Chuck Jones

Why would you want it to come on at temps below the activation thresholds? The engine is designed to run at specific temperatures.....is there a reason you'd want it to run below those thresholds?

I have a 99 996 and just ordered all the parts needed for a 30K service...looks like cabin filter and other necessary parts. I'd like to do the 30K service minus any oil change....already did that 1K ago. Chuck

You may have the "security" style that has a hole in the middle of torx....hence the TS designation. You just want the plain T20 that you can pick up cheap at any Harbor Freight with the whole set.

I left out the part about unzipping the back window. You want to let the top go partially back and down to relieve the pressure on the zipper....that makes it a lot easier to zip/unzip. As you drop the top, you'll see the position that makes this easiest. Also, help the top to fold properly between the top bows as it goes down....this keeps the canvas in the right configuration and minimizes stress on the folds. Glad it worked out for you. As Richard suggested....did you get an owner's manual with the ? If not, there are a few folks who sell them.

Ssame for me...under the dash on the driver's side (U.S car driver's side) is a rocker switch. You have to turn your ignition key to "on" without starting the engine, then depress the rocker switch and you should see a light on the dash between the tach and the speedometer....it should light up showing that the lock is unlatched.....then the top goes back under it's own power. The light has an image of a car with a top....at least my 87 does. Remember to first unzip your top in back and lay the plastic window flat. I put a towel over it to prevent it from getting scratched when the top comes down. Once the top is all the way down, the light n the dash should go out when it's all the way back. Then put on your boot cover to keep things from flapping around and you should be good to go. Hope this helps. Chuck

Loren and I got together and installed the Griot's "Italian Air Horns" which have a db rating of about 130. I did the install much like ToolPants using the third radiator brackets....Loren has a third radiator so his install was slightly different. These horns have built in compressors and relays and wire right in to the existing wiring. The neat thing is that they're so compact, self-contained, loud, and only cost $39.95. Go to the www.griots website and put in Italian Air Horns in the search block....take a look, I think you'll like what you see. I have them in both the 996 and the 930 and really like them.

OK guys....we've cleared one of the first hurdles. I met today with David Borden at his house up Hwy 50 above El Dorado Hills. He has a great setup that could accomodate about 6-8 cars in a circular driveway in addition to a very nice formal workshop with a drive-on lift. David has graciously offered the use of his driveway and workshop for a Do-it-Yourself day. What we need to to now is for me to get together with Loren (he's done this many times before) and get some guidelines set up, then develop a list of folks who would like to tackle some mechanical problem on their own with oversight and supervision present. Dave and Loren are both quite well versed in the How-To of the typical project a guy could do in a couple hours. In order to orient you folks on where this might take place.....Dave's house is about 42 miles up Hwy 50 from the intersection of Hwy 99 and Hwy 50; so using that major intersection, you should be able to figure out whether you'd want to make the drive or not. Remember....you may not want to actually do a project....you may want to just watch how a guy changes his brake pads....or replaces a coolant tank, or cleans a MAF....so there can be lookie-loos in additon to the DIY folks. After I have a chance to talk Loren and get a bit more insight into how this all comes together, we'll put out a sign up sheet that will allow you to tell us what sort of car you have and what DIY project you'd like to tackle. In deference to Dave's gracious offer to use his facilities....any oil changes, brake flushes etc would have to be done with appropriate take-away containers so that you don't leave oil for Dave to have to get rid of. We may make arrangements with the local Kragen or other auto store to drop off bulk disposables...something to discuss. If you folks still have an interest, please respond and give Loren and me an idea of who is interested. Hopefully this can develop into a more regularly scheduled sort of get-together at different locations. It certainly has the earmarks of a fun sort of day for a bunch of guys who like to do their own work...or learn to do it. Regards, Chuck

I bought mine off an eBay add....but it was from a broker who really just uses eBay as a method of reaching a lot of potential buyers. You'll find that quite a few of the brokers/dealers do this. If you track the auctions, you'll see a lot of times that the cars don't reach their reserve....but like in my case, I followed up with the broker and entered into a series of back and forth emails and phone calls. I ended up with an 18K mile 99 996 in the color I loved....with a few problems (advertised as "mint" but 2 wheels had slight rash...two bad coils) that the broker took care of very professionally. He paid for the shipping and repairs on this end without hesitation, and ended up forking out about $2500 for doo-dads that needed fixing to my satisfaction. Before he shipped it (part of the negotiations) he also changed out ALL the fluids...brake fluid, coolant, transmission....and put in new plugs as part of the deal and sent me the invoice from the Porsche dealership as proof of work done. My best advice is to check with the guys here and on Rennlist before you go into final negotiations with any particular dealer. There is a lot of good advice and personal knowledge here. Use it to your advantage. You can find some good deals, but you need to exercise caution and good common sense. Don't get emotional about ANY car you see a picture of....pictures are decieving, usually focus on bling.... and don't give an inkling of what's under the hood. In spite of all the advice you'll get....most of the guys (me included) end up getting a bit emotional about that special car we've been looking all over for. BTW.....PPI are a MUST!!!

Geez I hate seeing these sorts of posts. My sympathies always go out to the guys who I see posting these tragic stories. I am totally enthralled with my car....but I drive it with that dogone nagging thought of the "coffee can full of bolts" scenario rumbling through the recesses of my mind. The funny thing is I have a Dodge 1 ton dually that's turbo charged. Bought it used for $18K....I beat the crap out of it. It has over 110K miles on it...pull a 14,000# fifth wheel and never give even the most minute thought to the fact it might ever fail. Then I get in my $40K Porsche and get that nagging feeling. What's wrong with this picture?

Kimike: There are many of us on this forum who have save literally thousands of dollars by virtue of the suggestions, know-how, and input from other members or Loren. Other than maybe periodically providing some input to someone on a problem, the best way I've found to return the favor is thru a small contribution to RennTech to help keep this forum running. A contribution will also give you access to areas that you can't get to otherwise. Although it's not a requirement, I think that it's an excellent value for the money, and certainly supports a worthy cause. chuck

It turns out that it's that little white plastic insert in there that acts like a hinge for the metal flap. When folks put the racks on there, it can break the hings protion of that white plastic insert and make it so that the metal flap doesn't seat properly. I guess you can follow the directions Loren posted, take out the white insert, and replace it with a new one that allows the flap to lie flush. Is there a part numbe for that white doo-dad??

When I replaced my coolant tank, at the suggestion of another RennTech'er I bought an extra sensor just in case I broke mine taking out the coolant tank. It comes out as a unit that's totally separate from the tank....and it fits into a 3 inch deep receptacle that's sealed off from the tank. There's no direct liquid contact with that sensor, so it can't leak unless the tank is cracked. If anyone needs a new sensor, I have a brand new one still sealed in the plastic wrapper.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again....I'm always so pleased to read/hear about these cars going strong with high mileage under their belts. It's so disconcerting to keep hearing about the downsides....One must consider that there are however many thousand 996's with the the 3.4Litre engines out there and the majority are still running strong. Sure there are issues, but the majority are still breathing strong. My hearty congratulations to all you 100 +K car owners out there. Great to hear it, and look forward to future reports of high mileage and going strong.

David: That's a wonderful offer you've made. As Loren said, we've been seriously talking about trying to get some locations where we could have Porsche afficianados get together for a DIY day....focusing upon those projects that can reasonably be done within the timeframes of a day. We would have folks like Loren and others who know the cars and know the methodology for doing the mods....floating around helping the guys do the whatever-it-is they want to do. You have another avid Porsche fan living up in El Dorado with you....his Rennlist ID is Mtfletch....he's a deputy sheriff currently off on IOD....but an avid do-it-yourselfer. He actually took a burned out 99 996 and rebuilt the burned out motor and currently drives it. It's the Vesuvio 996 you might see around El Dorado Hills. As I said, your offer comes at an absolute ideal time since Loren and I have been kicking this issue around....but the real problem is finding a location that's suited for the projects. I'd like to get together with you over lunch or coffee and discuss this further. You can contact me directly via my email address at fishoncj@aol.com and we can arrange a meet and confer. I'm sure Loren would have all sorts of great ideas since he's done this sort of thing before in the bay area. Regards, Chuck

Ok...now I see where you're coming from. It would take less time to take it off than put it on...but then again, when you take it off, does the PO have all the original parts to take the vehicle back to original status? There is still goign to be quite a bit of time involved in retro'ing the car back to stock. Again, since I have no personal knowledge of the time involved, I would do a google search on SharkWerks and ask Alex for a quote. James does most of the install/removal work at SharkWerks and he is a walking encyclopaedia for the How-To....but this isnt going to be cheap. You do have the option of recouping some of your money by selling off the supercharger after it's removed. What brand is it? If you do manage to get it retro'd and back to stock, you should have no problem getting it registerd or insured. I hope you're getting a really good deal on this car, because this seems like an awfully lot of trouble to be going through when you could just buy one without a SC on it and be done with it. Out of curiosity...is this car red?

I take it you dont' plan on doing any of this yourself? If you want to put a supercharger on there, you'd better plan on leaving it there. IIRC it takes DAYS to install one...not just hours. This isn't like putting on a cat converter or a factory muffler in order to pass smog....you are talking many...many hours. At between $100 and $145 an hour for labor......get the picture? Dont' get me wrong....I'm not bad-mouthing a supercharger. I came very close to putting one in myself...even had it lined up to do the install.....it's just the hassle of the dogone California smog regs that stopped me. I've talked to a lot of guy who have them and they're all sold on them....but the prevailing attitude seems to be....save your money and put it towards a twin turbo. That's what I'm doing now.

Loren??? Can you address that question about replacing the clips or whatever it is that keeps that little metal flap shut tight? I guess if anyone puts a roof rack on....it affects the ability of that little metal piece to lie flat....it looks unsightly and detracts from the overall look of the roofline. Chuck

That's a rather open-ended question....what are you looking for...how loud...do you want custom tips? Is there a particular sound you want? There are lots of "exhausts" out there, but you need to tell the folks what specifically you're looking for. If you want cheap or "best price" you can buy the stuff coming from China and just go to eBay and take a look. There are some dealers who run specials...but again..what are you looking for?

Look at the list of folks who were able to get their radios working again just by asking Loren.....he helped me too...when I was on the road. I think that alone is worth the small pittance of being a paid member to this forum....don't you????

Insurance may not be your only problem...If you're in California....you cant legally get a supercharged Porsche to pass smog. There are ways to get it through...but I won't go into that. I know that some insurance companies will ask you if the car is stock or not....or if it's turbo or supercharged....but that's generallly not a reason to deny you...only a reason to put you in a higher risk and premium category. Don't fudge with them....kuz if you were ever unfortunate enough to hve an accident and they found out you were running a modified car...you may be in for a denial of claim. Remember...an insurance company is out to save as much as they can if there's an accident and subsequent claim...and if there's a reason for denial, that can save them a whole bunch of money. They never deny for malicious reasons....just "technical" issues.

I guess the PO must have had some sort of rack on there becasue I can't get the little metal flaps to lie flush. Do I use this same instruction to get them to lie flush...or do I hve to change out that white plastic insert that's inside the recess?

What I'm seeing between my car and my friend's car...both 99 c2...is that his transmission seems to be consistently faster...no missed shift...it shifts exactly when it's supposed to etc. Although I still have a manual tranny mindset....I am seeing that the tips do seem to maximize on the technological improvements that make them so consistent....and faster. Now I'm sure that a GT3 or cup car guy is going to jump all over me....but for the non-pros (myself included)....I'd almost swear that the tips are faster. I have never been able to match his 0-60 4.7sec times.

Wait a minute....before you go getting too anxious here...if you're just seeing the level go down with no oil in the water or water in the oil...you could be just seeing the system burping itself. I had a similar thing going and Loren told me to just keep adding a bit of distilled water at a time whenever I'd check it. I checked it several times over the period of a few days...would find the level down a bit....add distilled water....check again later...add a bit more. Eventually, it worked itself out and now it's at a constant level. As long as you don't see goop on your dipstick, or gunk floating on top of your coolant...you should be ok. Another thing you have to remember is that when you take off your cap to check your coolant level...make sure you seat the cap properly....coolant can leak out through a loose cap. Hopefully this will turn out to be nothing more than the cooling system settling down.

Coolant smells sweet (and tastes terrible). Is that how you test stuff in your driveway Loren? What about things you find on your lawn? :)

I have two Porsches and a big truck...all are standard transmissions. I'm getting older and finding that the clutch knee isn't what it used to be....and the prospect of a tiptronic is becoming much more attractive. I have a friend who has a 99 c2 tip...and his 0-60 times are better than I can do....consistently. I guess it's just the mindset of having a Porsche without a manual transmission that's the sticking point....but the tip with the paddle shifters on the steering wheel is sure easier on the bad knees!.