Hroussard

It was the cigarette lighter fuse . New fuse. Now it works! So here is another pictures of my natural leather interior. Hope you like it!

My Turbo's show Garrett as part of the forging but they also have an additional marking on a smooth surface ( also on the housing) engraving reads TIAL Sports. Is this the famous A28 turbo??

Thanks Logray.

Folks, here is a stupid question. Coming from the Porsche factory, what is the OEM turbo that is used in the 2003 Porsche 996 Turbo?? And, if it's an OEM version ( part number / name) , what would be the equivalent in the aforementioned K Sizes??

Yep, as expected the Cigarette lighter does not work at all.

Thanks again. I understood that to be true to ( at least after the year 2002). Do you happen to know which fuse it is ( I take it is in the fuse box on the left side panel, driver's side).

Thanks JFP, The Charger works fine ( standby -power on light is ON ) when I use the alligator clips, all the right idiot lights light up and it seems to be charging fine ( CTEK get hot too )- Good to hear there is an overheat protection built in). Yes, the battery indicator (half-full battery icon) is ON. No flashing lights. However, when I try and use the cigarette lighter, I do get the Standby- Power on light but hitting the MODE button does not progress the mode through to the CAR icon. Seems to indicate that the CTEK is ON and working but that it does not "see" the battery hence it does not allow you to select the CAR icon stepping through the MODE settings. So I am thinking the cigarette lighter does not work ( either because it does not work / defective - or because the Porsche design boys decided the lighter does not work when the ignition is off and the key is out.) hence my question Cheers

So, I just bought a 2003 Porsche Turbo and decided to "invest" in the CTEK. with the cigarette lighter adapter. But, It is not charging. The CTEK power light goes on but I can not bring the mode up to the "CAR" icon ( IE the mode button does not move the mode to the "CAR" option. Then I connected the CTEK to the battery terminals. I could charge ( leaving the battery in place and just clipping the CTECk alligator clips to each of the battery terminals). It worked fine but BOY that charger was getting HOT so I decided to unplug after 30 minutes or so. I was able to close the hood and it would have been fine if I felt comfortable with the charging process and the HEAT that this charger generated. So here are the questions: 1/ Is it possible that my cigarette lighter goes "dead" when you switch off the ignition? I was under the impression that 2003 models have continuous power on that cigarette lighter socket. 2/ Is it OK to connect the alligator clips to the battery terminals to charge WITHOUT disconnecting the NEGATIVE terminal so I do not lose any computer settings or are we supposed to charge the battery and connect the CTEK indirectly ie to the + and - terminals in the engine compartment?? 3/ Should the charger get really HOT??

Well, as I also have and ECU tune I have been told I should have around 520HP. That's a good idea on getting the Porsche crests on the center caps. Have not seen that anywhere, not even on the Sportec website. :-) Thanks for the nice compliments.

So, here is an update. I got the car and drove it for a few 30 minutes sessions ( did not have more time). First of all, the Fabspeed system is AWESOME but definately not for the feint of ears. The engine rumbles.... at a low pitch at idle. That tone really does not changes much up to about 3500 Revs. Thereafter, it's a glorious roar!. What I really like is the change of sound and gurgle when you lift the throttle. Also, although the car is lowered and is running on coil-overs, somehow I seem to have less ie NO bottoming-out when driving the car into my garage, compared with the C2 996 which seems to have the exhaust substantially lower under the rear body of the car . That was another real good thing for me because I expected to have to make a change to the gradient from the road to my garage. The JIC Cross are quite solid but not harsh and make the car feel well planted. I like it. I have not yet been able to make some decent pix but here... a few just to show how it looks like. Did I mention the great 19 inch Sportec rims with almost 4 inch deep dish in the back?? WOW.

If you still own your 996... Try this tire: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Fuzion&tireModel=ZRi I got 40K miles in the front and more than 32k on the rear. Note: Tires looks narrow and are slippery for the first few hundred miles... that is the only disadvantage but they work very well in dry weather, little tire noise compared with all the others when 1/2 worn etc. Also had Kumho but this Fuzion is way better and cheaper too..

Intercoolers cool the air so you can get more fuel in the cylinders without incurring detonation. therefor, it increases your fuel burn. So unless you really want to drive the beast at high power settings (heavy throttle) because you are tracking etc it's bragging rights only ... really...

Thanks Guys ( and Gals??)... So the car is being shipped to me in the next few days. It will be interesting to see how the car "behaves" in real life on those 19" Sportec's with the JIC Cross suspension. I do like the lip on the rear rims. It looks clean , Teutonic and efficient and 315 / 25's lay a serious patch of rubber I am sure. Originally I was looking for a totally non-modded car but looking at the background of the Turbo a bit more, it became clear that if Porsche can put an X-50 on the car for 17K, a serious tuner can do the same without upsetting the ride and driving characteristics. And of course, when your start looking at that, it's a good idea to see what other mods will "enhance" that complete package . That is something you do not get from the X-50 of course. It's the header/ exhaust/suspension/ecu upgrades. NO wonder that the X-50 basically loses almost all it value ( actually - it adds about $2500) to the value. So your grand loss on that package is about 16K including sales tax on the original purchase price. Pretty steep depreciation right there. So, my focus changed to finding the right car with the right upgrades and the usual low mileage requirements, 1-2 owners at the most, a California car, modified in California to make sure ALL the bits are approved in CA as that may give you a nasty surprise in the future it they are not. Making sure that the tuners are all still in business was another requirement. Frankly my initial search also included some exterior paint / colors I was particularly looking ie red/white/ yellow or paint to sample with a nice contrasting interior but as there are very few of those cars around I decided to focus on finding a nice interior color as that is what you are looking at when you are driving the car :-) . My previous 996 was basalt black with the boxter red - terracotta interior and i liked it a lot so I happily made that change in my search criteria. I am thinking that the 2002-2004 Porsche Turbo is THE best value for money of ANY Porsche's at the moment. I looked at Ferrari, Maserati , Aston Martin but there are really no comparable daily drivers that will last in that environment or that will be at the same running costs as the Turbo. I sold my 996 because of the risk to have a detonating 996 engine rendering the car basically as an heap of useless bits an pieces. The car was running just fine but I was not going to bet against the factory on this issue. So buying a 996 or a 997.1 would be out of the question and I did not like the idea of having to spend a wad of money on the check light for the 993 series. So the Mezger engine was the only way to go.. We will see :-) BTW I have some 996 pieces for sale : an OEM exhaust system ( really like new) complete with stainless steel oval Porsche tips, a Schnell cold air system ( no additional HP but a nice "snarling sounds from the engine on the inside) and a set of terra cotta floormats ( new in box). Ping me if you are interested.

Just saying hi to all of you. Finally found my new ride. A very low mileage 2003 Turbo with lots of goodies. A California car that has been kissed good-night every day with a nice color combination, a Mezger engine and a 6-speed on 19 inch pushing a JIC Cross suspension with some added symphony Porsche sounds through a Fabspeed header / exhaust system, an Evoms Air intake and some tinkering with the ECU to deliver additional fuel to the Hybrid Turbos. It will be fun!

I sold my 996 (1999) 6speed , 76k miles, a few months ago just because I did not want that engine (RMS - IMS etc) to explode ... or is it "implode" and cost me the better part of 15K just to get back on the road. I will tell you that this "threat" hanging over my head really took away much of the pleasure of owning the Porsche. I was lucky and I got away with it and that is really how I feel about it. However, I do like Porsche as a driving experience. So I have been looking for my next fun car. I have been reading all the Renntech (and other forums) discussions across 996/997 turbo and non-turbo engined cars, 2 and 4 wheel drive and frankly I do not see an improvement on the quality of the Porsche engines and increased / improved durability. I do not agree that a Porsche engine should be a "consumable" part that is expected to fail for which it's owner will have to foot the bill (after initial warranty). I expect that the engine and gearbox combination will be bullet proof and last as long or longer than a high output V6 or V8 from any manufacturer out there. Some say the 997 later version(s) and turbo's do not longer have the issues but looking at the owners discussions and these cars only being a few years old, it looks like a case of "the other shoe is about to drop". It seems they are just as bad. Lifters go bad, water pumps, cooling systems, ignitions , coils. It's a list of bad things that keep on popping up over and over that the owner gets to deal with. Nowadays, a 3.8 liter car with just 350+ horses is an ordinary-run-of-the mill engine and not a fire breathing - leading edge technology power plant it once was. Input? Thoughts?? Suggestions?

Hi FastEddie, Just a remark on the tire issue. A Porsche will "eat"the rear tires if they are not correctly aligned and set up so you really want to look at your tires WEEKLY. You will also find out that tires "suddenly" look bold / worn out that is another "feature" of Porsche and surely, you will see that the rear tires wear off on the inside of the tire first . Standard Operation procedure. Another suggestion is to play with the pressures in the front and rear tires. I used 32 front and 36 back and my tires lasted way longer and drove nicer that way. I personally think that 36 front / 40 back is too hard. I also think that the very expensive tires generally recommended for a Porsche are overkill. Unless of course you track the car on a regular basis. I found that some brands out there at 1/2 the price really provide 8-9/10 of the performance of the most expensive tires. Performance, that you basically can not use on the streets anyway. Look at Hankook, Fuzion and such tires. You will be pleasantly surprized and your checkbook will love you.

Well folks, I just sold my 1999 Carrera with 77K miles on the odometer. It has been a wonderful car. Repair and maintenance has been minimum. As a matter of fact, I only replaced the waterpump at 42K miles and the front rotors / brake pads at 75K miles. Obviously, a new battery was needed every 4 years. The clutch was still working fine. After initially trying out all those wonderful expensive tires, I found the Fusion brand that gave me great drivebility, reasonable performance (California driving), compared with all other tires I tried, a very quiet ride and these suckers lasted over 35k in the rear. The expensive one lasted less than 10K miles. I do drive quite spirited and I have the speeding tickets to prove it. So now I am checking out my next ride and have been looking at the 997. Aside from the horrendesly expensive pricing nowadays, and knowing about the engines durability or lack thereoff, combined with a never ending stream of complaints and worries by the users on the Porsche forums, I am wondering if the 997 is indeed a good choice for someone that is keeping cars for 10 years, drives the hell out of them on a daily basis and expects the car to be working all the time, every time. I think I dodged the bullet with my 1999 Carrera and frankly, the ONLY reason I sold that car is because I did not longer trust the engine / gearbox to stay in one piece and not to explode one of these days, ruining my day and my bank account to the tune of $15K or so, effectively rendering my car as useless as a flowerpot in the back yard. I do not see the "Eureka" moments from forum drivers that say, the 3.6 / 3.8 engine no longer has issues, the gear box is rock solid and durable. I read about problems with the 996 / 997 models, even the Boxter has RMS problems so it seems, the Cayenne engine / cooling system and axles. It's like there is very little improvement to eliminate these major expenses in the Porsche Brand and I do not want to be their test driver with my personal bank account.. I am thinking about the 997 Carrera rear wheel drive only or perhaps a recent GT3. What do you'all think??

Simon, try Carrera Motors in San Mateo. They know their stuff. 25 years Porsche repair!!

My Carrera C2 1999 is a daily driver. It works fine. The only major repair has been a waterpump failure at 42K miles. The kit and installation was 1500 bucks. I now have 76K miles on the tach. It's a 6speed, still with the first clutch. Sofar it has been a great car. But... I do believe that nowadays, a car with that purchase price should not have some of the problems we see, problems that are not taken care of by the manufacturer in their continuing engineering design and improvement p[rogram. I have been pondering the idea to move to a later model but... guess what ... they have the same problems. So, just giving Porsche some more money is not going to cut it for me. That does not make sense. Even the Cayennes - a design from scratch, with a very common engine design has some problems that make you wonder who signs off on those things. Perhaps the financial guys have a " how to make more money" calculator in order to get cars back to the Dealers and shops for repair.... ehhh.. . I mean replacing parts as no repairs are taking place anymore.

To respond to Richard's entry:. I check the rubber quite carefully and again, it's just like a new tire. There is no browning or scafing on the tire and there is no center wear or wear on the inside of the tires ( the old Porsche issue). I am familiar with the fact that a Porsche tire "suddenly" seems to start looking worn. This is not the case. So I have to assume that 40 lbs is exactely right, I typically drive alone. Noticable comments: As I said, the tire runs a bit narrow and in the first 200-300 miles, the tire seems to be quite slippery until it's no longer a "sticker" tire. I recently replaced my wife's Audi Allroad with Fusions too . I am curious to see how that works but one thing is sure already . They are extremely quiet.

The Local Firestone dealer mounted a set of ZRI's on my Porsche 911 Carrera on 12/17/2005 ie almost FIVE years ago. The mileage was 45,044. My odometer reads now 73,200 ie I have driven 28,000 miles. The tires are still almost new and I am not kidding. I had (multiple) Goodyear and Kuhmo tires before and the average life on the front was 20K miles. The rear tires never made it to 10,000 miles. I run them at 36 PSI / front and 40 PSI / rear. I am more than a spirited driver, generally cruise 80+ miles/hr on the freeways and drive them pretty hard on the city roads. I have a radar detector and a regular supply of speeding tickets :-) . My car is a 6 speed manual, complete stock. The roads in California are crappy, badly maintained with potholes and other freebees from our Government. 50/50 freeway / surface road driving with 80% dry / 20% wet, no snow. These tires have been just incredible, they handle extremely well, good road holding, great steering feel and direction control and well behaved in hard / panic stops, no tramlining to speak off. I like the rubber lip that protects the rim from hitting the curb in most cases. I like to low road noise, compared with the other tires I had on my car, they are generations better and even after 28k miles, there is no noticable increase in tire noise. Tire looks a bit narrower when compared with other brands. This is by far the best tire I had on this car. I believe that I will be able to get in excess of 45K miles easily. Unheard of for any tire on a Porsche 911. I hope Fuzion (Bridgestone) stays around and keeps building and updating this ZRI tire. They have a winner.