911STYL

New to Porsche 996 World – I’m coming over from the “dark side”, Corvette World. In Corvette World there are two kinds of owners – the “Waxer” and the “Racer”. I subscribe to being a waxer more than a racer; although I installed a ZO6 motor, cam, catback exhaust and a significant number of ZO6 parts. I’m more concerned with appearance mods than performance – I think. My thoughts about being a new to me owner of a Black, 996, 2003, Cabriolet; impressed and a little disappointed. I’ve been on Rennlist for about a week constantly reading and trying to become a bonafide Porsche owner 😊 Although I’m a bonafide waxer and not racer (at the moment), I have a few newbie questions: Tire and Rim sizes – I have stock tires and rims and I want to modernize. 90% of the rims that I see online come in 19 inch and are not even made in 18 inch. Is there a significant chance of issues going with 19 inch rims vice 18 inch? Heater Controls – The car came with everything except an owner’s manual. I have about six different manuals that came with the car (warranty, maintenance, etc.) but no owner’s manual. I bought the car in Florida and the AC was artic cold. Now that I’m Northern Virginia, the heater is very important. Manipulating the HVAC controls in every configuration I can muster, but the air still blows cold to cool. I don’t know if I am not setting the temperature correctly or if I have some type of mechanical failure. Can you help me out here? Cold Air Intake – I’ve been reading completely contradicting information regarding this subject. One posting will say that aftermarkets are an absolutely necessary and they add X amount of horsepower and torque whereas the very next post will say the stock intake system is technically sound and better are than aftermarkets. I see a lot of information on FABSPEED and they all are running north of 800 dollars. K&N is more in the user-friendly category mid-300 dollar range. What are your thoughts on intake systems? Headlights – On the drive back from Florida to Virginia, the yellow headlights just were not doing it for me. I would prefer more of a white light (not blue). This seems to be another subject that creates a firestorm on the forum. I’m not a good wrench turner nor am I an electrical engineer so I really just want something bright and white in a “plug and play” situation. Do you have any recommendations on headlights? Shocks versus Coilovers – I would like to lower the car and improve the ride as well. I currently have 80k on the original shocks. The likelihood of me being on the track is remote as this is my daily driver. Buying 3k dollar coilovers doesn’t seem prudent as again, I95 is the most aggressive I will drive and in Northern VA, I95 is a parking lot most of the time during commute hours – do you have a recommendation for a guy who likes to drive aggressively (semi-legally) but not much of a track guy? Heated Seats – I do not have heated seats. It gets cold AF in Northern VA in the winter and I assumed the car would have heated seats but you know what we say about assumptions. Any recommendations on aftermarket seat warmers? Exhaust Modification – I intend on having the exhaust by-pass mode done. In Corvette world, it’s called an AA mod. Going to a Midas or the sort is the plan. Of my Northern Virginia compatriots, do you have a recommended shop. I’m not overly concerned with performance at this point – looking more for sound. Porsche Language – 996, MR2 versus MR1, etc. etc. etc. You must agree that you have your own language. In the Corvette forum there is a running acronym listing that helps newbies like me – something you veterans may want to consider. Porsche Sources – what are the best sources for parts and accessories. I’ve laughed at some of the postings that complain about the costs of parts, etc. It seems that similarly in Porsche World as it is in Corvette World there is a significant Porsche tax associated with it. I’ve seen rotors alone at 1500 dollars and carbon fiber spoilers north of 7000 dollars. Are there sane sites out there to pay a decent price for a decent product?
Fear – The white elephant in the room, the IMS bearing. I have a 2003, 996 with just over 80k on the clock. I don’t know if the IMS bearing has been replaced. Is there any way of telling if it has been? If it hasn’t been replaced, should I just cross my fingers and hope for the best or should I replace it now? While I’m replacing the IMS bearing should I do anything else as well?
Spoilers – I love the speed activated rear spoiler. However, I would like to add an aftermarket spoiler that has some functionality but moreso for aesthetic appeal. I’m not interested in 1000s of dollars carbon fiber – just something that doesn’t look like an “ironing board” attached to the trunk and allows the speed activated spoiler to continue to work without issues.
Codes – As I don’t have my owner’s manual yet (ordered), how can I check for failure codes in the Porsche?

RT_955TT_KY

I can give my thoughts on a few of the items.

Lack of heat - most likely an issue of the foam covered mixing flap and other flaps having dried up and blown off. The HVAC flaps are not solid, but have quite a few holes in them and are covered with a foam material when new. As they age, the foam ages and comes off - leaving a flap door filled with holes. Do a search on " foam in vents " for some great info. I fixed mine a few months ago and it's working great.

Headlights - I upgraded from a halogen projector to an HID projector setup and now very happy with the light output. The Retrofit Source is a great resource for tons of info on lighting upgrades.

Searching this forum has provided me with just about all of the answers, and then some, to my questions.

Welcome to the 996 world and good luck.


BTW as far as waxing - Menzerna and Wolfgang are two great products for the German paint.

Bash Hat

Welcome to Porsche World. I’ll chime in on the intake question. I had the Fabspeed intake on my car until 4 months ago. The FS was causing 2 codes (1123 and 1125, lean condition). It was due to the FS not having the little return elbow like the stock box has which caused air turbulence right around the MAF meter confusing the hell out of it and throwing the lean codes. The only difference I found putting the stock air box back on was a loss of “howl” at WOT. There’s no power difference to be had. It may give you that “ooooh” feeing when you pop the engine cover but that’s about it. If it’s worth $800 to you then go for it. To me, it’s not worth the headache.

yamasaki

welcome.. im still a noob too here..

Just out of curiosity, did you buy your car at Carrio ? I drove a black 996 with 80k miles a couple of weeks ago. i wonder if its the one you bought lol.

lowpue

Tire and Rim sizes –I tend to favor 18s on 996s. I use GT3 wheels which are 11 inchers with 295s in the back. 19s can look funny on a car if it is not lowered or if it does not have a body kit.... So if you go 19s be sure you do one or the other or both.
Heater Controls – Can't help here
Cold Air Intake – I have an EVOMS intake on my 996 but maybe changing it (sounds great though). THe reason is all of these kits really don't do a great job isolating the cold air. they just tend to lessen restrictions and look good. I may have a custom truly isolating cold air kit be built. I kinda agree with the earlier post...you are porbably better off saving the money on this.
Headlights – I have litronic on my 996 and stock halogen on my 986. Litronic are the only way to go. Once I figure out how to convert I will.
Shocks versus Coilovers – I would do this in steps....first lower the car, see how you like it since it will change, then change again.
Heated Seats – II have no idea why this is even important. This should be the bottom of the list in my book.
Exhaust Modification – If you are talking about doing a gundo hack, that is a good move. Not so much if you are trying to lower weight. I am building a custom low weight setup and replacing my Fabspeed Maxflos which were also like 12 ilbs lighter on each side if I recall with some additional HP. Whatever you do, make sure you know someone who has tried the setup. I had FS Supercups at one point and the drone at 2700 RPM drove me crazy.
Porsche Language –You have MK2 (2002-2005), I have MK1 (1999-2001)
Porsche Sources – Rennlist Marketplace is a great place if you are patient for decent prices. We are always changing stuff and freeing up other parts. Otherwise there is another thread on this topic either on this forum or the 997 forum.
Fear – Your Indy can tell you when he replaces the clutch. Definitely something to attend to unless you have have a big bearing (which I don't think you would have) in which case you would have to split the case and that is not worth it but the bigger bearing is more robust. I had an LN bearing in my engine that failed (not IMS failure) and so I had a 997S engine installed that had big bearing and I am leaving it in.
Spoilers – I have a MK1 GT3 Wing (taco) on my 996. Love it.
Codes – Use and OBD-II tool and look up on internet.

Good luck and welcome to the slippery slope

Anestheticg

I did a HID retrofit. Kit was pretty inexpensive and can be done on your own or by a shop(shouldn’t take long) it’s a plug and play the issue is how/where you mount ballasts. There is info online now to do this. The lights are super bright and beam pattern doesn’t blind oncoming traffic if pointed correctly. I didn’t want to spend close to 3k on OEM xenon lights.

lowpue

THis is good to know....is it hotter and will it burn the lenses inside? Also if you have a good link on the conversion that would be helpful.

Anestheticg

Dr_Strangelove

911STYL, congrats! You bought a new Porsche, and what, you don't want to learn 100 new acronyms!? C'mon, man, geek out a little!

I'll chime in on the 18 vs 19 inch wheel issue you're finding because I found it as well. I really wanted 18 inch wheels and struggled to find manufacturers that still make new wheels for our car in that size. I found http://www.victorequipmentwheels.com/ , a division of TSW (for what it's worth,) sells some wheels with a modern look in 18" off the shelf. Out of personal preference I wanted something different, so my only other options were to shell out big money on some custom forged 18's, or buy used within my budget. I opted for the latter.

I got my used, 18" TechArt Formulas from Wheel Dynamics, a forum sponsor, and I'm really happy with them. They were refinished by the vendor before they were sold and shipped to me and they were truly like new. I know you said you were looking to go "more modern" on your wheel choice, so used may sound like a misstep initially, but you'd be surprised how quickly some guys go through wheels and then firesale them on eBay.

Good luck getting your new cab sorted!

lowpue

Thanks...super useful...I will do this to our boxster.

rolex11

Any chance you could point out what kit over on ebay you ordered. I looked and my head started spinning. I know zero about electrical thingy's. But with the DIY pdf. I have a chance.

Thanks.

lowpue

Exactly..we don't want to re-invent the wheel...we are all standing by. Especially, if power is less.

Dennis C

I don’t know if it’s relevant here, but it seems to me that the current trend in automotive lighting is to upgrade halogen headlights to LEDs as opposed to HIDs. The LED upgrade is essentially a bulb change, with no ballasts to mount. The hard part of the change is the bulk of the LED bulb base compared to a halogen bulb; they won’t fit in every car. I did this upgrade in my GMC truck, and it made a big difference.

911STYL

Yeap that was me. Drove her back to Norther Virginia to get to know her.

5CHN3LL

This is true for taillights, but there are drivers for LED headlights - at least the sets I've purchased - that look a lot like HID ballasts.

Although the light from an LED is cool, the diodes themselves generate a lot of heat, and the bulb heat sinks are often equipped with fans - which makes the system more complicated than HID, at least from the "it's got moving parts" perspective.

Many of the kits online ONLY picture the bulbs. This is what I'm accustomed to seeing...