RUF and Road Trip (long post)
10-16-2006, 11:23 AM
#1
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
RUF and Road Trip (long post)
My 06 C4S coupe has been at the RUF Auto Centre for 4 weeks getting the R Kompressor conversion done. I went to Dallas to pick it up Saturday and here are some of my reflections. The install is one of the cleanest I’ve seen. Everything you may have read about it in trade pubs is true. Except for the large pulley and the RUF emblazoned on the air box, it’s all but invisible.
I left the shop at 8:30 Saturday morning and was back home in Denver 11 hours later. The car runs so strong. I’m glad I had a chance to drive it at lower elevations – you can really feel the boost when the variocam kicks in. It’s strong at altitude too. Up here in the thin air, having something push the air in makes quite a difference.
The setup is the stock RUF R Kompressor conversion package. I have AWE headers (which I had coated at JetHot) and PSE. The 100 cell cats that come with the package sound great with PSE off and with PSE on, it sounds awesome.
I got stuck in stop and go traffic in Colorado Springs and the car was not too rough to drive in first and second gear. A couple of times on the stretch from Dalhart to Raton, I hit 140 mph passing a line of cars and it was effortless.
The guys at RUF did an outstanding job and you can’t beat their customer service. The car was fully detailed when I picked it up although almost 800 miles of bugs took its toll on the way home. I debated long and hard about adding the X51 kit but the S/C seemed to make more sense for me at high altitude. Even though I gave up the factory warranty on the engine, I’m satisfied with the RUF warranty and given my experience with these guys, I’m not worried at all. My biggest concern on the drive home wasn’t about the engine; I was worried more about not having a spare on some of the highways traveled. – lots of dead cell areas along the way.
One other nuance I noticed, the revised throttle mapping enabled in Sport mode is gone – I guess I should have expected that since the ECU is a RUF ECU. Really makes no difference to me though – as far as I’m concerned the foot controls the throttle.
The roads and traffic weren’t bad – one thing about Saturday driving is that the construction is shut down so no delays and not many trucks. I got stopped by CSP just as I crossed from New Mexico into Colorado on I-25. Luckily I was at a reasonable speed. I got stopped since I don’t have a front plate. It’s happened one time before and I just got a warning – didn’t have to fix it. This time the trooper was a car guy and I had to show him the engine and talk for about 10 minutes before I was on my way – not even a warning. He did ask though if I had been speeding and I said only in Texas and New Mexico.
I learned a new fact about my car on the trip. I filled up in Dumas, TX about 375 miles from home and just kept going. I was about 30 miles north of Colorado Springs when my low fuel light went on and the computer said remaining range of 80 miles – since I only had 30 miles to go I pressed on. First thing yesterday morning I pulled out of the garage to gas up and 500 yards from the house, I ran out of gas. So 80 miles on the computer really only equals 30 miles left. A lesson learned. The engine stopped on a hill so I don’t think I got any bottom-of-the tank dirt, I put two gallons in, went to the station and filled up and have had no problems. Used about 1 bar’s worth of oil on the trip too
Sorry for the long post but it was a great trip and I wanted to share my experiences. I know there are a lot of choices for engine mods – this one works for me!!
I left the shop at 8:30 Saturday morning and was back home in Denver 11 hours later. The car runs so strong. I’m glad I had a chance to drive it at lower elevations – you can really feel the boost when the variocam kicks in. It’s strong at altitude too. Up here in the thin air, having something push the air in makes quite a difference.
The setup is the stock RUF R Kompressor conversion package. I have AWE headers (which I had coated at JetHot) and PSE. The 100 cell cats that come with the package sound great with PSE off and with PSE on, it sounds awesome.
I got stuck in stop and go traffic in Colorado Springs and the car was not too rough to drive in first and second gear. A couple of times on the stretch from Dalhart to Raton, I hit 140 mph passing a line of cars and it was effortless.
The guys at RUF did an outstanding job and you can’t beat their customer service. The car was fully detailed when I picked it up although almost 800 miles of bugs took its toll on the way home. I debated long and hard about adding the X51 kit but the S/C seemed to make more sense for me at high altitude. Even though I gave up the factory warranty on the engine, I’m satisfied with the RUF warranty and given my experience with these guys, I’m not worried at all. My biggest concern on the drive home wasn’t about the engine; I was worried more about not having a spare on some of the highways traveled. – lots of dead cell areas along the way.
One other nuance I noticed, the revised throttle mapping enabled in Sport mode is gone – I guess I should have expected that since the ECU is a RUF ECU. Really makes no difference to me though – as far as I’m concerned the foot controls the throttle.
The roads and traffic weren’t bad – one thing about Saturday driving is that the construction is shut down so no delays and not many trucks. I got stopped by CSP just as I crossed from New Mexico into Colorado on I-25. Luckily I was at a reasonable speed. I got stopped since I don’t have a front plate. It’s happened one time before and I just got a warning – didn’t have to fix it. This time the trooper was a car guy and I had to show him the engine and talk for about 10 minutes before I was on my way – not even a warning. He did ask though if I had been speeding and I said only in Texas and New Mexico.
I learned a new fact about my car on the trip. I filled up in Dumas, TX about 375 miles from home and just kept going. I was about 30 miles north of Colorado Springs when my low fuel light went on and the computer said remaining range of 80 miles – since I only had 30 miles to go I pressed on. First thing yesterday morning I pulled out of the garage to gas up and 500 yards from the house, I ran out of gas. So 80 miles on the computer really only equals 30 miles left. A lesson learned. The engine stopped on a hill so I don’t think I got any bottom-of-the tank dirt, I put two gallons in, went to the station and filled up and have had no problems. Used about 1 bar’s worth of oil on the trip too
Sorry for the long post but it was a great trip and I wanted to share my experiences. I know there are a lot of choices for engine mods – this one works for me!!
10-16-2006, 11:28 AM
#2
Burning Brakes
Join Date: Feb 2006
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Awesome! Congrats on the successful mod - your continued driving impressions will be interesting; I've considering the same route in the near future...
Did you do bodywork, too?
Pictures would be really great, JH... <g>
-don
Did you do bodywork, too?
Pictures would be really great, JH... <g>
-don
10-16-2006, 11:48 AM
#4
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by dstrimbu
Awesome! Congrats on the successful mod - your continued driving impressions will be interesting; I've considering the same route in the near future...
Did you do bodywork, too?
Pictures would be really great, JH... <g>
-don
Did you do bodywork, too?
Pictures would be really great, JH... <g>
-don
I'm not big into dyno stats, so no, I didn't do before and after. I just like to drive and there's power to spare so dyno info is no concern to me.
Please follow-up on the ongoing Ruf experience.
10-16-2006, 12:22 PM
#6
Three Wheelin'
Great modification and happy to know that RUF provided the quality and performance you expect from a reputable organization that is certified by Porsche! Would love to see pictures and your continued driving impressions. Enjoy!
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10-16-2006, 05:20 PM
#8
Great post. Thanks for the effort. I've been trying to talk myself out of doing that to my 4S as I also live at altitude and I would LOVE to get 'charged' air.
How does the engine note sound inside the car now?
How does the engine note sound inside the car now?
10-16-2006, 05:39 PM
#9
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by JohnnyNarcosis
Great post. Thanks for the effort. I've been trying to talk myself out of doing that to my 4S as I also live at altitude and I would LOVE to get 'charged' air.
How does the engine note sound inside the car now?
How does the engine note sound inside the car now?
10-16-2006, 06:35 PM
#10
Rennlist Member
Great write up and congratulations!
On a side note, we drove from Atlanta to Birmingham over the weekend for our nephew's birthday. On the way back the fuel light came on and the difference between the range and distance to our house was ~10 miles (the range was greater). I kept going, keeping an eye on distance vs. range for the remaining 100 or so miles, and it ranged from +8 to +18 (depending on how much time was spent in the throttle).
By the time we stopped for gas, our distance to the house was 2 miles and our range was 12 miles, so I consider mine at least to be very accurate. I read in the manual I believe that as the fuel level gets lower, it does the mathematical calculations for range more frequently - but that it can be off depending on how steady your mileage is (i.e. are you on/off the throttle or cruising).
On a side note, we drove from Atlanta to Birmingham over the weekend for our nephew's birthday. On the way back the fuel light came on and the difference between the range and distance to our house was ~10 miles (the range was greater). I kept going, keeping an eye on distance vs. range for the remaining 100 or so miles, and it ranged from +8 to +18 (depending on how much time was spent in the throttle).
By the time we stopped for gas, our distance to the house was 2 miles and our range was 12 miles, so I consider mine at least to be very accurate. I read in the manual I believe that as the fuel level gets lower, it does the mathematical calculations for range more frequently - but that it can be off depending on how steady your mileage is (i.e. are you on/off the throttle or cruising).
10-16-2006, 07:35 PM
#11
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by gravedgr
Great write up and congratulations!
On a side note, we drove from Atlanta to Birmingham over the weekend for our nephew's birthday. On the way back the fuel light came on and the difference between the range and distance to our house was ~10 miles (the range was greater). I kept going, keeping an eye on distance vs. range for the remaining 100 or so miles, and it ranged from +8 to +18 (depending on how much time was spent in the throttle).
By the time we stopped for gas, our distance to the house was 2 miles and our range was 12 miles, so I consider mine at least to be very accurate. I read in the manual I believe that as the fuel level gets lower, it does the mathematical calculations for range more frequently - but that it can be off depending on how steady your mileage is (i.e. are you on/off the throttle or cruising).
On a side note, we drove from Atlanta to Birmingham over the weekend for our nephew's birthday. On the way back the fuel light came on and the difference between the range and distance to our house was ~10 miles (the range was greater). I kept going, keeping an eye on distance vs. range for the remaining 100 or so miles, and it ranged from +8 to +18 (depending on how much time was spent in the throttle).
By the time we stopped for gas, our distance to the house was 2 miles and our range was 12 miles, so I consider mine at least to be very accurate. I read in the manual I believe that as the fuel level gets lower, it does the mathematical calculations for range more frequently - but that it can be off depending on how steady your mileage is (i.e. are you on/off the throttle or cruising).
