jwilbur1

seems like a waste to replace the top just for color.

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Sure, tell that to my wife ;)

Anyone know how much it costs to replace the top? I could do the work myself if it is fairly basic.

Jim Wilbur, Austin

2003 C4S tip in Diamond Blue

CAn't wait to get mine on.. Still waiting on the dealer to fix the rattling door/whistling window and clanking tranny/flywheel..

If they can't hear it on the test drive with the stock exhaust, I know they not gonna hear anything with a GHL..

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Rattling door? What are the symptoms? I had a rattle that ended up being fixed on the 5th try. It was the steel strip that holds the door part-way open or full open. It retracts into the door when the door is closed and it was touching steel and causing the rattle.

Sounds like the remote is intermittently broadcasting the open signal for the trunk. Perhaps it is a warranty item. Good luck!

My trunk lid has suddenly started to open when I use the remote to unlock the car door. The trunk lid opens as normal with the trunk release remote button but it is also opening when I press on the door release button. I also noticed today that the trunk popped open as I came to a stop in my driveway, put the car in first gear and pulled up on the emergency brake, I had not touched the key. Strange... The 'trunk lid open' indicator never comes on in the dash. I tried disconnecting the battery but the same issue returned. Anyone have any suggestions or magic reset sequences?

Thanks.

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You can so it, but it will effect the handling of the car in corners.  If you do alot of track or driving that includes alot of corners, the stock setup is the best comprimise.  You need a negatice camber when corering so the ousde of the tires do not wear out.  When cornering, the outide tire should be flat agains the road surface.  Last time I checked, my camber settings were  -1.04 and -0.96.

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So you don't think Porsche has more negative camber dialed in than needed for the tire to corner at it's maximum potential? The reason I ask is I could see them doing that if it reduced the car's tendency to oversteer. If the Porsche values optimize the cornering, then that's what I want! :cheers:

Has anyone experimented with less negative camber for the rear tires? It sounds like rear tires routinely wear out on the inside edges on 996's after 10,000 miles. Is Porsche just trying to protect the owners from oversteer?

That answers my next question. The dealer said they wanted to align the car after I got the new tires installed. It is supposed to be a 4 hour procedure and costs $200. If it really does take 4 hours, the price seems fair.

I just took a closer look at the tires, the inside edge of the RR tire is very worn. The first groove on the inside has a fair amount of treadware left, maybe 1/8" but the edge of the tire convinced me to order some Conti's from tire rack. They will be drop-shipped to a Firestone store nearby which is supposed to accept drop ships and charges $20 per tire to mount and balance. The tires are $298 each plus $32 shipping.

Thanks again to all who provided advise. I'll provide an update when the tires are installed if anyone is interested.

your alignment should be checked within the first 2000 miles on the car. I used to put it through on warranty as an adjustment that was covered under 2500 miles. the suspension settles and will cause the inside of the tire to wear. the porsche feels  best with the recc tires by porsche, they are recc for a reason. also the alignment should be checked every year, even if you don't drive it it is still sitting on the suspension. the proper alignment is done by weighting the car with sandbags, if this is not done the correct settings are not met :drive:

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Good point, I hadn't thought of a problem having different types of tires front and back. Plus the Conti's are cheaper...

correct me if I am wrong, but shouldn't you have matching tires front AND rear.  I don't think it is reccomended to have differing tread patterns on the front than on the rear.  Personally I would order the same tires for the rear and then the next change will probably be in line for all 4 when you can swithc to a new marque.

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Do you have a picture you could post? Thx

I love it. It's main function is to protect the lid from dings from contents. Since it is just plastic and foam, its weight is minimal. The cardboard box in which it arrived weighed more.

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Update, I got my car back from the dealer. The tires are Continental Sport Contact 2. The rears are somewhat worn, but there is still a good 1/8" of tread at the most worn part of the tires until reaching the wear strip.

Since I need a 295/30 18 size, I will be ordering the Michelin PS2's. They seem to have universally good reviews.

My front tires still have quite a bit of tread.

Thanks to all for your kind input.

Thanks for the link, I will check it out! 12,000 miles sonds pretty good right now.

The wear is evidently on the inside of the 2 rear tires. According to the Service Advisor, 1 of the 2 rears is down to the cord, the other is in need of replancement also, but not down to the cord. I will ask about the alignment, but I suspect it is ok since they didn't mention it to me.

Try www.mytyres.co.uk - select the tyre size and speed rating to search, select the tyre you are interested in, and click on the reifentest.com link.  They give grip and wear ratings for most of the N-rated tyres. (Note: 1=best 6=worst).  You can get to the site via www.tyretest.com but doesn't seem to include info for some tyres (P-Zero Rossos, for example)

I doubt if you would get 30k miles from the fronts of a C4, as they tend to wear more than the C2 and Boxster.  8500 from the rears is pretty poor. I got 12000  from a set of rear Conti's on my 993, with some spirited driving on our winding English roads.

Is the wear perfectly even? - they might have scrubbed out early if the alignment wasn't correct.  You should get this checked at least once every couple of years, although lots of people have it done annually.

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Geoff,

I don't remember the type of Continental and can't check at the moment because the car is still at the dealer's for the yearly maintenance. I believe the size of the rear tires is 295-30ZR18. Also since my car is a 4S the front tires get some of the power, but not a whole lot in normal conditions.

I plan to lift the rear of the car onto jacks as explained on a recent thread and take the tires/wheels to Wheel Works to have the new tires mounted. I haven't decided which tires to get yet.

Not sure which Conti's / sizes you've got.  My '01 Boxster came with 18" OEM ContiSport N1 rated tires.  Rears (original) wore out at about 27.5K miles.  Still on the original fronts at 33+K miles.  Lots of canyon driving.  Not much time over 100 MPH.  No track / autocross

I've heard Conti's are harder, rubber-wise, and typically last longer than most other brands.  Tradeoff is performance, comfort, noise, etc.  Rears wear out faster than fronts typically because all engine power is transferred directly to rear wheels, while fronts just steer and brake (somewhat oversimplified, but you get the idea).

Alignment and correct pressure seem to affect how long tires last.

Like they say, your mileage may vary...

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It was the rear tires only. You make an interesting point about the negative camber of the rear tires. I didn't realize that but it makes sense.

You say you settled for the Bridgestones and they are the best handling- does that mean you expect the least amount of tire wear from them?

Thanks for your info.

You didn't mention which tires front or rear (or both).  The front tires should be fine for 20 -30,000 miles.  The rears, however, as mentioned above may get approximately 10,000 miles out of them.  The wear on the rears will be in the inside half of the tire and the outside half will look fine.  It is not uncommon to get all the way down to the belt on the rears.  This is due to the negative camber setting on the rear.

High speed straight driving is the worse for the back tires because of this setup.  During quick accceleration, the back of the car is lowered which causes the tire to lie flat on the pavement.  Anything less that hard acceleration will allow the tires to ride more on the inside half. 

You cannot get a long lasting tire AND good traction.  A trade off has to be made.  I have tried all the popular tires out there and have settled for the Bridgestone Potenza RE 750.  I have yet to find a better traction street tire, hot or cold, wet or dry.

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I checked the tire pressure every 1 to 2 months but I will be checking weekly now! The dealer caught the tire wear problem at the annual maintenance inspection, so I haven't seen the tires to check for even wear.

Thanks for the input!

Max performance tires wear about around 10k.  If you drive aggressively, 8600 is expected.

Do you check tire pressure monthly?  Are wears even?

Check tirerack for ratings.  Michellin Pilot Sport and Pirelli Zero are amongst favorites.  If tire wear is hurting your budget, get some less agressive tires that normally are put on sports sedans like Bridgestone 750.

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My '03 C4S has Continental tires and they are worn out after only 8600 miles. I don't drive the car alot, but when I do I have often done "spirited driving" on windy roads nearby.

Are the Continental tires that soft? Anyone else worn out tires this quickly?

And is there any consensus on the best replacement tires with decent grip and better longevity?

Thx for any input!

Jim, I am thinking of a 996C4S as a swap for my current 99 C2 Cab Tip...any thoughts?  The C4S just looks great especially in Polar Silver - reminds me of my old 993!!

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The c4s has the sport suspension and is very enjoyable to drive on sporty roads. You might miss the cab, maybe you could find or order a c4s cab. I agree that the body looks great! I haven't seen the 997 in person yet, but the pictures look like a similar shape to the 4s and 996 turbo.

Definately test drive a 4s!

Am I missing something here.  I just push the button to "1" before I start off.  I'm assuming you don't ALWAYS want to start off in 1st gear.

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Sometimes I shift "manually", sometimes I don't. When the car is in full automatic mode it feels sluggish off the line, especially in the summer months here in Tx. If it always started off in 1st, it would feel much quicker.

Maybe the dealers meant they can't reprogram the ECM without voiding the warranty. Of course it can be done. I doubt it is worth voiding the powertrain warranty to have it done in the aftermarket. Let's complain to the Porsche brass!

  I have asked two dealers and they responded that there is nothing that can be done.  I don't believe it, as there are many reprogramming processes available for Audis and VWs, which probably use the same software

Randy, 2004 Cab Tiptronic

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I had a rattle/buzz in the driver's door in my 2003 996tip c4s. It was the bar that slides in and out of the door to provide the stops for holding the door open or part-way open. When the door is closed, this bar is resting inside the door. If the alignment is a bit off, the bar will rest next to a steel plate in the door and can cause a rattle or buzz. Mine was replaced, problem solved.

I would like to have my c4s tip programmed to always start in 1st gear instead of defaulting to 2nd.

Ideas?

Jim Wilbur

2003 POLAR SILVER!! C4S tiptronic