Long Islander

Last weekend, I participated in a PCA autocross, and once again experienced significant understeer in my 2001 C2. One of the instructors who had a 996 race car told me to have the front wheels aligned by a Porsche dealer to GT3 specifications, which should make them tilt inward more at the top and lessen, if not eliminate the under steer. Has anyone had this done? If so, what does it cost, and was the difference noticeable? On a related note, I left the PSM engaged the whole time, but this didn't do anything to elimiinate the understeer. Is it supposed to kick in only to prevent oversteer? One last thing. Just after the finish line, hard braking was called for, which resulted in plenty of front wheel lock up in my case. Isn't the ABS supposed to prevent lock up? How can I test if my ABS is working at all?

I realised later on that I had pressed the car key in my pocket against the side of the chair I had sat in and the radio signals from the key activated the unlocking of the door and beacause the pressure was applied for longer than a few seconds the windows also came down You mean I can open the windows using my remote? I have a 2001 US version. What do you have?

Congratulations. $800 for a Porsche seat? Yikes! I believe Britax makes the Porsche infant seat, so you can just buy that from BabiesRus or Buy Buy Baby. When our 4-year-old was an infant, I used a Graco infant carrier without the base (which didn't really fit) in our 911 coupe. It was a bit of a pain getting the infant carrier in there and then buckling the seat belt around it, so we hardly ever used our 911 as a family (still don't). If you can get an infant car seat whose base fits in and stays permanently buckled in (with the infant carrier/baby snapping in and out of the base), that should make it easier to get him/her in and out. The other problems with baby in 911 are: (1) you have to push the front passenger so far forward to accommodate the infant car seat that there's little leg room left for your adult passenger; and (2) a baby stroller won't fit in the front luggage compartment, so you can't stray too far from your car with baby when you arrive at your destination (unless you enjoy heavy lifting). Good luck.

Check out these 2002-2004 style double-tips at Automotion (the ones they call "Turbo"). They're supposed to fit 1999-2001 911's. http://www.automotion.com/productpage.aspx...port+Tail+Pipes

Help. Has anyone done this? I need some tips. I got stuck trying to remove the filler flap. The directions in the above link seem to indicate that I have to press on two tabs labeled A, toward the rear of the car and pull up on the filler flap. I tried this several times but the filler flap doesn't move at all. Meanwhile, when I got started, I noticed that a small piece of plastic that had been attached to the backside of the plastic hinge had broken off, so the spring had nothing to grab onto on the backside. So, there's nothing wrong with my spring -- I just need a new hinge. I also had no luck removing the hinge using a small screw driver instead of the "removal tool." I'd really like to avoid having to go to the dealer for this.

I've never heard of a key being stuck in the ignition due to a dead battery. I thought the key insertion/removal was a purely mechanical process. Is your car Tiptronic, and if so, are you sure it's in Park? Is your steering wheel straight? Is the steering wheel stuck against the right or left side, locking it against the ignition lock? Try turning the steering wheel slightly to the left, with one hand while pulling on the key with your other hand. If that doesn't work, try the opposite.

I'm not sure if I had the same thing or a slightly different version. I was getting a slight buzzing noise from the sunroof (when the roof was closed). When I pushed up on the back edge of the sunroof with my finger, the noise would stop. I then wiped the entire back edge of the sunroof opening with silicone on a rag after fully opening the roof. That took care of the noise. That was two years ago, and the noise hasn't come back.

Nick, sorry to hear about this. Was the Boxster outside the garage with the doors unlocked? If so, that explains how they got into the garage -- they just used the remote in the Boxster. Otherwise, how'd they get into the garage? Now that they have your remote, you have to change it's code ASAP. Also, your roll-up door must be pretty quiet. Mine makes quite a racket, squeeking and groaning as it rolls up. My precautions: 1. Roll-up garage door is connected to alarm system. You have 30 seconds from when the door starts to roll up to turn off the alarm using the alarm touch pad inside the garage. This is also a good security device in case someone follows you home. Just hit the garage door button and sit in the car, and the alarm will trigger the siren and a call to the police in 30 seconds. 2. Door from garage to inside of house is locked and also connected to the alarm system. 3. House alarm is turned on whenever we're out of the house or in bed. 4. The one car (out of 3) that is always outside is locked and alarmed, so the garage door remote inside it isn't easily accessible. 5. All 3 cars have garage door remote built in, so they can't be easily swiped (like when the car is in the shop,etc.). 6. Spare car keys are locked in a safe.

Yes. The only codes it can not clear (at this time) is alarm codes. See their feature matrix here. Can it read your top speed? If it can, then I assume you can clear that as well.

Thanks to the RennTech DIY instructions and others on this board, I bled my brake fluid today. The instructions were very helpful. Here are a few other tips I can pass along to anyone else who plans to do this. Drain tube: You should buy 2 feet of clear plastic tubing, 3/16" inner diameter, 5/16" outer diameter. The tubing needs to be clear so you can see if there are any air bubbles in the fluid that's being drained. Less than 2 feet will leave the end of the tube dangling, and you'll have to hold your drainage jar with one hand and the end of the tube with the other hand. Drain jar: Obtain a glass jar (tomato sauce or apple sauce jars are perfect) that has at least a 1/2 liter capacity and mark the level in advance for 250 ml and for 500 ml. Save the lid. Drill a 5/16" diamer hole in the lid. The drainage end of the drain tube will fit perfectly in the hole you drilled in the lid and you won't have to hold either one. Also, when disconnecting the tube from the nipple, the other end will just drain into the jar and you won't spill a drop of fluid anywhere. Turkey baster: The instructions have you using a turkey baster to remove fluid from the reservoir. Well, the turkey baster my wife gave me was way too wide at the tip to fit around the little pieces of plastic that blocked access to the bottom of the reservoir (yes, I did remove the screen). I'm not sure if they make smaller turkey basters, but the tip has to be thin enough to fit into a small slot at the side of the opening to the reservoir and get way down to the bottom. Instead of a turkey baster, what I did worked really well and was probably much quicker. I used a clean plastic pump from a liquid soap or lotion dispenser, with a flexible but stiff tube attached to the bottom. I was able to push the end of the tube down the side of the opening inside the brake fluid reservoir, and pump the brake fluid into an empty water bottle. Brake fluid: Have at least 2 liters of brake fluid available. I used all 2 liters. Oh, and BTW, the used brake fluid that came out of the car didn't look anything like the nice, clear slightly yellow ATE gold fluid that I put in. It was definitely time.

Thanks. Now that I've done the brake flush, I have another project to look forward to.

Thanks to the RennTech DIY instructions and others on this board, I bled my brake fluid today. The instructions were very helpful. Here are a few other tips I can pass along to anyone else who plans to do this. Drain tube: You should buy 2 feet of clear plastic tubing, 3/16" inner diameter, 5/16" outer diameter. The tubing needs to be clear so you can see if there are any air bubbles in the fluid that's being drained. Less than 2 feet will leave the end of the tube dangling, and you'll have to hold your drainage jar with one hand and the end of the tube with the other hand. Drain jar: Obtain a glass jar (tomato sauce or apple sauce jars are perfect) that has at least a 1/2 liter capacity and mark the level in advance for 250 ml and for 500 ml. Save the lid. Drill a 5/16" diamer hole in the lid. The drainage end of the drain tube will fit perfectly in the hole you drilled in the lid and you won't have to hold either one. Also, when disconnecting the tube from the nipple, the other end will just drain into the jar and you won't spill a drop of fluid anywhere. Turkey baster: The instructions have you using a turkey baster to remove fluid from the reservoir. Well, the turkey baster my wife gave me was way too wide at the tip to fit around the little pieces of plastic that blocked access to the bottom of the reservoir (yes, I did remove the screen). I'm not sure if they make smaller turkey basters, but the tip has to be thin enough to fit into a small slot at the side of the opening to the reservoir and get way down to the bottom. Instead of a turkey baster, what I did worked really well and was probably much quicker. I used a clean plastic pump from a liquid soap or lotion dispenser, with a flexible but stiff tube attached to the bottom. I was able to push the end of the tube down the side of the opening inside the brake fluid reservoir, and pump the brake fluid into an empty water bottle. Brake fluid: Have at least 2 liters of brake fluid available. I used all 2 liters. Oh, and BTW, the used brake fluid that came out of the car didn't look anything like the nice, clear slightly yellow ATE gold fluid that I put in. It was definitely time.

My gas door won't stay in the open position. It'll open, but it won't stay in the fully open position -- it flops back to partially closed. Is there an easy fix for this? I have a 2001 C2.

I ordered the Motive power bleeder and some brake fluid. When I'm done, how do I dispose of the old brake fluid? Do I just flush it down the toilet?

Shawn, many thanks. My thinking was that if not changing the brake fluid just deteriorates my braking performance, I should be able to tell when that is, so I could put off the brake fluid change until then. On the other hand, if moisture in the brake fluid is likely to harm the braking system, then I should change now it despite my low mileage (since moisture will creep in based on time rather than mileage). Any thoughts?

Are you sure they didn't put in a plug and a patch? I haven't heard of a tire being plugged for many years now.

I'm going to take the plunge and change my brake fluid for the first time. I've read the instructions posted here and have a couple of questions. 1. Do I just loosen the bleeding screws with a metric socket wrench? 2. How long a bleed tube do I need, and what diameter (1/4", etc.)? 3. If I want to get someone to bleed the brakes using the brake pedal, at what stage do I do that? Any other tips? Also, do I really need to even do this? My car is 5 years old, but with only 4,800 miles. The brake pressure feels very solid, and the brake fluid, visible through the brake reservoir look perfectly clear and amber.

I have this one. http://www.tweeks.com/shop?frame=3.2149

I did this on my 2001 911 with tip. Nothing special about the tip other than removing and re-connecting the tip wires on the steering wheel. I used the Porsche connector and VW wires. The key to success is labeling the tips of the wires that have to be connected to the car, and soldering the VW wires rather than crimping them. Also, buy some friction tape to wrap around your VW wires, as shown in Tool Pants' photo. Good luck. Here's my parts list: Porsche parts: 999.650.056.40 (connector) 999.650.057.40 (cover) 993.552.573.01.01C (gasket for steering column) 996.613.219.00EAK (strg column stalk with OBC control) VW parts for OBC: 000.979.009 (wire, quantity, 3) 000.979.010 (wire, quantity, 2)

Forget that stupid thing. I bought a similar device and then returned it. The problem is anytime your battery drops to below 12V, it disconnects the electrical system, which means you have to press this button (mine came with a small remote) to start the car. Turns out , the voltage can very easily drop to below 12V, so this happens a lot. With me, it would happen when I programmed my automatic interior fan to circulate on my BMW on hot days. My solution was to get rid of this device and just stop using the automatic blower. In your case, you may just need to buy a new battery or find the source of your battery drain. Your battery shouldn't go dead after just 5 days -- 3-4 weeks maybe, but not 5 days.

The spare tire is not meant to absorb impact from a crash. In 2WD versions of the 996, it stands straight up, so the fact that it lays flat in C4's is only to fit it into the space, not for crash absorbing.

How old is your battery? Mine is just two years old and it wouldn't start the car (but not completely dead) after I left it sitting in the garage for 3 weeks.

Bill, It looks like your friend's garage is at least a 4-car garage, maybe even bigger. How many cars can he fit in there with the lift?

I switched from a 4-spoke to a 3-spoke, mainly because my 4-spoke had the vinyl airbag without the gold colored crest. I later learned that you can get a leather/gold crest airbag for a 4-spoke wheel from one of the European parts suppliers. The 3-spoke seems to have a thicker rim. Otherwise, it's the same diameter.

Optima Battery Install Note: Part numbers sometimes change without notice. Always double check with your supplier that you have the latest part numbers. These instructions show how to install an Optima Group 34R battery in your Porsche Boxster or 996 using a plastic adapter plate. The cost of the materials (other than the Optima battery) should be under $20, and an hour or two of your time. You don't need to make any modifications to your car or to the Optima battery. All you need to do is to make an installation pla Author Long Islander Category Carrera (996) - Mods Submitted 11/16/2005 10:07 AM