p0rsch3

If you are in so cal area and in need of mesh, my buddy has a shop in long beach and makes body parts + does tuning for numerous race teams / drag cars, etc.

He has all the different stainless meshes and uses them on track cars, he did up my GT3 RS front opemings nicely.

1/8"-opening stainless weave mesh on the upper openings, and 1/4" square-opening weave mesh on the lowers.

Bumper was removed and pieces were epoxied / screwed from the inside.

Go to http://www.afterhoursautomotive.com - phone number is on the 'about' page, call and ask for the owner Brian.

Tell him Kurt sent you. Brian is a really nice guy and incredibly talented.

Sorry the pic of the lower center opening with 1/4" mesh is a bit dark- I'm no photographer.. :)

ok so this is bizzare and it's driving me nuts. I have this odd buzzing-snarl-rattle coming from somewere in the rear engine area whenever I floor the car from a stop or slow speed in 1st.

This only happens when the car is under full load / WOT in 1st and i'm either stopped or practically stopped, and it is most prevalent at the lower end of the RPM range when car is pulling hardest to move the weight of the vehicle. It is very consistent and I can make it happen on command, drawback is the vehicle has to be moving which makes it tough to stand outside the car and troubleshoot...

If I rev the car in N it does not occur. If I floor it in 2nd or other gear it does not occurr.

I thought it might be a bad muffler so I just replaced them, and it is still happening. It is not the tips rattling either.

I thought it might be the intake (K/N) kit and checked it for looseness, all looks good.

Is there some sort of diverter valve or something that could be making this noise under the described conditions? It's a wierd buzzy-resonant-rattle sound that has a hint of mechanical to it.

i'm ready to call a priest and sacrifice a small goat (...and not neccessarily in that order)

I lowered my car a while back and am tired of the headlights pointing at the ground, so I went to adjust it per the owners manual (pages 233/234).

It says there is a hex socket, and when I look in the access hole opening it is so small and deep I cannot see what type / size it is.

I guess I'll need to buy a long very thin hex tool but does anyone know what size the tool is?

Fault code 33 - Passenger compartment: monitoring sensor faulty

Possible cause of fault

Replace passenger compartment monitoring sensor

Fault code 42 - Wrong key or wrong transponder pill

Possible cause of fault

- Wrong transponder - not adapted to the vehicle (fresh battery and re-training maybe needed)

- Short circuit to ground/voltage or open circuit in the wiring between the signal converter and alarm system control module

Fault code 54 - Radio receiver defective

Possible cause of fault

- Alarm system control module faulty

(also if you have an after market radio this fault would occur too).

Fault code 60 - Central locking limit position 'Locked' not reached

Possible cause of fault

- Central locking switch faulty

- Short circuit to ground/open circuit in wiring between the alarm system control module, central locking switch or door locks

- Driver's/passenger's door lock faulty

- Control module faulty

(sometimes this fault also occurs if you hit the alarm set button before the door is closed completely).

Thank you Loren-

Odd that the 54 error says 'tilt sensor' on the scanner, but it is in fact for the radio? I did swap mine out for an aftermarket nav.

Guess I will start with replacing the interior sensor and go from there, does that sound reasonable? Hopefully that is an individually purchasable part.

My alarm has been periodically going off on it's own. I bought a durametric scanner and it showed a number of alarm faults.

I'm not sure what some of them mean like 54, 60, can anyone assist?

54 - Tilt Sensor: not in idle position

33 - Interior Sensor Faulty (this one is obvious)

60 - Central lock limit position: lock not reached

42 - Wrong key or wrong transponder: pill (this is odd since both of my keys are definitely coded to the car and function fine.

Thanks Loren-

Yes, if you read the alarm fault codes with the Durametric Software, a PST2, or PIWIS tester.

It will likely tell you where the alarm faults are.

My alarm occasionally goes off for no reason. I'm thinking it is a faulty sensor in the door, engine compartment or front.

I've ruled out the interior sensor by arming it with the sensor disabled.

My girlfriend says it goes off occasionally because my pcar misses me and wants attention.. LOL

The false alarms usually occurr early morning or late evening when the outside temperature changes.

Does the sensor record an event in the computer when it is tripped? If so, I might be able to have the computer readout let me know which sensor was triggered so I can replace it?

The Porsche dealer is absolutely no help. They just want to replace the entire brain (expensive) and hope it fixes things.

This is driving me nuts because there is no way to lock the car without enabling the alarm.

'02 996 C2 here-

Anyone know what the de-facto recommended plug gap is for '02+ 3.6L ?

Looking at NGK, Autolite, Delco and most 'off the shelf' plug brands for MY02 996, they come gapped at 0.032" (.82mm).

Bosch has a "fixed gap" and does not say on the box.

I'm seeing 1.6mm suggested in a prev post concerning the Bosch plugs, which is 0.063" and a substantially larger gap.

My Pcar has about 34k miles on it so am going to change plugs. At what mileage/age should I be considering replacement of wires and coils?

Thanks in advance-

I've never tried that either...Once I accidentally stepped on it from a light and it was in Manual, I thought it was in Auto.

I panicked a little when it unexpectedly revved up that high, looked on the dash, and only realized it was in Manual,

so I quickly flicked to upshift, didn't even have the chance to check the rpm, but it sounded very high and the car was not moving any faster,

so it was probably at the peak already.

I'm sure it will automatically upshift to protect the engine.

I know sometimes when I'm in Manual and have been cruising for a while, it somehow switches back to Auto??

It should never shift back to auto if you physically have the shifter in the manual position.

If you have the shifter in the auto position and hit the shift buttons, it goes to manual mode and will remain there until you stop manual-shifting for 8 seconds- then it goes back to auto-mode.

One neat thing to try-

leave the stick in auto mode and stop at a light or stop sign. hit the shift button to drop to 1st. it will stay there indefinitely until you drive off, then it will upshift to 2nd and back to auto mode. good way to get a jump off the line.

What's really interesting is putting the tip in manual mode, starting from first and just driving it and letting the transmission shift the gears as it reaches peak RPM.

Peak RPM as in 'peak power' in the rpm band or as in redline? I thought it only upshifted in manual mode at redline as a safety feature / never tried it.

You are probably right about the "fade-in" shifts in the Tiptronic,

I guess they want the shifts to be as smooth as possible?

Which it is pretty smooth, very close to my previous BMW E39 540i steptronic,

which was very smooth shifting that you could hardly feel the gears change if you are not paying attention.

So, I can understand there what you meant by the Tip's shifts are too smooth for a sports car.

I have driven a SMG 545i before and loved it, and you are right, the SMG is more sporty feeling.

But it has to be, it's a clutchless manual, NOT an auto, the Tiptronic is an auto.

That is why I said the Tiptronic is pretty good for an auto transmission.

The SMG can be pretty jerky shifting on the other hand, if you are not doing it right.

I've learned that you actually have to ease on the gas for a split sec, when you shift, just like a manual shift.

I tried that and the shifts were less jerky and more realistic like a manual shifter!

And you are right again about the **** Tip always shifting up too early!

I too am frustrated with it going up to 5th at such low speeds! I'm like WTF!?

So what I do is I've acquired a habit of stepping it down one notch everytime it hits 5th when I'm at low speeds.

However, I have to admit that my gas consumption has definitely gotten higher by about 2miles/gal with that driving style!

yep, I only put it in auto mode when i'm feeling extroadinarily lazy. the early roll-up is highly annoying and you have to mash the gas pedal to go anywhere when it's in 5th @ 40mph. You have to blip the gas pedal down quickly to get the tip to drop down some gears, if you accellerate slowly it stays in 5th dogging along.

Some improvement will definitely come from modifying my driving habits to get used to operation of the tip in auto-mode, but there is also (IMO) alot of 'sport' left on the table. I have driven the E39 540i tip, E46 M3 SMG, E36 325 tip and E46 330i tip- both the 325 and 330i were dinan modified with tip software.

All felt more sporty than the 996 tip. So I guess every car has it's strengths and weaknesses. All the 996 tip needs is some good software tweaking and it would be spot-on.

If i manage to make any progress on that front through APR i'll let everyone know.

Don't get me wrong though, I love my pcar :)

It's a coincidence that you mentioned that P0rsch3

I took my car for a drive this afternoon coz' it's been sitting in the garage for several days,

I was dragging thru' the gears on one stretch, and was thinking to myself that the shifts were pretty quick on command.

Now you mentioned that yours takes a 1/4 to 1/2 second to shift...

Wouldn't that be faster, or at least as fast as manual shifting??

I mean, professional racing drivers aside, how fast can you expect to shift on a regular spirited drive?

Assuming that the Tip shifting is indeed a tad slow for someone, you could always learn to adapt to it,

and master the Tip shifts by perhaps shifting a 1/2 second prior to when you actually would shift? ;)

Appreciate your input-

Yeah, there is always some inherent 'personality' with any tiptronic or SMG system. For example, my previous two BMW's were tip's, and they were way sloggy from the factory. Dinan tip software fixed that right up with nice crisp shifts and raised shift points (holds gears longer and stops up-thrust shifting).

So, i'm used to the press-n-wait game, but the pcar tip is really poor comparatively (IMO).. I can deal with the slight delay, but the slow fade-in gear engagement is very tame for a pure sports car. If it were a crisp shift, that would be fine.

Additionally, the up-shift points are very low in auto mode. I'm rolling 5th gear at 36mph?? also notice a fair amount of up-thrust shifting on decelleration.

With the supposed 250 shift maps and adaptive computer (and I flog the heck out of my car), I expected more. Just my 2c.

I'm not looking for F1-style perfection, just something that feels right for the car. IMO this tip would be at home in say... a CL500.

The kicker here is, the car when cold shifts wonderfully (which you experienced since your car was cold).

There is a 'warm up map' that the tip uses which holds the gears longer and firms the shifts, and in auto mode it starts out in 1st.

When the engine reaches 32C, it goes back into slog mode. Too bad there's no way to keep it in the warmup map...

APR is interested in writing a 'sport' tip software upgrade but that's 6 months away. GIAC scoffed at the idea, I guess they don't like to listen to customer suggestions.

Coming from a 2000 C4 with a 6spd to a 2004 C4S tip, I was a little skeptical. The car I bought recently was in excellent condition and I wanted my wife to be able to drive the car, so I bought it with a tiptronic. It has absolutely surprised me as to how fun and quick this is to drive. I have driven a manual for 3 years and I can tell you, the tip is fantastic to drive. What it might give up at launch, it makes up for as you get going because downshifting an upshifting is so fast and effortless. Any other tip drivers out there? What has your experience been?

My 2002 C2 tip is not that impressive. While I think the potential is there with some software tweaking, my experience is it's very slow to change gears. I hit the button and there is a 1/4 to 1/2 second delay, and the engage is a slow-fade-in instead of a firm gear change. Feel like this trans was made for a old-folks 'sport' luxury sedan.

as a matter of fact, I can watch the gear shift indicator go to the next gear... and then after a delay the gear changes. Overall, I am quite bummed with the operation of it.

Some of you say it's great - maybe mine is just not working right?

Thanks for the info. Since I already have to be careful with the spoiler as is I think I'll leave it alone. Again, nice job on your car.

Phillipj

Well, your pcar looks just awesome as-is so I would't sweat it

Porsche3,

Thanks so much for the DIY! :renntech: You did a great job. It looks really nice. Does the chin spoiler come in black only? Did you order it in black?

As for your "ghetto" techniques I think you are a good problem solver! Sometimes we have to be creative.

Your 996 is a beauty. Simple and clean. I have a white 99 with a body kit. Don't think that spoiler would work on mine because I'm sure the demensions are different.

Thanks again for the excellent pics and instructions.

Phillipj

Thank you for the kind remarks. Yeah now that i moved to an apartment and no longer have the luxury of a full garage, I have to make do with what I can.

The lip only comes in black. It is poly. i'm sure you could paint it but IMO it is going to get scraped so why bother.

You know it may fit the 99 as well- the width and circumference of the underside of the bumper looks pretty close to the 02+.

BUT- I believe there is an under-lip available for the MKI GT2 bumper which would probably be the pre-facelift equivalent of mine. I think there is a Cup and a Street version of the Gt2 lip.

Maybe Loren can help research if there is in fact a GT2 lip available? I think it's like $100.

A few more pics:

1.

------------------------------

DIY STUFF

------------------------------

Ok so here's the steps. This is a pretty easy install, you just need to have a good eye to line it up before you drill holes and screw down.

1. You need about 18" to 24" under the car to lay comfortably and adjust / fasten everything. Most of your work will be under the car.

So, get something SAFE to jack up your car with- Don't be ghetto like me with the "angled driveway 2-brick method" - I do not want to be responsible for you getting squished. btw, I used OSHA-approved bricks... :D

Lay out a blanket after you have the car up high enough and lay the lip under the car: (sorry for the crappy pics, the afternoon sun was coming straight in behind the car)

Clean the underside of the bumper and if neccessary chip off any scraped plastic (for those of you who park by braille...). You want a smooth surface.

you will want to line up the center of lip with the center line of the car.

I used the center hole on the lip as a reference then stuck a sliver of white tape on the front edge of the lip. when I put the lip against the car the tape sliver gave me a center reference mark for the initial fitment.

It is easiest to get your initial fit if you can sandwich the lip up to the car snugly, then move it around until it looks straight. i used a couple of boxes for the props that held the lip against the bumper. (those free Fedex boxes do come in handy!!)

MEASUREMENT:

I set the center of the lip 1/4" recessed from the front edge of the bumper.

On right and left bumper corners, the mounting side edge of lip should be flush with the underside front edge of bumper.

At the wheelwell sides, you should have approximately 1.2" of the lip ends protruding into the wheelwell area.

If you line up initially to these specs, you are off to a good start.

Now that you have it in place and have adjusted it around to get it even, use a piece of tape on the middle center of lip to hold the lip in place on the car. Ditto for each of the sides nearest the wheel well.

Now crawl under the car and look at the center mounting hole of the lip.

It should line up with the center screw that holds the bumper to the car.

this is a good check to be sure that you have every thing centered. If you do not, you will see a lot of the orange tape of the lip sticking out on one corner of the bumper or the other. So it's pretty easy to tell when you have it just right. You should barely see orange tape at either of the bumper corners or sides.

Now tape the lip to the bumper in several spots to hold it in place.

(This pic is just for reference of line-up- You should not have your screws in yet).

Starting on the drivers side of the lip, grasp the white masking tape handle on the orange sticky cover and begin peeling it off of the adhesive. do this slowly and gently so as not to move the lip. press the adhesive up firmly to bond to car.

2.

Now, you will begin putting in your screws and washers.

Start with the center and work your way out right / left.

I used a dremel with drill tip to make 1/8" pilot holes, then used a screw gun to put the screws in. Do NOT over-tighten or you will strip the plastic.

I put the screws in snug at first but was still able to slide the washers a bit.

I made a second pass with a hand screwdriver and while pushing the washers forward, tightened each screw.

Put in the rest of the screws and pull tape off. Remove boxes.

You will have to make one new hole on each end closest to the wheelwell.

Look on far right of pic- I popped in a new scew about 1" from wheelwell.

Use a dremel and cut off the 1" lip overhang on each side.

Check your screws for tighness, and you are done!

umm- so how do you get the tip buttons off and the airbag out? I have one loose tip button and need to replace it. no info to be found?

anyone know of a diy thread?

2002 C2 coupe w/ bose speakers and bose amp.

I'm going to pull the factory radio and install a kenwood double-din dvd-nav unit.

For now I will retain the bose amp and speakers, I would like to send the 2v low-level RCA outputs of the kenwood to the bose amp's inputs.

Anyone have access to the radio and amplifier wiring schematic?

Would be highly appreciated!

This is exactly what I want to do.

Where is the BOSE amp located ? how are the speakers connected ?

Currently i have a traffic pro 4670 installed, it's a 2002 car. Have not been able to figure out if it is using the internal amp (4 outputs for speakers) or some lineout for an external amp ? How many BOSE speakers are there in a 2002 C4S ? How are they normally connected ?

thanks

The amp is located in the luggage compartment above the spare tire-

You only need to work with the wires at the radio side-

There are a front L/R pair of wires and a rear L/R pair of wires in the brown radio plug, and the wiring diagram is on the radio body or in your owner's manual for the radio. (it is like that on my CDR220 head unit, it should be similar for the traffic pro).

There is one undocumented wire in the C3 plug (black w/ red stripe) that is the remote turn-on for the bose amp.

It's a very easy wiring job, you hook up the speaker outputs of the aftemarket NAV/DVD to the speaker wire inputs of the car. The bose sub uses a summed signal from the speaker wires and is connected to the bose amp directly.

Check out my DIY thread here: http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84794

This my finished result- I also relocated the AC control to the upper slot of the lower console:

My car is MY1999.

Perhaps Porsche feels that changing a remote key battery is now a "dealer serviceable item". :lol:

LOL - Yeah, I guess Porsche is working that extra-$$ angle whenever possible... :censored:

Thanks very much Loren- What MY is your manual? I noticed you have the 1-button remote, mine is the 2-button. They omitted the change-remote-battery section in the owners manual that came with my '02 pcar-

Well, today is going to be a fun day- I get to spend all of it installing a Kenwood DNX7100 double-din NAV/DVD unit and customizing the AC controls to fit the top slot of the lower console- good times :)

Dir you look in your Owner Manual? - it's covered on page 18 of mine.

Hmm- I must have the "abridged" version.. All it covers is how to use it, but not how to physically open the key head.

I also looked in the MY2003 996 owners manual online here, and no dice as well.

Can you post your section?

I just got a new remote key head and am trying to figure out how it pops open. don't want to damage it in the 'experimenting' process.

anyone have a link to article, service manual or just know how the thing opens?

yeah, it's odd b/c the window overall functions fine.

I read some threads on window limit adjustment- I might try lowering the glass 1mm to see if it fixes the issue. but I have to find a special reverse torx socket correct?