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.

I was told by a very well respected Michelin rep on a Porsche GB track day to go for the 305 rears in this application (997s) - so I did !

I did however make sure that I changed all 4 tyres for the same brand, as this I would suspect caused the greatest difference in your handling.

Only difference I noticed was a slight squirm under high lateral loads, until the tyre tread blocks settled in to a pattern.

Super grip now, & no sign of understeer yet.

David

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.

Has anyone bought all Weather (Rubber) Floor Mats: Suggestions? Porsche does not make them for the Carrera. Any feedback from purcahsing from outside vendors?

Thanks in advance.

Jason

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.

So I was taking my brother-in-law out somewhere for a spin. Wound up needing to go to an industrial park area, truck moving towards me at a brisk pace, so I moved in tight as I made the turn. Quick rub and caught the passenger rear wheel lip. Some scuffing to the wheel.

I don't want to take the wheel off the car and send it somewhere, but is there anything simple that you can do yourself to fix this while on the car"

TIA,

Scott

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

i have done extensive research over the last few months and i am very confused about what aftermarket exhaust is the best. i received a full exhaust system from one of the above mentioned companies and the quality was sub-par. after viewing pictures the salesman agreed w/me concerning the quality and accepted back the product i'm now back to square 1. my 997 CS is sitting in my garage w/the stock system removed. has anyone done any type of comparisons or purchases of the headers, cat's, & mufflers from any of these tuning companies? i know enough at this point what to require 1. mandrel bent tubing (no welds on angles as it will interupt the air flow) 2. good customer service (not a company only willing to correspond through e-mail) 3. german made cat's that have a guarantee not to turn on your co2 sensor 4. fitment: products that will fit together w/perfection 5. reasonable price

A). Who has the best HEADERS? WHY?

B). Who has the best Cat's? WHY?

C). Who has the best Mufflers? WHY?

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.

The computer on my 997 2s was falshing on the last bar for the oil indicator. I got nervous and put 2 quarts of oil in. I know that was to much. What should I do? Can that cause damage? The car is running fine but I'm worried. Any advise. Thanks

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.

Nothing special that I can see - 17 ftlbs.

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

I've just hit my front rim and made a minor scratch on it (0.5"). Is there any paint that could be used to cover it?

Thanks

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

Thanks again.

Thanks Loren. I did read your write up for the 996 brake fluid flush.

Any recommendations on what brand of brake fluid? Our Cayenne S is a daily driver; no track events.

I have a Motiv Brake bleeder that I have used on VWs and Japanese imports. But none of these cars had the sophisticated brake systems like the current Porsches and Audis.

My question is: can I flush the brake fluid from my '05 Cayenne S with the Motiv Brake bleeder (going from each corner of the car, farthest to closest to the brake master cylinder), or is their a special procedure to deal with the ABS system? I searched the forum but did not find anything specifically on this topic.

Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Andre

Last weeks's MotorWeek's Goss' garage talked about ceramic disc pads. Supposedly these pads shed gray, non-sticking, non-corrosive brake dust. Are these generally available? Will they be approved as replacement disc pads by PAG?

I don't know if they'll be approved by PAG, but the ceramic brake pads have been around for a while. I've used them on VWs, Nissans, and Audis. Locally, the run of the mill NAPA Parts Stores and even AutoZone/Pep Boys carry or can order these for the garden variety cars; I am not certain they'll have them for P-cars based on their usual customer base.

From my experience, they do not create as much brake dust as OEM pads. The dust that they do produce usually washes right off with a strong stream of water. As far as braking performance, in my seat of the pants opinion they did provide greater initial bite than the OEM VW, Nissan, and Audi pads. On the flip side, they were much harder (more abrasive) on the rotors than the OEM pads.

Hope this helps.

Andre

Thank you very much! :D

They are only held on with double-stick tape.

You need a hairdryer (for heat), some dental floss (to saw away the glue) and some 3M adhesive remover (to clean the remaining glue off).

Thanks Loren. My biggest concern is the plastic trim on the driver's side door sill that houses the two switches for the front trunk and rear boot. Do you know if this plastic trim just snaps into place or is fastened down with screws?

It is my understanding the that the door sill tucks under the the rubber seal and plastic trim mentioned above. Do you know if my understanding is correct?

Regards.

I found 2 TSBs detailing the installation of the illuminated door sill covers. However, I need instructions on how to remove the existing plastic sill covers. Detailed instructions were referred to in the 2 TSBs as follows:

Remove inner door sill trim -> Workshop Manual 680519

Remove cover strip -> Workshop Manual 680719

Remove front side section trim -> Workshop Manual 702419

Loren and other RennTech members, any chance that you have these instructions to share?

Thanks in advance.

So, I'll be driving the family cross country this summer and am interested in a DVD solution. I have used my laptop in the past (15.4" TFT looks great), and was thinking about cheapo 8" models for each of the 3 munchkins, but was wondering if anyone else had any other reasonable ideas. My dealer has the headrest screens for $3k, but it's just a few long trips a year- no movies going 5 - 15 minutes away. Take the screens out of the headrests and you have $125 portable players.

Suggestions/experiences?

Thanks!

I bought an Audiovox portable unit from Costco. It has two slip on headrest covers with monitors in the covers. It also has a screen cover that is closed with a zipper to hide the screen when not in use. However, it does not have wireless headphones. The headphones plug into a jack on each screen. The screens plug into the DVD player, and the DVD player receives power thru a cigarette lighter adapter. It works well. The DVD player also has input jacks, so you can plug in a PlayStation2, Xbox, or Gamecube into it, but you'll need a power inverter and another cigarette lighter jack.

I have a 10 year old son who enjoys playing video games and a 21 month old daughter that watches her Sesame Street videos. I only install this system on long (5+ hour) roadtrips.

You can do search under Froogle to find this system online.

After all the hard work, I enjoyed the CD changer for 2 days and it went dead. First CEL came on for no reason, then the next day the PCM showed no cd changer. I thought I might have screwed something during the installation. I checked and found no scratch or break on the cable. I scheduled an appointment and brought it to the dealer and they found the CDC-4 was defected and replaced it for me in warranty. The CEL had nothing to do with the CDC-4. The CDC-4 was bought brand new from the Porsche dealer, and I should get used one the first place from ebay and save me few hundred dollars. I endup with a reconditioned one anyway.

Bummer about the dud CD changer. At least you have one now that works. Too bad the stock single disc player doesn't play MP3s (like on my daily driver Scion xB). On the Audi Nav system in my A4 2.0T Quattro, there are 2 SD card slots to play MP3s. I wish the Porsche Nav system had this feature.

Andre

I finally have the CD changer put in over the weekend. For me, it was impossible to do it right without help from other members of renntech. With the right directions and tools, I only broke one clip holder and was able to fix it with a gluegun. Thank you again for all the help.

In additional, my CS is 2005. I didn't have to activate the MOST for the CD changer. The unit works right after the two connectors plugged.

Congratulations on the install. I'm glad you found another member to help you out. After removing every bolt and fastener visible, I pulled and tugged and still did not get the side panel off. The instructions really did not help much. For fear of breaking one of the retaining clips, I finally gave up and sold my CDC-4 to a friend with a '05 Boxster S.

I have a CDC-4 6 disc changer out of an '03 or '04 Boxster. I also have the mounting bracket specific to the Boxster. Turns out it has a different part number than the one I need for my '05 CS. Email or PM if you're interested. I have tested it and it does work properly, just not with my CS.

Andre