papyrus

that's awesome.. that is EXACTLY what I needed to hear. Extremely helpful. I didn't realize those accessories slid into those slots. That's not so great. I have 'the same' bars on my mercedes, and that kit (secondhand on craigslist) didn't come with the strips, and it howls like a banshee at 70mph. I imagine one could cut the strips and reinsert them around any accessory, but... why bother. So what I'm learning is a) YES... I could buy the porsche pieces and they would fit the mercedes bars, as I can confirm the slot you mentioned is in those bars as well. They likely would NOT fit any other bars, though... B) the 'advantage' of the native fit isn't too advantageous I think I'm going to buy a couple thule or yakima racks locally now. Plus... I'll know that they don't have any bizarre incompatibility with mountain bikes... btw - your 996 with a rowing shell on top had to be the coolest thing in the world.

I've got a few leftover detailed questions after searching everything I could on forums etc. I have the factory RTS on my 996 coupe. I'm looking to get some bike bars now but.... 1 - there are 2 models listed on porsche/dealer sites. One is described as the 'racing bicycle carrier' and the other just 'bike carrier'. The former says 'not for bikes with suspension' in some places, and is pictured with a bike with the front tire removed. Some sites (suncoast) also descibe it as 'thule.' What is the deal here? If I lock the front suspension/fork on my mountain bike, will it work fine? Or are there other issues - wheel width etc - that make it no good for mountain bikes? Is it really made by thule? 2 - I read on one post that the biggest advantage of the OEM porsche bike rack(s) is the fit to the RTS crossmembers - sliding into place instead of bolting on. This sounds nice. Is it true for both of the racks above? 3 - I also have an RTS (or whatever it is called) on my mercedes E55. The bars look to be the same diameter etc as those on the porsche. I'm hoping the porsche bike rack(s) will fit both cars. Does anyone know if this is true? Are there any standards to the bar diameters?? Thanks in advance -

man.. this was the greatest idea ever... and almost 3 years ago.. and no replies.. best idea ever...

FYI.... I apparently never followed up but ran across this old post of mine.. It ended up being a pressure relief valve off the tank. About a $2k job. Easycare covered it, but it took a lot of fighting with them, as porsche's first step was to disconnect the fuel lines/pump from the tank, and that relief of pressure cause the valve flap to fall and they could no longer duplicate the issue. After much fanagling easycare was finally convinced and a new valve was installed...

Forgive me if this has been discussed... but I couldn't find it with a few queries... and it surely isn't a TT-centric issue but alas... So i drive close to 200m after a fill-up, which I know is pretty consistently my range. About 180m into it, but DTE is saying I have about 30-40 miles to go. I push a bit. The next time I glance down it says I have -- left. Good 'ole 0 miles. It seemed awfully early, because I thought I had been checking frequently.. In any event I was close to a station, so I pulled off and got to a pump; no problem. That is where the fun began. I fired up the pump and tried to pump gas.. with the engine running.. as I usually do. it backed up right away.. autocutoff on the pump cut in a few times in rapid succession and then some backfill doused my sandaled foot in petrol. I turned the car off based on some off loose hunch about pressure, waited a moment and tried again. Same thing. I tried a few more times.. each time starting a new credit card transaction. I then moved pumps (reaffirming car was running fine)... wore out the credit card (guess 5-6 transactions for $1-$2 looks suspicious) busted out a new card and kept trying. Long story short.. couldn't get a damned bit of gas in there. I tried slowly letting a bit trickly and holding the flap open while it drained in etc.. thought I was getting .2g in there at a time or so, turned on key... DTE=--, gauge same empty... i spent about a half hour thinking i cajored 2-3 gallons in.. maybe.. though the puddle surrounding me begged to differ. I had concluded that something was physically in there, but wanted to get it home to check it out. No luck. With the gauge firmly on empty I concluded someone had jammed a tampon or such down the filler tube and called a tow truck. I got it on the flatbed (including the 45 degree incline) and the 50m to the dealership (1am now). When I got back into the car to take if off the ramp, it was at the 45 deg incline again (ok maybe 30.) In any event, I noticed DTE=190m and gauge at 1/4 tank immediately on turning on key. I attributed it to the incline and backed it off... no change in readings.. I drove it a little and stopped/started it.. no change.. said I had some gas... I left it anyway to get it all checked out and a few other odd items taken care of now that I had made it this far. Porsche is looking at it now; verdict due soon. SO.... WTF? Any clues? What a frustrating situation!

how long do these batteries normally last? I thought I remembered 5-10 years in the past...

So a couple of weeks ago, I managed to leave the lights (yup.. HEAD lights) on overnight on my 996tt. Remarkably dumb, sure. So somewhere in the midst of jumping it, my gf's neighbor interjects. He's a nice guy, and had one of those portable minibatteries with cable. So i stumbled through the bizarre process of finding the probe in the fuse box, powering up, opening the bonnet (hood sounds like it would cover an engine), attaching to the battery, and striking out - not enough juice. SO... dude argues that a real 'jumpstart' would fail becase of some hooey about electronic fuel injection. It didn't really add up to me, but I wasn't in a hurry and he was being very helpful, so I agreed to throw the battery on a charger for a couple hours. I had personally never used a charger on anything but deep cycle marine batteries, but it seemed logical. So i did it,and it worked. Now, a week or two later, things are weird. The battery was mostly dead on me this morning. I started the car with another battery, rehooked the original, and ran it a while. I just tried it again. Went from 14 volts to <10 sitting. Not completely dead, but it is not holding a charge at all when sitting a few hours. Any ideas? Sure something could be shorted somewhere, but it will of course be easier to suspect the battery itself. The car only has 6800 miles and is 3 years old... Could the charger have wrecked my ish? Thanks in advance.

This is an odd request, but I would imagine others have the same. Do you know if anyone makes custom laser keys? I'm thinking of my audi flip-key. Ideally it would flip the audi key on one side and the porsche on the other - basically allowing 2 cars in one keyfob. I'm wondering if any shop out there sells some nice customized flip-key combo deals based on your specifications and key. I would think such an item could easily be sold for $500. Imagine... look at one flat side, see audi logo, lock/unlock/trunk buttons for audi, push button to flip out audi key from right side of fob. look at other flat side, see porsche logo, lock/unlock/trunk buttons for porsche, push button to flip out porsche key from right side of fob (opposite audi key).

I went with the short shift kit. Search that or SSK for the debates, but for me it was a nice way to get my feet wet and a great mod - makes shifter feel like the rest of the car - quick, precise, definitive.

dumb followup question: So where is the best place to get said side markers? If looking for clear sidemarkers, get them from suncoast porsche. Good prices and fast shipping. here's their link: http://e-partssales.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc? it took all of 5 minutes to swap out and by far the easiest and best mod so far for me...... Thanks man. I was afraid I'd get some babble about value and synergies and customer relationships and individual preference, but I couldn't ask for a better more concise response to the question. That said, I ordered the side markers and had this funny thought: item: GT3 Center Console Delete Code: gt3console Price: $105.95 Quantity in Basket: none I couldn't help but picture buying this 'item' and having some guy show up with a crowbar and sledgehammer and smash the schit out of the console.

dumb followup question: So where is the best place to get said side markers?

Since one of the deciding factors in buying my 03 was the remaining factory warranty, I entertained extending it beyong the January expiration from the onset. I spoke to a local dealership (Hennessy (sp) Porsche Atlanta) and was pleased with the options presented. Given I've only 5600 miles now and drive the car sparingly, the lower mileage extension options are pleasing. One odd/doubtful item though... I was told that easycare has the same rate schedule per *brand* versus per model. I.e. the same cost for ANY porsche - boxter, 911 turbo, carrera gt... I actually inquired about the GT to be sure I understood correctly, and was told the same applied to it. I'm assuming that model in particular just hasn't tested the waters and would be kicked out by some super secret fine print; the sales guy admitted he had never sold an easycare program on the GT. Anyway, I want to see if there is anything amiss here. If this is true, it seems an excellent deal on the tt. I'll post 36m/60k and 60m/75k for the sake of brevity; let me know if you are curious about any more quotes off the sheet I was given. Oh FYI this has to be initiated at least 1 month before factory warranty expiration and is indeed fully transferrable: term: deductible: mileage: price 36m: $0: 60k: $2610 36m: $100: 60k: $2184 36m: $200: 60k: $2045 60m: $0: 75k: $3560 60m: $100: 75k: $2749 60m: $200: 75k: $2487

I put the B&M ssk in my 996tt yesterday. It went remarkably well. It's a good project to get your hands dirty with the car and learn a little more about it. I assembled the right tools up front (save 19mm wrench - pliers work fine) and just worked off the instructions. It'd be nice if I could've paid $10 for just the video of the install and downloaded it instantly. Perhaps $10 a pop for the various pieces in addition to the whole DVD for-sale would be a good idea. I think it would appeal to the instant-graitification rush-everything have-no-DVD-player online-or-nothing crowd. I could be way off-base, but I'm thinking there are a few of us in this demographic. In any event I love the shifter. A few notes on the install: 1 - while tightening the lock-but for the adjustment grub (I believe those hex-headed retention pins are called grubs) I managed to turn the entire bushing in the plastic housing. The plastic is keyed and the aluminum bushing slotted, but with enough (too much) pressure the whole thing twisted. I imagine I sheared off the whole damned key, but it seems fine to me; don't forsee any impact. 2 - a metal nub on the stock shifter pops into a plastic rectangular guide before entering the white cog that engages the reverse cable. The b&m nub is significantly larger, but no mention is made of the plastic rectangular guide and whether it should be retained. I assumed it should be tossed, but was a little wary of the new b&m ball just banging around in the empty space like... ok I digress. Anyway, just to be sure I wasn't supposed to reuse the factory plastic deal I forced it onto the monster b&m nub with some pliers until it shattered into oblivion. Satisfied that I couldn't reuse it now anyway, even if intended, I happily proceeded without it. Seems fine. 3 - Amazed I actually had a permanent marker in the toolbox, I diligently marked the linkage cables before removing them. It wasn't until reassembly that I realized that I was supposed to mark the entry into the forward plastic shaft that is attached to the shifter assembly, and not the point where the metal cable entered the plastic adapter that (permanently) constitutes its end. It's definitely an asinine move in hindsight, but under the heat and ignorance of the moment I didn't know the plastic and metal were all one and didn't recognize what needed marking. It all worked out well - random guessing and intuition worked fine on reassembly. 4 - A little clarity or urging could be useful in the bushing-removal step. A note in the instructions to the following effect would be helpful: "YES... DESTROY a permanent piece of your prized automobile. I know it seems odd, but we want you to DESTROY this piece. All the white plastic involved in the bushing.. everything inside the black housing including the retaining clips, outer body, and inner sleeve, are free for complete destruction, Watts-riots style. Don't worry - we got some nice aluminum bushing assemblies we will be replacing them with. A utility knife may or may not work, but don't hesitate to combine that with needle-nosed pliers, toenail clippers, and a chisel as needed." The final result is great. Much more precision and a feel that matches the style and behavior of the vehicle.

Could this also be set with durametric or something to that effect? Speaking of that, I'm only a week into tt ownership. In the audi world the standard for an OBD tool/software was vag-com. Is there similar consensus in the porsche community about the best tool to get your laptop into your car? Assuming so, what neat tips and tricks are most popular?

So I went with the 03 and bought my first 911 yesterday. 2003 turbo, 4200 miles (now 4900). I promptly drove it 700 miles to get it home. Hell of a ride. Totally different world of fastness. I would say having this car is extremely dangerous, but its so stable at high speed that it actually feels remarkably under control. A lot of similarities, believe it or not, with my 2000 audi a6 (2.7t 6-speed stg3). Not in handling of course but in rev-matching, turbo delay (lag such an ugly word) etc. So I've had it less than 24 hours, and I'm looking to make a tweak or two. On my short list is a ssk. Reading the groups I get the feeling I want th schnell or the factory kit. I put a uuc kit in my audi, seems like a similar amount of effort and I'm planning on tackling it myself. Any kit recommends or installation warnings? Thanks in advance...

thanks. Silly question, but I assume the aero front spoiler impacts ground clearance. Does anyone know how much?

I'm down to two 996tt's to choose between. Would love some input on any factors I might not think of having not owned one before. Prices are almost equal.. tricked out 02 or subtle 03? Car1: 2002 6k miles local (no transportation $) black (favorite) aero kit full carbon kit nav dealer-installed chip + headers (not necc a plus) Car2 2003 4k miles ~$1k transport cost ~$1k higher cost silver (still nice, but no black) aluminum small/aluminum gauges warranty live until Jan 07 You see the dilemma... the price is pretty much equal. newer car w/ warranty v. tittied-out (that's a summary of black+aero+carbon) 02. I'm leaning towards the 03... seems like it would be a little more subtle, although I have convinced myself the black aero would be worth the attention. I'm not hell-bent on nav, but I much prefer the look of the interior with it as a whole - looks incomplete to me without it. Oh decisions...

I found a nice '02 996tt that I'm seriously considering. I figured it would be a given that I would extend the warranty. To that end I don't want to use some fly-by-night weirdo company and deal with them and deductibles etc. I'd rather pay more to have the car certified like the Porsche pre-owned program. I just called a local dealer, and it sounds like that is not an option on cars unless Porsche is selling them. Is this accurate? No way around this? The car I'm looking at also has some mods, allegedly installed by a porsche dealer - chip, exhaust etc. I'm curious about the issues with Porsche honoring any warranty if this is the case. Does the dealer receipt for the work have any sway if I end up getting a 3rd-party warranty? I have a modded twin turbo audi now (out of warranty) and would like to have at least one car under warranty for simplicity's sake.