geoff

If you call Deltran and there is no place local that sells the cigarette lighter plug for the Battery Tender, their customer service will just send one out to you for free (or at least they used to, and that's what they did for me). The Battery Tender works fine plugged into the cigarette lighter for maintaining the battery

You didn't say what year your Boxster was. There's a TSB from 2003 titled "Rattling Noises from the Cabriolet Top" that describes a new "centering peg" that goes where the convertible top meets the top of the windshield. I replaced these on my '01 Boxster and it got rid of most of the rattles I heard with the top up. Since the GAHH top is much newer than 2003, they should be using the latest parts, but you never know. You might want to check with GAHH to see if this might be the cause of your rattle. The newer replacement parts are pretty inexpensive from Sunset

Long time ago a Ferrari sales person told me "People who drives these types of cars don't change tires them selves!" so for the $800+ you paid, you could have call a taxi cab, pay for the road side assistance and still keep your boot space! Hee..Hee... :P The twisty canyon roads that make Porsches and Ferraris so enjoyable often don't have cell coverage. I've seen everything from sport bikes to new F430s on the side of (narrow) canyon roads at the mercy of passers-by to call for help when they get back to an area with coverage. On some roads, I've never been able to figure out how a flat bed tow truck could get up there, let alone safely load a car with a flat tire. Blind curves, steep slope, no shoulder. I'm much more comfortable driving my 986 through the canyons near my house or in the middle of nowhere than my wife's 997 for this reason. The fallacy in Porsche (and Ferrari) thinking about roadside assistance and eliminating spare tires are: 1) it's possible to call roadside assistance, 2) roadside assistance is able to get to the car, and 3) roadside assistance is able to load the car on a flatbed and take it some place to have a new tire installed. Never mind the time spent waiting, nor potentially the days waiting for a replacement tire to arrive. Being stuck in some podunk town for days waiting for a new tire to arrive, then watching the local tire installer try to figure out how to install a low profile tire on a lightweight allow rim gives me the willys!

Porsche has made so many great cars in the past, how could you possibly pick just one?! The 917 was an amazing track car, but not even on your list. By definition, isn't the next car Porsche comes out with the best one, since (in theory) they apply everything they learned from the past ones to make the next one even better. The beauty of having several is you don't have to pick which one is best, you can drive the one to suit your mood at the time, or what you need the car for. I hate to say it, but for road trips with my wife and the dog, the Cayenne is usually the best choice, even on twisty roads. It's comfortable enough that my wife isn't unhappy, and my little doggie can stick her head out the window at 90 MPH. It's also a lot better than my Boxster when it's pouring rain, there's mud everywhere and I still want to drive a Porsche. When the weather is nice, driving my Boxster through the twisties with the top down is the best

Last night's show was supposed to be the new season here for Top Gear on BBC America. No surprise that Clarkson didn't pick the Carrera while his two sidekicks used their brains

If you just plug in the lights without the control unit, the low beams will be HID and the high beams will be the halogens. Just like the basic stock headlights, but brighter low beams. If you add the control unit with the associated wiring harness, the low beams will tilt up when you flip to the high beams and fill in the high beams better. The HID lights actually tilt up to fill in light below the high beam. The control unit is made by Bosch. I thought there was a post here way back when with the Bosch part number, but couldn't find it tonight when searching. I did find a picture by ToolPants - see this post There's a TSB that describes the whole installation process and includes Porsche part numbers for the control unit and wiring harness The factory Litronics install has some sensors on the suspension that is supposed to dynamically level out the lights based on vehicle loading, but the retrofit doesn't have the capability. I think the factory install lets you do things with the PST2 for diagnostics that the retrofit won't - probably a Loren question

Do you still have the original ignition switch? If yes and you have any other strange experiences, maybe it's time to replace with the new style

I don't know if it loosened up a bit with wear, or if I just got used to it, but after a few weeks it definitely was easier to shift - probably a little bit of both reasons. My first thoughts were that I made a mistake putting in the short shifter, because it was so hard to shift and felt SO short, but after a week or two it felt completely right. It's definitely possible to shift with one finger like the stock shifter now, so I think there is a little bit of wear-in factor that occurs. I recently had the 60K mile service done on my Boxster, and had the transmission oil changed (30K miles before the 90K service), and that also slightly improved the ease of shifting. Even 8 years / 60K miles seems like a very long time for any oil change, so I can't imagine what the gear oil looks like after 90K miles, even though it's synthetic

If you have a stock shift knob, you should be able to get it off by pulling HARD. Straddle the shifter with your legs and pull - it will come out suddenly, so be careful. I think the 9x7 models have a hex screw, but the 9x6 models don't and are just a very tight friction fit

I've got an '08 Cayenne S. I test drove the base '08 Cayenne also, and found it had a lot more power than previous base (V6) models. It's no hot rod, but plenty of power for regular driving. The Cayenne has been as reliable as my '05 Carrera, and definitely better build quality than my '01 Boxster. In '08, Cayennes got direct injection, which gives more power and better mileage than the older Cayenne fuel injection system. What are you reasons for considering the Turbo? Lots more power? Bragging rights of having the word Turbo on the back deck? Red brake calipers? From a practicality, cost effectiveness and low hassle perspective, the '08 might be better. Have you driven both, and what's most important to you?

Contact Joanne Price at Color Plus. They have Porsche specific leather dye colors. They are always the recommended leather dye from PCA. No affiliation except I'm a happy customer.

The 9x7 shifter felt really short at first, but after a week felt fine. It's as smooth as I remember the stock shifter, just a little more force required to shift (not all that much) and not notchy I haven't had any problems after several years. I think only the Boxster and maybe a GT3 have the green piece If it shifts OK before you swap shifters, you should be good. I never double checked after installation, and only used to tool to loan to a few friends to check their shift cables

2001 2.7 5 speed with 997 short shifter installed. Last week I had the dealer do the 60K mile service, and also asked them to change the (manual) transmission oil. After convincing my service writer I did want to spend the $ even though Porsche says to only do it every 90K miles, it was done along with everything else. Before the 60K mile service, the short shifter was easy to shift even when cold. Now it's harder to shift when starting out until things warm up a bit. I checked today and the mechanic confirmed he did not adjust the shift cables. Has anyone experienced this? Does everything loosen up after the new gear oil ages? My invoice says 80W90 gear oil, but I thought it was supposed to be 75W90. It's probably a typo on the invoice, but could this be a problem?

See http://boxcar-racing.com/forum/index.php?topic=286.0;all starting with my reply #10 asking why everyone on the Boxster racing board only talks about the US 030 suspension

Are you asking why it says "Main Menu"? If yes, then you have cycled through the display settings and you are at the on-board computer (OBC) option.

Just to echo what others said - I took my car (2001) in to the dealer yesterday for the 60K mile service. I specifically asked my service advisor to check the motor mount. He said by 60K miles the rubber is usually broken down and the mount needs to be replaced. Less than an hour later I get a call from the service writer and mechanic telling me the front motor mount needs to be replaced. I don't get the typical 3000 RPM vibration and my transmission is easy to shift in all gears, even with a short shifter installed. If you are having a clunk between shifts it's pretty certain your mount is worn. When I picked up my car I talked to the mechanic and he showed me what a worn out mount looks like (I told them I would try to change it myself). Lots of rubber left in the worn out one, but it was still problematic. The latest version of the mount is a 987 part and supposed to be much better than the early ones If you look on the Porsche hosted web site for your dealer, they have a parts special now through July 31, 2009 for 20% off on parts, where the dealer gets reimbursed by Porsche for the difference. My local dealer actually worked out to be a a few dollars less expensive than Sunset on this part (I was shocked), so ended up ordering from them (it always helps to support your local dealer). The writeups I've seen also recommend replacing two $3 clips that become brittle and crack with age when you do the motor mount. Motor mount part number is 987 375 023 04 and clips (2 needed) are 996 106 425 02. Go to http://www.porschedealer.com/dealer/usLocator/ and select your dealer, then click on View Special Offers under Parts and it should be one of the first links. See http://rusnak-westlake.porschedealer.com/S...588/special.php for the Porsche parts discount coupon from my local dealer (doesn't appear to be dealer specific) Other posts that look helpful include: http://www.ppbb.com/boards/ppbbphp/showfla...rue#Post1106222 http://www.ppbb.com/boards/ppbbphp/showfla...rt=all&vc=1 http://www.ppbb.com/boards/ppbbphp/showfla...rue#Post1150934

He IS alive! Is this why the light on the dash is always on when the smog check is done, but goes out right away after I start driving? I think the last 2 times I got my car smogged, I had a check engine light for the first minute or so, but it went out within a minute of driving out of the smog shop. The guy said the few Porsches they do all have the check engine light on I always thought the $8.25 was just a certificate fee for electronically transmitting the pass/fail to Sacramento. I've never paid the $2 charge, and I had to smog 2 cars in the past few months. Maybe the place you take your car is too high class and thinks they can rip everyone off for the extra. Or the cheap place I go for a smog loses enough on every car they don't want to take more time to ring up the $2.

Sounds like out of balance front tires. I had the same thing when I bought my car. The tire shop rebalanced my front tires when the original rears wore out, and the steering wheel vibration/shimmy went away (they checked the tires before balancing and said they were off). The balance weights just stick on to the inside of the rim, and can come off just from washing the wheels (like everything else, they keep making these things cheaper and cheaper). The place I buy my tires offers lifetime free rebalancing, among other things, and I've found every 10K miles at least one tire needs to have some balance weight adjustments. Just from the way the tires wear will cause changes in tire balancing

I realize you asked about the earlier models, but I have an '08 Cayenne S, bought new last year. 2008 was the first model year with the larger V8 engine (4.8L) and direct fuel injection. Easy to get 16+ around town, and I've had some tanks of gas where I got 21 MPG on the highway, never dropping below the posted limit. In general, average around 18-19 MPG in typical driving, including lots of canyon driving. I know the earlier models get much worse mileage, based on a friend's comments (she has one of the really early ones), but still much better than her husband's 7-series BMW The car has been as reliable as our '05 Carrera. I read lots of horror stories about the earlier Cayennes (think of the first few years alpha and beta test versions). Parts appear to be less expensive on average than for a Carrera, based on the cost to replace a cracked windshield, but it's all relative and will still be expensive. The Cayenne drives great!

Porsche sent my new '08 Cayenne to Premier Coach to have a factory paint blem on the fender taken care of under warranty. Impossible to tell it's not factory original. 3053 Los Feliz Drive, Thousand Oaks. (805) 373-7366. They are expensive I've also been very pleased with Auto Collision Center, 299 E Thousand Oaks Blvd, Thousand Oaks. (805) 374-9445 You didn't say where in LA you are located, so these may be too far out of the way

If anybody can come up with the right parts, Gert can. See http://www.carnewal-europe.com/cpx_p55054.htm I'm sure it won't be inexpensive!

I bought a pair of the Esco jack stands on eBay after reading good reviews about them (they are Chinese knockoffs of the AC Hydraulic stands which are supposed to be fantastic). They have a flat base and I think they go right behind the front jack point. Haven't tried them out yet. I don't think you want a hydraulic stand, as it could lose pressure when you are under the car, which would be really bad :o See http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/smart/...ound%20capacity for details. Warning - they are not cheap! I bought the Imagineering Web Floor jack adapter on eBay and have been extremely pleased with it. I reviewed it here

I talked to my dealer service writer today about getting my '01 Boxster in soon for the 60K mile service (bringing in a different car tomorrow). He tried to talk me out of spending $ on flushing the coolant ("it's lifetime coolant, not needed") and said the transmission oil didn't need to be changed until 90K per Porsche. He's happy to do additional work before recommended by Porsche, but said he isn't pushing anything additional and suggested I save my money. When do you ever hear a dealer service writer tell you that?! I will probably have the lifetime coolant and transmission oil changed at the 60K mile service if the cost isn't too outrageous What do the 997 coils fix?

Not sure about the 996, but had a similar problem on my '05 997. Right before the car went out of warranty earlier this year, the dealer replaced the passenger mirror control unit and it has been working fine ever since (after they tried "resetting the computer" several times). You might want to look in the PET for what the part is and see if anything much changed in that area between the 996 and 997, and if no changes, start there.

A lot of 928s cost more to maintain than the car is worth in terms of resale, but people love their cars. A great read is "The Gold-Plated Porsche: How I Sank a Small Fortune into a Used Car, and Other Misadventures" by Stephan Wilkinson. You can buy it from the renntech Amazon store