Costa

Harry, I note that there is a small cap on your airbox (which is part of the Schnell kit) does this allow you to remove the 'muffler' within the airbox to free up more space within or do you simply place the lid on the existing opening, still keeping the muffler within the airbox in-situ? The fabspeed kit (I think from memory) allows complete removal of the internal 'muffler - resonance cavity' from within the airbox and it also allows removal of the intake air pre-screening mesh mounted before the MAF sensor - This may aid airflow to some degree and increase performance of the intake somewhat. I have actually performed a similiar mod to the Schnell setup but it only cost me $2. I purchased a conical rubber 'Bung' which just squeezes into the opening where the small lid of the Schnell kit fits - This ends up plugging up the opening to the 'resonant muffler' chamber rendering it innefective.. I then fitted the existing original intake hose back over this now 'plugged' opening. I get the intake noise but no performance increase but it only cost me $2 :D

I remember reading a similar thread on this same topic on another forum a while back. One other issue that was discussed in the thread was the fact that the spare tyre can act as load spreading device in case of frontal impact. It is apparently designed into the crash testing criteria for the 996. Mind you all that could be just someones opinion ie BS, as I have not seen any official information regarding this in the owner's manual etc.

You may wish to also read the following article on the RMS if you have not already done so... http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=6731

You could probably achieve around 30hp max increase in HP by dumping your mufflers and throwing on some Fabspeed bypass pipes (Or get some made up - quite easy to do) in conjunction with an ECU flash/upgrade and maybe a modified intake (ala Fabspeeed etc). By removing your mufflers you will definitely achieve more HP right up near the top of your Torque/HP curves but the tradeoff is much more noise :D and some loss in low end torque. If your neighbours are ok with it an added bonus of removing the mufflers is that your net unsprung weight is reduced a fair amount as well. At the end of the day a 996 (esp a cab) is not a drag car but a race car :jump:

I have two 'Norbar' brand Torque wrenches. They are not cheap though - but they are very common in the automotive repair industry here in Aus. I purchased a 3/8" drive and a 1/2" drive model. The smaller 3/8" drive unit is great for the smaller job and also in tight places. Models: 13042 (8-60Nm 5-45lbf.ft) and 13046 (40-200Nm 30-150 lbf.ft) These have a VERY Positive 'Click' when the set torque is reached and are fitted with a ratchet head. 3% overall Accuracy. Norbar Website: http://www.norbar.com

Sounds just like the relay which activates for the Wiper Delay circuit.. ie Normal

I have not had a need to measure the incoming speed sensor signal myself, but I would guess that it is a square wave signal (either 0 to +5v or 0 to +12v) which varies in frequency (not Voltage) as the speed of the vehicle changes. The best way to measure this would be to utilise an oscilloscope (which you probably do not have in your back pocket) otherwise a late model digital multimeter which can measure frequency (as welll as the usual volts/amps etc) could be used to measure the signal. If you know a friend in the electronics field they would probably have a suitable digital multimeter that you could borrow for the measurements. Once a few spot measurements are conducted at a few various speeds, the results can be used to draw up a function/table of speed versus frequency (speed sensor). Once this is known, I can simulate the speed sensor's output on my test bench using a signal generator which I can program to mimic the speed/frequency ranges in question and feed this in to the circuit so that component values can be calculated/prototyped to suit the required range of operation. Measuring the speed sensor's output is the difficult bit, as it requires access to the speed sensor signal which is sent to the ECU etc. ie the seat has to be removed etc! Note: The speed sensor signal that I am referring to is not the signal which is utilised to activate the PSE/Windows etc. It is the signal which is supplied to the ECU from the actual speed sensor. Loren may be able to supply some info on this device as I am not sure as to how it is accomplished on a 996. On many other vehicles they have a sensor (usually a magnetic - Hall Effect device) on their tailshafts etc.

I was always under the impression that you cannot just bypass the cats and expect the car to run correctly. I assumed that the engine management would have to be modified to allow for the fact that the O2 sensors after the cats are now giving the same readings as the pre cat O2 sensors. Since you have just bypassed the cats then I would expect that the engine would run as you have found because the engine management is trying to adjust the fuel mixture etc to get the O2 sensors after the cats to read correctly. Since the cats are not physically there, then the engine management will never be able to run correctly as it assumes that the cats are still present.

Ye Olde Williams Defender - Great game when it arrived on the scene :D It would be reasonably simple to achieve this cutout feature with some simple electronics circuitry. You would need to measure the frequency of the speed sensor signal at a few speed points eg 10mph, 20mph, 30mph etc. This will give an idea as to the linearity of the speed sensor signal. Once you have this data it is quite easy (and cheap) to interface a frequency to voltage converting IC (eg LM2917 - Just a couple of dollars) to the speed sensor signal. Once this is done it will provide a voltage which is proportional to the frequency of the incoming speed sensor signal. You can then place a voltage comparator (another cheap IC - eg LM311 etc) to check this voltage and compare it to a preset reference voltage (adjustable via a trimpot etc) so that the device will trigger at your chosen speed. Once this is done - all you need is a simple relay (preferable) or a transistor driver which is connected to say the speaker of your radar detector so that it can disconnect the speaker when travelling below your chosen set speed trigger point. I can knock you up a circuit if required but you will need someone to verify/measure the speed sensor signal so the circuit can be setup and calibrated for the speed ranges that the circuit will operate over.... You can also do it digitally utilising a 'PIC' microprocessor but some more diagnostic work would be required to accurately measure the incoming range of the speed sensor signal and some programming would be required for the micro. A more elegant solution which requires a little more work, but this method would be preferable if the unit was going to be produced in large numbers etc.

Don't forget to Rejex your wheels as well. Once or twice a year I remove my wheels from the car and apply Rejex to them (Especially the inner side of the rims) as it makes cleaning the brake dust off the rims a real breeze.

I guess we should not be all that surprised since the M97 block is based on the M96. Looks like the composition of the seal may be an issue due to the differing variants.

You could try it with a small soft towel etc with the cluster in the car. Or you can remove the instrument cluster assembly as a whole from the vehicle. Do a search on Renntech for 'instrument cluster' to find instructions. I know that there are a number of posts here (and Pics) that show the removal proces, it is quite easy and quick. You can also pull the cluster assembly apart and remove the facia from the gauges. Note - I think that the clear plastic is set semi-permanenetly into the surround but at least you will be able to get to the rear of the plastic lenses if required.

My Bike's tank cracked a while ago. It cracked/split along the seam of the tank due to the plastic material being very thin. Luckily I was able to perform some plastic welding along the seam to repair it. You will find that the problem with the 996's tank is confined to the earlier models and hence the model/design changes as noted by Loren for the relavent MY.

It looks like the window cleaner has attacked the plastic faces. Possibly the only way to remove those spots is to get the plastic lightly 'buffed' using a plastic polish with an approprite buffing wheel/soft towel etc. The only cleaning product I use on the instrument cluster faces (and all other plastic lenses - Head/Taillights etc) is PLEXUS. You could try to use some Plexus product and see if it removes those spots. Plexus is designed for plastics.

Thanks Loren, I may hold off on the purchase for the US Headlights for now...

Loren, Tool Pants etc - Do you guys know if the 996 Turbo Xenon Headlights will be a straight plugin for an 02+ 996 (Originally Xenon equipped) C2. I'm looking at purchasing some spare Turbo Headlights from the US for my Australian (RHD) Xenon equipped 04 C2. Also...is it possible to utilise headlights from a (996 02+) LHD vehicle for a RHD drive vehicle ie are Headlight assemblies (assuming the same MY etc) the same part # for RHD Vs LHD vehicles - is it just a simple adjustment etc...? Thanks

Stumbled on this useful DIY project - link in another forum.... http://www.c-speedracing.com/howto_porsche.php There are quite a few good photos/instructions of an RMS being replaced from start to finish... Good overview for a person who always asks - "What is a RMS?" :D BTW, I noted that he did not utilise the correct Porsche Tool to measure the crank clearance as well as not utilising the correct procedure for inserting the new seal...oh well.

The RMS leak is more of an annoyance - Especially after spending so much money on a P-Car... If the seal ruptured you could lose a lot of oil fairly quickly and possibly cause engine damage if you happen to be pushing the engine at its limits at that moment in time. Having said that - It is extremely rare that the seal would totally fail this way If only small amounts of oil are lost then it just makes it a problem for your garage floor and the cleanliness of your crankcase. If you are losing a fair amount, then some oil may find its way onto your clutch plates (splashed up via the flywheel) which would then require you to replace those clutch plates. Most people do not experience an RMS problem yet on the other hand there are a few folk which have had leaks even after having the seal replaced a number of times which tends to make them rather annoyed!

The protection plates are not designed to protect from road salt, snow + slush. They are there to prevent crankcase damage in the event that something hard is run over by your car and in turn it strikes your your engine crankcase - especially if the car is lowered etc.

Here is my home fabricated one (with cut out clearances for oil filter/drain plug etc).... Slighty beefier construction than the stock unit without being too strong to cause damage to the motor.

A handy tip for cleaning - Utilise a vacuum cleaner with a hose/nozzle small enough to fit within your bumper openings. It may be a little tricky on a Turbo bumper but on my C2 Aerokit Cup II, GT3 style bumper it is very easy. I use this method to quickly clean any leaves and other debris from the front of the radiators every time before I wash my car. If you use the appropriate nozzle for your shop vac it easily gets all the debris out in about 1 or 2 seconds.... :D

I hope that figure is not 225 Celsius :D You may also want to try a hairdryer in a localised spot and start working around the perimeter to soften the adhesive and maybe use a butter knife etc along the seam?

It could also be the fact that the seals actually perform better under warm/hot conditions?

Water wetting agents are actually beneficial to water cooling. I am actually using Redline's product in my PC - Yes my CPU in my PC is water cooled! Under worst case scenarios I did actually consistently measure up to 5 degrees celsius variations (utilising Fluke thermocouples in a semi-controlled environment) between running a 50/50 glycol/distilled water mix versus Redline Water Wetter in my PC water cooling setup. Normal coolant which contains Glycol actually impedes the wetting nature of plain water which reduces its ability to remove heat from a surface but Glycol does provide the anti-freeze/boil features that plain water cannot match. BTW a drop of dishwashing detergent (or any other surfacant) will work but you really require some anti-corrosive inhibitors which Redline Water Wetter provides. My PC water cooling head is constructed from dis-similar metals (copper and aluminium) and it still has no visible signs of corrosion even after approx. 2yrs of operation. Redline Water Wetter is fine for a race/drag car which will probably not be run in freezing ambient temps but for a normal vehicle, your car will be in trouble if you live in a cold climate.

Lucky you diagnosed it down to an el'cheapo light globe rather than a more expensive ABS unit.... This is exactly what annoys me when the so called expert mechanics come across an electrical fault. They seem to try and fix the fault using 'Plug n Pray' techniques in lieu of actually trying to think about the problem. This normally ends up costing the poor user somewhat for poor diagnostic skills. I am involved in the electronics field so I may be a little biased here but it never ceases to amaze me when vehicle owners are forced to pay up for replacement electrical parts when the fault is not even fixed... Typical Story normally follows this sequence of events: Sorry mate, but we have changed the MAF but the fault is still present... Sorry mate, but we have changed the DME .... but the fault is still present... Sorry mate, but we have changed the Engine ... but the fault is still present... Sorry mate, but we have changed the xyz??? but the fault is still present... Hey mate, good news we have fixed the fault - it was a light globe... a dammed expensive one at that! Cheers Bernie....Hope you are feeling better!