest Performance Cars

Porsche 997 Series

The Porsche 997 series is the highest production number version in the venerable 911 lineage, with over 200,000 made. It is understandable then, that there is a high demand for aftermarket performance upgrades for the 997. One of the most popular upgrades is an aftermarket exhaust, both for an improved sound as well as nominal gains in performance due to lighter weights than the OEM systems as well as some less restrictive plumbing. Unfortunately, a search for valved exhaust upgrades specific to the 997 turns up spotty availability, high pricing, unknown origins of manufacture, and most systems that ARE available, being aimed at turbo-only models.

There is a solution on the horizon however, due to arrive this Spring/Summer. A company in Willow Grove Pennsylvania, Soul Performance Products, is developing a clean-sheet, valved exhaust system for the 997 and the 997S. The reason I know this is because Soul is using my own 997 S cabrio to do their development of the system!

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I met John Brandenberger in person at SEMA 2017 in Las Vegas. He told me about the origin of the young company, what they had already developed and were planning on, and more importantly, their overall approach to the aftermarket exhaust upgrade market. They want to produce high quality systems locally, from as much U.S. derived raw materials as is feasible, and have available supply IN STOCK at reasonable prices. Those last 2 features would set them apart from a huge herd of other manufacturers and/or “marketing companies”, some of which do not actually produce product at all, rather just import items and resell them. Brandenberger oversees a 20,000 square foot production facility, more workshop than sales force, where his fabricators put together some beautiful product. I got to see it firsthand last November, when I dropped my car off with them for the winter. John recently sent me a link to a thread on the Rennlist forum pages, where another visitor to Soul had posted his experience in visiting their shop. It was strange for me to see my black 911S sitting on their shop floor without me being there. Now in late April, they are almost finished with the measuring and fabricating of the prototype system, and I am waiting on a call one morning that it’s all done, come and get it! We offer all Soul Performance exhaust systems here at Midwest Performance Cars. Call us to talk about upgrading your Porsche at 312-432-9492.

You can find more info on Soul Performance Products here: http://soulpp.com/

You can find the Rennlist thread here: https://rennlist.com/forums/997-forum/1063706- new-exhaust-option-for- 997-coming.html

I spun my 911………and it was pretty cool

It’s not what you’re thinking, but I just couldn’t resist, so allow me to explain.

The ’76 911S project car caught a lot of eyeballs earlier this year, and one of the people who took notice is a good friend, client, and fellow business owner, Jeff Hunt. Jeff and his wife Chris founded Snap36, the premier provider of scalable and cost effective 360° & 3D product imagery. Snap36 delivers turnkey photography services and provides the equipment, technology and expertise to implement 360° & 3D photography. Jeff’s company has experienced tremendous growth and is in the process of moving into a newer and much larger production facility. In celebration, they are having an opening night party at their new location, and Jeff suggested bringing the Outlaw 911 build to the party. Snap36 has a full-size turntable where they can actually rotate an entire car (or any other large-format product), so when he suggested photographing the Adriatic Blue Porsche in all its spinnable glory, I said heck yea, let’s do it!

Here are a few pictures of the 911 getting driven in and staged in-studio. We are looking forward to a one of a kind photo shoot of this one of a kind car, as it does an evening of spins………the kind that will NOT result in any needed bodywork or repair!

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Porsche Brake Squeal Chicago, IL

Several variations on a question/complaint that we have received from some of our Porsche clients in the past are:

“Why do my brakes squeal?”
“My brakes are squealing and they are driving me crazy!”
“You just installed new brakes and they’re squealing!”

Porsche Brake Squeal Chicago IL

If you’ve been around Porsche The Brand long enough, you’ve seen that they embody superior engineering and technical expertise, fantastic marketing, and great “CYA” skills. They have (finally) put together this video, all factual mind you, to explain why your brand-new Porsche’s brakes are squealing. While our explanations over the years have said the same thing in layman’s terms, we finally have a Porsche-provided info video to back us up. Watch:

Award-winning Porsche 911 build comes from Chicago

A friend tipped us off to an online listing of a 1976 Porsche 911S, which described a rough looking car for sale at a suspiciously low price. We bought it out of a garage in Wisconsin where it had sat, a failed project that the owner had run out of funds and the will to proceed. It looked like the mutt at the pound that everyone kept passing on, (hence the “rescue” title). After getting it back to Midwest Performance Cars in Chicago, we could see that a complete repaint would be needed, something not previously counted on. We had a bare metal repaint done in Porsche Adriatic Blue, and in the meantime, we rebuilt the 2.7 engine which had come with the car, but was in pieces several cardboard boxes.

The original, rotted seats were stripped to their frames, sprayed and rebuilt, then covered in OEM black vinyl with a Ralph Lauren plaid fabric insert, a pattern echoed on the door cards. The dash was covered in black Alcantara, rear seats eliminated, along with climate control, radio, lighter, everything but the ignition and light switches, with a goal of keeping things as light as possible.

We sourced a set of original 16” Fuchs, which we refinished from a very beat-up condition. All restoration was completed just in time to be ready for a transport truck that took the 911 from Chicago to the Das Renntreffen 2018 show in Miami, where it took 2 nd place in the air-cooled Outlaw class. That was VERY unexpected, as we had fantastic competition.

Every day, we perform Porsche and other German auto maintenance and repair, from your basic oil service to a full engine rebuild and restoration. Contact us and find out why we should be YOUR European Auto Service Source!

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Porsche Macan Hidden Oil Leak

The Porsche Macan is a great vehicle, BUT, it is still a car, and it comes with its particular issues. Here is a video detailing a “hidden oil leak” that we have seen repeatedly on Porsche Macan models, regardless of age or mileage. Watch the video and learn why you should choose an expert independent shop for your fluids, filters, and other maintenance, even when you are still under factory warranty! A quality independent shop can save you a lot of money in out-of-pocket repairs.