A proper introduction and some progress
03-21-2012, 04:04 PM
#1
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
A proper introduction and some progress
Hi everyone. I've been hanging around in here for a couple months now, so I figured it was about time I formally introduce myself. 
My move to the Porsche world is a result of long-time love affair with Volkswagens and Audis, so making the leap to Porsche was only a matter of time.
My last car was an '01.5 Audi S4 Avant. Long story short, there was A LOT of work I planned to do to that car (body work, paint, shaved engine bay, built engine, etc.), I bought it to be a long term project.
But, when I was about to really dive into the car, I realized I just don't have the time or place to have that involved of a project at this point in my life. On top of that, I'm not the kind of person who can just say "well, I guess I'll just enjoy the car the way it is for now." I would never be happy with it unless it was the way I had envisioned it and would hate it if I just drove it as-is. So, I did what had to be done and sold it to someone else who will give it the love and time it deserves.
Goodbye Avant.
I decided shortly thereafter it was time for my first Porsche. I love 964s and decided that was the car for me and began my search. I soon realized that finding a clean 964 requires a serious search. While doing said search, I realized that the money I'd be shelling out for a clean 964 put me in the 996 price range. Also, the more I thought about it, the 996 was a better choice for what I intended to use the car for (daily driving year round, long trips, wife driving it, extensive aftermarket support, AC and heat that works, creature comforts, etc.) Personally, I'm not a big fan of the narrowbody 996s, so I decided that if I was going to get a 996 it had to be a C4S.
Expecting to spend months trying to find the right car, an Arctic Silver with black leather 2002 C4S popped up about a week later... and it was only 10 minutes away!
It was exactly what I wanted and had a few nice mods done to it as well.
- JIC Cross coilovers
- Monoball upper mounts
- Adjustable sway bar drop links
- B&M short shifter
- EVOMS billet shifter linkage
- PSE hacked mufflers
- Smoked bumper lights
Mileage is a little "high" for a Porsche (93k miles), but the car came with full maintenance records from day one and all the normal 996 issues had been addressed:
- New IMS
- New RMS
- Coolant tank
- Newer clutch
- New catalytic converters
- Front bumper resprayed to get rid of rock chips
- New starter
- A bunch of other little stuff
Also, I think the "magical" 100k mile stigma for cars is a load of bull**** (especially for modern cars). I've had many cars over the years with 100k+ miles on them (hell, a couple were pushing 200k by the time I sold them) and none of them have been any less reliable than cars I've owned with 50k miles. If you take care of your car, it will take care of you.
Anywho, onto the pics:
My move to the Porsche world is a result of long-time love affair with Volkswagens and Audis, so making the leap to Porsche was only a matter of time.
My last car was an '01.5 Audi S4 Avant. Long story short, there was A LOT of work I planned to do to that car (body work, paint, shaved engine bay, built engine, etc.), I bought it to be a long term project.
But, when I was about to really dive into the car, I realized I just don't have the time or place to have that involved of a project at this point in my life. On top of that, I'm not the kind of person who can just say "well, I guess I'll just enjoy the car the way it is for now." I would never be happy with it unless it was the way I had envisioned it and would hate it if I just drove it as-is. So, I did what had to be done and sold it to someone else who will give it the love and time it deserves.
Goodbye Avant.
I decided shortly thereafter it was time for my first Porsche. I love 964s and decided that was the car for me and began my search. I soon realized that finding a clean 964 requires a serious search. While doing said search, I realized that the money I'd be shelling out for a clean 964 put me in the 996 price range. Also, the more I thought about it, the 996 was a better choice for what I intended to use the car for (daily driving year round, long trips, wife driving it, extensive aftermarket support, AC and heat that works, creature comforts, etc.) Personally, I'm not a big fan of the narrowbody 996s, so I decided that if I was going to get a 996 it had to be a C4S.
Expecting to spend months trying to find the right car, an Arctic Silver with black leather 2002 C4S popped up about a week later... and it was only 10 minutes away!
It was exactly what I wanted and had a few nice mods done to it as well.
- JIC Cross coilovers
- Monoball upper mounts
- Adjustable sway bar drop links
- B&M short shifter
- EVOMS billet shifter linkage
- PSE hacked mufflers
- Smoked bumper lights
Mileage is a little "high" for a Porsche (93k miles), but the car came with full maintenance records from day one and all the normal 996 issues had been addressed:
- New IMS
- New RMS
- Coolant tank
- Newer clutch
- New catalytic converters
- Front bumper resprayed to get rid of rock chips
- New starter
- A bunch of other little stuff
Also, I think the "magical" 100k mile stigma for cars is a load of bull**** (especially for modern cars). I've had many cars over the years with 100k+ miles on them (hell, a couple were pushing 200k by the time I sold them) and none of them have been any less reliable than cars I've owned with 50k miles. If you take care of your car, it will take care of you.
Anywho, onto the pics:
Last edited by Capt. Obvious; 03-21-2012 at 04:35 PM.
03-21-2012, 04:05 PM
#2
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
The first thing I did to the car was adjust the coilovers lower (I'm in the "lower is better" club, I'll sacrifice a little handling/function for increased visual appeal, because let's face it: at the end of the day it does spend 99% of its time on the street, not the track). Then I got it aligned since Porsches like to eat rear tires.
Next, I ordered GT3 muffler bypass pipes from Fabspeed. Those lasted about a week (too much drone!) before I bought a set of Maxflos for it. I really like the sound of the Fabspeed mufflers, they're loud without being obnoxious (or too droney) and they give the car a really nice warble and growl.
Then I added a 997 shift **** because I didn't like the shape/feel of the original ****.
And then I installed a rear strut brace. Whoever said you can't use one of these in a Bose car isn't very creative. All it took was a bit of trimming to the foam padding under the carpet and a little nip/tuck to the brackets for the Bose subs. I was surprised that it actually made a discernable difference in how stiff the car felt. I'll have to get one for the front now as well.
Since then, I've been collecting a few parts getting ready to go to town on the car.
My main focus with the car right now is aesthetic mods. Being a naturally aspirated car, we all know there isn't really whole lot of power/performance stuff you can do to these cars without breaking the bank, so the exhaust will be the sole "performance" mod for now. Once I have the car looking the way I want, I plan to get high flow cats and maybe some X51 headers if I can find a set for a decent price.
The first order of business was wheels. I'm a major wheel nerd and the right set of wheels will make or break your car. As usual, I entrusted this task to my friends Brian and Jason at Rotiform wheels (www.rotiform.com). After tossing around ideas for a few weeks and changing my mind half a million times on styles/sizes/finishes, I decided on a set of forged three-piece TMBs with a convex face profile.
Sizes are 19x9.5 front and 19x12 rear. I'll be running 235/35 Hankook V12s in the front and 295/30s in the rear. For the finish, I went with mirror polished lips, brushed faces with mirror polished pockets, gold bolts and satin black barrels.
I also picked up an Agency Power roll cage for the car. The white obviously doesn't match the car, so it's getting stripped down to bare metal and will be refinished to match the car (still not sure if I want to polish it, color match it silver, or just go with good ol' fashioned black).
And finally, rounding out this first round of mods to the car is an upgrade to the craptastic factory stereo deck. I'm no audiophile, but the CDR 220 is a joke and I need to have my iPod in the car. A friend gave me a killer deal on a Pioneer AVIC D3 with Bluetooth, nav and iPod integration, so I'll be adding that to the car to modernize the dash a bit. I hear upgrading the headunit usually helps improve the sound of the Bose system quite a bit, so hopefully that's the case. If not, I guess new amps and speakers will be phase 2 of the stereo.
Welp, that's it for now. Will update this thread as I start actually putting stuff on the car!
I also promise I'll be less wordy from now on...
Next, I ordered GT3 muffler bypass pipes from Fabspeed. Those lasted about a week (too much drone!) before I bought a set of Maxflos for it. I really like the sound of the Fabspeed mufflers, they're loud without being obnoxious (or too droney) and they give the car a really nice warble and growl.
Then I added a 997 shift **** because I didn't like the shape/feel of the original ****.
And then I installed a rear strut brace. Whoever said you can't use one of these in a Bose car isn't very creative. All it took was a bit of trimming to the foam padding under the carpet and a little nip/tuck to the brackets for the Bose subs. I was surprised that it actually made a discernable difference in how stiff the car felt. I'll have to get one for the front now as well.
Since then, I've been collecting a few parts getting ready to go to town on the car.
My main focus with the car right now is aesthetic mods. Being a naturally aspirated car, we all know there isn't really whole lot of power/performance stuff you can do to these cars without breaking the bank, so the exhaust will be the sole "performance" mod for now. Once I have the car looking the way I want, I plan to get high flow cats and maybe some X51 headers if I can find a set for a decent price.
The first order of business was wheels. I'm a major wheel nerd and the right set of wheels will make or break your car. As usual, I entrusted this task to my friends Brian and Jason at Rotiform wheels (www.rotiform.com). After tossing around ideas for a few weeks and changing my mind half a million times on styles/sizes/finishes, I decided on a set of forged three-piece TMBs with a convex face profile.
Sizes are 19x9.5 front and 19x12 rear. I'll be running 235/35 Hankook V12s in the front and 295/30s in the rear. For the finish, I went with mirror polished lips, brushed faces with mirror polished pockets, gold bolts and satin black barrels.
I also picked up an Agency Power roll cage for the car. The white obviously doesn't match the car, so it's getting stripped down to bare metal and will be refinished to match the car (still not sure if I want to polish it, color match it silver, or just go with good ol' fashioned black).
And finally, rounding out this first round of mods to the car is an upgrade to the craptastic factory stereo deck. I'm no audiophile, but the CDR 220 is a joke and I need to have my iPod in the car. A friend gave me a killer deal on a Pioneer AVIC D3 with Bluetooth, nav and iPod integration, so I'll be adding that to the car to modernize the dash a bit. I hear upgrading the headunit usually helps improve the sound of the Bose system quite a bit, so hopefully that's the case. If not, I guess new amps and speakers will be phase 2 of the stereo.
Welp, that's it for now. Will update this thread as I start actually putting stuff on the car!
I also promise I'll be less wordy from now on...
Last edited by Capt. Obvious; 03-21-2012 at 04:38 PM.
03-21-2012, 04:17 PM
#4
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Thanks! I kinda miss it, but I don't miss working on it. The 2.7T made me hate cars. LOL
Also, I forgot that when I bought the car, it had cloudy headlights. I used that as one of the nit-picks to get the price down to where I wanted it.
I bought the $25 restoration kit made by 3M at my local parts store and then went to town. It took about an hour per headlight, but they looked like new when I was done.
Also, I forgot that when I bought the car, it had cloudy headlights. I used that as one of the nit-picks to get the price down to where I wanted it.
I bought the $25 restoration kit made by 3M at my local parts store and then went to town. It took about an hour per headlight, but they looked like new when I was done.
03-21-2012, 04:36 PM
#5
Great thread! Please keep us updated on what you plan to do with the roll bar!! I also have a silver C4S and have a RSS 930 bar sitting in the garage ready to go in the car. It is black right now but I've contemplated color matching it silver or even going a little crazy with Red
Hopefully you install yours first so I can see how it looks whatever color you choose.
Hopefully you install yours first so I can see how it looks whatever color you choose.
03-21-2012, 04:41 PM
#6
Rennlist Member
Glad im not the only one with mod issues. Welcome aboard Captain... The 4S is a great machine. So youre a wheel nerd huh? Seems that you spent a lot of time designing the right wheel... I like the gold studs and black barrells. You sure the 9.5" fronts are going to clear fenders with the lowered suspension? My wheel budget was restricted to hollow spokes with a krylon finish.. 
03-21-2012, 04:43 PM
#7
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
My friend owns a powder coating business and he's taking care of the cage for me. He has a "chrome" powdercoat that he thinks I'll like a lot. I'm not convinced yet; most "chrome" powdercoat I've seen looks more like a really shiny silver. He's doing a test section of the cage to show me what it looks like.
Here is the cross bar getting stripped in "the goo".
Here is the cross bar getting stripped in "the goo".
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03-21-2012, 05:28 PM
#9
Rennlist Member
Good to know... The chrome illusion paint might look really good. I had the tequip bar which was polished stainless and it looked awesome. Only issue was the seat no longer reclined enough for me to drive with a helmet. Your bar looks like it would allow a decent amount of recline. Interested to hear your opinion once the bar is installed. Im leaning towards the GMG bar as it was designed for taller people who need to be able to push the seat back to its stop.
03-21-2012, 06:17 PM
#10
Rennlist Member
03-22-2012, 05:43 AM
#13
I second that Bruce...
One of the reasons he will be able to fit the 9.5s in the front is because he is stretching the tires decently. Same for the rears
P-car guys are not really into the whole stretch and slam game as much as vw, Audi, import guys are. Most guys here will use a 235 - 245 on a 8 in wheel for example. 9.5 wheel would be a 265 - 275 and a 12 inch wheel 325. If they do run big sizes it's typically on DE cars and with lots of negative camber. Not functional unless on a track. Plus tires are $$$$ when you eat them up every 15-20k miles.
If you were to run no stretch it wouldn't fit as flush, you would have serious rubbing on suspension and fenders etc...
If you do come into rubbing, pick up cup car fender liners. They are higher since the cup cars sat lower.
Please post pictures after there mounted, I bet it's going to be very nice. Might take sometime getting us use to seeing stretch and poke but I always welcome new an different.
Congrats on the purchase!
One of the reasons he will be able to fit the 9.5s in the front is because he is stretching the tires decently. Same for the rears
P-car guys are not really into the whole stretch and slam game as much as vw, Audi, import guys are. Most guys here will use a 235 - 245 on a 8 in wheel for example. 9.5 wheel would be a 265 - 275 and a 12 inch wheel 325. If they do run big sizes it's typically on DE cars and with lots of negative camber. Not functional unless on a track. Plus tires are $$$$ when you eat them up every 15-20k miles.
If you were to run no stretch it wouldn't fit as flush, you would have serious rubbing on suspension and fenders etc...
If you do come into rubbing, pick up cup car fender liners. They are higher since the cup cars sat lower.
Please post pictures after there mounted, I bet it's going to be very nice. Might take sometime getting us use to seeing stretch and poke but I always welcome new an different.
Congrats on the purchase!
Last edited by DJonathanSilva; 03-22-2012 at 01:46 PM.
03-22-2012, 01:01 PM
#15
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Stretch [that is within reason] isn't as bad as a lot of people seem to think it is. For example, it can often help improve handling in some instances because stretching the sidewalls stiffens them. I'll avoid that whole discussion in this thread though. If someone who has never actually run stretched tires on their car wants to pontificate about how dangerous/dumb/ugly it is, we can make another thread discussing how many nuns and disabled children are going to die in the fire when I hit a schoolbus due to my stretched tires.
The car has the B&M SSK in it, which is essentially the 997 SSK option (I think it's actually made by B&M for Porsche?).
I had to sacrifice my original **** and boot to make it work since the 997 shift boot is quite a bit different than the one in the 996.