shmark

...on the different lists? I've always spent my time on the early 911, 914, 928 and racing forums, never much on the newer cars. Well I have a friend who just bought his second 996 and just spent a little time surfing that list. Damn. The focus there is definitely not technical to say the least, and a whole lot more "attitude" going around. I got irritated just reading a couple threads!

I like it around here a lot better. People are interested in the cars, not the image.

V8 Man

WORD !

JEC_31

LOL.

The other day I was surfing the Rennlist and went to catch up on the 996 GT3/GT2 guys ( a hardcore bunch of track junkies for the most part) and found myself looking at threads about steering wheel covers, cupholders, air fresheners, WTF? Oops I had accidentally clicked on the regular 996 forum.

To be fair, it's a very well-populated section and can get pretty hilarious at times (the long thread with photoshopping a scammer's myspace & biz-website pics is legendary!), and often can be a good place to get legal and medical advice.

Check out the "Hey Wait For Me Racing" section. Those guys and gals are awesome.

SeanR

They have the Status™. We have the fun.

Randy V

Re signal-to-noise - we are fortunate to have a relatively 'hard-core community here. Over the years we have all cultivated this forum to focus on the technical aspects of 928 ownership.


Hey, how did you do that superscript trick on the TM, Sean?

PorKen

I remember when I used to be hardcore, but then...

What was I saying...uh...I mean, I bought a really nice 86.5, which needs new wheels.

...

™ = hold down the [Alt] key and type [0][1][5][3] on the numberic keypad, release [Alt].

To find others, run the character map program in Windows™, [Start] [Run...] type charmap [OK], select
font 'Verdana', click on the character you want to reproduce (™ is at the bottom of the list). In the lower right corner, it shows the [Alt] sequence.

dr bob

Most "new" owners have cars that are leased, still under warranty or maintenence contract, or take the cars to a dealer or other specialist and pay to have the cars cared for. Plus there just aren't that many 20+ year-old 996's rolling around, so many of the age-related maladies that we enjoy don't enter the discussions among those owners. Our headaches and other pains are in their future someplace. Likely they will dump the car when the pains start, just like most original 928 owners did. The, for a significant discount from original price, one will probably be able to buy that pain at that discounted price, and there will be balance in the Porsche universe again until the model starts to look "collectible".

hacker-pschorr

Reminds me of some other forums where most people have a paragraph for a signature with "future mods" listed.

123quattro

All newer car forums are like that. I used to spend a bit of time on an C5 Audi A6 forum. All they talked about were nav systems, wheels, lowering springs, and window tint. This is much more entertaining.

RicerSchnitzzle

Thier GTGs go something like this...
"Nice car, sorry about your *****..."
Repeat 20 times and you have a 993/996 GTG.

dr bob

I'm not sure why we run down the other forums and car owners. Think about it this way-- 996 and 997 owners don't have all the worries that we do, 'cuz their cars are still new and the running stuff is still in great shape. So they talk about things that they do 'worry' about, like wheels/tires and window tint. I wish that was all I had in my list of concerns. From their point of view, we must look like a bunch of losers who spend all our time working on the cars, and don't have much chance to drive them. Does anybody remember what it's like to have Porsche that's an uber-reliable daily ride? We are jealous, and throw rocks at them to hide our own misery.

Oh yeah, did I mention that I drive a cheap Porsche? Do I brag about it? No. I do encourage others to invest in 928's, mostly in the hope that the market for exceptional cars (like mine...) will somehow float up a little. Would I like to have a 997 turbo as a daily driver instaed of or in addition to the 928? Sure.

Many years ago, I was encouraged by a change in tax law to replace my Saab Turbo daily driver with close to 300k on the meter. Bought a new Explorer, since the write-down limitation didn't apply to "work trucks". I didn't realize how much casual time and effort was spent every weekend just keeping the Saab going perfectly, until I had the new car and suddenly that time was freed up for other things. I just didn't know what to do with Saturday mornings except clean and wax the truck. Had to buy another boat to make up for the loss.

So how much time does the average Rennlsit 928 owner spend maintaining or repairing the car? Not counting online time here researching or answering, although that may be "lost" time too. My car eats an hour or so a week just for cleaning, and an additional few days a year for repairs and maintenance. I spend much more time working on other folks cars than I do on my own car, that's for sure! These things are foreign to 996 and 997 owners. There are times when I wish they were foreign to me too. I also read about folks who do mob-repairs of torque tubes, have their cars apart for whatever, have long winter repair lists, stucc like that.


So who has it better, us or the 996/997 owners who just wash, gas, and drive?

shmark

Ok I have to come back at this from the other direction. I've always been a garage person, had something like 30 cars and most of them have needed work of some kind. But for the past 18 months I've had the "brand new" car thing going, bought a 2006 JCW Mini right off the showroom floor. One test drive and I was hooked, fantastic car, lots of power and lightning handling...almost as good as my old track 914 and much more comfortable. It's a great car...and now it's for sale.

I *missed* being in the garage working on my cars. It's a hobby and I just had nothing to do any more. The Mini is perfect, no problems...and no real urge to modify it either since it's a JCW factory hot rod. So while I like the new car reliability and my wife likes the security, I just got to the point where I can't stand it any more. I need something I can enjoy, wrench on if I want to, modify like I want, and just drive the heck out of it. I did a lot of soul searching before deciding I really wanted another 928. I loved my old one, just had too many problems and never had the money to make it right. Now I can afford it, so I went out and found the very best I could and I can't wait to get it home. I'm already planning upgrades. Such a difference, I think I've had my last new car.

Charley B

Have the windows been tinted? What kind of wheels are you looking to get? Are there any good dealers in Atlanta to do the servicing?

ew928

At a recent PorshePlatz at Lime Rock, the Connecticut Porsche (forgot which one) had brought the new Carrera Targa for show and tell. One of the attendees was happily sitting in the car whilst I was staring at the open targa top. I think it's pretty cool to have the whole sunroof glass panel snuck up inside the rear window.

The car trying the car out was a little puzzled why I was staring at the open targa top. He commented how nice the car was and I divulged why I was staring at the roof.
I couldn't find a catch tray under the bottom of the rear window glass. Cause that's where the water sitting on the targa panel would be dripping when it was retracted.

The newer car owners were probably more interested in what type of wheels the car can be ordered with and how nice the switchgear was, and here I was trying to decipher their engineering/design considerations.

I've never owned a new car. Wonder if I'll enjoy that new car smell and dealer scheduled maintenance.


Must tweak. If it ain't broke, fix it till it is. (Who coined that phrase)

shmark

Yes. Interior rear quarters are perfect.

Not sure yet. Leading contenders are 3.6 turbo style, 996 turbo (love them on Darien's car), possibly something like Fikse FM10 but those are $$$$.

Not a chance. I do my own, and I know a couple independents who can handle the tough stuff if needed.

Actually I think steering wheel first, then wheels, possibly 8" H4s, exhaust, and then things start getting pricey.