Andre5

Great write up. I used it to install my X51 headers along with AWE cats on yesterday. While the flex socket is useful, I found that using a 9 to 12 inch extension on the diffficult to access top nuts of the cats without flex socket works just as well.

For the rear child car seats, check out this thread on 6speedonline: http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=121917

Go back to ebay and find some used Carrera S tips. The tips for the PSE are true dual exhaust tips. The mufflers on the stock Carrera S mufflers have only one outlet w/ faux dual exhaust tips.

David, You confirmed my suspicions. I just switched from OEM Lobsters w/ P-Zero Rossos to Carrera Sport wheels with Michelins - 235s in the front and 305s in the rear. I too noticed a slight squirm under high lateral loads (still only have about 400 miles on the Michelins). Andre

Thanks Ron!

I just swapped out my OEM lobster forks w/ Pirelli Rossos (4400 miles of gentle use) with a set of XRR/Carrera Sport wheels with Michelin PS2s (300 miles of prior use). While doing some spirited driving on some winding roads, some with very sharp hairpins, I felt more yaw movement or what seemed like squirming with the XRR/Michelin combo. With the lobsters/Pirelli combo, I would usually feel a little front chattering or understeer, then the car would hook up. I would also sometimes feel the rear get a little bit loose, but not much noticeable yaw motion. Has anyone else experienced this? Sorry if I'm not explaining this clearly - I don't track my car and don't have much to compare this to. Thanks in advance for the responses.

I purchsed Lloyd Mats from AJUSA.com. Here's the URL: http://www.ajusa.com/cgi-bin/stores/start?...er3=CARRERA+996 Andre

Thanks for sharing! Great mods. I'm guessing that the combination of X51 airbox and Tubi sounds awesome.

Check out this link on Audiworld. Home wheel repair performed on a 996 C4S. All materials are readily available on-line or possibly a local tuner shop. http://www.audiworld.com/tech/ext43.shtml

A couple of things that come to mind here. On the NA cars I've had one too many instances of CELs with after-market cats. They eventually trigger CELs, or at least the ones with 100, 200 cell cats do. The only set that hasn't and that I still use are the AWE cats. We've seen/installed/tried every exhaust system you can do and to date here are my favorites 1)Exhaust- Tubi- the sound is fantastic. The materials are very light in weight. There's no resonance. The built quality is top-notch but it's very expensive at 2350 for the mufflers. Installation is a breeze because the fitment is perfect. The Europipe is also a fantastic exhaust (again very expensive) and hand-made with some of the prettiest welds you'll ever see. The sound is also something that needs to appreciated in person (However it's not light). I like the AWE for its price/value. It's fairly quiet (even when you're on it) so it's very liveable for a daily driver. For the 1195 range it's the best one out there. I've always liked the Tech Art stuff but have much more experience with their parts on the 996TT/997TT side. I've only done a couple of tech art mufflers on NA cars and the sound was deeper than the other two mentioned above but still nice and sporty (not boaty). Fitment was great (as you'd expect). Cats - honestly I would stay stock Over to the headers, I would say it's a close call between the Tubis and the AWE. Both are nicely manufactured (the Tubi "looks" prettier if that matters to you). The nice thing about the tubi headers is that they do not hand down any further than the stock ones, which is an issue to some people. The tubis are about 1000 more than the AWEs though. Both are similair in style in terms of being longer tube and equal length and have venturi-style collectors. Wow. Nice write up Sharkster.

yes it can cause damage. the oil can "froth" and not properly lubricate. I suppose you could buy a pump kit to drain a bit from the input pipe but I've never done that on a 997. The other option would be to open the drain plug for a very short time and let a quart or so out, but technically you should change the aluminum o-ring. Safest bet would be to get an oil change. Pump kit won't work - I speak from experience. Just put the rear up on some ramps and drain some of the oil yourself.

Thanks So how did the install go? Your impressions of the X51 headers in terms of performance? Do you have high flow cats and aftermarket mufflers as well?

Take it to your local muffler shop and have them tack weld it after you've clamped it on. For a permanent solution, have them weld the entire tip on - you won't need the clamp after that. Andre

Wurth paint. It comes in a spray can and matches the factory finish pretty closely. It can be purchased online at www.performanceproducts.com. Here's the link: http://www.performanceproducts.com/product...l+Paint+Lacquer They have a retail store in Van Nuys, CA as well. Andre