perryinva

Totally agree. I took off my TB yesterday to do a F&R clean,, Took a real close look at the plenum. First off, the OEM plenum is far from a "T". Each flow path to either side to the intake runners is carefully radiused, and the reflective part of the plenum is a far larger diameter than the TB exit. Everyone seems to forget that the air in a NA engine is SUCKED in, so the air travels the shortest path..there is no way adding a "Y" to the rear will make much if any difference. Perhaps on a FI system, but even then, I doubt it..it's just TOO big. I'm an ME and have done a bit of flow work, (though admittedly, not on engines, but pipes is pipes)..sorry, but I think Porsche did their homework, especially taking into account the reflective waves. I was glad to see NO oil in the plenum at all. BTW, though I've done "front" cleaning of the TB, the F&R cleaning made a major difference in smoother idle...easily seen by the great reduction in the empty passenger seat shaking 90% less....and like everyone else..it really wasn't THAT dirty!....Thanks to Loren for pointing out the rubber grommets that the airbox sits in...both mine were still there, but BOTH were in the wrong holes, so the airbox nipples were just sitting in empty holes, with the airbox on top of the grommets, in the wrong holes. Much more solid mounting now.

That's a powerful read, indeed. Look's too much to me like the plenum is just placebo effect..but it sure does look cool.

Seriously, please follow up here..I'm dying to know what happened!!!

A crude but easy way would be to take the total numbers of the model year produced and divide that by the number of months produced. I don't have the data here with me, but it's all in the new 996 Companion book by Adrian Strether. It should get you within a month or 2. Personally, I think you're wasting your time looking for a late 2004, as that is about the LEAST important detail as compared to mileage, condidtion, use, options, color, etc, etc, etc. There is nothing to be gained by getting a higher mileage newer 2004 over a less mileage older 2004. They are all out of warranty. Just my $0.02..take it for what it's worth.

Yep, the proof would be in the blue pudding....

WOW..that is the first time I'v e heard that, but to be honest, I've never gotten to the gold/blue, back to gold phase, always I ended at blue when I sold the car. If you flushed to clear gold and used a Motive type power bleeder than the only blue fluid left would be in the ABS unit, and it must take a few days for it to disperse into the resevoir. I totally believe you, and that really sucks! I never would have figured that to happen. You would think with all the TAE Super blue out there, that would have come up at sometime!

Real nice find!! I wish I'd seen that Griffin one before I bough tthe iFlex for nano...I like the controls on the charger!

While I have not used that cable per se, I have both the CDR-220 and a Blaupunkt Toronto that use the identical 8 pin connector for the AUX input. I have also done a pin to pin comparison, and they are the same, so power to the ipod would be there. Nice find....I was looking for something similar, as it uses the real output, not the headphone out, and the Belkin hack was WAY too clumsy.... BUT I want to have both the CD changer AND the ipod available...and I found it at stereodiscounters.com. Look at their cables and current sensing AUX switches. What I haven't done yet is wire everything up, so I do NOT know what kind of volume level you will get...but the sound will be be better for sure! I currently use the Griffin iFlex with my nano...

No..the Easter Bunny is A LOT more real than a reputable dealer service....

You can buy just the mirror insert with no lights for $34 shipped from euroautoparts (250230716678) off ebay. Looks exactly the same as the lighted one and very clean, just no lights.. Real Porsche part. I bought one just for the door that got screwed up from Goof-off. If you never use the mirror then why worry aboiut the lights!. Just pops right in and comes with NO FRIGGIN AIRBAG STICKER ON IT!!!!!

FWIW, you can get JUST the unlighted visor mirror from euroautoparts on ebay (250230716678) for like $34 delivered. The clips and top door are the same as the lighted (I took a chance that they would not design 2 different doors). I was able to swap out the Goof-off damaed door with the new, perfect, no sticker door in about 15 min. FWIW the hinge pins are attached to the frame, not the door, and are cut with a bevel so the door snaps in easy, but is a bear to get out. You have to remove the mirrors completely to bend the frame enough to flex out the door. It just pops back in. I used heat gun glue (actually Ding King glue stick) to glue the mirror back in and also reinforced the clip/spring area as shown above. The lighted mirror insert is $115!!! well worth the effort.

If they did a proper flush with Gold, there would be no blue fluid left. Period. To say he "watched the tech do your car" is BS..like Service Managers have nothing better to do than watch a power brake flush get done... They HAVE to siphon/suction out the old fluid before they can put in the new, otherwise there is no room in the resevoir, and obviously mixing occurs. It wasn't done..I'd ask for a credit. (I'm surprised he didn't say they saw you used Blue, so they went out and got Blue..just for you)...I alternate colors JUST so there is no way I can not know when I have all new fluid, though it is actually pretty easy to tell old gold from new gold....I've not done my 996 yet, and Blue will be next, as the 30 k WAS just done on my car with fresh fluid..does anyone have any experience with the blue staining the resevoir....older BMWs, ,did stain blue, which looke dbad and mad eit hard to tell the level. Supposedly all newer resevoirs don't get stained....

Actually its almost 2 hours, which is why they are LEDs..they only use like 20mA of power, and is how they are supposed to work...If you sit in your car for an hour without opening the doors without the key in the ignition (which I did when I got it, for various reasons) you'll find out that the power seats will stop moving, etc, etc..as the car goes to sleep to reduce load. NEVER EVER leave the key in the ignition when parked in your garage..it WILL prevent the car from going into standby and your battery will be dead in a matter of days. Locking the car with the alarm shuts down all the other systems to preserve the battery, but if you leave it that way for 5 days, the remote will not work (again..the battery), and you have to unlock the door manually and start the car within 10 seconds to turn the alarm and driveaway protection off.

Excellent reply whs. 2 things to add. Only YOU can determine your priorities. At 23 I bought a brand new 1983 944 for $21k after owning a 77 Scirroco I bought after getting my engineering degree. I was SO sure I earned it. I was making good money, (back then $37k a year was great). Stupidest move I ever made. I was SO sure that I would have that car forever, and my income would just rocket yp....at that age, you are just SO sure of yourself. That car (and 2 divorces later) honestly put my house plans & retirement savings back by 10 years. At 50, I can say that I wish I never bought that car, I'd have had my 996 years ago...but back then all I can remember is doing 120 on the UP of Michigan, with a grin I couldn't wipe off and getting laid by every nice looking girl I met, and there is no doubt the car helped a LOT. At 23 I was shallow, cocky, and full of myself but you could never have convinced me of it. I never thought to "justify" whether the car was a good move or not. The 944 was THE hot sports car to get and I wanted one. Maybe when I'm 60, I'll look back and laugh and remember it differently, but for now (since my own son will not take any hard earned advice from me) remember that cars are vastly depreciating THINGS, that only stroke your ego. They don't last and can't make you happy. Once you have your financial and real house in order, then if you are still on the great income track you appear to be on, go for it. I was almost 40 before I made that kind of money, and only WISH I had listened when others told me to save young & let time do the work, instead of busting my *** playing catch up and as fate would have it missing most of the tech boom, because I just didn't have much money to invest. At 50, the $33k I spent on this car is by far the most I ever spent, but not near as costly (relative to my income) as that 944 was. One side of you says "You're only young once, live life at the edge, tomorrow will take care of itself" but I can tell you that the other side, when your 50 and you know you'll be working and saving until your 62+, says "Man, that was SO not worth it".. The other advice is that every state is different in how they regulate aftermarket warranties. You have to find out who is good and works inYOUR state (assuming you're in the US). Ask the Porsche mechanic you would be using or other high end service place if there is someone they REALLY know will pay. I can tell you that Continental Warranty SUCKS THE BIG ONE, and will weasel out of any expensive repair with the usual "no seals or hoses are covered, or parts that fail because of a failure of those parts or uncovered parts". The way I look at it, if a decent AMW costs $3500, then you're almost halfway to paying for the repair ANYWAY, so just put the money aside, and if you never use it (which is what the warranty company is betting on) you're WAY ahead.

Well said!!! Why doe NO ONE seems to get this!! Are you really willing to give up forward night vision in favor of impressing oncoming drivers, drivers you will likely NEVER meet..?? 4300K is the closest "color" available that matches our sun's spectrum and human eyesight has had eons to adjust to taking the most advantage of that.

After you have them off the clips, they just yank right off. Pull sharply along the axis of the hinge bar. BTW, any chance you noticed if they sell JUST the lighted mirror insert? I destroyed the drivers side visor mirror door removing the adhesive after removing the airbag sticker by following some poor advice on this forum to use Goof-off. It literally started bubbling/dissolving the plastic and now it looks like crap. The 3M adhesive remover worked fine on the passenger side. I have the same need for info on how to replace the entire visor assembly Bruce does. Suncoast sells replacement visors with or without lighting and without the opffensive decals. Lyn

I guess his last post said it all...he "only" makes 105k a year but hasn't got the down for a house yet, so maybe the 996 isn't right for him.....good luck...I got news for you...NO car is bullet proof....a percentage all have issues, the difference is the internet makes it sound like every other car...stick to new cars with warranties, then you'll only be paying 7k a year for depreciation..plenty of $3500 warranties will replace an engine for you.

Well. I would have lost that bet, I couldn't get that segment to work, and when I took it apart the LCD had a slight leak. BUT, the new unit from Circuit Solutions for the Boxster/996 now fits perfect with no hacking at all. I had the new one in in less then 45 min and it is ALMOST perfect in every way. FWIW it now says MAN..instead of manuell, but the OFf is still therel! The other issue is that it is perfect viewed head-on, but loses a little contrast when viewed normally from the drivers seat. The oem does not have that kind of parallax issue.

Don't misunderstand my comment to mean that I also think the 99 -01 3.4's are grenades waiting to go off..they are not. I've only got the MB's and my mechanic to use as a reference. I would say the frequency is about the same as the 01/02 Mcoupes & roadsters with the S54,,,,,The VAST majority have no problems..but there is definitely a higher chance than with an 02 where they've already beefed up the IMS and bearings, changed the oil suction and drainage in the heads, beefed up the heads, added Vario-ram + etc, etc. If you read the Autofarm articles, you'll find that most RMS leaks are not...they are IMS bearing mounting bolt leaks, that dribble over the RMS...still not good, but not death. I was hell bent on getting a 993 with all their known issues, but after driving a 996, I couldn't go back just for looks. There are several 02 996 with 50 to 70 k for less than $34k in the southeast, (or there were 3 weeks ago), one with 67k was still CPO for a year! and asking was only $33k,,If I hadn't fallen into this deal, I would've gotten that one. NO ONE that has driven my car can believe that you can get that much performance and handling for less than $35k..they are BARGAINS for what you get. When I drove my Z3 yesterday to show to someone, I kept checking the parking brake, because I couldn't figure out what was wrong..nothing, it just doesn't remotely have the throttle response of the 996...GO FOR IT...you will not regret it!

Or you could do what I did (selling my 99 Z3 BTW, same reasons) and buy a 2002 with the far superior 3.6L engine. It has a significantly lower RMS failure rate (according to my mechanic, maybe 5% of the pre-2002 failure rate cars, as he's only seen 2, and no unexplained engine failures. Read the article at top about 996 reliability..the engine builders from Autofarm have some fantastic photo's and insights. I got my 2002 C2 coupe in Seal Gray w/ black interior with 37.5k miles on it 3 weeks ago for $32k from a private seller. It has PSM, Comfort package wiith supple leather, heated seats, lumbar, memory, Technic package (BiXenon w/washers & "upgraded" stereo, (which BTW, even tho they complain about the stereo on these Porsche forums, it's many times better than the utter crap that came in the Z3's!), 18" open spokes, leather wheel w/ leather airbag, & rear wiper.) It had new front brake pads & rotors, new tires, and the coolant expansiontank had just been replaced, so new tank and coolant, and the 30k service. The only issues are all 4 wheels have some rash on them (I'll send them to Metro Wheels in Atlanta over the winter), and the front bumper was backed into, so needs some R&R. Seller had car for 18 months & had paid $50k for it with 29k miles, but after 4th ticket was told by wife to SELL IT. I WAS trying to hold out till I could afford a nice used Z4M Coupe, as I'd driven them at the last 2 Spartenburg Homecomings, but the 911 seriously blows it away in almost every way. ( The steering wheel and shifter/pedal positions, are IMHO, still better on the new M Coupe)

So the PIE Blau connector fits the Becker 220? That would be GREAT!!

The litronics on a 2002 are self leveling, and work great on my car, but low beam seems a little too low. Can you adjust up the Litroncs same as the regular headlights?

The 91% isopropyl trick works perfect!!! BUT, I wouldn't EVER use Goof-off on the plastic mirror lid. It WILL dissolve the plastic along with the adhesive. I used it because Izzy above said it works and I already had it and ruined one mirror back. The 3M adhsive remover does not damage the same plastic. FWIW, do not use EITHER cleaner to remove any adhesive left on the soft cushiony vinyl of the dash or doors!!!!.. Both remove the matte top coat and reveal the shiny vinyl underneath..thank goodness I tried it on and inconspicuoous place first!!!!

Did you get this unit?? ebay # 280209711844 I called them before I bought it and they assured me that it is exactly the same size now..only the Audi one was larger. If it isn't, it's going back..I only have one segment out, and I'mwilling to bet that if I take it apart and clean the contacts it will work, but if I go thru that I may as well install the better unit with Manual spelled right!

So the 4" Focal frames will screw to the old grills? No room for the xovers in the cavity of the dash with the speakers out? Didn't catch you used co-axials in the rear..good idea..just leave the dead tweeter in place.