jgriffin56

What a bunch of smart *** answers! Here's a guy coming to this forum to get some suggestions on how to get a little more out of his Porsche and all of your answers are stupid and ridiculish! The only one I agree with is the guy so says not to race on the street as it is dangerous to oneself and others. First, losing some weight of the car is good. Get some light weight wheels, that is a good start. Next you may try some aftermarket mufflers and some headers (maybe cat bypass) since the early 996s had relatively poor exhaust systems, to loose wieight and make the car sound great (could scare someone out of a race). ANd ECU upgrad is a good start, since most of these cars are a little "retarted" computer wise. A good aluminium flywheel will help and a short shifter will help with the shifts. You can a add a cold air intake (suggest Fabspeed over K&N) and a BSM air filter. To be truthful I do not know if any of these modifications will add any power, but I would suggest getting a good dyno before and after the mods, to see if there is really any change in performance. I also added a Sprint Booster to get a little more throttle response and it seems to make the car "feel" a little quicker.

Check out doing the PSE upgrade on your own mufflers. Putting a pipe from the intake part of the muffler to the out side, will add sound for a small amount of money, Most muffler shops can do and DIY on Rennlist will show you how. Then get the Cold air intake from Fabspeed, which does not use any oiled air filter (like K&N) that will foul your MAF. Here you go for under $500

You did say that you hit something on the road, could it be that you may have damaged or bent the suspension or loosened something due to the incident. Put the car up on a lift and see if you can feel any play in the suspension ( ie wheel bearings or front wheel drive parts)

Try Rennlist DIY for 996, there is a great step by step instruction for buffing out lenses. If you need to replace the lenses try DC Automotive ( Porsche Only Auto dismantler in Los Angeles) for the parts. Also the lens clleaning kit with the small 3 inch sanding disk and the proper abrasives works pretty good as well, you may save most of the lenses

From the threads, all of those that responded have Michelin PS2s. I too, had a smell from my PS2s like rubber burning, no smoke or anything. I also had a problem with my rims. They are chromed hollow spoke turbos, and they were slipping on the rim just a little bit, due to the chroming process. If you are running aftermarket rims, you might check to see that the tires are not slipping on the rim and are seating. What I did was to mark the rim and tire with an scripto and check periodically to see if they the line still lines up. It moved about an 1/8 inch in 2 weeks, that would cause some smell coming from the tire.

I have been reading all the threads on IMS and RMS failures and how many of you replace these when you have your clutches repaired. However I never hear of anybody with Tiptronic Transmissions proactively having the IMS and RMS replaced. Several questions. 1. Are the Tiptronic transmissions as susceptable to IMS failures and RMS leakage? 2. IF so, could you share your experiences with replacing these in those Pcars with Tiptronic Transmissions? Thanks Jim (04 C4S Cab Tiptronic, 33K mi)

Try Hergesheimer Motorsports in Lake Forest, CA. They are family owned and are great people and very honest and knowledgeable. They have been around for 30 years. They are great supporters of the local PCA.

Very easy job on a Porsche. I replaced everything including the bolts ( small part of of the total $). You do not need to replace the sensors if they have not worn thru the shoe. If you buy other than OEM, the new brake pads may not have the hole drilled out for the brake sensors and you may have to drill out a small hole for the sensor.You do not need to remove the calipers completely ( disconnecting the brake hoses). Get a strong piece of wire and when you disconnect the caliper bolts, use the wire to suspend the caliper in the wheel well. Follow all the DIY instructions. Also be extra careful not to get any grease or any fluid on the brake pads, they should be totally like they came out of box. Make sure that you use a torque wrench and tighten all bolts to specification. Also and very important, this is the best time to REPLACE ( not just bleed) the brake fluid either with OEM or another good brand. They do come in different colors, blue and gold, usually good to replace the new with a different color to make sure that you have removed all of the old brake fluid from the system. I have a C4S and it seemed that all the parts for the brake job were twice as expensive as the other 911, because they have the big red brakes. Usually the front brakes are first to go and the rears are usually changed out at a rate of half of the fronts. Check the rears good, before buying all the parts, you may not need rears ( unless you track the car- tough on rear brakes) Good luck.

In my opinion, not a DIY. There are cables to run, and certain pads and parts have to installed in sequence. ALso look into having the motors and levers serviced and oiled. I think anything under $2500 for a quality top would be worth it. I would also greatly suggest a glass rear window (with defroster), since most of the problems I have heard of, start at the plastic window seams and the plastic window cracking. Good luck!

I have had both an 02 Boxster S and now I have a 04 C4S. The seats in my C4S are far more comfortable than the Boxster S seats. The C4S can easily handle a man 6ft plus. I am 6ft 215 LBs and the cabin in the Boxster S was small and confining. I think the real difference for me was the seat back being able to adjust back (to almost flat) and allowing me to set the seat back on long trips to a more comfortable position. The Boxster and the Caymans (even the new 09s) are still small for a big man, due to the inability of the seat to go back due to the constraint of the rear wall. I think if you are 5'10" or shorter you are a match for a Boxster. However if you are over 6ft and over 200 lbs, I think you would be more confortable in a 996. Forget the back seat, it is useless, really designed for small children. To this day, I really don't know why Porsche even bothers with the rear seat, it should be an option. I just love the GT series with no back seat and full carpeting, is really cool. I wish they made a after market carpet set to replace the rear seat in the 996.

Acceleration and power is constant thru the RPM range. No lag at higher RPM. Middle RPM is much more responsive than before, and truly, I don't "put the pedal to the metal" often and I never redline the car. I do not use the car to track, just to drive around, more of a garage queen than a daily driver ( I travel alot) .After all has been said on both sides, I like the Sprint Booster, I do not think the way I drive the car that I am damaging anything, and it greatly increases the fun of driving my Pcar. I plan on putting the SB on all of my cars (BMW M3:manual and MB E-430:auto). Thanks for all of your imput, it has been an interesting conversation. JG ('04 C4S, Tip, Cab, Spd Yellow)

$1495 for Cats (2) from Fabspeed. Fabspeed stuff is quality!

I beleive the argument is, that the Sprint Booster puts undue stress on the transmission by shortening the gear changing time. The SB in no way decreases ( or increases) the time it takes the transmission to downshift or upshift. The timing of the shift is exactly the same as before. It does, however, increase the pedal responsiveness, especially in the mid-RPM range. The example that I gave originally, was that I was in 5th in Auto mode on the freeway, and I went to pass another car and when the transmission downshifted into fourth, in its own time, as I depressed the pedal, I got an immediate power surge, that I never had before the SB. Again, I am not here to promote the SB, but I personally have found it to be a great addition to the driveability of the car. We as Porsche owners go to great lengths to increase the speed and looks of the Porsche. We spend a lot of money on headers, mufflers, plenums, air boxes, ECU upgrades, etc. WHY? because Porsche does not! We already know that the Porsche in Europe is quite a different machine than the American Porsche. Certain models are available in Europe that are not available in the USA. So, I guess the argument is that either Porsche does not need to spend the extra dollars for these extras, or that they cannot spend the money due to regulations here in the USA. My second thought is that I have a 2004 C4S and technology has increase dramatically in the last 5 years. Just maybe, this technology was not around when my car was built. Remember the Pentium 3?

Just try the Sprint Booster, then you can have a "qualified opinion" on the subject. They have a complete 30-day money back guarantee. Keep the original box and all the paperwork and return it. Nothing to lose. Installation is very easy, and only takes about 10 minutes. All the work is done under the dash near the steering column. I have driven my car for the past 3 years without it, and I could immediately tell the difference in the acceleration response. By the way, scientists are now finding that "snake oil" has very unique medicinal properties and can save lives as an anticoagulant and a nerve blocking agent in paralysis.

Wwest, you are quite the soothsayer! Doom and gloom. You really have nothing to base your "predictions" on. It is evident that you have not even tried the SB and yet you have become an expert on the subject. I don't try to pretend to be any expert on any subject when it come to Porsche mechanics. Few can. All I know, it that after I installed the SB on my Pcar, my acceleration is markedly better and more responsive. The shifting between gears is no quicker or slower. End of story.

Does anyone know if the front air damper below the Turbo's bumper ( straight piece) will fit a 04 C4S ( with cutouts)?

Since this car also has the paddle shifters, I can hard downshift into fourth anytime I want to. Usually I use the paddle shifters almost 95% of the time, the Sprint Booster just gives the gas pedal more control and more real acceleration without it. I used the example of the 5th into 4th scenario as a small example of what this can do. Just ask anyone who has a Sprint Booster if they returned their product back after the 30 day guarantee period. I'll bet most have kept the product and are really satisfied with the SB. Check the past threads on this.

One suggestion, always get a lawyer when dealing with an insurance company! It could save you thousands $$.

About a month ago, I installed a Sprint Booster on my 04 C4S Tip. I wanted to wait and see if I am completely satisfied with the product before recommending it to others. Well, I am here to tell you that this product is without a doubt the BEST addition that I have put on my car since I owned it. It has really livened up the acceleration. It has improved the driveability of my Tiptronic transmission remarkedly. I used to never use 5th gear on the freeway, because I thought that it made the car sluggish. Now in 5th,when I hit the gas pedal it jumps into 4th and I get this rush of power. I really feel the difference in the mid range RPMs when I need more speed it jumps up much more lively to the high RPMS without effort. The Sprint Booster has make my car much more fun to drive. (PS I have no affiliation with Sprint Booster and I paid the same money you would for the product).

Visual inspection of the front brakes can tell if you need brakes. IF you haven't already done so, you need a brake flush. Brake fluid gets old due to age not miles and should be replaced at least every 4 years. This is a good time to take the car down to the shop and have them check the brakes for wear and replace the fluid. Rear brakes rearely need replacing before 50K. IF you are DIY kind of person, brake repair on the Porsche is fairly easy. You will need new rotors ( some say replace only if there is a lip on the outlise of rotor or heavily grooved), but I replaced the rotors at the same time as the pads. Suspend the calipers using heavy gauge wire and remove the rotors and then assemble the calipers back on the rotor and replace the brake pads. I use OEM pads, since I do not track my car and the track pads are usually very hard and can squeal during normal driving. IF you have Bid Reds, which the 40TH should, the whole job is a little expensive since the rotors and pads for the Big Reds are more expensive. Try Sunset motors and talk to the guys, they will tell you what you need if you DIY the job. Also why the car ins in the shop, get an alignment, I got a 4 wheel alignment and I can't tell you what a differece it made in the ride. Also if you have not run the brakes to the point of the warning light coming on, save your money and doin't buy brake sensors since the ones on the car are still okay if they are not run down to the rotor.

Try inverting the pump nozzle, with the volume level facing up (12 'clock), that usually works.

I think it totally depends upon your driving situtation. I personally change my oil (Mobil-1) and filter (always) about every 5K miles, even though the factory recommendaton is 15K. I do not drive my P car (04C4S)exceptionally hard, but I do get on it periodically. If you track or drive under extreme conditions (heat, cold) you want to change it sooner than later. However, given your mileage on your car, you definitely want to change oil at least once a year if you are a low mileage driver. Age the car, high mileage, you also want to change it more often. Some will say that changing the oil every 5K is a waste of money, but I find good deals on oil changes at the local dealers, and my indy is pretty reasonable on oil changes and I only have to wait about an hour with an appointment. Good maintenance and following the Porsche maintenance requirements will give you some piece of mind. Every time I take it in to my indy, I have him check the RMS and look over everything (belts, codes etc)

The reman engine would show on the Carfax report if the dealer or the indy reported it. However some indies do not report on Carfax. You could get a copy for yourself.

No wonder my car seem back heavy in the turns! Let's hope it's not a family!

Exact same thing: replaced oil pressure sender...done over! 04 C4S Cab Tip