Chuck Jones

Fastboy wrote.... therefore a gallon (UK) is £1.10 x 4.54 = £4.99 (approx $10). I'm going to quit bitching about the cost of gas in California. My sincere condolences sir. Out of curiosity, today I filled up and went to visit a friend 120 miles away. I set the cruise control so that I maintained a steady speed at around 2900 rpm in 6th. The terrain was freeway from sea level up to about 1800 feet and thru several small towns...and managed to get 21.2 mpg....which is the best I've ever gotten....but it took all my self control to keep from tromping on the accelerator when goaded on by some folks...so you can get fairly decent mileage if you stay out of the boost....but that ain't no fun.....most boring trip I've ever taken. As a quick add-on for today...which is Feb 1st....I decided to very judiciously be a tenderfoot for an entire tank of gas. Most of the driving was on freeways with the cruise control set to 2600-2800 rpm. This rpm range seems to get the best mileage. I did about 20% of the driving on city streets, but came off of stoplights by shifting very slowly and gradually bringing the car up to cruising speed. I was really surprised to get approximately 310 miles out of a tank of gas. Up to this point, I was getting from 175-210 miles out of a tank. By driving "judiciously" I increased my travel range by a good 25%....so these cars can get some fairly decent mileage if you stay off the accelerator....but now that the test is over....time go go back to getting 200 miles out of a tank. :) I was amazed when I'd set the onboard computer readout to "Miles left before refill" and watch the LCD readout. I had 39 miles left according to the indiator...I left my house to go downtown and the readout showed 39 miles before fillup was needed. As I drove on the freeway, the calculator increased the miles left from 39 all the way up to 48....in other words I was increasing remaining mileage on the fly. Idrove a total of almost 34 miles and when I got home the indicator still had 29 miles left on it. I had no idea I could get this sort of mileage and never tried this before....probably won't try it again until gas hits $4 a gallon. Don't shoot at over how these cars aren't meant to be driven that way....this was just a test under real conditions to see what was possible through restraint.

Fastboy: You folks are buying by the litre, so it is a slightly larger volume than the gallon, but that still exceeds our prices by quite a bit. Also, we're getting 91 ROM here, and you folks...even with your "cheap stuff" are up to 95. I wish we had some place around here that routinely sold 95. There are only a very few stations that sell the higher octanes. Otherwise you have to buy racing gas....or I'll buy Toluene by the 5 gallon can and mix it in with the 91 for my 87 930S. You mentioned you are getting 18-20 mpg.....but wouldnt' that also be metric in KPG? Therefore a bit less in the MPG conversion? I'd be on the seventh step of Nirvana if I could routinely get 20mpg out of it during spirited driving. But as so many will say....you didn't buy ia 996TT to whine about gas consumption.

Steve D: I've had mine 3 months, and the honeymoon just keeps going. I don't think it'll stop....well maybe when gas hits $5.00 a gallon. Gotta' pitty those Britts for the cost of their gas...

Good God....I can't imagine the time and money that went into that audio abortion.

fdss is right........the problem is directly tied to your right foot....I can get 22 mpg and eek out a 23.6 if I set the cruise control and let it drive itself on the freeway....but invariably I set the onboard computer LCD output to boost and see if I can nail 1.0. That results in a meager 13.5 mph most of the time. I routinely only get 200 miles out of a tank of gas.

I can't imagine putting something that obnoxiously large into the back of a Porsche. Buy a chevy van and put a boom box in it so you can rattle the windows of the car next to you.

I found out today thru a CEL code that I was "exceeding boost threshold" that turned out to be a leaking spring-clamp on the lower hose that the Diverter Valve goes into....I would imagine that I was sucking air and that was the reason I saw a drop off in boost after I installed the DV's. That event taught me to get rid of those dogone stock spring hose clamps and replace them with the stainles steel screw type.

Greenboxter: Congrats on two counts....one being the car, and the other having a wife who appreciates your desire for such a fine machine. Welcome aboard mate. I agree with you...sort of about keeping it stock....but there are mods that serve to "liberate existing horsepower" rather than artifically add....things like a good exhaust system will liberate HP by reducing back pressure....Diverter valves help on boost etc. So even though you may not be amenable to performance enhancing thru chipping or flashing....you might consider some of the "liberating" methodologies. For me...the Europipe exhaust system was a wonderful change....not only with performance but also with the most sophisticated sound. Just my take on some of the modding issues.

I realize that you can find some deals on eBay...but I'd NEVER buy a MAF off of an eBay seller....there are just too many times that guys will take the mods off their cars and sell off the parts....and since a MAF is so critical to the engine running right...I'd only buy it new from a bonafide distributor. Don't get me wrong...I buy a lot of Porsche things off eBay, especially for my 930...just not the MAF.

skandalis: I was just kidding about the horsepower....it's a common thing for folks to claim that doing some mod to their car resulted in increased horsepower....so it's just a tongue in cheek thing being fascetious. With regard to the boost....both Loren and I saw a 1.1bar readout in boost when we took the car for a drive. How that happened I dont' know. It could be a boost sensor that's reporting erroneous information. I do know that since I've switched to the EVO Diverter Valves, I havne't seen the 1.1bar any more, but am seeing the .9 and periodic 1.0 that other folks with the X50 have reported , and that seems to be the stock readout.

Loren: First of all, thank you for sending me the How-To on replacing the Diverter Valves. I went to a set of EVO DV's and replaced the stock ones. You mentioned how we saw 1.1 and 1.2 during the test drive after putting in the struts....Well since I've replaced the DV's with the EVOs, I have yet to hit 1.1 again. I can consistently hit .9 and 1.0, but not 1.1. I find that curious because DV's really have nothing to do with the turbos ability to produce the boost. The EVO DVs came with the screw type hose clamps, and I replaced all the factory spring clamps with screw types...so I know I dont' have any vacuum leaks. Like I said....I find it curious. chuck

You don't give much info regarding what your preference is for how loud, whether you plan to mod the car etc. There are a number of good manufacturers out there and you'll get a lot of different suggestions...I see a couple already. You said "best bang for the buck"....so by that I take it you're looking for the most reasonably priced system for the money?? Exhaust systems are so difficult to recommend because what I like in terms of type of sound and the performance mods I have aren't what you might be planning for your car. What you're going to get here are some personal preferences based upon very little input from you. Try a search and you'll see what I mean about all the different suggestions and recommendations. The best approach is to find cars that have the system you are thinking about and listen to them. You can end up paying anything from around $900 all the way up to $6000.....Oh yeah....I am running Europipe...but it's not cheap so is probably not the best bang for the buck.

Welcome aboard...you and I have exactly the same car....midnight blue 02 X50, although from your description you have the 996TT? There are a lot of things you can do to and with this car....but there are a lot of things that unnecessarily deplete your VISA card with little or no return. Please feel free to email me at fishoncj@aol.com. I will be happy to provide you with the names and locations of the premier Porsche independent mechanics.....there is only one dealership and that is Niello Porsche in Rocklin...somewhat close to you I imagine. As Loren told you, there are a lot of things you can do on your own without having to incur major debts from the dealerships. There are about 4 main independent Porsche shops in the Sacramento area. Loren sponsors periodic Work on Cars Days in the Sacramento area. He just had one at his house last month. I'd like to get together with you and take a look at your new acquisition. Where did you pick it up? I live in Elk Grove which is about 35 miles from Rocklin. I think you'll enjoy this forum and if you haven't already paid to join, I would encourage you do do so. It gives you access to the Do-it-Yourself databases as well as a lot of additional info. I'm sure you're going to enjoy owning this car. Chuck

Although I only have 23K miles on the car, on a recent trip I noticed a very fine grade light oil on the pavement. Racked up the car and saw the driver's rear strut was leaking. I called Loren and he offered to help me put it in....but told me that if you change out one strut, you should change the other so that they're both equal. Last weekend, I drove over to Loren's and we..(actually he did most of the work; so I'm using the term "we" rather loosely) replaced both rear struts. Once we got thru the first one the second was a lot easier...and I'm happy to report that the new struts added close to another 45 HP .... :) A Big thanx to Loren....the local dealership gave me a quote of $1500 to do it, and by buying the struts from Sunset @ $237 each, I saved a bunch.

that should be fine. I'm not too sure how accurate the oil pressure senders/gauges are anyway. The main thing is that it holds good pressure when cold, then comes down to around 1.5 when warmed up and idling.

I just received the front splitter from FVD and it's perfect. It's made out of a rubber like material that seems a bit more forgiving than the previous plastic one I had. It fits perfectly and since it's black, it phases in with the dark blue nicely. It also seems a tad bit higher and is not as prone to scraping when I back out of the driveway onto the street. Thanks for the referral WROSS......truly appreciate it.

Not quite sure what you're after....there are a number of manufacturers of wings...Gambella, FVD, Porsche OEM, Sportec etc. If you are just looking for a rear wing to add a little flavor to your car, you might want to do some research into spoilers. To put one on the rear without addressing the downforce in the front can be a problem in that you'll run light in the front. Take a look at some of the pictures in the forums of the 996 TT's....you'll see the rear wings and the front air dams. I just ordered a front FVD spoiler because the Porsche factory one was broken going through a dip. FVD wants $350 for theirs thats made out of black plastic....Porsche wants $750 and then I have to have it painted. Rear spoilers typically run in the $1200 to $1800 range. My setup is Porsche factory installed as an option at the time it was ordered from the factory. They come in a number of configurations and it becomes a matter of personal taste as to a design that meets your fancy. My best suggestion is for you to do some searches in Rennlist on the 996TT forum as well as the GT2....a lot of them use the front and rear spoilers. Also a Google search for Porsche spoilers will bring you a lot of material to look at.

T2: It always warms the cockles of my heart to read posts from folks such as yourself who have mega-mileage on their cars and are still going strong. I think that Porsche owners tend to be a bit paranoid when it comes to fear of parts failing. Your list of what you've done over the years isn't really that large...and they are parts that I've read are prone to failure. I just had a rear strut fail with only 23K on the car....did you end up going to an aftermarket replacement, or did you stay with stock? I've just bought the Porsche replacement struts and am planning to replace both rears...but would be interested to hear if you stayed with original equipment. Congratulations on the mileage milestones.....an obvious tribute to the way you take care of your car as well as a tribute to German engineering. Chuck

WRoss: That's the one I've been looking for and I just fired off an email to FVD...outlet is in Florida. Since they're only around $350, I can just replace it every so often when it gets looking a little beat up. There's just no way to keep it from getting scuffed if you use your car as a daily driver....so the FVD is the most economically feasible way to go. Thanx for the referral. I had a friend rack up his car and we checked his front spoiler and it had a Porsche number on it but Loren couldn't find any PET reference to the product....so FVD is the solution. For those who might have an older PET list or some other resource for access to Porsche parts....the number I took off the front rubber lip that was on my friend's car was..... 996 505 555-00. It had a Porsche/Germany name stamped on it too.....but like I said....Loren looked in his files and couldn't find a reference to a front lip with that number on it. Chuck

Phillip: That's the best price I've seen on a replacement splitter so far. Most of the prices are up in the $700-900 range. One fellow sel ls the replacment in carbon fibre....but it's outsourced to asia and I'm not sure about the quality....but for $800 I wouldn't have to spend the money to paint it... Right now, I'm just running without it because as low as it sits, it's just a question of time before I whack it again. From what I'm hearing, you can run without it, but the car gets unstable at higher speeds without the front splitter to compliment the rear spoiler.

Sorry guys...I thought the pictures were being rejected...but they all were posted...so you've got a bunch of the same dogone picture....I guess you'll get the idea now. That's what happens when you're cyber-challenged. chuck

Hey ChucK-can we see a picture of those wheels-price sounds great I dont' know if the picture of the wheels will come across...but here's a try... Chuck

Unless you intend to track it, the complete set costs in the vicinity of $10K....the ongoing maintenance in the event you have to replace anything is astronomical. If this is going to be a daily driver or just something you use for spirited driving, I think you should stick with the reds....they're well made and time tested as very reliable....and if you need a new rotor it won't deplete your VISA card. Go for the stock reds. The X50 gives you about another 45 hp as well as the larger turbos and intercooler. I'd say go for an X50, but skip the PCCB's.

You got me curious, so I just went out and turned on the lights in my 02TT and the numerals came on in yellow. I have the white faced gauges. I realize this doesn't help you much....but it is curious that your option specifically indicates yellow, white, blue.....which to me means that it could be either of those according to either the order from the customer or whatever Porsche decided to put on the car. It would appear that it would boil down to the color of the light bulbs that illuminated the dials.

Some guys will soak the bolts with PB blaster for days before they attack the bolts. Your worst nightmare is hearing that "snap" as you shear off a stud. I think Nathan from the UK uses a nut splitter and just splits off the nuts rather than go thru all the trouble of heating, pounding, and PB soaking. Since you're going to be using new nuts anyway, I think the idea of using the splitter makes a hell of a lot of sense....provided you can get a splitter in there. He's posted a couple threads on the subject...you might try a search....I went out and bought a set of splitters, but havn't had to use them kuz the bolts came right off without much fuss.