ADias

Is the airbag inspection that Porsche recommends every 4 years a thing to do?

It could be a defect in one of your tires. I suggest you check for a slight bulge in both front and rear tires primarily where the sidewall meets the tread.

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The tire(s) could be cupped or flat spotted.

Starting w/ air-filled tires, how do you evacuate the air to fill solely w/ dry nitrogen?

.... The rear tires SHOULD always wear more on the inside half due to the specified negative camber.

Loren: Is the above true?

I suggest you have your car suspension checked properly and the wheels aligned.

Scott: Get a new battery. Loren and Toolpants'recommendation is:

Autozone - Group size 48 (DURALAST - 48-DL - includes venting kit) - $65

IMHO you should not remove any of the anti-pollution equipment on your car, your country not having environmental laws notwthstanding - be a good citizen!

I  was wondering if there would be any adverse affects of having a GT2 bumper on a C4S (05') when driving at high speeds? with no other body mods, like a wing.

Thanks

Jeff

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Probably yes. Porsche goes to great lengths to balance the car aerodynamics (front and back downforces) with matched front bumper/rear bumper/spoiler. If you change just one item you disturb that balance.

I for one would not change a car for looks - form follows function :)

My 11 is a daily driver, but even so, I do a lot of short in-town drives. When I'm away for more than a day I do use a battery tender (the junior version w/ its lighter accessory) and it works very well.

A good source for it and the cigarette adpater is http://www.batterystuff.com.

OK, so you ask about the best engines? Here is my best list: Porsche boxer [flat6, flat8 (908), flat12(917)] and CGT's V10.

Is that plate really needed? Are there any stats of mishaps showing that a plate could have prevented those mishaps?

Probably only Loren or Toolpants will have an idea of what could have been. It surely does not sound good.

Could you be more precise and describe how you made the shift ? What speed? How quickly did you do the shift? Did you pause in neutral? Was the clutch fully engaged until you finished the shift to 5th?

My understanding is that Porsche dealers only replace transmissions (expensive). I do not know how much independents will charge for a tranny rebuild. In any case, unless seriously abused (and I assume it is not the case here) manual transmission failures should be an extremely rare event - but it does not appear to be so rare, recently, w/ Porsche. If you have always serviced the car w/ the dealer and have a good relationship w/ him, maybe PAG out of good will, will take care of it.

I don't see any TSBs on this and I don't think I have ever noticed mine vibrating (but it might). There is a wind/water deflector that pops up when the sunroof is opened. I would make sure that it is popping up.

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Loren: Can you please check yours? If I touch the liner behind me, I feel it puffing, being filled by air.

My wind deflector pops up, but not much. How much should it raise?

Thanks.

Exactly, I see the rear edge of the headliner vibrating in the mirror.

I imagine this is a design issue, as the sunroof probably lays inside the headliner, instead of being in an enclosure that would contain the airflow.

Perhaps Loren can shed more light into this.

I noticed that the headliner, behind the sunroof, vibrates when the sunroof is opened and the car is at speed. It feels like that air is rushing into the headliner via the sunroof opening. Is this normal?

....

Think of the 996 as a 1940's Volkswagen Bug that has been challenged to go better, faster, for over half a century. Any part that could get optimized, has been, always uncovering the next part that needs to be optimized.

The correct statement is:

Think of the 996 as a 1963 911 that has been challenged to go better, faster, for over 40 years.

To say that the 996 is an evolved VW Bug is to say a Corvette is an evolution of a 1950 Chevy Sedan.

I recently hit the biggest and I do mean the biggest pothole that I have ever seen.  I managed to break 3 wheels and bend another.  I also bent the rear subframe crossmember(I'm not sure what it is called).  I have 18 X 8f and 18 X 10r sport classic 2's.  The insurance company is telling me that they will give me $217 to replace each wheel.  How am I supposed to explain to them that the sport classic 2 is a dealer only option and that it costs around $800 per wheel? And where can I find a parts list that shows an exploded view of the rear suspension( you know... that computer thing that the dealer won't give me)?

Thanks ahead for your replies

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Where is that pothole located? Thanks.

Excellent thread. Question for Loren and others: How old was the battery you just replaced? and what kind of usage did it have (daily driver, weekend driver, short runs, etc.)?

Questions for Loren/Toolpants:

1 - noticed that the vent on the OEM battery is on the side, and the Johnson Controls battery is on the center (needs a longer vent tube) - is that a problem?

2 - Also... the OEM MOLL battery seems to be exceptionally good and well built. Although pricier would it be preferable? Thanks in advance.

It seems to be that the same 36/44 balance should be maintained. Therefore, if you lower the rears you should lower the fronts. I use 33/40. Do make sure though that the tire gauge is accurate - many gauges read higher than the actual pressure.

No opinions on this? I did a little research and found that tire manufacturers (Michelin) are indeed supplying these inserts for rally cars and off-road vehicles.

The idea makes sense and in particular for our high performance tires which are paper thin. Actually, instead of a separate insert they might consider adding a super-light thick layer to add to the overall tickness. Imagine a tire that has almost no air chamber. That would pretty much resolve any puncture issue.

Watching the WRC - Rally de France - this evening on the Speed channel, they showed a new light donut insert, which pretty much fills the space between the tire and the rim. They still pressure it w/ a bit of air, but not much and this - they called it mousse - donut attaches radially to the tire and eliminates the effects of punctures, etc. It seemed to be a very light material, and if this is true, it may be a better solutin than the heavier run-flats?

Anybody know about this?

I'm having a funny acetic acid (vinegar) smell from the air vents. Could this be the pollen filter?

Does PAG offer touch up for rims?

Lexol cleaner/conditioner but... do NOT over do it. Too much of a good thing may not advised as you may end up w/ stretched leather - mostly on the seats. The advice I've heard is to do it twice a year.

... I changed the spark plugs on my 2001 996 c2 this weekend and have a question.... I have 26K.

Why did you change your spark plugs w/ only 26k miles?