whs

Anybody have a good resource for baseline values? The manual with the system is pretty basic. I was able to clear my airbag light no problem. I also read a code for a bad alarm code due to interior sensor, but I assume that was due to the top being down. I would really like to know how to maximize the use of this tools and thought that it would come with the system, but not so much. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Will

You might want to make sure he really doesn't have it. Mine was in the tool kit with the spare tire. BTW you don't have to have the tool. You can use a hex wrench (or at least you can on a MY99.

I suggest you do a search here for the many tire related questions. It is hard to answer your question without knowing your rear tire size. You would be increasing the rolling diameter of your fronts going from a 50 to a 55 with both being a 205.

Will

Hi, I have a couple of questions regarding the convertible top on a 2000 C2 Cabrio.

1. The dealer gave me a speech about NOT operating the convertible when 'it is cold' :unsure: The manual says not to operate the top at temps below O°, that's pretty cold!! Any opinions? When is it safe to use it really temperature wise to avoid cracking the window?

2. Can the plastic window be replaced separately from the top?

As always, many thanks in advance.

Alex

I can't say as to the cold, but to the best of my knowledge, there is no way to replace the window without replacing the top.

Will

Hi All

I'm thinking of buying a used hardtop for my 02 996 C4 Cab. It did not come with a hardtop from the dealer. What should I be aware of? Will there be any additional parts that I will require? Is installing a DIY or will I need to bring it in to a dealership? Any advice from the members of this board would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

I'm pretty sure that the car comes with the latching mechanism whether it came with a hardtop or not. On the shelf behind the back seats just to the outside of the rollbar covers you should see two round plastic pieces that cover the latches. They just pop out. Beyond that, all of the hardware is part of the hardtop. I think Porsche changed the latches in some year, so you will need to make sure the top you buy has the right hardware to match your car.

It's nice to have the hardtop during the winter, but it is big and bulky making storage when not in use a pain. It takes two people to install and remove. You can buy a lift to do it with one person, but with the design of my garage, I can't figure out how I would install one without interferring with the door. I'm not sure I would go out of my way to buy one if I didn't have one. I was talking to the parts guy at the local dealership who said tons of people buy cars with the hardtop and ask for it to be removed to drive the car home with the top down and they never return to retreive the top. Go figure!

Heck Bill, just add 1/2 jar of good ol' Carolina white lightning to the tank, you don't need no stinkin gas.

Don't think that hasn't crossed my mind! Problem is should I put it in the tank or just stay home and drink it while complaining about having no gas. :D

Here in Charlotte there is no premium gas to be found and hasn't been for a couple of weeks. Even worse is that there is no telling when supply will return. So the question is, park the car or use regular gas with octane boost. My P car is not my daily driver, so I can wait it out, but I hate to just let the car sit. What do you think?

Will

thanks for all the replies

I will tell you that responses like that on this board will not get you very far! This board tends to be more technical rather than "do you think this will make my car look cool." Things like wings are pretty personal and everyone has their own opinion. I can say get what you want, but the fit and quality of these aftermaret products vary greatly. A lot of people say stick with OEM Porsche products for quality, fit and aftermarket value. I was in the same boat with you a while back and decided that if I did something it would be the Porsche Carrera wing kit. My $0.02.

Will

Looking for the part that says

"Carrera C4S"

are there color options?

thanks

Probably tons of places that sell these, but you can try www.bumperplugs.com. He usually has different colors or can make it happen for you.

My mother works for a major insurance company. Recently my father in law was driving his Mercedes SLK three days after he purchased it used (it is a 2004) and was rear ended by a large SUV resulting in significant damage. Since the claim was going against a different insurance company I asked her what he should ask for in dimished vaule. Her answer was good luck getting anything. Their position is that when they pay to have your car repaired it is repaired to same value as prior to the accident. My response was that if he sold the car the repair would show up on CarFax and that would lead most people to either not want to purchase the car or at least pay less for the car compared to a similar car with no accidents. She said they would take any diminished value claim to the court system and that they win virtually all claims. She indicated that about the only claims they loose are on vintage cars that a claim could be made that it is not possible to repair to same vaule due to value of the car being based on all original parts. Of course she also said it never hurts to ask.

Yikes!!! Glad to hear the pilot (you did say you went airborn) will recover. Dare we ask how fast you were going when this flight occured? Good luck in your search for a new car. Don't know how insurance works in your area, but sometimes on a salvage title you car purchase the car. You may be able to sell it to a parts shop for more than you would have to pay for it. Gotta figure if the engine isn't bad, that a big chunk. Sorry for your loss, but you are lucky.

Anybody else use their car for a therapy session on occasion? My mom called this morning and told me that my grandfather passed away this morning. After a 2 1/2 hour spirited drive through the country I felt a lot better. It's not just a car!

Will

How about one of these?

http://www.clickscarcover.com/indoor.html

It takes approx. 30 minutes to fix, warning do not disturb the timing when slacken the chain, you have to take some precautions on the engine. I should go with a mechanic.

Good to know it is a pretty quick fix and a $7 part. I will take it to the shop for repair. Thanks.

Okay, I cleaned everything up and took the car on a nice long run. Got back and look under the car for a leak and like every good issue, nothing! Waited a couple of hours and went back to look and it appears that the leak is coming from between the "nut" and where it is scewed in. It looks like there is an o ring or gasket there and the oil is seeping through. This is happening at a VERY slow speed. After two hours you can see the weeping but no drops to the base of the nut or to the ground.

Anybody know how intensive a repair this might be? It seems pretty staight forward. Thanks.

It is the timing chain tensioner, look out !

Okay, I'll bite why look out? Keep in mind, I don't think the fluid is leaking from the "nut" but rather above it and dripping down. I have cleaned everything up best I can and I'll see if I can get a better idea of the source. Thanks.

I would clean the area the best that I can - then drive the car and see if you can find the actual source point.

That's what I'm going to try and do. I'm going to have to pull the rear tire to gain som access to this area. Do you know what that "nut" is? I'm getting ready to take the car in for an oil change and may just get the mechanic take a look. That being said, I like to have an idea before going in. Thanks.

I noticed last night that I have a small fluid leak. I may get 3-4 drops on the floor after driving the car. It appears from the floor that it has probably been doing this for a couple of weeks. My floor is painted a light blue epoxy and the fluid is very clear on the floor, but it's not coolant. I laid down paper towels under the car last night to capture what is leaking and it seems to be a light brown color (I'm assuming oil). It's dripping down off of a nut that I have no idea what it is (picture attatched). It seems to be coming from higher up and dripping down to this point, but it's pretty tight up there and I can't get a good look. The "nut" is located just behiond the rear tire about a quarter the way in on the drivers side of a US 1999 C2 Cab Tip 65k miles. Any ideas? I know it's a bit of a crap shoot, but figured I would see what you guys think. I just had the spark plug tubes/rings replaced one year ago. Also had the transmission pan gasket replaced. Thanks in advance.

A good friend with a '99 cab showed me his top tonight when he came over for dinner and asked me what he needed to do to fix it. I've got a Boxster, and the top looks a little different from what I'm used to. The passenger side looks OK, but the driver side looks like part is missing. When the car is driven, there's a bit of wind noise above the driver's head because the top doesn't seal completely.

Here's the driver side:

and here's the passenger side:

Do these latches just come out by unscrewing the 2 torx bolts?

From the old Porsche online PET, it looks like this is the part labeled 8 (centering journal), and part #9 (cap) is what fell off:

Part 8 is 996-561-605-01 (left side, right side would be 606) and part 9 is 996-561-705-01 (left side, right side would be 706). Did I track down the correct part numbers? Do I just replace part number 9 that fell off, should I get both parts 8 and 9, and is it advisable to replace both sides if one has a problem? When I look at the retail prices, it looks like the -01 version of both the centering journal and the cap have been superceded by an updated -02. Should I just help him replace both with all new updated pieces? Since the parts have been superceded, do I have to replace the centering journal with the updated part to be able to use the new cap?

I took a look at my '99 cab and both sides look the same. It appears your friend's car is missing part 9 on the one side. I can't really tell if you can replace part 9 without replacing part 8. From a quick parts search, it looks like you have to buy part 8 & 9 as one. Pelican Parts has a price of $40.25, but you may be able to find it cheaper. Not sure if this helps, but best I can do.

Will

Hi,

I'm getting married in a few weeks and wanted to decorate my car for the wedding but I don't have any ideas on how to do it. I want to do it tastefully but I can't seem to find any examples online of other Porsches that were decorated for weddings. Do you guys have any photos or have any ideas on how to do it?

Thanks,

Raymond

By "decorating" you are surely refering to a complete aero package, new wheels/tires, sports exhaust and window tint...right? Surely you aren't refering to flowers, bows, window paint and dragging beer cans! Good luck.

Well, As it turn out - the tires I wanted are not in stock until next week which doesn't give me enough time to beat them up a bit.

I am now going with Pirelli PZero Nero's instead.

My question is - has anyone run these and, if so, what's your take on them?

Please and thanks.

Do a search on tires here and you will find more opinions about every tire that will fit these cars than you ever wanted to read! I'm personally a fan of Michelin Pilot Sports. I think in terms of wet/dry traction, noise, wear and other key factors, these tires are as good as any.

Will

I just got all new tires. PS2's. In about 200 miles, they were very grippy.

I threw out 500 miles, but it could be less depending on your driving style and the number of heat cycles you put them through. Point is brand new tires (street tires) do not have max grip. It takes time for the rubber in the tire to condition and it takes time for the tires to "adjust" to the alignment of the car for max performance.

Will

Hey there,

I talked to a couple of friends and they all say go see this guy in town for the best price (we'll see)

I'm going to get a price from tirerack and see if he'll match it - I'm looking for a set of Michelins to put on though

(I'm thinking Pilot Sports)

I have a track day coming up in a couple of weeks so I wanted to have some fresh rubber to beat up!

Fingers crossed.....

I'm sure that you know, but just in case, you are going to need to put ~500 or so miles and several heat cycles through a new set of street tires to achieve maximum traction. Brand new tires tend to be a little "slick."

Will

I guess I will just use the key the old fashioned way. Not worth a couple hundred bucks ($100 for new transmitter and $100 for programming) just to be able use the remote to lock the doors since I do have a functional key

Will, if you're really making this a purely economic decision, then you might want to be sure of you have firm numbers. I was able to get a new key head, with barcode, on eBay for about $75. I believe Loren recently posted a Sunset flyer showing them in the $80's. As for programming, have you actually checked with your local dealer (CLT, I presume)? Mine in ATL charged me less than $50 to mate 2 new keys to my car.

Kim,

When I bought my car, I had the dealer make me a new key. They charged me one hour of labor for programming the key at $80. I know that I can buy the "head of the key for about $80 from Sunset then $80 to program. I used $100 for each as rounded figures. I probably will eventually get around to getting the new key, but it's not a top priority right now since it doesn't prevent me from driving the car and it's not that big a deal to stick the key in the door to lock it. Thanks.

Will

I just moved into a new house... The driveway has a steep angle and there is a dip in the gutter along the road. I scrape the front of my car every time, no matter how much of an angle I take at it.

Does anyone know any easy fixes? I have searched the internet for curb ramps, etc., but there is suprisingly little out there. any suggestions?

Thanks.

You may be able to have mason "pour" you a ramp across the curb. Not sure where you are located, but this may require approval from the county or neighborhood association.

Will