RF5BPilot

If all you want to do is hear your engine better, a microphone in the engine compartment fed through your stereo would let you do it without chasis mods. Add a little equalizer, and you can refine the tone to sound just the way you want. Big and throaty--no problem. Add a small mixer and you could vary how much it dominates any music you play. You might end up moving the mic around so it picks up the sound at the best point for what you want to hear. It may end up best coming from being bolted/screwed to the engine at some point rather than picking up what comes through the air. Pleases you and the neighbors (no greater noise outside) and no cutting. No CO in the cockpit. Do it right and I bet you've got a product to sell.

To my knowledge, it's not a problem....just some moisture. Regularly driving the car far enough to fully warm the engine for a while is the best solution.

Sounds like the tire "roar" we get in the Seattle area with the worn, pebbled surface. In a couple of places they're trying a new "quiet surface"--and suddenly the car becomes blissfully quiet....then roars again when you get back to the regular surface. A new set of tires solves the problem for a while. But as they start to wear, the noise comes back. In my C2, it is so loud that it's hard to listen to the radio. I have wondered if this isn't partly due to the newer, lower profile tires. A more traditional tire with wider sidewalls probably does more sound damping, where a lower profile, higher pressure tire transmits more of the noise.

Thanks. I just read up on DMF's and can see how it could create the sound I'm hearing. I heard the term before, never thought much about it. Should have read up on them earlier. An interesting way to buffer vibrations & sudden torque changes between the engine & trans. Thanks.

Car: 2003 996 C2 Cab, 30K, essentially stock. Purchased in '06 w/ 9K miles on it. Under CPO. Noise: At slow speeds when I get on and off the throttle, through an open window, I can hear a "clack" sort of sound. Not a thud. If you had a group of dowels, standing on their ends and drew them together, they might make a similar sound as they grouped together lengthwise. It happens in all gears, most noticeably at slower speeds. The higher the gear & the slower the speed -- the more noticeable it is (e.g. at 30mph, it is much more noticeable in 3rd or 4th rather than in 2nd). It may happen at higher speeds, but I wouldn't be able to hear it due to wind noise. The transmission shifts well (no notchiness or vibration at 3,000 rpm). No klunking. No adverse symptoms. It has happened since I purchased the car--so this is not a new or recent event. It is almost as if when the engine torques against the transmission, there is a clacking sound. Guessing, it sounds like it is coming from in front of the engine or further forward....rather than from the very rear of the car. Back on '06, the service writer at the dealership said the sound was 'normal.' (He never came out for a ride--just responded to a description.) But, I've never heard a sound like this from any other car (much less my previous Porsche's) -- and the car will be coming off CPO in April. So, I'm motivated to solve any issues while under CPO. Any ideas or suggestions? (I'm ok if this is normal....but if it isn't, I'd like to address it.)

- If it was a factory PSE install, you'd have a toggle switch to make it loud/soft. Also, (normally) there would be a wire connected that would detect your speed and generally make it soft around town. - If it was installed later, they may or may not have installed the switch. Quite a number of people install the mufflers and leave off the switch because they want it loud all the time. But, there would still be the vacuum powered valve assembly on the muffler. If it has that, you could add the switch later. Note that if you add the switch, you don't have to connect the wire that automatically softens it around town. It can be a simple manual operation. - Most likely, it is an aftermarket exhaust. Nothing wrong with them. Since not even the PSE adds much in the way of hp, it is more a matter of sound than performance.

Mo info... I went to the dealership before I saw Loren's reply. They said 54 was a generic code, nothing to do with the radio. They used one of their analyzers to determine that the alarms had been triggered by the cockpit sensor. Yet, when tested, the sensor tested ok. So, they wondered if there was a rodent in the car or some bug flitting past the sensor. (I usually leave the car in the garage, locked with the windows up. Bugs unlikely; so are rodents -- but not impossible.) The result was that they left the codes in the system and I took it home, waiting to see if it happened again. But they said their next effort would be to replace the sensor which was not covered by the CPO. [sigh] Will wait a bit and see what happens. Thanks Loren. If it goes off again, it seems like the cockpit sensor is fairly easy to get to. But even they said the sensors just didn't seem to go bad. So, there was a bit of head scratching. The main logic module seems more likely.

Last night, the alarm on my 2003 C2 996 with the factory Becker & Bose system started blaring. The car had been locked in the garage. It had been several days since it was last used. Using the remote, I unlocked the car, plugged in a trickle charger, locked the car & went back in the house. 10 minutes later, it started again. Using a Durametric, I scanned the system & got: Current Fault Codes: 54. Radio receiver defective. Status - not present. Frequency counter - 3. I turned on the radio, it worked. The car has had a history of odd radio/amp symptoms. Both the radio & amp have been replaced. Any ideas of how to approach this? (The car is still under factory CPO--which is often a hit or miss with smaller things.)

Great video. Music was fine. I didn't miss the engine sound -- especially with a relatively stock muffler. You might look into a Fat Gecko mount which could give you interesting angles that would be hard to get otherwise.

In my '03 C2 there is a noticeable surge at 3,000 rpm. If it's not caused by the vario cam, what is happening at that rpm? Thanks.

So, are you going to replace the solenoid, or simply disconnect the vacuum?

Years ago I saw an Opel GT that was cut in half, extended 4-6 feet to accommodate an Allison aircraft engine. ("That won't increase my insurance, will it?") If my engine explodes..... :)

+1 Recheck pressures. Previous owner may have, by accident or design, created a non-stock alignment. Esp. a setup for the track + older/harder tires + uneven roads can create instability. Old damage could have thrown things off. Bite the bullet & have a good alignment shop, recommended by other Porsche owners in your area, check it out. It's also worth it to make sure you're just not feeling wider, older tires responding to worn cart-tracks on local roads.

I must think in too simplistic ways. I would have assumed that if you didn't have a leak, you'd see a dark plug (or dark exhaust header).

Given the explanation above, what causes the "bump" in power at about 3,000 rpm for the 3.6 engine? (Traditionally people have said it was the variocam -- but the rpm's listed in Loren's post suggest otherwise.)

Approximately the same thing happens with my stock trans. It's happened on other cars as well. Since it happens rarely, I didn't figure any kind of adjustment would help. I just try to be gentle with it, put it back into neutral, then shift in again. Some of the older transmissions did much better if you shifted from neutral into 2nd, then move it into first. I haven't had that experience in the 996 -- but you could try it.

I have an Escort SRX. Several times it's gone off when I was enough above the limit that I could have gotten a ticket. It seemed to work. The instructions say it will work to within 400' of the source, at which point, the source will over power the jammer. If you have your wits about you, it is good to slow down, then push the disable button so the source gets a reading asap. Yet, I tend to drive in a gray area above the limit where I might or might not get a ticket and use the detector to help me move quickly into a zone where it's unlikely. If you're the only target and you're significantly above the limit, there may be nothing that can help you. I think that's what's drawn me to flying. No getting caught behind a motor home or minivan, no speed limits (for my airplane) and actually being in 3 dimensions is liberating. On the ground, I just sigh & get back in line.

About 19 around town; 22.8 - 23.8 per tank--depending on just how heavy or how much town; 28+ hwy cruising at 60-70mph. On the hwy, 5th gear can sometimes yield better mileage than 6th. It seems I give up about 10% for top down driving.

When I first got my '03 cab, the hardtop would groan every time I went up & down a driveway at an angle; sometimes over bumps on the road. Stopped by the dealer to verify it was installed correctly--it was. Based on recommendations from a Porsche Club tech guy, I bought a can of Wurth's PTFE dry lubricant and sprayed the front seals (front hardtop seal & windscreen frame seal where they meet) and also sprayed the rear "felt" seal that contacts the paint. Groaning gone. I do it every year now when I install the hardtop. One application ususally lasts the season. Mine has the same gap. Just make sure you turn the installation key until it "clunks" or snaps into place.

My jacket was put through the wash yesterday with the 2-button remote key in the pocket. Found out before the dryer. Opened the remote & gently dried the interior. Didn't work. Left opened remote out over night in case there was an area that hadn't dried....still didn't work this morning. - Using the key in the door lock works. - Pushing on either button, the red LED blinks as if it's transmitting. - Just replaced the battery in the remote last week. - My second key/remote confirms the car's system is working ok--it's just the remote that was washed. At this point, I'm not really seeing any damage to it, so I'm puzzled why it's not transmitting. Any suggestions? (Although we use very little soap in our washer, I didn't rinse it after the wash cycle....am considering starting over by rinsing it off in case there could be a slight sheen of conductive laundry detergent left on it. But I wanted to hear from more experienced others first.) Thanks.

There probably isn't a simple answer as some people would see it as a good thing, others would tend to shy away. This is a common issue in airplanes & boats where engines are replaced more frequently. In those areas, a new engine adds a little value, but not as much as you might think. An engine in poor condition depresses the value more than a new engine increases it. Doesn't seem fair. But the assumption is that a vehicle is expected to have a good, functioning engine. So, having a new engine adds some value, but there are other things that go wrong with age and a new(er) engine often doesn't add significant performance over a well-functioning, original engine. So, you don't get a big value bump from a new engine. If you are going to sell it, add a modest increase for the new engine, and see how people respond.

The radio in my '03 turned itself on and off. Dealer said it was the amp & replaced it under warranty. Seemed to solve the problem.

If I understand it correctly, Type 1 counts are the number of ignitions that were limited by the rev limiter. It seems to me that if that count is high, not only has the engine been operated at close to redline frequently, but the person was using the limiter as a crutch. I would be cautious if this number is high. I would not assume that it's a deal breaker. Unfortuately, it is neither good to have a Porsche where the owner was reluctant to rev it and just lugged it around all the time. Yet, it is also reasonable to think that someone who thought they were Kid Racer with a sloppy technique, also increased wear. This implies that some modest number of Type 1 counts, combined with reasonable mileage may be ideal. (if there is such a thing as "ideal") Type 2 is where someone has forced the engine beyond the limits imposed by the electronic limiter. I have seen a couple of posts over the years where warranty claims were denied because there were ignition counts in this area, implying the car had been abused. I would not be keen to buy a car with rev counts in 2. (of course, I'm old, crabby and conservative. However, I am slightly less concerned about genuine engine damage than I am about overall care of the car. I have bought mostly used cars over the years, and many times, found myself cleaning up after abuse delivered by the previous owner. I think if you find revs in Type 2, there are other cars out there that have been treated better.) The good news is that you can get the Durametric tool & check this easily on site before the cost of a PPI.

Watch the Dog Whisperer. Poke them while making a "swishing" sound to stop that behavior. Then just focus on your car.

Thanks. Just ordered some...will see how it does.