pfbz

Thank for helping to document the process so thoroughly!

 

Couple of additional notes:

• This mod works equally well on 'sport' (round airbag) and regular (triangular airbag) wheels.... But the airbags themselves are quite expensive.  So unless you can source a wheel with the correct airbag at a decent price, make sure your spare wheel uses the same airbag as your current car.  You can of course just modify your existing wheel without buying the spare wheel, I just liked modifying the spare wheel to as I had never done it before. Also, Mk II (997.2, 987.2) steering wheels will fit and bolt up, but they use different airbags than either 9x7.1 steering wheels, so again this would only work if you source an airbag as well. The wiring harness connector is likely different as well.

• You shouldn't need a durametric to reset codes after this mod. It is pretty common to get a variety of errors (psm, pasm, etc) after disconnecting the battery. A short drive cycle usually gets everything back to normal.

• Airbags can be dangerous...  Be extra sure to disconnect the battery and any other power source before working with them. DO NOT keep the car hooked up to a battery maintainer during the work!  It doesn't hurt to turn on the headlights or honk the horn after you disconnect the battery just to ensure there is no residual charge in the system.

• I tapped the paddle switches and used metric bolts, but I think self-tapping screws designed for plastic are what the paddles are actually designed for. Either one should work.

How it looks on a 'Sport' wheel:

...can I assume I only need one of these relays?

No, you need three relays. My diagram shows how three inexpensive relays can be wired together to make a pulse-latching circuit. The Porsche switch is not shown at all in my diagram.

Your switch would connect to the "[+] Pulse to turn on" and "[+] Pulse to turn off" lines in the diagram. If the other diagrams posted are correct, it looks like switch terminal 1 goes to turn on, 2, to turn off, 3 to 12V power.

But honestly, if this kind of stuff isn't familiar to you, get some help lest you accidentally short/smoke something... If you do it yourself, make sure you pull the correct fuses or better yet remove the negative lead from the battery when doing your wiring and triple check everything before reconnecting power.

You can also use cheap/simple automotive relays to convert pulses from a momentary switch to a latched output...

Something like this:

These are standard automotive lighting relays... Total overkill for the application as they can handle pretty high current, great for driving lights and such, but they are cheap and readily available for a few bucks each.

I didn't think the quad-ground type plugs were really meant for any adjustment... It is also much more difficult to measure than a standard plug.

I would have bet money that there would be no noticeable performance difference between different brands of quality spark plugs that are of proper spec and not defective... but I guess I'll replace the plugs and see if it makes a difference.

I'm sure the job will be much easier the second time, but honestly I'm not looking forward to dealing with Cylinder #4 again. I picked up some new tools that should make it a bit easier, a ratcheting bit wrench for the coil pack torx bolts and ratcheting external torx wrench for the covers, but those muffler mounts make the plugs and coil packs a bit hard to get to, with or without the mufflers on!

2004 C2, 57K miles.

Just did some service work on my C2 and replaced my spark plugs. Car was running great, but did it as part of 60K service.

[*]No history of CEL's prior to change.

[*]Plugs removed were BERU Ultra R6-336.

[*]All looked fine with good color and minimal electrode wear.

[*]All coil packs/wires/connectors looked great and were reused.

[*]Spark plugs were replaced with Bosch FGR5KQE0. Gapped as set from factory, not mis-handled or dropped.

[*]Plugs were torqued to spec.

Since I removed the mufflers for improved access, I took them to a local shop while they were out and had a gundo/fister type 2 modification done on them, essentially connecting the input and output pipe with a new piece of 2" tubing. This shop has done many of these before...

Car is back together and running... I've had it out for a few drives since the work, and to me it feels rougher, particularly during warmup and maybe even less power. Maybe even detecting a minor misfire when cold? I'm not getting any CEL lights. Rechecked connectors, all are tight.

Some thoughts and questions:

[*]Obviously it could be the exhaust, and perhaps the ECU not yet adjusted to a slightly increased airflow or just feeling the roughness of more exhaust resonation?

[*]How quickly should the ECU remap to any changes to fuel mixture due to exhaust and/or plugs? Can I speed up the process by removing the battery terminal?

[*]If I am getting misfires, how tolerant is the ECU before it will trigger a CEL? Can i assume that if I'm not getting a CEL, the engine isn't misfiring and fuel trims are fine?

[*]Is there any way to log any ECU data short of buying a durametric?

[*]Could the Bosch plugs be making the difference? I'm sure I could do the job a second time much faster, but cylinder 4 seems like a major PITA even now that I know the procedure!

[*]Any other thoughts? I'm always hyper-sensitive to how a vehicle is running after I work on it, and perhaps it's all in my head...

Also, I'm not sure I love the louder exhaust.... I really miss hearing the intake howl (had previously done the silicone tubing intake od) and it makes me feel a bit like a tool now when I open her up on an entrance ramp or something. Am the only person in the world that doesn't like the Fister exhaust??

Hi pfbz,another thought on the LTE vs. WiFi iPad is: if one has an iPhone anyway or any other device that can act as a hot spot then one could also use a WiFi, non-LTE iPad and connect via Personal Hotspot if Internet is required. Then again, maybe a power supply is needed for the iPhone, otherwise it will be drained quickly. Then again, in Germany one time filling up a 911 with gas costs as much as the delta between iPad WiFi and iPad LTE... ;-)

I do have an iPhone, and have also set that up (through jailbreak) to act as a hot spot... It works, but it seems a bit clumsy for what I want. Take the phone out of my pocket, turn the hot spot on, plug in the phone to a second power line to ensure I don't kill my batteries running it as a hotspot, and then undo it all when I get where I'm going. Far better than not having any wifi integration in the car, but not nearly as seemless as an iPad with built in LTE.

No problem posting the link... Happy to answer any questions the group might have, though I'll need to use google translate if they ask in german!

As for the back up camera, I love the idea but I believe that if you use wifi to connect to the camera, it will effectively turn off the 4G data connectivity... definitely a problem. Bluetooth would be a better solution, but Apple is very particular about its bluetooth connections and won't allow the iPad to connect to unsecure bluetooth data devices.

Happy to try and figure it out if anybody can loan the device! :D

 

Just to clarify, my desire is not to interfere with anything other than the constant audible reminder.

I don't think it's a legal issue. eg: My F-150 has instructions for turning on/off the audible 'Belt Minder' right in the owners manual. Not any sort of secret, back door, or dealer only procedure, just a sequence of ignition key and buckle/unbuckles. I doubt Ford would be flaunting federal safety laws on their highest volume vehicle year after year...

Other Porsche models evidently have relatively easy ways to disable the chimes. I've seen reports of certain buckle/unbuckle sequences working on caymans, and PIWIS working on 997's and 996's, but my service advisor just couldn't find the right screen.

Is it also possible that there are different 'permission' levels within PIWIS? Or that different versions of PIWIS added/deleted the capability?

At any rate, the thread wasn't meant to be a discussion on the applicability of federal law, just if anybody could confirm:

1. Can a 996 MKII audible seat belt reminder can be disabled with PIWIS?
2. What is the procedure or page to do so? [Nothing obvious in the instrument panel or airbag general sections]

2004 Carrera 2, US spec.

I'd like to disable the obnoxious seat belt chime through the dealer.

I had it into the dealer yesterday for a detail, and the dealer didn't have any issues with doing it, but we couldn't get it done.

Tech didn't think it was possible on 996's (though I've heard otherwise). Service manager hooked up the computer (PIWIS?) and we looked through various options trying to find anything related, but no luck.

Anybody know exactly which sub-menu or function can be used within the dealer computer system to turn off the seat belt warning chimes??

-----Disclaimer----

Yes, I wear my seat belt while driving.

No, I don't wear my seat belt when juggling cars around in the garage or driveway.

Yes, I'm comfortable with that decision.

As a Contributing Member you can view the TSBs on Porsche Approved Tires and Wheels. Lots of information there..

Yes... one of the first things I checked out. Thanks for the resource!

Seems like there are lots of 'non-approved' variations that are working out quite well for people though.

A few more pics from yesterday...

It is working superbly. Get in, turn the key, instant pandora streaming with no swipes, buttons, selections.

(click pictures for higher res)

OFF.

ON.

Can we say...Too much information?...

LOL... I can be a bit compulsive about the details, and in the Porsche tire/wheel world, lots of variables!I poured through countless threads and it drove me crazy when somebody would say "I'm running this tire and it works great" but no mention of offset, so I tried to be very complete in my info.At any rate, I am currently running the 997 Carrera III wheels, stock *997* size tires, 5mm spacer in rear, 5mm spacer in front and it seems to be working out quite well.So far zero complaints from PCM/ABS about the taller rear tires and handling seems to be balanced, but no track days yet. Cosmetically, the taller 40 series rear with the lower offset wheels definitely fills the rear wells much better. Have some H&R's on order that will drop the car a bit more, probably pull the 5mm spacers in the rear and put 14mm spacers in the front and test a bit more.

Hi everyone:I'm interested in a new sets of wheels for winter for my 2000 C4 996 which currently has the stock 18" chrome turbo twists on it. I am pretty sure the sizes are:Front: 225/40/18 7.5J x 18 50 mm offsetRear: 265/35/18 10J x 18 65mm offsetI see a set for sale from a 2008 997 and they are:Front: 235/40/18 8J x 18 ET 57Rear: 295/35/18 11J x 18 ET 51Can anyone confirm or deny that they would fit my car.

--

The front 997 wheels and tires WILL FIT with a 7mm spacer.The rear 997 wheels and tires WILL NOT fit your mk1 996.The rear wheel WILL RUB the fender unless you do the following:1) extreme negative camber which will probably cause premature inner tire wear2) roll the fenders which can damage the paint.As I said before NO spacer will fix the rear wheel offset.99% people would NOT get that wheel tire combo for their mk1 996.

Another data point...I recently purchased a set of OEM take off 997 Carrera III wheels and tires for my 996 C2, so far working out great. The ones I picked up were 10x18RO58 on the rear, which is the same width with 7mm *less* offset than my stock 996 Carrera II's, which is perfect for the rear. The fronts were 8x18RO57, which as mentioned above, really need at least a 7mm spacer.Are the wheels you were looking at (11J x 18 ET 51) wide body wheels? You should be able to get 11" wide wheels to work, but you are going to want ~63mm offset to fit a narrow body 996.

Motor vehicle recalls are ordered by the federal government, specifically the NHTSA, for serious safety defects. I believe manufacturers sometimes institute a voluntary recall, but typically only when they know there is going to be a mandated recall issued if they don't...

Non safety-related service issues are never recalls, regardless of how severe.

You can check for vehicle recalls at www.nhtsa.gov

Thanks for taking the time to post this - I've been waiting for someone to do it! I've got a '99 C2 with the single din cupholders in slot 1, single din usb Pioneer in 2, cubby hole in 3 and hvac in 4. Obviously I'd have to lose the cupholders and I need to check whether my Pioneer can power an iPad - it juices my iPhone no problem but I know you need a higher output for the iPad. Do you use your iPad to play back music stored on it? How easy is it to remove from the car and take indoors to sync, etc? Thanks - looking forward to any updates!

Sorry for the late reply...

While the ipad can be removed relatively easily (pop off the horseshoe trim), my installation is designed primarily to leave it in place...

Power: The iPad mini takes significantly less power to run and charge than the full size iPad. On par with the iPhone 5, and my pioneer puts out plenty power to the iPad mini to keep it charged while running as well as charge it. Slightly slower than a wall outlet, but no need to remove it for charging. The only time it is a problem is if you let it run 100% out of power (with the radio off). The mini will then will not power up until it recharges for 15 minutes or so from the Pioneer. My mini is 'jailbroken' and I use an application called activator to unsleep/unlock when it gets USB power (when the ignition/radio are turned on) and sleep/lock when it loses USB power, when the ignition turns off. I also have it set to never sleep, so the only way to really run it 100% out of power is to intentionally turn it on with the car off and forget to turn it back off.

As a side note, I tested quite a few different head units to verify how well they charged/worked with the iPad mini. All the new pioneers worked great. The new blaupunkt charged fine, but could not operate in data mode with the iPad. None of the Alpine's I tested had enough charge current for the iPad mini. Clarion's had enough charge current, but some had difficulty with music playback with the ipad. At ~$180 street price, the Pioneer DEH-X9500BHS seems hard to beat. I especially like that I can match the display and button colors to match the rest of the Porsche amber lighting making it look a bit more OEM.

Syncing: When I pull the car into the garage, it picks up my house wifi. The iPad can sync music, download updates, and back itself up all over wifi, so again, no need to ever really take it out of the car. But there is one little glitch in my plan.... Lets say I want to download a bunch of updates in the garage. I don't want to leave the ignition on, so I'll turn on the ipad manually with no usb power and tell it to download all the updates. If I forget to go turn it off after an hour or so, it will keep running till the battery is gone, then I won't have iPad access for 15 minutes or so when I next get in the car.

Extension USB cable: I just made a minor modification to my setup to help out.... On one side, the iPad cable plugs directly into the USB port on the back of the Pioneer, the other side is hidden behind the dash trim. What I just did was connect a USB extension cable to the back of the pioneer, and join the extension cable and iPad cable just behind the little carpet trim panels on either side of the lower front console, just tucked out of sight. Now if I want to plug the iPad into a cigarette adapter for continous charging when downloading, or even plug it into my computer, I can easily do it by untucking the wires, disconnecting the ipad, then using another USB extension cable to connect either to my mac, cigarette lighter, whatever.

Looking for some feedback on my tire/wheel decision! I've read as many threads as I could find. Some great info, but sometimes posts will describe a tire size that they like/works without giving the wheel offset, or talk about wheel offsets that work without discussing what tires they are using. I'm posting in this forum as it seems there is more experience on wheel/tire combos here vs. the regular carrera forum. My understanding is that from a wheel/tire perspective, I should be the same as what would work on a GT3MK1, minus the rolled fenders.Car: 2002 C2. OEM USA non-sport suspension. I plan on lowering with coil-overs or X74 if I can find a used setup.Use: Fast mountain roads, sometimes commuting, occasional semi-casual track days and DE without tire change.Objectives:

• [*]New performance oriented, dry-only tires.[*]Maximize use of stuff I already own ($$ I save can go to the coil-over fund!)[*]Improve looks by pushing tires outwards (oem setup recessed into wheel wells).[*]Use attractive wheels.[*]Improve under/oversteer balance.

What I have:

• [*]OEM 996 Carrera II wheels, 8x18 RO 50, 10x18 RO 65. Some curb rash, could use refinishing... Currently have snow tires mounted on them.[*]OEM 997 NB Carrera III wheels. 8x18 RO 57, 10x18 RO 58. I definitely like the the look of these better, but the front offset moves in the wrong direction.[*]Hankook Ventus Evo, 235/40-18 (nearly new, currently on 997 fronts)[*]Hankook Ventus Evo, 265/40-18 (nearly new, currently on 997 rears)[*]Four RSS 5mm spacers with longer bolts.

Thoughts on the following ideas, or any alternate ideas? Using 997 wheel set:

• [*]F: 8x18 RO 57 with current evo 235/40-18, Purchase 14mm spacers. (I've test fit this with 5mm spacers and there is a slight rub. Probably need to purchase larger 14mm or possibly 7mm spacer?)[*]R: 10x18 RO 58. Purchase evo's in 295/30-18. No rear spacers, as this is already the equivalent of using the 996 65 offset wheels with a 7mm spacer (Will the 295/30's fit on the narrow body with the lower offset wheels? Might need to roll the fender lip? Would evo's in 285/30-18 be a better choice?)

Using 996 wheel set:

• [*]Refinish wheels[*]remove 235/40-18's from 997 wheel set and put on 996 wheel set.[*]F: 8x18 RO 50, evo 235/40-18, optional 5mm spacers.[*]R: 10x18 RO 65. Purchase evo's in 295/30-18. Use 5mm rear spacers.

 

Let us know if it has the X51 option... It was a pretty expensive (~$15K?) and somewhat rare factory option, but did tweak the engine nicely.

X51 engines had, IIRC, slightly higher compression, tweaked camshaft profiles, smoother plenum, dual-port air intake, and some improvements to the oiling system.

I'm sure there are many here with more expertise than me but no, as far as I know, there was never a normally aspirated, 2WD, '2004 Carrera S'.

My guess is that if it really has 345 factory horsepower, it is a standard Carrera 2 with the X51 option and an owner-added "S" badge.

My 2004 Carrera VIN is:

WP0AA299X4S62xxxx

WP0AA29944S620441

is yours.

Identical except for the last four numbers (production sequence) and the 9th digit (X vs. 4) which is just a checksum to check for errors in the VIN.

Look for the X51 option on the hood decal and/or the two intake air cleaner to figure out if it has the X51 option. It would not be encoded in the VIN.

Verifying...

000.044.500.33 would be the correct part number for an X74 kit for a 2002 C2 coupe. It may or may not be available, but if it was, it would include springs, sway bars, other mounting bits, but not shocks?

I've used several of these type of batteries on my dual sport and off road moto's. Fantastic performance with very few downsides.

Just to clarify, these are not really "lithium" batteries. They are "Lithium Iron Phosphate", specifically LiFePO₄. They are much safer, have a longer lifespan, and are less toxic than normal lithium batteries, and have a very different chemistry. They don't have flamability concerns when submerged in water, they aren't poisonous.

Several manufacturers are now making them for moto/off road applications. Maybe a bit undersized for a daily driver 911, but perfect for a track day or occasional use car that is rarely if ever going to see below freezing temps.

An inexpensive and awesome way to shave almost 40 pounds!

Ballistic 16-cell battery. 500CCA, 3.6 pounds, $300 list price.

Antigravity 20-Cell battery, 600CCA, 4.3 pounds, $370.

Hooked up the aftermarket radio yesterday, a Blaupunkt 420BT. Without the radio power antenna connected to car harness Connector A pin 5, super crappy FM. With the power antenna wire feeding the harness, nice reception.

The power antenna wire is usually used to feed a motorized (up/down) antenna and wasn't sure if the OEM antenna amp was fed the same way or independently.

Question answered, make sure you feed the OEM antenna amplifier with switched or power antenna out power if you want reception!

Bump and a big THANKS!

I recently purchased a 2004 C2. I noticed the engine compartment light connector was unplugged and reconnected it... Cool, now I have an engine compartment light!

A few days later when working on stereo upgrades, I noticed through the engine lid vents that the light was on despite the lid being closed... I assumed it was a bad switch, and probably why the previous owner had unplugged the light in the first place.

I had the front trunk lid slightly ajar with a battery tender connected directly to my battery, as I had the cabin doors open for extended periods of time and didn't want to kill the battery.

It would not of occurred to me in a million years that opening the front trunk turns on the engine compartment light, but sure enough, that was it! Thanks for saving me the time of tearing apart and trying to fix my engine compartment latch/switch!

What a bizarre light circuit... Any theories why Porsche wired it that way? I'm sure some German engineer had a very logical reason why it is wired that way, but it certainly escapes me.