Chuck Jones

Anytime I hear of folks getting a huge cloud of smoke after an oil fill, I think of overfill....just too coincidental of an occurrence. The oil burns off and the smoke goes away after a bit of driving or running the engine.

Sharkwerks is indeed a great place...Alex and James do a fantastic job and have a well earned and deserved reputation. They do not however develop their own product. They are affiliated with Todd at EVOMS and use a lot of the EVOMS products in their builds....the EVOMsit flash being one of them. That flash was developed as a proprietary EVOMS product rather than continue to use the GIAC flash....

I thought the reply was a bit snippy....but the bottom line is that most responses to forum questions are given in good faith and in an effort to help out. Alex at Sharkwerks uses the EVOMS flash...which I believe is called the EVOM-Sit flash. EVOMS previously used the GIAC product line, but now use their own proprietary EVOM flash poduct. My previous 996 was flashed by Alex using the GIAC software, but this time around I chose another tuner. There is a poll on either Rennlist or 6 Speed about who uses what flash....but the answers are driven by what folks currently have with little information on what drawbacks people ran into with any particular product line. There's a bit of reticence about naming names on these forums...and if you want to solicit specific answers regarding how good a product is....look at the signature blocks of the various forum members who have posted, and PM them offline....that way you'll get the real skinny on a product, person, or service. By "get the real skinny" I don't mean that what you're hearing is necessarily true or the way it actually happened...but folks will generally fill you in on the details of the particular product without putting the issue out to a national forum...

Bill: Glad to see you came over to RennTech to solicit some info from Loren. I saw your question posed on another forum...most all of his diagnosis comes from documentary sources from Porsche and the PIWIS or PST2 readouts. His information doesn't deal with "feels like" sorts of responses...but come from authoritative sources.....not shadetree replies.

When have you ever known the first mod to be the last? It's simply the first step in a list of future things the new owner decides he wants in order to to enhance the performance to a certain level.......What level? That's another issue.... You really need to give some thought to what your final objective is...and then work with a tuner to buy and install the parts and products that give you that performance. There is an order in which you should install mods...and Bill just gave you a suggestion. The exhaust system is an important step in allowing the flash to work to the maximum extent possible. Diverter Valves are suggested not because they add a lot of power, but because they're more reliable than the OEM plastic ones.

These are the horror stories that make you thankful you got one that only has a problem passing a gas station....Glad you're back on the road. I guess your CPO had a real workout. Turns out to be a quality control problem with a part.....That will be one for the Porsche unusual file.

First of all, an oil change is a very easy DIY and if you're a member here, you can find it by searching the DIY section. Secondly, 3000 is a bit on the early side for an oil change and quite frankly, a bit of a waste of good money, effort, and oil. Most fellows here do it every 5,000-7500 miles....and even Porsche suggests every 15,000 miles!! I dont' know of anyone who has stayed with the Porsche schedule. You have to figure that since the TT burns, eats, digests, or whatever you wnat to call it....about a quart ever 1000-1800 miles (not all of them, but most do), you have to figure that you're adding fresh oil to a pool of used oil thereby freshening it up a bit every so often. If you simply go by the color, you can usually tell...as long as it has that nice light brown coffee or caramel color, it's pretty good, but if the car is just sitting for long periods of time, some folks do an annual change. Also the fellows who track regularly will do frequent oil changes after a hard driven track session..... along with brake fluids. For use daily driver folks, longer periods are well within the Porsche schedule of required changes.

I tried them out on different cars when I first hit the Porsche scene....like so many, I was influenced by a lot of the hype from the Mod Squad, and spent unnecessary money on "stuff"....it takes a while to learn that a lot of what is posted is either trendy or smoke and mirrors.....so a guy learns as he goes along that some things just aren't worth the investment. On the Schnell, it was the only company I could find that offered a money back guarantee....the B and M was what everyone was touting at the time....and the 997 is what the consensus seems to swear by....including me now. It's not trendy or smoke....it's a proven item at this point. Or maybe I'm just indecisive??? You'll probably like that explanation best.

I was a bit over zealous on my initial report of a 30% throw reduction thru the installaton of the 997 shifter...the actual throw reduction is about 15%. My apologies for my cumulus nimbus report....ie...pulled the number out of the clouds. It actually does reduce the throw, but no where near the 30% I initially reported....BUT, it's still the best feeling and smoothest SSK I've had thus far and I've had the B and M, OEM, another Schnell aftemarket knock-off, and now the 997. I would feel confident in saying that for the Sunset Porsche price of $157, ifor the money.....t's one of the better mods on the market.

I have a cab and a coupe...and truthfully, other than a little more noise from wind rush, I don't get any rattles or noises. Cabs have their strong points if you like to drive with the wind in your hair....or thru a forest or along the coast looking unobstructed enjoying that "free" feeling. Cabs don't have the same level of security in that crooks can simply slash the canvas to get in....cabs also have more parts that can go wrong....hinges on canvas roof supports, steel cables that run in the slots, tears and frays to the canvas itself, rear window can have problems, shorter life of canvas over metal roofs, and wind noise even when the top is up. They are also only useful in good weather... If you want a go fast car that handles well at high speeds with minimal noise...get a coupe. If you like the wide open spaces get a cab.

Do you need a brand new clutster, or could someone like Silverstar or Oklahoma Foreign provide you with a cluster out of a car or parts of a car they might have in their inventory???? I've used a number of "recycled" parts in the interest of trying to save some $$$. Maybe this concept is unacceptable....but it has worked for me on a number of occasions. I usually buy the parts I need at 1/3 to 1/2 of the retail cost. Again....your mindset is key to this approach.

Loren: Would the progressively difficult effort required to shift into the gears be a likeage or a potential accumulator/slave issue? It seems that if it were a linkeage issue, it would have come on instantly rather than progressively.....almost like the pentosin level was being depleted.....dunno.....just trying to look at it logically.

You can change an air filter on your Porsche faster than you can change a diaper on your new baby....and with substantially less residual mess.

Richard: It looks like you're getting bitten by the MOD bug. The best and cheapest mods you can do for your engine performance, don't require the engine to be removed....although I'm a bit perplexed over an "electric water pump". I don't know what turbos you are running, and your personal profile doesn't indicate anything but 996 turbo....but if you have the K24 turbos, you can flash it, do a wastegate upgrade, replace the stock diverter valves with better billet ones (Bailey, EVO, Forge etc), and a better breathing exhaust system. Those items alone will add at least 100 HP and torque, and very noticeably transform the car into a very fast one. Ask Loren...he drove my car after I did the upgrades. The one thing that will more or less be mandatory is that if you choose to upgrade the performance...the added HP and torque will end up burning out your clutch....the stock OEM clutch just wont' hold the added power....so that would be something that could be done if the engine must come out for whatever you're having done. The other things you mentioned....cool air intake, plenum etc....are basically psychological add-ons that are more hype than horsepower.....not knocking the products, but if you are truly looking for performance....then the steps I outlined above are the ones to take. It's not going to be cheap, and the following figures are rounded off ballpark estimates. You can find better prices by shopping around, but you said the engine is coming out so you don't have a lot of time. ....a good flash will run $1300-2000 and you need to do some research to find the best one for your particular car, a good exhaust system (and I mean GOOD) $2500-5000, clutch upgrade $1800 for the GT2 kit designed to hold up to 600 hp plus labor to install (if the engine is out, it would be less labor kuz it's already out and is a simple task then), Diverter Valves....truly simple install if the engine is out ...like 5 minutes...$190....wastegate upgrade if you have the K24 turbos (X50 or Turbo S cars w/larger turbos) $500. Some of these tasks can be performed by you if you have any mechanical inclinations....but the road to performance is not cheap and is addictive. A flash doesn't need to be done at the dealership since they'll charge you to essentially plug a device into your ODB port and push a few buttons on the device...it over writes your computer map....about a 30 second to 1 minute process. Be wary of all the add-on snake oil claims. Also be aware that some of these mods will void your warranty if you have one. Happy hunting...and if you start down this path....it never seems to end or be enough....usually limited by fiscal barriers.

I'd rather classify it as "room for improvement".

Unfortunately, Ard is right. Porsche depends upon a major part of covering its salaries and operating costs with the service department. So many of the so called scheduled or even the mileage thresholds are designed to get you into the service departments for some really rediculous tasks.....take a look at the list of things to be covered......"examine belts, inspect fluid levels, etc etc etc. The major tasks at the 30, 60 and 90K mileage levels are the replacements of designated filters, oil, brake fluid, coolant, transmission fluid, spark plugs, and a dump of the DME looking for engine faults that occured during the period since the last dump...or perhaps the entire history. The rest of that impressive list is really the sort of thing covered by ...."inspect this...examine that....check this....etc". Most of these services carry a price tag of $1000-1500 or more....for tasks that a respectable independent mechanic could cover for substantially less. The problem becomes one of fear that Porsche wont' honor warranties if they're not performed at the high cost facilities. Well documented service by a respectable independent will satisfy the warranty requirements and keep it safe. It's the "mechanical mystique" that keeps the masses lined up at the Porsche service center paying $160 an hour for what are sometimes unnecessary or menial tasks.

Loren: One of these days, you're going to be wrong. :D

You've got a fair number of suggestions....you might also Google The Stable in the SF area as a potential spot....might be closer to you but you don't indicate where you actually live. The trouble with the SF area is that you're going to run into hourly rates of $120-160....the cost of doing business in an expensive city with a Porsche tax on top of it.

For you folks in California...there's a Mobil distributor in Lodi Calif. (Google Vine and Sons) who carries the Mobil Delvac 75W-90 gear oil that is referenced in this discussion thread. It's a LOT cheaper than what Lufkin charges at around $42 a gallon (which I paid before I found Vine and Solns).....I think here it's about $26 a gallon and because you need about 4.2 litres, you have to buy two gallons. If there's someone in the Sacramento or surrounding area who needs a little extra for the front differential (AWD) I would be willing to give you what you might need so that you don't have to buy two gallons. I won't have to change mine again in my lifetime.

Dan: from your picture...are you introducing the pressure to the container thru an air needle like you'd use to fill a football? Doesn't it come out when you start pressurizing the container? I can't really see what you're using to pressurize the container....but the tube thru the lid on the top would go to the bottom of the container to pick up the oil. You simply come off the trigger to stop the air pressure when it starts to flow out the fill hole. Since I just turned 68 and have a bit of trouble crawling under the car on jackstands....I've invented a $20 bill that I give my indy to use his lift to change it out for me if I supply the Delvac.

My sincere condolences for what must be an exasperating and ongoing problem for you. With all the time and fiddeling around they've done all to no avail, it really sounds like they need to tear into that engine....did you say that the warranty was only good till 1/09?

Most of us buy our cars and really enjoy driving them with minimal problems....but every once in a while a story like this pops up and you really feel sorry for the fellow who seems to have everything go wrong and no one can seem to come up with a solution. The solution is a new engine, but they'll balk at that one....but c'mon, after a number of weeks or over a month and the problem still persists? It's really too bad you've bought a nice car and have had nothing but trouble....

By "BOV"....are you referring to the diverter valves? If they're bad, you usually get a honking noise and can focus in on them pretty easily. The lack of ummph is usually a leak....did you mess with any of the hose connections to your intercoolers or throttle body? If it's the MAF, you usually get a check engine light, or the famous PSE/ABS warning lights....mostly after a hard run.

As WROSS said....if you're just after a stock clutch and flywheel, then Sunset Porsche in Oregon probably has the best price. I take it you're running stock with no flash or upgrades? If that's the case, OEM should suit you just fine. If you're running with any sort of flash or performance upgrades, then you're just putting off the inevitable and will be looking for another clutch shortly. Sunset does not carry anything other than OEM Porsche parts.

".........not rocket science here... " I appreciate a man of few words. :)