GaryD

My local tech had a look at it today. Apparently the steering is OK but the rear dampers seem to have an odd intermittent fault, and at times they are not damping properly. As a result you end up with the back of the car oscillating up and down over undulations in the road, which can make the front lighter and a bit more exciting. Hit the sport or PASM button and it sorts itself out though, so the theory is that it's the damping that's the problem. It's going into the Porsche dealer next week for them to look at this, and hopefully fix it. I'm hoping that will then resolve the issue. These cars are too **** complicated! Gary

Michelin Pilot Sports, they're new (200-ish miles on them now) but they replaced P-zero rossos which were awful. However, although the p-zeros squirmed about all over the road these do feel lighter than the p-zeros at speed. Maybe I'm just being over sensitive. Anyway, the local indie is going to check it over on Thursday again, will post back if we find anything. Gary

Thanks Phillip I took it to an independent to do the alignment as the dealer that sold me the car doesn't have the facilities (he's not an official Porsche dealer). He drove it after the alignment and said he was fine with it, but I have to admit it's too way too light for me. The indie has a very good reputation though, he looked after my C4S and has a GT3 of his own which he races, so I thought he'd be fine with this. Tire pressures are fine - the TPMS is accurate (tested with a digital gauge) and the pressures are spot on as recommended in the manual. And the tyres are new, we eliminated that issue first. I thought it might be me, but I can't see how a £100k car should make me nervous of bumps at 70-80mph Thanks Gary

Hi all, I swapped my 996C4S for a 997 gen 1 Turbo (2009 model year) about a month ago. I first had some problems with the steering 'squirming' a little in my hands at higher speeds (75mph+), not massively so, but enough to be irritating. A new set of Michelin Pilot Sports and a 4 wheel alignment has since mostly sorted that. However, since then I've been shocked how light the steering as at higher speeds. My old C4S felt really planted at speed, but this makes me positively nervous! At town speeds and lower road speeds it's perfectly fine, but getting up past 70 and 80 is scary if the road is not totally flat. It feels like it's going to take off if it hits a bump or change in surface. Is this me, or is it the car? Are they all light in the steering department, or is something amiss here? I was wondering if it could be the geo (surprised if this is the case as it's just been done, but you never know), or I real about a power steering valve that might reduce the assistance being stuck open? Anyway, if anyone can point me in the right direction or tell me not to worry I'd be very grateful. Thanks Gary

Re: My July 2003 996 C4S, 6-speed (manual)... I posted a while back about an engine 'blip' that I occasionally noticed in the 1500-2000rpm range, especially when the car was re-started from warm. Well, in December the car 'failed'. After pulling away from a junction with some unusually spirited use of the accellerator (but still under 5-6K rpm as in the manual, since I was running in) I drove the car about a mile or two (sedately, and without problems) and parked up. On re-starting the dash lit up like a Christmas Tree (topical) and the computer told me to drive to the workshop. The car sounded like a tractor (missing heavily) and vibrated like mad. So, Porsche GB put the car on a truck and returned it to the dealer who, after a few days' playing with the car, told me that it was a 'stuck hydraulic valve' and returned it to me. Well, I was hopeful but on driving the car again it was obvious that the problem hadn't been fully fixed, even though the warning lights were not on now the car occasionally 'vibrated' or 'missed' in the 1500-2000rpm range. I complained to Porsche GB again, but the car seemed to rectify the fault on it's own and I didn't have a problem again so I forgot about it. Until last weekend. Again, same scenario. Pulled away from a junction in a sprited manner (but still in under 5K-ish rpm - i.e. not floored), and then drove home sedately. Re-started the car and... you guessed it, Christmas tree lights and tractor sounds again! So, the car has gone back to the dealer (different one this time, as I lost faith in the old one for many reasons) and they have diagnosed a faulty 'ignition coil' (?) and replaced it. They claim it is now OK... but given the above (and my reluctance to return the car a third time for the same fault) does this sound plausible? I guess I am now a little paranoid about the whole thing, especially since the car is just 6 months old and has 1500 miles on the clock (weekend car). Any comments and/or advice would be welcome. Thanks again, Gary D.

Thanks everyone. I tried to replicate the problem this weekend... but to no avail! I guess my C4S is living up to her name (J-Lo) in being a little diva-ish and tempremental! I am not sure the original problem was the variocam, as it was much down closer to 2K rpm than 3-3.5K, from memory. I've put it down to weak fuel/standing for two weeks/break-in-hiccups until it happens again. The closest I got was what felt like insufficient revs or too high a gear to pull properly, which is driver error, but other than that it was fine. I also went for a 'quick' drive last night (in both senses of the word), keeping it under 4.5K rpm but pushing hard up to that level. Oh wow... now I know what people mean about the 911 being a bit fast. I can't wait to open her up properly, but even "with the stabilisers on" it was one hell of a blast! Cheers, Gary D.

Thanks Loren... I certainly will!

Last one... Is it 'normal' when parking the car after a drive to have a small pool of water form on the floor? I am alking about a damp patch about a foot in diameter, located under the front axle/dashboard? I was guessing that it's the aircon, but I am surprised at how much water it seems to kick out! Thanks again, Gary D.

Here's the next one. I did not notice this one for the first couple of weeks, then I went on holiday for a couple of weeks (and left the car standing), and now it seems to have another little problem. 99% of the time the power delivery is fine. But occasionally, there seems to be a little 'hiccup'. At first I thought it was the clutch slipping, as it felt similar to the effect I managed to achieve a long time ago on a car with a burned out clutch, but I am not so sure now. Normally, it is most evident under 'casual driving' in 2nd, when accellerating from a steady 2K (ish) rpm, but today it did the same in 3rd. After holding steady for a while at about 2K rpm, I pressed the gas pedal a little harder and it seemed to kill the power a little (or sort of 'pull back') before jerking forward and starting to accellerate. Now, as I said it doesn't do it all of the time... in fact, about once or so per run seems normal. It is also most likely to happen when I've been running the car, have stopped the engine for a while, and then re-started with the engine semi-warm. Strangely, even then it doesn't seem to do it straight away, it's usually a minute or two into the drive. The problem is, if I drive the car a little more spirited (but still under 4-5K RPM as it's running in!) it seems perfectly fine. This one has me stumped. I've wondered wether it's an e-gas issue, fuel blockage, ecu problem... but I just don't know enough about these cars to work it out for myself. It's also not bad enough to return the car to the dealer (unless someone tells me otherwise), but it's made me a little nervous! Can anyone suggest an explanation... or a cure?

I've had my new C4S for a few weeks now, and clocked up nearly 500 miles (not much I know, but it's a weekend car). I've started to notice a few problems, and I wondered if anyone here could help. Here's the first... The seatbelt mounts on the car are adjustable, which is nice, but they are VERY loose and rattle like crazy. Over anything but smooth roads this is a massive irritation - such that turning the stereo off to listen to the engine is not fun! Is this normal? Are there any known fixes or solutions to this? Thanks, Gary D.