doug davis

Rears offsets are way off for a NB 996, may be from a Boxster. The difference between the standard 65 offset and the 47 of the one you are considering means the rims are moved out 18 mm. However the wheels are also 9" instead of 10" so you might get away with it. Go here

http://1010tires.com/WheelOffsetCalculator.asp

and use this offset calculator to see how the new rims will compare with the old rims.

Yea thanks guys. Dhar55 I think you are reffering to 18" with the 65 offset. These are 17"s Porsche lists 17 rears with a 55 offset. Stock 17" wheels for NB 996 is front is 7x50/55 rear is 9x55

they also list a rear 8.5"x55 for winter tires.

Doug Davis

All the approved tire sizes are covered in the TSB - Winter Tires and Wheels.

Yes thank you Loren, I read the TSB already. I know they are not the approved sizes Porsche lists.

The wheels are Sport Edition Cup 3. These are probably what most people get when they call up Tire Rack and order a winter tire package for a 996. While shopping for used winter tires/wheels, I've already come across the exact same combination at least several times so there must be a lot of sets like this out there!

People on this list and others are selling and buying winter sets all the time and since many were originally bought from places like Tire Rack, It would be useful to find out how they perform, even though they are not "approved" sizes.

Thanks,

Doug Davis

bump. Anybody?

I'm considering buying a nice set of blizzaks mounted on wheels I saw adverised on rennlist for a good price.

My car is a 99 C2 (narrow body) USA with a M030 ROW suspension.

The wheels are called "cup 3" made by some Italian Co. the guy bought them from tire rack.

sizes are as follows:

Fronts Blizzack LM25 205-50-17 rims are 7.5X17 ET 52

Rears Blizzack LM25 255-40-17 rims are 9X17 ET 47

From my research, the tires are the right size but the rims are slightly diffrent from stock Porsche recommendations.

My question is will they work properly for my car?

The guy had them on his car and he said they worked just fine. I'm inclined to buy them but just wanted second opinion from this list if possible.

Thanks,

Doug Davis

Hi

1999 C2 coupe, USA 51,000mi

I've had my car for almost a year and my aftermarket warentee is about to expire. Given that many here have had mixed results with warentee providers and the expense of a new one, I'm probably not going to extend it. My main concern is catastrophic engine failure

I have no RMS or IMS leaks and the car has been a solid runner so far, but I suspect it might need a clutch soon since I'm getting a little chatter once and a while.

I have two questions for any that have an opinion:

1) Do you think it is worth doing a IMS retrofit kit and a RMS as a preventative measure when putting a clutch in? I know very little about the maintenance history of this car.

2) Does anybody here know of a good independent shop in the Cherry Hill area (Southern NJ, USA) that would be familiar with the proper installation of the LN engineering kit? So far I've had all work done at Cherry Hill Hill Imports, which is my local Porsche dealer. I'm not sure they would put in a non factory kit even if they know how.

Thanks in advance

Doug Davis

Sorry, for some reason the link didn't bring up the actual part. It is the Motive Products Black Label European adapter SKU 1109

Doug

Does anybody here know if this: http://store.motiveproducts.com/shared/Sto...ount2=114417672 adapter fits our cars for sure?

My old motive adapter broke and I need a new one.

Thanks,

Doug Davis

99 C2 USA

Anybody ever put one of these: http://www.discountcarstereo.com/detail.aspx?ID=730 Aux in cables on their CDR220?

I did it and it works but only right channel (tried it on multiple ipods, mp3s). I don't think it can be plugged in wrong so I'm thinking the cable might have been defective. Hate to waste time and $ ordering a new one though so just throwing it out there to see if anybody else had a similar issue.

Thanks,

Doug

Update: Dealer said wires were indeed switched. All fine now.

Doug

Editorial: Dealer doesn't check the car our very well after doing work, do they.

Yea that kind of stuff drives me crazy. It seems to happen to me all the time.

I must say, however, this dealer has done a pretty nice job for me all in all. The original diagnosis was a cam actuator failure (i forget the code it threw now 1509 i think) which turned out to be an actual ECU failure (according to them). Anyway the whole mess was 4500$ which lucky for me was covered by an extended warentee. They fought with GE capital for me and I didn't have to pay anything. I'll forgive them one little mistake this time (although I have to admit not checking the engine oil pressure after a pretty big engine repair is a bit disturbing).

Over all I've been pretty happy with them, Cherry Hill Imports in case anybody in NJ, USA interested.

Update: Dealer said wires were indeed switched. All fine now.

Doug

Loren,

Thanks. Definatley not that way before the work. It's going back tommorow.

Doug

99 C2 usa 50k miles:

My car just got back from the dealer where they replaced a right side cam actuator which had failed. Now my oil preassure guage reads above 5 bar at all times, even with the engine is stopped. The only time it reads zero is when the key is off. After a search, I found many posts about the oil pressure guage reading intermittantly or incorrectly due to a faulty sending unit. I did not find one eactly like mine though. I'm wondering if a sending unit failure can cause this, or did they not hook up a wire or somthing when they had the cam actuator out.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

Doug Davis

Hello,

I am considering buying the rain sensing wiper kit for my 1999 996 coupe US version. I was able to find one post here where people commented on the effectiveness of the wipers. Some liked it some did not.

Would anyone who has them comment on how good they are? I have only driven one two cars ( both BMW's) that had them and they were fabulous. If the Porsche system is anywhere close to being as good as the BMW one I'd like to have it. Just wondering if they are worth it...

Thanks,

Doug Davis

Hi there

I'm new to the site and have a standard 2003 996 C2. It runs on 18 inch wheels and the usual 225/40 and 285/30 tyres (P Zero rossos). However, on the British country roads, the ride is harsh to say the least and as the car has more than enough grip i am contemplating sourcing some original 17 inch rims and reverting to the standad 205/50 (f) and 255/40 ® tyre sizes. Can anybody advise if they have done this and whether (in reality or theoretically) it's going to make a big improvement!?

MN

1999 C2. I switched from 18" to 17" for daily driving and found the ride comfort to be much better here in NJ, USA where some of our secondary roads can be pretty bad. I wouldn't hesitate to make the switch, especially since I found quite a few sets of reasonably priced 17" OEMs available here and on other lists. The set I bought even came with a decent set of almost new rubber on them.

Doug Davis

They are available for free download here...

http://www.cannell.co.uk/Manuals.htm

As stated before here - those "free" manuals are not up to date and missing most of the 99 supplements.

As Loren stated those "free" or almost free manuals on the internet are the earliest versions from 1999 and have no updates, perhaps only one year wiring diagrams and do not include the OBDII manuals, Diagnostic manuals, or any information on the 3.6 L engine and on and on.

If one is interested in workshop manuals please PM me and I would be happy to assist you.

Thank you

Thank you for all input. Just purchased from Porschelibrarian. An easy transaction and well worth it to any 996 ownwer IMHO.

Doug Davis

Sorry folks, someone already got it no longer available.

Doug Davis

Does anyone here own a set of factory workshop manuals? If you do, can you comment on how useful they are, do they have good diagrams, are the proceedures clear and well written enough to be usefull to a home mechanic, etc? I am considering buying a used set but they are still very expensive and want to make sure they are worth it. I haven't seen any electronic or aftermarket alternatives yet, maybe there is somthing out there just as good for a lot less $$.

Loren, are those diagrams you always post from the factory workshop books? They seem to be real nice if they are.

Thanks for any input,

Doug Davis

This is ridiculous for you to pay when you had a warranty onthe car!!!! THey should at least pay for 50%...

Well it was an aftermarket warentee (ge capital) that they threw in with the purchase of the car. I got it mainly to cover RMS and IMS issues I was worried about. The warentee covers lots of stuff, but not some "wear items". For example in this case, it covered steering rack and suspension replacement, but not tie rod ends.

Aftermarket warentees are usually a rip off for these reasons. This one does cover seals and gaskets in the engine, so I'm hoping it will cover me in the event of a seal/engine failure.

I agree that they should have helped out, especially since I bought the car from them (Main Line Porsche, PA) and basically diagnosed the problem for them. But what are you giong to do. I still got a sweet 996 that is just about perfect for less than Toyota Camrey money, even after the cost of this repair.

Other than having to pay a s-load for this repair, I am actually quite happy with my experince with Main Line. They did a pretty good job and treated me well. I even got to drive a kick *** Cayanne S loaner while they fixed it.

Doug Davis

Perhaps you can tell us if they are US standard or US Sport?

Sorry, US standard.

I just replaced my 1999 C2 Coupe stock suspension with a ROW M030 setup. I am very happy with it so I'd like to offer my old parts for free to anyone who might want them.

4 struts/springs, 2 swaybars. They had 45K miles on them and seemed to work just fine.

Parts are in Riverton, NJ USA. If you want to pay for the shipping, I'll send them, but hope someone is close enough to just come pick them up.

Doug Davis

Yes, cost would be very interesting to me too! I'm guessing a thousand. It just seems like that's what they would hit you up for on a repair like this...

What was the cost, at what dealer. if you do not mind?

FINAL UPDATE:

Problem fixed! Took the car to the dealer who sold it to me. They replaced all 4 tierod ends (inner and outer). No more noise. Can't tell which one was the culprit but at least the noise is gone. Unfortunately, my super duper extended warentee did not include tierod ends (surprise LOL)) so I had to pay for the whole thing.

Thanks for all the help, I don't think they would have found it without my suggestions gleaned from this list.

Doug Davis

Gentlemen,

Total cost for the job was $1200 at Porsche of the Main Line. This included a 4 wheel alignment and 2 hours diagnostic time. They replaced all four tie rod ends (inner and outer). I was hoping to get the warentee to pay for it and since it was already at the dealer, I had them do it. It was expensive and I could have done it myself, but in the end I'm glad to have a very annoying problem fixed so I guess it was worth it.

Doug Davis

Hoping the collective wisdom of the list can help here...

My 1999 C2 Coupe 45k miles new to me. The car has a clunk coming from the suspension or steering on the *I think* front left. The clunk is audible and can be felt through the steering wheel at slow speeds and small bumps. It does not happen from steering input alone there must be some suspension travel.

Here is the weird part: It only happens after driving at least an hour on a warm (over 75 F) day. It is completly absent when it is cool or short trips.

I think the sway bar links are OK can't feel any play in them. In fact, I think the sway bar links were replaced recently because they look almost new. Tie rod ends also seem tight. I just had the suspension replaced with a brand new M030 Kit so that rules out struts (upper strut bushings were replaced when the kit was put in as well) and sway bar bushings. I was really hoping it would go away after the M030 was installed but it didn't.

I described the problem to my Indy, asking him to check everything when he had it apart but he came up with nothing. Because it only happens after an hour when its hot out he didn't reproduce the problem. But in his defense, he probably thought like I did it would go away after the new suspension was installed.

Anyway any ideas would be appreciated this clunk is driving me crazy.

Doug Davis

FINAL UPDATE:

Problem fixed! Took the car to the dealer who sold it to me. They replaced all 4 tierod ends (inner and outer). No more noise. Can't tell which one was the culprit but at least the noise is gone. Unfortunately, my super duper extended warentee did not include tierod ends (surprise LOL)) so I had to pay for the whole thing.

Thanks for all the help, I don't think they would have found it without my suggestions gleaned from this list.

Doug Davis

Hoping the collective wisdom of the list can help here...

My 1999 C2 Coupe 45k miles new to me. The car has a clunk coming from the suspension or steering on the *I think* front left. The clunk is audible and can be felt through the steering wheel at slow speeds and small bumps. It does not happen from steering input alone there must be some suspension travel.

Here is the weird part: It only happens after driving at least an hour on a warm (over 75 F) day. It is completly absent when it is cool or short trips.

I think the sway bar links are OK can't feel any play in them. In fact, I think the sway bar links were replaced recently because they look almost new. Tie rod ends also seem tight. I just had the suspension replaced with a brand new M030 Kit so that rules out struts (upper strut bushings were replaced when the kit was put in as well) and sway bar bushings. I was really hoping it would go away after the M030 was installed but it didn't.

I described the problem to my Indy, asking him to check everything when he had it apart but he came up with nothing. Because it only happens after an hour when its hot out he didn't reproduce the problem. But in his defense, he probably thought like I did it would go away after the new suspension was installed.

Anyway any ideas would be appreciated this clunk is driving me crazy.

Doug Davis

Hi Doug,

I am a first timer on this forum,so not sure if this will reach you.

Anyway,I had excactly the same clunck with my just bought 996 last month,which drove me crazy too.

It took me a while to pinpoint it,but the noise that you are getting is caused by the 'inner-tie rod(s).

The ball-joint inside has become dry and gets very tight and noisy when it warms up after aprox. 1hr driving.

I proved it by taking the tie-rod out and putting it in a vice and than warmed it up with a hair-drier,you won't believe

how tight and creacky it gets.I first tried lubricating it but that didn't work! So I renewed both sides in my car and had it wheel-aligned

afterwards. Completely different car to drive now.

Hope this helps.

Swede,

Thank you. I suspect your problem was the same as mine. You've described it perfectly. I'm glad to see another who has had the same problem with inner rod ends.

After exhaustively searching this and other forums I've discovered that there are many pops, clunks, groans, squeeks, rattles etc. our 996's suspension/steering are capable of making from many different sources. There is at least one TSB (thanks renntech!) on the subject. So all you frustrated owners with front end noises: don't just run out and replace your steering rack! Their are literaly dozens of other, much more common, sources of noise.

I consider myself a good amateur mechanic, and working with a stethescope, tracked the noise to the left inner tie rod end (inside the steering rack). I will take it to the dealer for conformation and repair, then post results to the list.

Thanks for all the help.

Doug Davis

Well, My car has an 1 year warentee from the Posrche dealer that is *supposed* to cover this so what i'm going to do is take it in and try to get them to replicate it and see what they come up with. I will update this post when I get an answer.

Doug

Hmmm that arm looks like it threads into the end of the steering rack. It looks like it could come off pretty easy. It might be worth taking it off and seeing if I can detect any damage to that joint. Anybody have that apart yet?

Doug Davis