Long Islander

I forgot there was no C4S in 2001. They definitely have my VIN on record.

My insurance card says 2001 "Carrer4." I wonder if I'm being charged more because they think I have a Carrera 4S.

I wanted to install a Duralast H8 battery in my 2001 996, but to do that I would need to bolt the hold-down clamp onto the fourth hole in the battery tray. However, as Tool Pants noted, the clamp fourth hole in the battery tray is not threaded on 996s. I wasn't aware that 1997 Boxsters had a threaded fourth hole. Does anyone know if those battery trays are still made, or do they just make replacement trays with just three holes threaded? Have you considered the Autozone Duralast Platinum AGM direct replacement? http://www.autozone.....9458_351727_0_The spec looks pretty good: 94R/H7 size (12+ in), 800 CCA, 140 min reserved capacity, 51lb, $180 Comparable to Optima at a lower cost. At 12+ inch, it should fit w/o a problem. Actually, I was in a bit of a rush to replace my battery last October (just before Hurricane Sandy hit), so that is exactly what I put in. You're right, it was a very easy direct replacement, and a great battery. But if I could get the H8, I might use the H7 in another car. I checked the price on a 996 battery tray and it was >$100, so I don't think I would buy a Boxster battery just to get the threaded 4th hole.

I wanted to install a Duralast H8 battery in my 2001 996, but to do that I would need to bolt the hold-down clamp onto the fourth hole in the battery tray. However, as Tool Pants noted, the clamp fourth hole in the battery tray is not threaded on 996s. I wasn't aware that 1997 Boxsters had a threaded fourth hole. Does anyone know if those battery trays are still made, or do they just make replacement trays with just three holes threaded?

Nice solutions, especially if you can find a local distributor for Nutserts that has the tool to install the nutsert into the battery tray (easily removed from the car) for you.

Sounds like a good solution. Unfortunately, when I was replacing my battery, I was a bit rushed (Hurricane Sandy was heading our way within a couple of days and I had a bunch of other things to do). Another solution would be to line up the correct nut in the unthreaded hole, and then apply epoxy to attach the nut to the bottom of the battery tray. Then, just bolt the hold-down plate to the nut using the original bolt. This way, you could remove the bolt as you normally would since the nut would stay in place under the battery tray.

That's one of the reasons why I replaced the front trunk and rear engine lid bulbs with LEDs. They draw less power and don't get hot.

I would suggest buying Valeo wiper blades. They look much sleeker and wipe much better. Also, clay bar your windshield. You'll be amazed at all the junk that the clay bar removes. Then use paint cleaner, then synthetic wax. I've been doing this for years and my wiper blades glide across my windshield and wipe with grace and smoothness.

So Chuck, how did you bolt the hold-down plate to the battery tray?

I agree, but I noticed that the hole for the hold-down for the largest size (H8) doesn't have a thread underneath. So, how do you bolt down the hold-down plate at the passenger side of the battery? I was all set to buy a size H8 battery when I noticed this, so I just bought a size H7 instead (which strangely cost more than the H8).

I decided not to take any chances, so I just taped over the black control switches and brushed on the dye with a bristle brush. It left no brush marks and the dye matches perfectly, so you can't tell where I re-dyed and where I did not. Thanks for the replies.

Okay, so I bought matching dye because the control plate is only available as part of the entire seat. I removed the two screws, and the control plate is loose and can be pulled out a bit at the bottom, but I cannot remove it. I don't want to break anything, so I didn't apply too much force. Please help.

If you leave the door or front trunk open, the lights will time out after half an hour (not half a minute). Same is true of the radio.

I replaced my front trunk bulb and rear engine lid bulbs with 39 mm LED "festoon" bulbs from www.superlumination.com so as not to drain the battery as much. The rear engine lid bulb doesn't time out and turn off after being on for a 1/2 hour the way the interior and front trunk bulbs do.

I don't have the same radio as yours, but on the back of the radio, mine has a label that indicates what each of the terminals does. On mine, #5 reads, "Controlled Output for Auto Antenna." If you tap into the wire that is plugged into that terminal, that will turn on whenever the radio is turned on and turn off whenever the radio is turned off. I tapped into that for my iPod charging cable.

I'm glad the clay bar worked out well. After using clay bar, you should use paint cleaner (almost any brand will do) and then a very light abrasive such as Menzerna PO85rd Final Polish. You can check out detailing products at www.autopia-carcare.com or give them a call.

I called Becker and got my answer. Terminal 7 output will turn on the ipod whenever the ignition is on, whether or not the radio is on. So, if the radio is on without the ignition being turned on (yes, that is possible), the ipod won't play. Terminal 5 output will go on and off with radio, regardless of ignition position

Thanks. I found a DIY on Motorola phone Bluetooth kit installation that said "All PCNA cars have a “telephone preparation” socket at the bottom of the front center console. Your Becker phone connector plugs directly into it." Assuming I can find this, that would power the ipod whenever the ignition is on, even if the radio is off and it would not power the ipod when the radio is on when the ignition is off. What I would really prefer is for the ipod to come on when the radio is on (with or without ignition on) and turn off when the radio is turned off. That's why I was thinking of using terminal 5 or 7 and trying to figure out the differences.

I have the original Becker CR220 (same as CDR220 but with cassette instead of CD). I bought and installed the Becker ipod cable which plays and charges the ipod. Everything works fine except that I noticed that when I turn off the radio or the ignition, the ipod keeps playing (and draining the battery). On factory ipod installations, when you turn off the car, the ipod stops playing and just goes into charge mode. I want the ipod to turn off completely (no charging and no playing) or turn off and continue charging (charging but no playing) when the ignition or radio are turned off. So I'm thinking of connecting the ipod power wire on the new cable to either the terminal 5 wire ("Controlled Output for Auto Antenna") or terminal 7 wire ("Switched +") from the radio. Does anyone know how terminal 5 and 7 differ?

The soft-touch plastic back plates behind my power seat controls have gotten a little bit chipped from use, so I'm thinking of replacing them (photo below). It looks like you just pull the control knobs off then unscrew the panel. Has anyone done this? If it's too much of a bother, I'll just buy some matching leather dye and re-dye the panels.

You need to buy leather/vinyl dye that matches the interior. A couple of retailers have dye already made up in Porsche interior colors: World Upholstery: http://worlduph.com/samples/porlea1.htm Magic Mender: http://www.leatherrepairkits.com/porsche.htm

Wheels look nice. I noticed a long time ago that my speedo always reads 3 MPH too high when to pass one of those "Your Speed is ..." indicators on the side of the road. I was told that 996 speedometers are supposed to always read 3 MPH high at all speeds.

Those wheels are awesome. You have to post pictures!

997's have taller tires. Your current tire heights are 637.2mm/642.7mm (fr/rr). The height of the front tires you're thinking of is 245.2mm (about a third of an inch too tall). The rear is 663.7, which is nearly an inch too tall. If you are thinking of discarding the tires and buying the correct size tires (245/40 front and either 285/35 or 295/30 rear), I think the front should work with a 7mm or possibly wider spacer. The offset on the 997 front wheel is 7mm less positive than your current wheel. That means it will stick out 7mm less, which is easily corrected with a spacer and longer lug bolts. The rear offset is also less positive, by 14mm. That could be cured by a 13mm or 15mm spacer and longer lug bolts (I don't think there is a 14mm spacer). The tire size that is recommended for that size wheel with a 245/40 front is 295/30. There is a Porsche technical bulletin that states that an 11x18 63mm offset wheel with a 295/30 tire on a MK1 996 "may" rub the fender lip (and therefore require fender rolling). However, I have gotten confirmation from a few 996 MKI owners with stock suspension that they had no rubbing issues without rolled fenders. Some have used 11x18 wheels with 285/35s with no rubbing issues, but that will result in a height of 628.2mm vs. 634.2mm, making it a bit shorter than it should be. The reason I know all this is because I ordered a set of Porsche Sport Techno wheels (with 18x11 ET 63) and had concerns about 295/30 rears rubbing. I'm still waiting to get one more rear wheel that isn't blemished before I can mount my new wheels and find out whether they rub in the rear. Hope this helps.

Loren, my recollection is that C4 and C4S all got silver badges, regardless of body color. C2's like mine all got black. However, many, like me with a dark color car switched to the silver badge because the black one was nearly invisible.