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I was curious about this, too, after the mechanic who installed mine told me that he thought the GT3 on the street was MUCH harder than the X74. I feel that the X74 is fairly jarring on other-than-smooth roads. I'd be surprised if they could sell a car to be driven on the street that is much stiffer.

3 days in the shop. $1200 later. The piece that was broken was a small piece of plastic on the driver side flap that actuates a sensor to tell the top that the flaps are in place and that the top can start moving towards closing. Once that piece was changed (the whole flap was replaced, I believe) the rest of the top opening/closing orchestra could continue unimpeded. An expensive fix for a small piece of plastic. But it was 75 degrees and sunny yesterday afternoon. Makes it much easier to forget the pain of the service repair bill.

I hadn't thought about this until I read this thread. But does lowering the suspension (I have an X74 which is 40mm lower than the stock US) necessitate adjusting the headlamps. I haven't driven much at night since doing the mod and frankly haven't thought about it. I'll try to form an impression next time it's night and I'm on the road in the car. David

A day in the shop, at who knows how many hundreds of dollars, and no answer yet. It is not a fault of the front latch. It is not a fault of the controller board. They're estimating another 4 hours tomorrow of diagnosis at about $500. Ouch. David

Is this because the composition of the fluid is different than other automotive fluids, that it is under such low stress, is it sealed from the environment better? I'm curious why this fluid has such a long life expectancy when other fluids (I think coolant is one) oxidize over time and become less beneficial even if not used for a certain mileage.

With respect to the power steering fluid, is there a recommended change interval that is recommended? I always hear about the recommended change intervals for the engine oil, transmission fluid, coolant, brake fluid, etc. but don't really hear much about the power steering fluid. To change, is there a drain plug somewhere? David

Well, I checked the hydraulic fluid reservoir. It was indeed a bit low. I added 10cc of fluid. Being an anesthesiologist, I have access to all manner of syringes and IV tubing which made it very easy to rig together a hydraulic fluid refilling apparatus. But, alas, no change in the operation of the top. Currently has a schedule for a service visit at the dealer on Monday. The service advisor said something about having to readjust the timing or replace cables as being the most common remedies for what sounds like my problem over the phone. We'll see. Hopefully it will be a one day in the shop fix and won't hurt the pocketbook too much. But this is getting to be prime convertible season here in Washington, D.C. and it's gotta be done! If anyone has any other suggestions between now and Sunday night, I'm still open to trying other fixes. Thanks, David

I was hoping that I wasn't going to have to broach the possibility of the recent suspension work causing problems with the convertible top, but as you mentioned, they do work in the same area. I'm hoping it is just the need for some more fluid.

Great. That's what I was hoping. I'm going to give it a try this weekend. Otherwise, I'm afraid I've got a little repair bill coming up.

Thanks for the detailed DIY. I think I'm going to give this a try on my 2002 C4 Cab this weekend to cure its current ailment. 2 questions, though. First, for the two retaining cable on the rear of the top, do you just yank on them to remove them or do you need a special tool/maneuver to disconnect them? Second, where does this hydraulic fluid go if it is in fact low? Presumably it's leaking somewhere. If the reservoir is low, can I expect to see a puddle of hyraulic fluid somewhere in my car?

How do you release the two cables that hold the top in the rear? Do you just yank on them until they snap off? Or do you need a tool of some sort? Thanks, David

I just had this gremlin pop up yesterday. My car is a 2002 C4 Cab. I just recently had the X74 suspension put in, but hopefully this is not related to that modification. I have had no problems, nor any hint of problems until yesterday. It was raining and my car was in the garage with the top stowed. I get into the car to go to work and hit the top close button. Nada. I did a quick check of the fuse and that was fine. Having to get to work, I took my other car. When I got home and had a little more time to take a look at things and do a little bit of web research on the topic, this is what I found. The button actuates the rear top cover and the latch, but that's all. The top itself does not raise or lower. The side flaps don't kick into action because the top doesn't stow. And the windows don't do their thing either when the buttons are pressed. Only the latch and the rear cover do their little dances when the open and close buttons are pressed. I did all the quickie checks. Fuse is OK. Parking brake is OK with Park Light illuminated on the dash. Does the exact same thing using the key from the outside. I'm able to move the top after disengaging the hydraulic drive with the allen wrench behind the rear passenger seat so at least I'm able to drive it now. I'm going to take the thing apart this weekend and check the hydraulic fluid reservoir, since that seems to be the next more common thing to check after the parking brake sensor. I hope that is all that it is, but I'm skeptical. Also in the process of manually lifting the top, I wrenched on the the driver side rear flap and ended up having to take that out, R&R it, and put it back in. I wonder if I further screwed things up with that maneuver as I understand that there are some sensors attached to that piece. But IF those sensors are not working, would that prevent the top from going up and down? I do hear the normal click, click, clicks that are mentioned in other posts and the dash light does blink indicating some fault. Has anyone else had this combination of faults in the top mechanism? If not, sounds like another $trip$ to the dealer. David

My point exactly. I think, based on the DIY writeup I saw and a couple of individuals' first-hand experiences, the C2 install is pretty doable. My cautionary tale relates to the C4 and to convertibles. It is alot more involved for these cars. Obviously not impossible, but requires you to take apart more things to get at the pieces to be swapped. However, now that my system is in, is really does change the character of the car alot. I think that it's a little bit misleading how some posts seem to imply that it is merely a little bit more harshness in the ride. It is significantly firmer with a lot more harshness and vibration transferred from the road. That being said, some would term it "objectionable vibrations and resonance" while others would cite it as "much more communicative and precise road feel". It all depends on perspective. It really does change the nature of the handling of the car. I haven't played with it at the edge (yet), but it seems to have more of a neutral/oversteer character now rather than an understeer character. Works fantastic on smooth roads with lots of communication through the steering wheel and the lower stance really changes your perception of the workings of the suspension against the road. It is also true that a lot of the dive/squat with acceleration and breaking is worked out of the vehicle dynamics. All in all, a major change in the handling and steering feel of the car. But it does come with a price in terms of harshness and vibration. I'm somewhat surprised by the couple of comments I read about significant others/spouses not noticing (or not objecting) to the new feel of the car. They must be the fortunate few who have SO's who are also track junkies!

I never figured out what needed to be done before sending it to a pro to do. I assume that the tie rod and the front halfshaft needed to be removed in order to get that strut/spring assembly out of the front wheel well. It was amazing the range of estimates I got for the installation. Hope everything went well with your install. Mine's done and getting its alignment in the morning. David

Was this on a C4? I eventually gave up and had a pro do the job. Didn't want to break a fingernail or have some other horrendous fate overcome me. I was actually quite disappointed I wasn't able to finish the job on my own, but it was seeming like I'd have to take apart too much to get things loosened up in the front, and the rear top strut mount bolts were hidden in the convertible top storage area -- and that didn't seem very easy to get to either. Anyways, the suspension is in and I'm bringing it in for its alignment in the morning. David

Can someone give me an idea how much shop time it should take (or Porsche's shop book time) to swap out 4 spring/strut assemblies and swap 2 sway bars on a 2002 C4 Cabriolet? What have people paid to have this type of work done in the past?