mdragon

See what I mean about the intelligence and experience from the people on RennTech! You couldn't be in better hands. I'm just saying...

Hello ksteak, Don't mean to overly pessimistic about the upcoming costs, but these are not inexpensive little cars to maintain. The most important thing to maintain is that same excitement you felt when you bought it and first drove it. Once you start to understand the car a little better and put a little work into it, the rewards are definitely great. Make a list, pick your battles and take the time necessary to fix it right. From what I've seen and experienced, going OE is always best. And, if you are doing the work yourself, you will need to invest in a Durametric. If you don't DIY, expect labor costs of $150 - $200/hour, depending on where you live. One more thought, stay away from Porsche dealers (except for parts), if you can. Unless of course, you have a ton of money! Sorry I can't help you with p1341...research is your friend and the people on RennTech are awesome! The search engine on RennTech is also excellent and there is a ton of stuff out there (videos, photos, etc.). Best of luck to you and welcome to Porsche Ville! Julie

Hello all, I wanted to give you a readout on my Continental DWS Extreme Contact (ultra-high performance all season) tires. I installed the OE sizes for my car, which are 225/40/ZR18 for the fronts and 285/30/ZR18 for the rears. I have now been able to drive both in dry weather and in rainy weather and I am totally in love with these tires! I could have stars in my eyes because I also had new brakes, struts and coils installed and it is like driving a new car. However, the way these tires grip the road and corner is amazing. I didn't have a lot of options and I was very nervous about being sort of forced into buying the Continentals and to be honest, they are not that 'pretty', but I love the way they handle the road. The other great thing about the tires is they were not very expensive, only $808.00 for four tires with shipping costs. In the beautiful Pacific Northwest, we have weather and I wanted to be able to drive my car. I am not one that doesn't drive in the rain...if I were, I would have a garage full of Porsche's! One for every day of the week...one for sunny days, cloudy days, rainy days, one for really rainy days, one for long road trips, one for the track and one to just look at... Just thought I would share my experience... For all of you that are looking for a great tire...go Continental DWS Extreme Contact (ultra-high performance, all-season)! Take care to all of my Porsche friends out there! Spring is in the air and our tops are going to be coming off...yeehah! Julie

Wikipedia says: Width C4S = 72.0" vs C4 = 69.7" (2002-2002), Height C4S = 51.0" vs C4 51.4", Length C4S = 174.6" vs C4 = 174.5", Speed C4S = 5.0s & 174mph vs C4 = 4.9s & 178mph, Curb Weight = 2,904 lb. same for both. Were there different exterior/interior colors/packages available? Were there less C4S' produced, making them more valuable? Anything else? I didn't see the individual specs for the C4 and C4s. Just curious...

What is the difference between the 2003 996 C4S and the 2003 996 C4, regardless of the options? Thanks! Julie

I have a 2003 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet and I just bought 4 Continental DWS Extreme Contact (ultra-high performance all season) tires. I was able to get 225/40/ZR18 for the fronts and 285/30/ZR18 for the rears. For MY 2003, I believe 285/30/ZR18 are the OE size, I have the 'alternative' wheel/tire package. I got them through Tire Rack for a screamingly low price and I have read nothing but great reviews. After I break them in, I'll give you all a readout. I am pretty excited because I am also replacing my struts and coils in the rear and I just put new brakes on the front. I should be ready for a great summer of driving in my little 'go fast'! From what I have read here on RennTech, you want to stay with OE, if you want to maintain optimal performance from your PSM... The difference between 30's and 35's is .42" and apparently it makes a difference. Please let me know if you agree/disagree. I am going with what I know and I am thinking it is the best route. Cheers!

Nice color...I've always loved that midnight blue. Congratulations! jp

Welcome to RennTech! Here is an article about IMS Bearings. You can find this on the PCA - Northern New Jersey site. http://www.nnjr-pca.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=484:straight-talk-about-the-ims-bearing-in-the-m-96-and-m-97-engine-&catid=82:technical-articles&Itemid=72 Julie

Great post about the key fob, looks like you have helped a few with your info! :jump: Love this... Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car and Oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car. Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall, Torque is how far you take the wall with you.

You are coloring outside the box (ster) but, I think it looks pretty cool. People will wonder what type of Porsche it is. Never hurts to bend people's minds...

Hello, I did a little research and found a very comprehensive article on doing a PPI that was kind of interesting. It can be found on Pelican Parts, written by Paul Lighthill out of Palm Springs, CA. http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/911_prepurchase/911_prepurchase.htm It was originally published in Market Letter Porsche Automobiles in 2000. It contains a process for the PPI, a check list and information about different models and years. Might be worth a quick read. Julie

Fixed it...

Hello All, I just picked my car up from the shop and following is the shop's resolution for the 'ABS Failure' and 'PSM Off Go to the Workshop' situation on my 2003 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet. "Found fault for ABS pressure switch and stop light switch. Suspect intermittent signal from stop light switch is root cause of the ABS warning light." They replaced the stop light switch. Part No. KM 0.50. Price $21.27. Labor: 1 hour. After driving the car for several hours, there has been no reoccurrence of the lights coming back on. Here is a troubleshooting document that has diagrams of the 'stop light switch' for both the ABS 5.3 and ABS 5.3/TC systems: http://www.europeantransmissions.com/Bulletin/DTC.Porsh/lib_download.jsp_file=por_brakes_abs5.3diag.pdf Hope this helps someone else who experiences the same sort of issue. Special thanks to kbrandsma, White987 and ahsai for your help and guidance. I'm back on the road...yahoo! :offtopic: ​Incidentally, my idle is kind of rough and I've done just about everything possible for a tune up and the shop recommended I use Chevron Techron Fuel Ignition Cleaner. They said I should put a pint of this stuff in my fuel tank with a full tank of gas (16 gallons) and take the car out on the open road and open it up to about 6,000 rpms or more and they said it would hopefully clean out my injectors that may have gummed up from idling in traffic (stop and go, etc.)...what do you all think about this? They said I could put a bottle of the stuff in my car every week, if I wanted to. It sounds a bit flaky so I thought I'd ask the experts...you guys/gals. I bought a bottle of the stuff and tried it and I don't know yet if it has actually worked. I'll find out tomorrow when I start driving around again. I don't usually take my car to 6,000 rpms or even 5,000 rpms, it kind of hurt even doing it. And, finding a road to do it was kind of difficult. I stayed in 3rd gear 'cuz I didn't want to speed too much. I don't think it is incredibly wise to speed around recklessly in town or on the interstate, kind of stupid, really. I try to follow the laws most of the time.. Maybe that is why I keep blowing things up :drive: Thank you and I hope you all have a great night! Julie

I think I need a 2nd opinion...

Yes, you are correct, it does not have the ABS unit. Any other thoughts about what might be going wrong with my car given the information I have provided? Thank you for your help. Julie

I've actually tested in several times and there is nothing coming up. I have an Innova 3100 CanOBDA2. Is this an adequate diagnostic tool for my Porsche? I am going to check it out on the Internet right now to see for myself...

There are no codes on my diagnostic tool. Nothing...

I was taking a drive the other day and I was romping on it, going 60 - 90mph, I had to brake hard and suddenly, my 2003 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet started to throw two codes on the dash, "ABS Failure" and "PSM Off Go to your Workshop" and the ‘ABS’ and 'PSM' idiot lights came on. I turned the car off and all of the lights went off. I drove it again and every time I would brake, the lights would come on again and, if I turned the engine off, the lights would go off, again. So, I took the car out and didn’t hit the brakes the entire way home and the lights didn’t come on. I looked up the ABS and PSM Off codes on the Internet and there seem to be all sorts of reasons for these codes. I used my diagnostic tool and there are no additional codes. Any thoughts before I take my car into the shop? Thank you! Julie

Hello, I need to have my rear struts and coils replaced. I am not going to a dealer. There is an exceptional independent mechanic here in the Seattle area (TruLine) where I am going to have the work done. Before I take my Porsche in to have the struts and coils replaced, I would like some advice on name brand struts and coils that I should consider having installed. This car is a production car. It is my driver and I drive it approximately 40 miles/day on arterials and Interstates. What would be the best struts and coils (name brands and types...performance versus high-end, versus average, etc.) Can you help me to understand what I should look for? Thank you, Julie

Hi there, Not to be so totally naive, please tell me, what is a bilstein adjustable coilover suspension? No, I am not a geologist. I have a Computer Science degree from the University of Washington and I worked in Telecommunications in Network Engineering for about 20 years. I survived 9 mergers. Now there are only a few large competitors in the market, like AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon. I've worked for all three of them. If you knew my name, you could look me up and see that I was the co-chair on the Wireless sub-committee for Number Portability. I was part of the team that wrote the requirements. Loren set me up for Personal Messaging. I don't think we are supposed to talk about stuff like this on these forums. But, we can if we do it on the Personal Messaging. You should try and figure out how to get yourself on that list then we can talk about things other than pistons and suspensions. I think I got on the list because I donated money. I tried very hard to get onto RennTech because I am so interested in learning more about my Porsche. I want to be able to read the forums and ask questions so I can learn about my car. It's also fun to talk to people who have similar interests. Every day, I take the car out for a spin and I get a coffee. I take the top down and scream down the road. It is a feeling of freedom that I've never known. It's been fun talking with you today. I wish I had the money to fix up my car like you have fixed yours. I'd love to have those red brakes...mine are silver. How fast does your car go? How fast have you taken your car? I've taken my Porsche 150 mph and I've had it up to 125mph a couple of times while just driving on the Interstate, just down the road...I probably shouldn't say that so publicly...the car ran so smoothly, it was incredible. Keep in touch and I look forward to hearing from you again. Let me know about the bilstein adjustable coilover suspension and how fast your car goes... Julie

Hi Marc, Not much more to say about the paint other than I've always been interested in geology, so it was fun reading that the color of my car was named after a natural element that came from the earth. Look up Anthracite on the Internet and you will see what I mean. The color of the car is black, but it has this really cool gold metal flake in it that adds a depth of color that makes it sort of sparkle. I used to have a BMW 740iL that was painted Orinocco, which was a dark blue-green metallic. There is a river in Venezuela that is one of the longest rivers in South America (1,330 miles). I believe it flows into the Gulf of Paria, which is near the Parima mountains. There is an algae that grows where the river meets the Caribbean Sea and the car was painted the color of the algae. The interior had Italian leather with a beautiful blueish-green piping. It was a custom car from Germany and it was absolutely gorgeous. That car was a lot of fun. It had a governor on it so, it only went 157mph. But, the ride was amazing. Totally different from the Porsche. The Porsche is a kick in the ***. Especially the Cabriolet. So, having said all of that, what is the name of the paint on your car? Julie

Hello Marc from Iowa! And, hello to all of you Porsche enthusiasts! I'm not from Iowa, I'm from Seattle and I'm also new to RennTech. Marc, you have a beautiful car, I love the wheels! I love my car too, it is fabulous, it is the finest car I have ever driven and if you look at my profile, you will see that I have owned many nice cars. It is a 2003 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet painted Anthracite. Anthracite is a hard, compact variety of mineral coal that has a high luster that has the highest carbon content and the fewest impurities. It differs from ordinary bituminous coal by its greater hardness, its higher relative density of 1.3 - 1.4 and luster, which is often semi-metallic with a mildly brown reflection. The paint actually looks like it has gold metal flake, it is very beautiful and sets off a nicer look, in my opinion, than just black. It's a cool color. I have a question for anyone that might know the answer... When I bought my car, I watched all of my gauges religiously and my oil pressure gauge would always stay between 2 (idling) and 4 (revving the engine). It never hit 5 or went as low as 1.5. A couple of days ago, the oil pressure gauge pegged at 5 when I started her up and then it was very erratic while I was driving. I knew there was something wrong, so I did some research and it pointed to the oil sensor. I took it into my mechanic and they agreed and they flipped it out. Now, when I start the car (cold), the gauge goes straight to 5, but only for about 3 seconds then, it drops down to 1.5 to 2 at idle and up to 4 and sometimes 4.5 to 5 when the rpm's are at 4K. The gauge is now moving around a lot more. Before, it was just going from 2 to 4 and nothing more. I called my mechanic back and he thinks the sensor is working correctly now and is speculating the oil sensor was not working properly when I bought the car in February 2014. What do you all think? Is my oil sensor and oil gauge working correctly, do you all think there is still something wrong or do you need more information? Thank you for your help. Julie