mongrelcat

Yes.

I am happy to be a Porsche owner, for the first time! I bought the car that was recently talked about here on RL in Seattle. It's a '95 C2 w/ 100k miles. I am overjoyed.

The thing is just,,, art.

My 30 mile drive home after picking up the car turned into 90 miles. I went for a "quick spin" last night after returning from a long trip and it turned into 100+ miles of mixed driving around the countryside and into the city and back. I have wanted a 911 for 30 years, since I was about 12 and first noticed them. It sure took me long enough, but boy, I was right! Anyway, please excuse my n00bie questions. I thought to search and have done some research, but I figured an introduction thread w/ all my current questions would work, as well.

Gearbox: There is very noticeable resistance with third gear. I noticed a bit of a notchiness on the test drives but it is definitely more pronounced now. I was certainly driving very gently on the test drives, perhaps I just didn't notice it because of that. Anyway, dropping the RPM's to idle-level between shifts smooths it out. Also, double-clutching the 2-3 shift seems to be pretty much fine. (If I have the term "double-clutch" correct it would be: While in 2nd, depress clutch | Move lever to neutral | Release clutch | Depress clutch | Move lever to 3rd | Release Clutch.) Downshifting into 3rd there is slight resistance at times. The shifts in the higher gears are smoother than the lower gears. 4-5-6 are silky smooth.

I have noticed that sometimes it is much easier to get out of a given gear just after letting off the gas, i.e., during the transition from throttle to no throttle. When coasting along while in gear I'll depress the clutch and have resistance going to neutral until the revs drop all the way down to idle. If I blip the throttle instead, and then depress the clutch and shift it's fine. Is this normal?
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Suspension... The car got the Bilstein HD + M030 upgrades 30K miles ago but the shop left the original swaybars on. Not sure what exactly what all the terms mean and where it stands, so to speak. The actual service line item reads:

"Install Bilstein Heavy Duty front strut assemblies and rear shock assemblies, and European M030. Save old springs, US M030. Reinstall sway bars."

So, it now has Bilstein HD struts/shocks, with the M030 springs, and the OEM sways, correct?

I have noticed some "wallowing" when pushed relatively hard especially with road surfaces that have some transition and am wondering if upgrading the sways would help with this. What are my options here? H&R? OEM RS? Should the droplinks be upgraded as well?
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I have searched and found a number of threads with shop recommendations, but those mentioned are mostly down around Seattle proper. Anything up near me in Mukilteo? Actually, in thinking it through a 30 mile drive is a small price to pay for knowing you're going to a highly recommended shop, but having one nearby would be nice. I would like to have the car checked-over, particularly the gearbox/clutch, but a nice once-over of everything would make me feel better...
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Lugging: What is "lugging"? I've read to keep the RPMs above 3k. Is cruising at 2.2k RPMs advisable while on the highway? I'd like to think so. The speed limit here is 60MPH and people really drive right around that range. (I seriously have to adjust up ~15MPH every time I visit California...) If I'm traveling on the flats with minimum throttle... is it OK to go below 3k, say to around 2k RPMs? Is lugging basically using too much throttle at too low an RPM range, or just being in that low range while on the gas, period?
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I've found an amazing stretch of relatively deserted road in Mukilteo which has been a lot of fun with the car. I would never drive on the street 10/10th's (not even 7/10th's,) but this stretch has nice variety including a sharp corner, some really big swoopy s-curves, lots of elevation changes, a decent straight, etc. It's a public road but basically a dead-end with access to a couple of businesses. So at night especially it's pretty much empty. If anyone is interested in knowing the location, PM or email me, I'd be happy to share.

Thank you. The availability of a community like this with a variety of passionate, helpful contributors was part of my reason to buy my 993.

matt777

Congratulations! I bought mine last year after a 30+ year wait too. Yes, it sounds like you still have the stock sway bars. IIRC the stocks are 17 and 20mm diameter. You can measure them and search to verify that. As for the gearbox, if it is difficult to pull out of gear when decelerating, that is not normal IMHO. Mine currently has that issue. I have changed the clutch slave cylinder but have not been able to drive it yet to see if that solves the problem. Hopefully it does as it is a cheap fix. Is your clutch original or has it been done already? Matt.

brucec59

Welcome! One option on the sways is M030 sways. That's what I have. But you may already have those, since your paperwork says the old springs were US M030. To me "lugging" is giving it too much thottle at low revs. It's fiine to cruise at low rpms, just drop it down a gear if you're going uphill and you find your right foot going down more than a little. I don't think your gearbox issue is normal.

Welcome to RL, and pls post some pics!

chris walrod

Very cool, now where are the pictures?

Congratulations!

Rinty

Welcome to the cult.

I'm not a G50 expert, but it took me a few months before I felt like I got on to the shifting route paths, and the timing.

fast_freddy

Enjoy! These things are truly magnificent cars. I have had a variety of different high performance cars over the years and none have been as captivating as my 993 including an 07' GT3 that I had.

mongrelcat

Thanks guys, for the help and the welcome. Much appreciated.

I will post pics when (if?) it stops raining.

Here's the brief history of mechanical work on the car:

60k -- New clutch/flywheel, rear main seal... engine completely resealed and new engine wiring harness (recall.)

73K -- New steering rack replaced, upgraded suspension, RS engine mounts and short shift kit, complete brake rebuild including rotors. New clutch slave cylinder. Front protection bar installed.

99k -- New valve covers and all (4) CV boots

Good point about possibly having M030 sways, hadn't considered that. And I guess there's no distinction between Euro or US M030 sways as there is with the M030 springs.

So to reiterate, I think the car currently has: Bilstein HD struts/shocks, Euro M030 springs, and either M030 sways (likely,) or stock sways.

Thanks, that feels right to me but I want to be as sure as I can be.

See above, both the clutch (60k) and clutch slave cylinder (73k) were replaced. And thanks for the info on the stock sways as well.

Thanks again all.

Redblurr

Congrats on your new ride. I too spend a very large amount of time in your area. I work on hwy99 between 128th and the speedway. If you pay attention this summer you will surley see my GR 993 parked outside. I have searched and searched for a quality shop around here and have not found any. I think your best bet is Bellevue or Seattle or poss. Edmonds. The name of the place in Edmonds is German Autoworks. I dont know first hand what that place is like but I think they have been around a while,check them out. Might be worth saving that long haul to Seattle or Bell-town.

Scott 1996 993c2

Very cool. Congrats!

Scott

Stealth 993

Congrats! Another 993 stays in WA state.

What is wallowing? To much body roll? Even stock, there isn't a lot of roll, with HD's & springs, even with stock bars it should be pretty tight. It might need a good wheel alignment, or better tires. 993 are weird when it comes to tires, & pressure.

For shops, all my suspension stuff gets done @ Group 2 Motorsports in Seattle
Most other work is Redmond Euro, there a Aircooled shop, & really know the car well. They have been maintaining my C4, since the late 90's.

Come on out to a PCA tour, there are a ton of great roads to stretch your legs on.

You got to post pics anytime you do a welcome post...

H.H.Chinn

Congratulations! You'll need to post some photographs and it's maybe time to get an impromptu local Renn gathering for coffee and a drive or lunch.

Cactus

Pix or banishment! I keed I keed...Welcome!

Fahrer

It sounds to me like your clutch is dragging. This can be the result of a worn release bearing. If that is the case you are putting extra stress on your synchronizers....... not good.

CADguy

Congratulations, I too waited many years to get my 993! I have had it for a year and it still blows me away, to look at it and to drive it

I have been driving cars with manual transmissions for decades, and I have always thought of lugging to be too much load on the engine in too high a gear. I keep the engine above 3k RPM when accelerating, especially going up hill. Cruising on a level highway while not accelerating at 2200 RPM is probably ok. I wouldn't go any lower. If you then need to climb or accelerate, down shift. I personally like to stay above 2500 RPM at all times, if possible. I almost never use 6th gear.

Yeah, here in CO as in CA, if you are only going the speed limit, you are really in the way! My Wife keeps telling me that if we ever move back to Oregon (Bend), I'll have to change my 10-15MPH over habits

Anyhow, good luck and enjoy your 993

Stealth 993

Oh, yea, it is time!