Bill_SoCal

I've got the same set up...works great for three VIN's. Bill B)

Nice ride! Congrats! That makes for a nice start to '09. All the best, Bill B)

I always reset at each change in lieu of getting the indicator. I agree the two panels are the toughest challenge with the oil change on the S (and the V6) :unsure: ...the 'S' my preferred oil change to the V6. The V6 makes a pretty good mess when I change the oil (oil filter is not the best set up and I don't take out that little allen bolt to drain the oil from the filter). I perform oil changes on the Cayenne and Cayenne S at 10K intervals...although the way my wife is going, I may not get to the 10K oil change on her 'S' (I did change the factory oil and filter at 5K). She really enjoys driving our V6 and likes to keep the '08 clean and in the garage most of the time. :jump: Waiting to trade it in for the Panamera...maybe. :P All the best, Bill B)

If the car runs fine, I don't believe the failure point would be the water pump. If the water pump failed, I would think the drive belt would fail, and the dash board would light up like a Christmas tree. Hopefully it is something simple...please let us know what you find Jake. I'd put the front seats forward and pull the fire wall... Good luck. Bill B)

Yeah, Autohauz. I ordered my rear brake rotors from them, because they were the cheapest. They cancelled the order for not in stock, but they already charged my carrd. It took forever to get them reverse the charge, they were firsrt saying that it will drop off after 3-5 business days. Nice, but I do not have extra $350 to play around with. It took me several calls to get this finally resolved so I was able to order them from Sunset. Bad taste, do NOT recommend Autohauz, Jake Really? :o Did you order online by chance? The portal gives you availability if there is an out of stock item. I've never had an issue with them over the past few years. As a matter of fact, there is no where you can get the deals they offer and free shipping over $50.00. My only Porsche parts ordering goes to my local dealer or the guys at Sunset or Autohauzus. Based on my experience with online buying, Autohauz is a top tier site. If you want a great deal and excellent shipping, you should give them a try...I just got an unbelievable deal on wipers for my Cayenne and daughters BMW. Free shipping in a box that's 10"x5"x24" in unheard of. I ordered them on the 22nd and installed them yesterday. ;) Sorry you had a bad experience there Jake... All the best, Bill B)

You might try looking for these pads at places like Autohausaz...I've never used these specific pads personally, but I see them being sold as an alternative to OEM pads. You can do better than this eBay listing...seller listing of 98.6% is not stellar and I could not find a corresponding match for the replacement part number listed for a 986. :huh: Bill B)

I'm not too familiar with the two piece rims, but I would like to compliment you on a nice write up! Very well done! :D I like the innovative pursuit you had to find fasteners for the two you broke. I would have never imagined searching the German version of eBay and using a translation program to go from English to German and vice versa. Really awesome job! ;) Thanks for the post. Bill B)

No fun Jim...be interesting to hear what the Porsche Centre had to repair to get you rolling. :huh: Happy Holidays, Bill B)

Definitely sounds like a lot of work :huh: ...for the money you'll invest, you should definitely be able to find a good deal. ;) Car sounds a little rough for 55K miles...I have 137K on my Boxster and the only thing I've done on the list you've provided is front brakes. I'm the original owner, but my front seats are like new; and my Boxster is a daily driver. Best of luck on your Porsche. Happy Holidays! Bill B)

I have them...very rarely use them. The seats warm up pretty quick from body heat. If it's too cold to have the top down, I don't think you'll find salvation with the seats warmed. I've never used the red...used the yellow on those cold Southern California mornings when it gets down to 60 degrees. ;) We use the ones in the Cayenne's all the time...on our '08 S you can fry eggs on the number 2 setting. Not worth the cost in my opinion, but then again, I like having the option! :D Happy Holidays, Bill B)

I just checked my receipt...the part number I ordered was 986-504-119-00 (List $116.14 / $104.53 with my PCA discount). You may give Sunset a call if you can fill the box with an air filter, cabin filter, and oil filter; may be worthwhile. I like my local Porsche dealer, but those guys at Sunset are terrific to work with too! Great prices. Good luck, Bill B)

Just replaced mine today... ;) I purchased the panel from my local Porsche dealer for $104.53. Sunset had it about $20.00 less, however, they need to ship in a larger box and I did not need filters or anything else to make it worthwhile from a shipping perspective. This is the second panel I've replaced over the years do to road debris. Quick replacement...same panel you have to remove when changing manual transmission fluid. Rolled my car up on ramps from the rear tires and took about fifteen minutes. Need a torque bit and a 10mm socket. Broke my old one in two pieces and it's in the trash for tomorrow's pick up. All the best, Bill B)

Boxster 137,000 Miles Great DIY information! I got stuck with the simplest of the process...the light knob. I should have looked at the picture better. In lieu of using the screwdriver as if to pry, it should be used the oppostie way that logic would tell you and pushed up to release the internal circlip. :angry: Replacing the 10mm nut absorbed most of my time... that was tough. :o My early days as an aircraft assembler helped me greatly as I installed fasteners in areas I couldn't see for many years. All else was pretty straight forward. Recommendation - Plan for at least four (4) hours and have patience. You'll need it. ;) I purchased the new Steering Lock/Ignition assembly from Sunset Imports last week for $90.59. Awesome service and shipping. :renntech: I was not able to salvage the (2) black plastic cable retainers. The broke in my efforts to use a center punch and remove them. :huh: Car is running well! I'll start it first thing in the morning in hopes my ignition problem is now gone... Great DIY post...helped a bunch. I printed the one with pictures added too! Really nice outline to get this done. All the best, Bill

Forgot...three window regulators R/H side, two window regulators L/H

2003 Boxster - Purchased new in December '02 with mileage from the Port to my dealer here in So Cal (17 miles). I just changed my oil at 135,000 miles yesterday. I've only performed standard maintenance and do most of it myself: Oil and Filter (Amsoil 5W-40/Mahle Filter) every 15K Front Brakes - 60K Drive Belt - 60K Front and Rear Brakes - 120K Drive Belt - 120K Clutch as not been replaced on the vehicle. I have had to have my key reprogrammed on a couple of occasions over the years. I also had to purchase the shroud that must be removed to fill the transaxle twice due to road debris. I drive the car daily here in Southern California and drive a windy mountain road called the Ortega Highway to get from Southern California Wine Country to Orange County. I seem to replace the rear tires every 25K to 35K (I dumped the Pilots on my first tire change for a better wearing tire). Fronts about every two sets of rear tires. Best car I've every owned. It's my daily driver and runs incredible. Other than rock chips on the front from Southern California freeways, you would think the car had 20K miles on it. I just got in from the store...top is down and it's a beautiful day here today. Must be back in the 80's...heading back out to grab some carne asada for the barbecue. B) All the best, Bill_SoCal (Murrieta, CA) 2003 Boxster 2006 Cayenne 2008 Cayenne S

Bill, Gorgeous car! Thanks for the pictures - I didn't pay any attention to Cayenne roofs when we were out looking, and didn't feel like going out today in the rain to see how Cayenne roofs look. I'm surprised Porsche doesn't have the rail guides covered like they do on the Carrera, given their attention to aesthetics. I'll have to take a look at some older ones and see how they hold up in the elements, as the Cayenne won't displace the Boxster and Carrera in our 2 car garage. If you don't mind my asking, did you get any kind of discount on your '08 Cayenne? We haven't started talking price with the dealer, but having any current model year sales information from So Cal always helps Was terra cotta a special color? It looks great in your picture, but I didn't see it in the sales booklet. Is it the same as sand beige (one of the colors we're looking at)? Good morning Geoff, Thanks! We really love the car. When we purchased our Cayenne, the dealer only had two S's ready for sale (back in July); a black one and a metallic green. There was no discount offered at the time and someone else was at the dealer trying to purchase the one we bought. It was one of those "let's just buy it...gotta' have it today" type of decisions. Pure emotion and no financial due diligence. The Cayenne's seem to be very popular in So Cal, so I think the dealer does pretty well. Our dealer is Pioneer Porsche in San Diego. I've attached a link below for you to review the current 2008 S models and MSRP's. 2008 Pioneer Porsche Inventory and MSRP As far as the interior, you are correct, it's the sand beige leather. It just looks like terra cotta in color so we've been calling it that when it in fact the sand beige. More of hue of orange though. It is a really beautiful interior. The one thing we did was purchase black floor mats the first week...the other ones were just showing the dirt way too quick. In our '06 we have the black interior and it's been great. For style and beauty though, that sand beige is really nice. Look forward to hearing what you end up getting! ;) Best regards, Bill

Yes, exactly, it's in the middle of the dash right above the radio and climate control...

And the sad part...the cars I drive are in the driveway... :beer:

Here's a couple interior shots:

Hi Geoff, :thumbup: We bought the 2008 Cayenne S back in July...once our dealer got it on the lot, we had to have it! Oh wow is it an awesome driving experience. We got the olive green metallic green with terra cotta interior. We absolutely love it! Rails were an option...they seemed to be easily removed from the existing rail guides that come standard on the Cayenne. I don't believe you need to cover any holes as they rail guides slide and tighten into the existing inserts in the roof if I recall correctly. We have both a '06 and '08. We too have a large dog, actually, a lab...buddy. We purchased the Porsche cage assembly and plastic liner for the back in install it when we need to travel with the dog. It fits both Cayennes...will, actually, the '08 is my wife's and she won't let Buddy in the back (yet). I just took some pictures of our '08. Hopefully I'll attach them correctly. Roof assembly where rails mount: '08 Cayenne Pics: Unfortunately, my '06 Cayenne and Boxster are stuck in the driveway...my wife and daughter have claims to the garage. Our '06 is the black/beige color scheme...love it! Good luck and happy shopping! What a great ride. Best regards, Bill

The cup holders that came with my 2003 slide out with interesting engineered assembly. You push the tab on the right, the mechanism pops out for the first cup and then you need to pull on it for the second up. I'm not sure if this is the same as the 2002. Anyway, last week I went to the dealer becuase my cup holder will no longer close correctly - $218.00 for a replacement assembly! I'm still without a cup holder so I'm glad to see other options. Best regards, Bill

Hi Crystal, I'm just inland and south of you in Temecula. I drive a 2003 Boxster, manual, with 107,000 miles. I've driven the car since it was new off the lot with 17 miles. I know many people have a fluctuation in mileage, however, I drive to San Diego daily without traffic at about 75-80 and I ~29 mpg. As a matter of fact, I drive on the freeway so much that I've never even done rear brakes to my Boxster yet. I follow the Porsche maintenance schedule for all other service. I drive in the morning with the top up and generally with the top down in the afternoon. Based on information from http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/maintain.shtml, if you have a dirty air filter, that could cause a degradation to your fuel economy by up to 10%, low tire pressure could impact your mileage up to 3%, and the incorrect viscosity engine oil could cause further degradation of 1-3%. I know my mileage is accurate as I calculate it at almost every fill up. Seems low to me based on your driving habits. Good luck! Every improvement helps these days with the cost of gasoiline. Best regards, Bill

:cheers: Agreed Doug. Thanks for taking the time to share a few posts. I don't think anyone is bored by our posts; it is certainly educational. Please note that as far as my learning is concerned, all material I posted was from professional sources; they are not my own opinion. I appreciate you recognizing that I have a lot to learn. I am constantly learning and doing research. I hold a BS in Business; a MBA in Management and Strategy, and recently just completed the CMBA which is the certified competencies of an MBA. There are only a few hundred people that hold that have chosen to test for that elite designation. I will admit I have no engineering or chemical engineering education. I have never provided material solely based on my opinion or my claims to be a subject matter expert; I always do my best to use others research and provide them credit in any argument in regard to a specific point. I think we both agree we love our Porsches! That's what's important here and we share that in common. I do agree that you, like myself, have a great deal of knowledge in regard to lubricants. I'm sure we'll pick this conversation up on some future post, but I enjoyed the opportunity to post with you. Happy New Year and best regards! All the best in 2008! Bill

Hi Doug, Agreed and thanks for the great post. I acknowledge and agree Amsoil is not on the Porsche approved oil list. I appreciate you taking the time to post as I too am learning a few things from you that I was not aware of and are certainly worthy of additional study. I stand behind the statement that "We both know that first off all synthetic oils offer better performance attributes than conventional oils. Starting there, there is a better oil." I certainly expected we would agree here. Let me clarify, synthetic oils are clearly superior for gasoline high performance engines. There may be specific applications due to the wide range of lubricant applications where a mineral oil might be better than a synthetic, but I am not aware of any application due to the fact that conventional oils simply do not hold up to the extreme cold or heat and demands that synthetic oils will, even with the enhanced additive packages of today mineral oils cannot compete with synthetics. For high performance gasoline engines which we own, one cannot simply not say a mineral oil can protect as effectively as a synthetic. It’s absolutely proven with data and recognized by the leading industry experts. If the decision is cost based, well, yes, I understand. The only functional category that I am aware of that someone might consider a conventional oil over a synthetic is purely cost. There is such a significant difference in properties, protection, and performance capabilities. Understanding Conventional Mineral Oils: Understanding Motor Oil: Crude oil, as it is pumped out of the ground, contains hundreds of kinds of hydrocarbons from thick, tar-like asphalts, to thin, volatile liquids like benzene or heptanes, or even light, colorless gases like methane or propane. Refiners separate crude oil into scores of useful compounds. The base stock for [conventional] motor oil is made from medium-size hydrocarbon molecules with 25 to 45 molecules which are neither too thick, nor too thin, and can be pumped under high pressure between moving metal surfaces or an engine to provide a slippery lubricating film that prevents metal-to-metal contact and all but eliminates friction. Motor oil hydrocarbons, like gasoline, consist of olefins, paraffins, napthenes, and aromatics. Simple aromatics ̶ which make good gasoline components due to their ability to resist detonnation ̶ also make good motor oils due to their thermal stability. Polynuclear aromatics do not make good oils (Hartman, pp. 15-16, 1996). To understand synthetic motor oils (According to Mobil), let’s look first at the origins of all motor oils: Conventional oils come from crude oil that is pumped from the ground. Crude oil is made up of a complex mixture of molecules that form chains and rings of different sizes and shapes. Long chains of carbon atoms produce a thick, viscous fluid that flows slowly. Shorter chains produce fluid that flows more readily. In an oil refinery, crude oil is separated into various fractions. These become the basis for lubricating oils and fuels. Thick tangled masses of carbon chains become asphaltic materials used in roofing tar and road work. Very short chains and ring compounds of carbon are volatile and can be refined to produce gasoline and other products. While petroleum refining is an advanced science, small amounts of contaminants, such as sulfur and reactive hydrocarbons, cannot be completely removed from petroleum, and may end up in motor oil base stocks. All motor oils are made up of base oils and additives. In general, fully synthetic motor oils contain non-conventional, high-performance fluids. Synthetic blends usually use some non-conventional, high-performance fluids in combination with conventional oil. To meet the demanding requirements of today's specifications (and our customers' expectations), Mobil 1® uses high-performance fluids, including polyalphaolefins (PAOs), along with a proprietary system of additives. Each Mobil 1 viscosity grade uses a unique combination of synthetic fluids and selected additives in order to tailor the viscosity grade to its specific application (http://www.mobil1.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Synthetics/Why_Synthetics.aspx). Doug, here’s why synthetics are better: Synthetics have none of the wax of which mineral oil, for economic reasons, cannot feasibly be 100 percent-free. Synthetic oils’ pour point is -60 degrees F or below, while mineral oils only pour to about -40 F, but they are also formulated for improved high temperature stability. With their tightly coherent molecular structure, synthetics have inherently better resistance to thermal breakdown, and require less VI-improver (perhaps none) to maintain viscosity and integrity at high temperatures, instead of degrading into vapor and sludge. Synthetics not only maintain their thickness better at high temperatures, but they are also more resistant to longer term breakdown and thickening by repeated “cooking” under heavy loads. All oils meet API standards with some margin, but synthetics tend not only to meet but to exceed the highest standards for passenger car motor oils. In the API test a 350 V-8 is tested under heavy load for 64 hours with 300 degree oil, and then disassembled and checked for internal wear and cleanliness. Synthetic oils’ customized molecules are formulated with structures optimal for reduction of internal friction: Synthetics are actually slipperier than ordinary mineral oils (Hartman, p. 22, 1996). Synthetics are proven to offer superior wear protection, increased horsepower, cooler running engines, reduced deposits, reduced oil consumption, resistance to oxidation and breakdown, easier winter starts - they all add up to less repairs and a better running, longer lasting engine. More importantly to most drivers today, synthetic oils can help improve fuel economy by reducing friction (retrieved from synpsg.com, 01/08). While the engineering is much different, synthetic oils were developed due to the demands of jet engines (historically, synthetic development first began in Germany, however, was abandoned due to the cost). When I'm flying at 37,000 feet, I certainly want to know that the best engineered lubricant is keeping the aircraft in the air (and I'm not saying which synthetic aviation is best as I've not done research in this area). This is the same reason synthetic wheel bearing great was developed long ago for jets landing on aircraft carriers. Amsoil is one company referenced in many US Military MIL specs. My degree is not in chemistry or a petroleum sciences field, however, I can say that I would think a 100% pure molecular structure is better than a fragmented molecular structure of carbon when trying to create the best performing lubricant. In regard to “the Porsche Factory actually use mineral lubricants in many of their own engines - engines that in some cases are virtually irreplaceable.” Are these collector cars? I don’t know of any high performance engine or engine builder in the world today that uses mineral lubricants. With the technology and testing available today, I would have a hard time understanding this one. It would be clearly a performance and wear disadvantage. Is there a reliable source or peer reviewed written material I can reference? With all the money into a high performance engine, adding mineral oil would not seem such a smart decision. It is a proven fact the synthetics offer less friction; which equates to higher performance due to less friction and so many other performance attributes you can’t get from a mineral oil. I agree it is a positive that we are seeing oil requirements determined by the manufacturer. To address your point, "Again, Amsoil makes good products (AFL is on the MB Appoved List) - they are not exceptional performers though and many other cheaper products are their equal." How do I measure this Doug? This is very general. What makes you believe they are not exceptional performers? According to data available by searching the web, they are in fact superior and among the best. Amsoil spends the money to benchmark against the competitors in independent labs (tests that can be dupicated at any lab in the world). Is there somewhere that I can see these lubricants benchmarked against each other to support your claim that there is no best performing oil? It is true, Amsoil spends the money to prove their performance attributes, however, this data is made available to everyone and cannot be argued by any of the big companies...if the performance data was not accurate, I think we would see a number of lawsuits by the top competitors. I can only reference the data I can access Doug. We can all base our oil bias subjectively, however, I base my lubrication decision based on empirical information. If you have empirical or tangible data, please point me in that direction and I’ll be glad to review the performance results of other oils. I understand your point to not being one best, but I clearly stand behind the fact that there are better performers than others. I continue to reference data that I’ve seen that proves Amsoil and Mobil 1 are top performers. Mobil 1 is obviously focused on market share and the best product they can product at the price point and quality level that meets the niche high performance market. Mobil 1 from a marketing perspective clearly competes in a purely competitive environment. Amsoil on the other hand is focused on acquiring the best additives package and prices their products according as being the best. Amsoil’s marketing strategy is more differentiated based on quality so they compete in more an oligopoly in my opinion. If you point me to data that shows a specific oil outperforming Amsoil in the industry recognized tests, that would be great. Again, I use Amsoil in my Porsche’s because I find the company to clear be open in regard to testing, a long track record since being the first in 1972, and I’ve had such great performance success. I base my opinion solely on data and my studies. With that, I will concede and agree that Amsoil is not on the Porsche approved list, however, it is the oil I choose to use based on data and overall performance attributes that are available for me to make a decision. Best regards, Bill Parisen synpsg.com SSO 0W-30 '05 BMW AFL 5W-40 '03 Boxster 107K AFL 5W-40 '06 Cayenne AFL 5W-40 '08 Cayenne S

Hi Iwan, I'll be interested to see if there are any good suggestions here as well...I have the same problem in my '03. When my car was new I took it into the dealer for this exact problem. At that time I was told Porsche focused on the performance of the car and the performance of my stereo system was secondary for the sports car. I did have the windshield replaced and was hopeful at that time the reception would improve. No luck. My Cayenne stereo system is night and day different to that of my Boxster in terms of reception. Best regards, Bill