CoochasTT

I guess I'm the contrarian here. I have the auto-dimming mirrors and I have not had them on in ages. For me, the image in the mirrors is just too dark when activated. I'd rather have the little flicky lever for when an SUV pulls up behind me.

Thanks for posting your pics Benny....looks nice. Would you mind if I used your pics (alongside mine) on my personal web site?

I posted this on some of the 'other' Porsche forums and people seem to like the info contained herein. The comparison pics are best viewed on a wide screen to see all 3 images side-by-side. Can you see the difference with the notorious 5mm spacer set on a 997 C4S? Take the following test concerning the three photo exhibits shown below – these are A, B and C as written in Speed Yellow text. All three photos were taken within an hour of each other at my remote testing facility (actually, it was at my mother’s house safely removed from the confines of Boston). The camera was on a tripod which was taped securely in place. The only difference is the position of the sun !!!!!! (I tried to control this but could not). There are two sets of wheels involved: -19” Carrera Classics with stock Michi PS2: 8J 235/35 front, 11J 305/30 rear -18” MM3 with Winter Conti T810S: 8.5J 235/35 front, 10J 265/40 rear One pic is with the Winter Contis and a 17mm spacer in the rear; One pic is with the Carrera Classics w/o spacers; One pic is with Carrera Classics w/5mm spacers x4. Scroll down slowly so you don’t spoil it,…if you can’t see the 18” MM3 wheels, please visit another automotive forum now. Yes, you guessed correctly…. A=18” Winter mode B=Stock 19” Carrera Classics w/o spacers C=Stock 19” Carrera Classics w/5mm spacers x4 It is indeed a fairly subtle difference. Was it worth the $292??? Maybe. I always felt like the stock rubber should have filled out the rear well a bit more on the C4 series – but it’s hard for me to tell now as I am just so **** happy to have my ‘real’ rubber back on the car. Here are some other pics from my day of changing the tires over & over & over. The 5mm Kit: The kit comes with 20 new bolts (including 4 locking ones) which are 5mm longer: Rear Hub: no spacer, 17mm spacer, 5mm spacer respectively: Front Hub: no spacer, 5mm spacer, top view w/spacer respectively: And,…the finished product:

I cut&paste this from my post on the snow tire thread the other day. Basically I put the 17 mm Porsche spacers on some 18" rims that I am using for snow tires on a 997 C4S. They make the snow wheels look 'more stock.' As shown below, the 17 mm Porsche set (2 spacers) bolts to the wheel hub using your OEM lug bolts, the spacers has bolts built in and your wheel fastens by lug nuts supplied with the spacer set. The Porsche 5mm set (4 spacers) comes with new lug bolts that are 5 mm longer and I believe include new locking bolts. I think I will add these once I go back to my 19" Classics in the Spring. The Porsche 17 mm spacers come with 10 black nuts. The spacer then mounts to the wheel hub using the original wheel bolts. The wheel then secures to the spacer using the black nuts. BTW, these nuts are so far inside the wheel that you don’t notice them. The weather is dark and rainy today so please excuse the gloomy garage pics. The shot on the left here shows the snow tires after I first put them on (no spacers). The shot on the right is after adding the 17 mm spacers. The shot on the left here is pre-spacer while the shot on the right is post-spacer. The easiest way to compare the offset is by looking at the tire tread in relation to the wet/sand marks on the garage floor both pre- and post-.

I have now added spacers to the rears. I was originally going to place H&R 14 mm spacers in the rear however this would have necessitated cutting off the captive washer from my OEM bolts for use with the H&R longer bolts or buying aftermarket longer bolts (e.g. Boothe or Wheel Enhancement). I decided that although a bit pricier I would go with the Porsche 17 mm rear spacer set (Tequipment 996) which most dealers sell for about $300-350 but Suncoast sells for $250. The spacers went on easily and I think that the 17 mm increased track makes the snow tires look a little more ‘stock’. There was no noticeable difference in my brief test drive today (no vibration tested to 90 mph). Here is my photo chronicle: The Porsche 17 mm spacers come with 10 black nuts. The spacer then mounts to the wheel hub using the original wheel bolts. The wheel then secures to the spacer using the black nuts. BTW, these nuts are so far inside the wheel that you don’t notice them. The weather is dark and rainy today so please excuse the gloomy garage pics. The shot on the left here shows the snow tires after I first put them on (no spacers). The shot on the right is after adding the 17 mm spacers. The shot on the left here is pre-spacer while the shot on the right is post-spacer. The easiest way to compare the offset is by looking at the tire tread in relation to the wet/sand marks on the garage floor both pre- and post-. Thanks again to Damon at Tire Rack. Now if it will just snow in Boston I’ll be able to report on how it handles in the deep stuff!

I'm going with the Porsch 17mm set which comes with its own lug nuts (spacer bolts to hub, wheel over spacer's bolts secured with nuts). I might put them on tomorrow if I have time - I'll post pics. The H&R spacers require aftermarket bolts (Boothe, Wheel Enhancement) OR freeing the bowl shaped captive washer from the stock bolts to use with H&R bolts. Thanks for looking at my site too!

I bought the Tire Rack package 18" Mille Miglia III rims with 235 front and 265 rears. As mentioned above, the rear should probably get a spacer. Here is a photo chronicle of my snow wheels on my 997 C4S: http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/show...ad.php?t=245937 I am either going to put on H&R 14mm or Porsche 17 mm spacers to make it look more proper. The tires are fine but we have not had any serious snow yet!!!

Anyone out there know when the 997 4S models will be coming out and available for US ordering? I can't seem to find any credible press releases on the net. Question 2: for present Carrera4 owners in the North...I live in Boston and am considering either the Cayenne Turbo or a 4S 997 (when it comes out)...for those of us with one car spot (my wife has our other garage spot) do you think I could survive year round with a 4S? I presently have an Audi TT which does just fine in the winter (rarely, I require my wife's Subaru...which is snow stellar). GO PATS!