ar38070

You can buy race fuel (96 and 100) at some 76 stations. If you go to the 76 web site (probably also the citgo site) you can usually do a search to find which stations carry it (sunoco too maybe). You can also buy race fuel at most race tracks.

Is it worth it for a car that is used primarily on the street? No. You will not notice the increased performance under normal every day legal street driving. It is certainly not worth the 2x price differential. You can certainly use it but you are basically blowing $$$ out the tail pipe.

I think that the reasons some stations carry it are that 1) there is a local demand for it, modified cars, street racers, etc. 2) there are a lot of people with track cars in the neighborhood who buy fuel for the track (cheaper than buying it at the track) 3) profit (of the $.20 differential between regular and super it has been reported the $.08 is manufacturing cost, the rest is profit. I leave it up to you to guess how much of the $2-3 premium for race fuel is profit).

The problem when you did this is that the ABS circuit (valves, whatever) has air in it. Supposedly you cannot get the air out of this part of the circuit without a Porsche computer (the computer manually opens all of the valves). I suppose you could take the car out on the street, ABS the car, and that would release the air. Then come back in and bleed the system again.

If the car is tracked, the caliper paint is going to fade. The black calipers fade to grey. That is just the way it is. Sure with larger calipers and better cooling they will take longer to fade, but they will fade. If the car is mechanically sound then do not worry about it. If you start experiencing problems on the track then check out the prior comments.

I am not boiling my fluid, and I am actually pretty easy on my brakes (from a comparative standpoint).  In fact, I am not sure that I would recognize boiled brake fluid when it happened since my brakes have performed fine.  What are signs that you are having a problem?  Do the brakes start to fade progressively or suddenly?  What happens?

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Boiled fluid or having air in the system will be noticed in two ways:

As the system heats up

1) initially the pedal will travel farther for the same brake effect.

2) if it gets really bad then your brake pedal will go to the floor and you will have to pump the pedal if you want to stop in order to build up pressure in the system.

Again if you are not seeing these symptoms then your fluid is okay and you may want to rethink what brand of fluid you are using. The higher $$ fluids have higher boiling points but if you do not need it why waste the money. Also depending on the brand some of the higher $$ fluids are more hygroscopic i.e. they absorb water more easily than the lower priced brands.

I bleed my brakes every 10 or so track days. I have yet to see any bubbles (ATE blue fluid).

You do not need to use 15-20 psi in the bleeder. 5-10 is plenty. You do not want to use more than that because theoretically you are compressing wet air on top of the fluid and forcing more moisture into the fluid.

You want to bleed starting from the valve furthest from the reservoir (right rear). Then move closer (left rear, right front, left front).

If you are just bleeding you do not need to put any fluid in the bleeder, just make sure that the reservoir is at least half full. You do not need to have fluid in the bleeder as the amount bled is small. (If you are paranoid about running out, then top off the reservoir first.)

I do not usually bleed after each event (I do 30-40 a year). I only bleed if I notice a problem.

Once a year complete fluid replacement is plenty unless you are tracking 50+ days/year.

Also there really is no reason to use SRF. ATE blue/gold or at most Motul 500 is good enough.

If you are constantly boiling your fluid then you probably want to reevaluate your braking technique.

20 min is .333 degrees (1 degree = 60 min). The factory spec is 1 degree 20 min plus/minus 30 min with a maximum difference left to right of 20 min.

Your tech either quoted the wrong number to you (quoted the maximum difference) or they did the alignment wrong. (I do not know if it is even possible to adjust the suspension to only have 20 min of camber.)

In either case you should verify. You should be able to get a written statement as to what numbers the car was aligned to.

You need to set your alignment to your driving style. If you rears are wearing unevenly then you need to have the alignment adjusted regardless of what the factory setting is.

You do not state how uneven the wear is. If the difference in tread depth (inside versus outside) is 1/16" or less then I would not worry about it. If it is more than an 1/8" then think about having it adjusted.

It is the other way. You will have to ADD a 20-25mm spacer to get these to fit. I am assuming that this is an 18x10 wheel that you are trying to fit on the rear.

I believe the recepticles are about $60. You can install it yourself but you still need to go to the dealer to have the light turned off (or go to a shop that has a Porsche computer).

If your recepticles have never been updated then you should be able to get them replaced as a warranty item. The safety systems are under a different warranty also.

This is already being done. If you are not an N-rated fanatic then there are all kinds of tires for all kinds of tastes out there. Granted there is no specific Porsche focused marketing but those of us who think outside of the box have already discovered the plethora of choices.

Do you mean the rotor? If so then you can get some kind of Zinc spray paint to paint them with.

Anyone have pricing on the Premier top? and or what is the installed price?

You have to remove the storage bin (if you have one) then the carpet piece underneath it (the one that covers the top engine panel. Then I think you remove the two side carpet pieces (do not remember for sure if you have to remove these). Now you can remove the carpet piece covering the panel behind the seats. There are four (?) plastic nuts holdind the top of the carpet piece in place (you will see these when you remove the top carpet piece).

This is from memory so some of the details might be off.

This is one reason that the SpartTop is not a good idea. I know a lot of people use them but I cannot imagine what a mess there would be if you used one and you had a drive cable or transmission failure.

315 on an 11 inch wheel is a lot. The GT2 uses a 12.

Buy PS2's for the rear.

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I'm afraid PS2's do not exist in size 285/30/18. Michelin seems to have a retail stock optimisation issue. Here in Europe also I've heard of ridiculous delays to get the :angry: PS tires.

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Use 295/30/18 then.

As long as you are not driving at the limit, mixing front to rear is not a big deal. Even driving at the limit is not a big deal if you know what, if any, handling difference there is. Just do not mix on the same axle. Buy PS2's for the rear.

I think he means what is the starting thickness of the rotor.

Pep Boys has it too.

Perusing some of the tire size charts it seems that 986/996 tires sizes tend to be in the low 25's. 26.5 is getting pretty big.

A number of people have done this. If you have not, you should ask around for info. If memory serves me correctly:

1) you will have to fabricate engine mounts (the 996 motor is an inch taller (maybe shorter) and it must be dropped another inch to fit the boxster.

2) You have to change or flash the ecu

3) I am assuming you got a 3.4 motor. A 3.6 needs egas which your 99 does not have.

4) There are some issues routing either the fuel lines or the AC lines. Also I think one of these was not long enough and had to be changed.

5) There were some issues with the fuel rails and throttle body sizes. Details escape me.

6) You did not say what tranny you are using. If the original 5 speed you might want to put in a better clutch.

Good luck.

Contrary to many on this board, oil consumption is not normal for these engines or any engine.  It is an indication that either PCV valve is bad, rings are bad or a problem with the valves.  However, it appears that burning oil at the rate you state is common for some flat sixes.

I burn absolutely no oil nor do any of the other p-car owners I hang with.  Will your oil burning hurt the engine - no, as long as keep refilling the crank case.  Can it be fixed - probably not without rebuilding the engine (if it is caused by valves or rings).

I believe much of the oil burning is caused by improper beak in.  Below is what I follow for every car I have ever owned and none of the cars have ever burned oil.  Even my 180,000 plus mile Honda Accord.

Proper breakin must be done in the first 100 -200 miles and below is the proper procedure:

1. Always bring engine to FULL operating temperature before high revs.

2. Drive the car easy for the first 10 miles or so, varying the rpm's from 2,000 - 5,000.

3. Then, start bringing the engine up to maximum rpm's and letting the engine bring the revs back down by coasting in gear.

4. Repeat several times in order to create maximum heat in the cylinders.

5. Drive around at lower RPM's for several more miles, remembering to vary the speed of the engine every couple of miles.

6. Repeat number 3, 4 and 5.

7. Park car and let the engine cool down overnight.

8. Repeat all the above 2 more times.

Your engine is now fully broken in correctly and can be driven hard from here on.

JMO and experience.

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This was discussed ad nauseum before. There are several schools of thought on break in. The above and similar procedures and what the manufacturer recommends (1-2K miles under 4200rpm, no driving at constant rpm for extended periods).

As I posted last week, Car and Driver (granted this is not most authoritative source) in a long term review of a Mitsu Evo. stated that the manufacturer's recommended break (600 miles of babying) resulted in 40,000 miles of oil burn free use. Also engine performance at 40,000 miles was nearly identical. They also stated that they have had communication from owners who did not follow the manufacturer's break in procedure (these owners ran the motor hard when new) who have to add oil regularly.

To each their own.

Porsche went to a different overall tire diameter with the 987 and 997. 986/996 used tires with overall diameter from 25.5-26. The newer tires are over 26.5. Depending on the numbers that you use this is 2-4% bigger. Porsche states the 4% is the allowable difference from stock sizes for ABS and PSM. The new tires are at the upper limit. The larger tires will also effect acceleration. Cosmetically the larger tires will fill out the wheel wells.

What are the wheel sizes and offsets for the stock 996 wheels? If you have those numbers you can calculate the offsets required for 8's and 11's.

I believe the wire sensors are the same regardless of the model (986,987,996,TT, GT2, GT3).

The effected sensor may or may not have to be replaced. The light will also go on if the sensor goes to ground (touches the rotor). When you change the pads look at the sensors. You will see a wire. If it is broken, it needs to be replaced. If just the plastic coating is worn off, it may be reusable. You can also put an ohm meter across the connector to see if it is still good.

Most of us who track our cars frequently just tie them off or take a worn sensor, cut it off at the plug and twist the wires together.

Use DOT4.

DOT 3/4 and DOT5 are not compatible. If you change to DOT5 you have to be sure that you completely purge the system.

DOT 3/4 absorb water over time which lowers the boiling point. DOT 5 does not absorb water but you still get water in the system. In either case you have to worry about corrosion and you still have to bleed the brakes. Since DOT5 does not actually absorb the water, the water will tend to collect in various spots in the brake system (system dependent). When you bleed/flush the system the water may or may not be removed. With DOT3/4 as the water is aborbed by the brake fluid, when you bleed/flush you remove the water. The worse case scenario for DOT5 is if the water collects in the caliper. Then of course your fluid will boil at 212 degrees.

DOT 5 may be incompatible with seals in the brake system. Depends on what materials are used in the seals.

DOT 5 used to have higher boiling points. That is no longer the case. There are many DOT4 fluids (sometimes called DOT 5.1) that have similar or higher boiling points.

If you are not tracking your car then I think the point is moot. There is no reason to use a higher quality (more $$$) brake fluid. A lot of us who track our cars regularly just use ATE Blue or Gold (DOT4) and do not have any problems with fluid boiling.