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#44 The Fister Exhaust is a Must-Have Mod - I finally got over to FD Motorsports to get my new exhaust installed. Its sounds glorious. It also strikes the perfect balance. It sings when you get on the gas and burbles on the downshifts. However its barely noticeable for around town and highway driving. Its throttle response, not rpm. I posted a video clip below (note: the mic from my phone doesnt truly capture the sound).
Darin is also as nice a guy as everyone says he is. It took him 1hr to swap out, just enough time to get some fresh tamales around the corner.
#45 C2S and C2 Exhaust Tips Are Not Interchangeable - I had been looking at ordering S tips for my base and it assumed it would be a simple swap. Luckily I learned from Darin the C2S and C2 have different exhaust tip diameters. You need to modify the S tips to fit a base model.
#46 Headlights Are A Simple Removal - I took my headlights out to polish them and learned how to remove the headlights and foglights. It takes 30 seconds. Re-installing the headlights is a little trickier. The lights will go back in and feel like they are snug. If i hadnt read I post of a guy who had his headlights fly off at a stop light...i would have likely left it at that. You need to turn the latch until you feel resistance and then it will snap into place.
#47 Headlight Restoration - I used 3m for the foglight (good not great) and switched it up to Meguairs Heavy Duty Headlight Restoration kit for the headlights. The Meguiars came out better.
Somebody had done a crappy job polishing my headlights before and left visible swirls in them. The Meguiars removed the swirl marks and left them like new. It works better for rounded headlights, uses a 3 part process (1k and 2k grit hand sanding, polishing pad drill attachment, followed by magic clear coat) and can be used more times than the 3M kit.
Thank you. After doing a little research and with the recommendations here, FS Motorsports sure seems like the place to go. Tons of good reviews. I like that they can be counted on to do it right. The only negative is that it is about 100 miles away from my home. Good to hear that it only took an hour and there is a taco stand close by. Perfect. Thank you again!
@Norcal997s - I do have a minor issue with the Fister. At idle I hear what sounds like an exhaust leak (at first I thought it a ticking noise from the lifters however its definitely coming from the driver side exhaust). I am not sure if this the new "normal" with the bypass or something wasn't tightened down. I am bringing it by for Darin to checkout this week.
Welcome to all you new guys to the 997. As you are discovering, it is a super bargain for what is essentially a very high performing sports car. Where else can you buy a 180 mph + car for something like $40k?
As a Porsche owner/driver since 1974, a few tips for the newer guys.
(1) Dont go cheap on the tires. Tires are a significant factor in the performance potential of these cars. Buy the name brands like Michelin, Pirelli, and Bridgestone. If you insist on saving money, find another way.
(2) The crappy slush finish interiors are your first clue to the mileage on your car. Most were ordered with the stock, non leather or special material, consoles. These things will look like crap in no time. Learn how to remove them and have them redone. Things like heavy leather interiors help to avoid a lot of that cheap stuff, but there were not that many ordered that way.
(3) Drive the car. Sadly, most of the candidates cars you guys chose from led sheltered lives in a garage somewhere. Porsches are like super model wives. Use them,--don't save them for the next guy. These things are wonderful to drive, and drive a lot. (I have over 100,000 on mine because I like to drive it). Buying a low mileage 997 means that many of the infant mortality issues have not become issues yet, and you will wind up dealing with them yourself, without the aid of Porsche AG.
(4). Do the smart maintenance. Be proactive on things like oil changes, filter changes, and water pumps. Clean out your radiator intakes. Do much of this yourself so that you can learn more about your car.
Finally, congratulations on finding Rennlist. You won't find a better collection of smart owners who are more then willing to help a fellow Porsche pilot with their experience.
Now, put the mouse down. Shut off the computer. Go out into the garage....START HER UP!
Your car is coming along nicely! I forgot to follow up on this thread. The DEPO LEDs I purchased on eBay. Alot of sellers are selling them and I just chose the lowest price. I do highly recommend them. Rear makes a dramatic difference, fronts are a matter of personal taste. It does make the car look more modern too but looks a little "aftermarket". The rears have an OEM look so it blends right in. A smart upgrade because install is so simple and you can always resell when you move on to another car, the net cost is minimal.
Eibach springs are very, very fair in terms of price, only $325. I also found them on eBay. However, I overpaid by a wide margin on the install. Reputable Porsche independent in the city but he charged me double what it should have cost. I made the mistake of not asking upfront. I would consider $600 for a spring install to be fair. Perhaps you can get a quote from Darin. Others feel free to chime in on this regarding install price. I do really recommend this mod for a non-S. Your car with those wheels, lowered with spacers would look incredible.
I'm headed up to see Darin on Thursday too. Dropping mine off for brake caliper refinishing (mine also suffers from the ugly peeling black) and to get his exhaust and a set of OEM cats installed. Previous owner had the AWE full setup with high flow cats and it's just too loud for my taste. Maybe when I was 10 years younger I would have loved it.
Keep us posted about that ticking noise. In your video the car sounds great. I'm really looking forward to this mod.
Nice series of posts, Bruce. I drive my car every day and love it. People are constantly surprised that the car is more than 10 years old. Like Dan, I have over 100K miles on mine now, and don't regret an inch of it. Enjoy your car (I love those wheels) in good health and sensible driving (freeway onramps excepted).
@Edgy01 - many thanks. You provided some excellent posts for newbies like me. Keep it up! Tires will be a decision for next week. Im debating Bridgestone Potenzas ($900) or Michelins ($1300) and looking for others experiences with both. I would also love to cover my center console in leather but debating if its really worth the ~$1k. I had mine respayed and its much better but stiff scuffs easily.
@Dannysf - I was over at Darin's yesterday and mentioned you. He checked out all the exhaust connections and said the "ticking noise" was normal. Its just some back gas from the bypass at idle.
Send some photos on your brake caliber job. I asked him about the same but I cant leave the car with him that long ;-)
Would love some pics of how yours looks with the Eibach springs. I told Darin i was holding off on the spacers until I saw some cars that had them in person.
You have me interested in the DEPO LEDs now.
@993Dave - many thanks! The wheels look great when they are clean...or when someone else cleans them! I've been able to trim down my time to 30 mins to clean all 4.
#48 Beware of Car Thieves!! - a new thing I now need to take seriously is car thieves. I parked the car down near the Tiburon waterfront yesterday (not exactly a high crime area). I was standing across the street on the phone and saw 2 guys walk up to the car. One stood in front of the door while the other went across the street and looked like he was taking a picture of his buddy. I then watched the other guy turn around like he was trying to open the car door. I shouted and pointed at him and he turned around startled and his buddy walked back over to him. They both sat there for another 30 seconds trying to play it cool until they got in their car (conveniently parked right next to mine) and drove away.
They were either a team of trained car thieves...or 2 asian college-age kids that really, really wanted to get a picture sitting in a Porsche and dont understand personal space ;-)
#48 Beware of Car Thiefs!! - a new thing I now need to take seriously is car thiefs. I parked the car down near the Tiburon waterfront yesterday (not exactly a high crime area). I was standing across the street on the phone and saw 2 guys walk up to the car. One stood in front of the door while the other went across the street and looked like he was taking a picture of his buddy. I then watched the other guy turn around like he was trying to open the car door. I shouted and pointed at him and he turned around startled and his buddy walked back over to him. They both sat there for another 30 seconds trying to play it cool until they got in their car (conveniently parked right next to mine) and drove away.
They were either a team of trained car thiefs...or 2 asian college-age kids that really, really wanted to get a picture sitting in a Porsche and dont understand personal space ;-)
Probably not car thieves. Porsches are a bit harder than a Honda to steal.
Probably a pair of car window smash and grab thieves. These incidents are way up and especially in SF. The increase in this type of crime is the result of SF increasing the dollar amount of a theft that constitutes a felony. If someone is caught doing this he'll be out on the street before the cops have finished the arrest paperwork.
Bottom line is do not leave *anything* visible in the car if you have to park it anywhere in SF. (And while I never go to SF, Oakland, or SJ I never leave anything of any value visible in either of my cars regardless of where I am.
Also, be mindful of your surroundings after you park your car and are preparing to leave it. If someone is watching you put something in the trunk he can smash the window after you are gone to try to open the trunk and get what you stored there.
Couple of things, couple of belated things: Be sure you locate all the body water drains and keep these clean of any trash/debris build up.
After every rain -- over now until maybe late October -- and after every car wash be sure to check along the door bottoms for any signs of moisture.
Since the car is "new" to you I recommend -- and do this myself when I buy a used car -- is to run a bottle of Techron through the gas tank. Buy a bottle that treats 20 gallons and dump the entire bottle in the tank -- shake the bottle first -- then fill up the tank with the correct grade of gasoline.
Drive the car as you normally do. After the gas tank level gets low -- 1/4 tank -- you can dump in a 2nd bottle and fill the gas tank again.
After the gas tank with the 2nd bottle of Techron is down to say 1/4 an oil/filter service is advised to remove the contaminated oil. (Techron is designed to *not* burn but turn into a vapor in the heat of combustion and then back to a liquid and as a result this increases the level of contamination of the oil.)
I found with my Boxster after a tank or two of Chevron with Techron the engine was running better. This after I switched from Shell V-Power. So my advice would be to try to run Chevron gasoline on a regular (no pun) basis.
Regardless buy a name brand/top tier gasoline and buy from a busy station to ensure you get the freshest gasoline.
@Dannysf - I was over at Darin's yesterday and mentioned you. He checked out all the exhaust connections and said the "ticking noise" was normal. Its just some back gas from the bypass at idle.
Send some photos on your brake caliber job. I asked him about the same but I cant leave the car with him that long ;-)
Would love some pics of how yours looks with the Eibach springs. I told Darin i was holding off on the spacers until I saw some cars that had them in person.
You have me interested in the DEPO LEDs now.
Glad to hear that the ticking sound was normal. I'll definitely post some pics of the car on here once I get it back and do a paint correction as well. I'll get the car back in about 10 days.
His car is SPASM suspension. that ride height is nearly identical to the Eibach springs. Lower than a normal S, significantly lower than a non-S, but not as low as H&R springs..In my opinion, perfect for a factory look and factory feel. His car has spacers. Take a look at the rear quarter shot and the full rear shot. It definitely looks more aggressive and in my opinion, proper. I firmly believe that if it wasn't for european snow chain regulations, Porsche would put the wheels at the fender. It looks better and performs better. He put 5/10mm spacers but I believe your BBS wheels has a more conservative offset and most people put 7mm/15mm on those and on lobsters. (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.) I would consider spacers, tail lights, and the Fister exhaust as 3 of the most bang for the buck mods for our cars.
I read this post and thought it was great. I too bought a 997.1 about 2 years ago. I started reading Road and Track when I was 8, got my first ride in a 911 in 1972 and wanted one ever since. I finally got a 2007 997.1 4S about 2 years ago from a friend, a scant 43 year wait. I was lucky, got a one owner car, new winter and summer tires on separate rims, pretty well all options with 60,000 kilometers for 40,000 canadian dollars. I will agree 100% - it was worth the wait and it is an amazing car. I still haven't posted much but will try to in the next few weeks. I have found the forum to be really valuable. Many of the things you noted were things I only found out on Rennlist. Some are simple, like better coffee holders - found some great ones. Thanks again for the post there were lots of helpful pointers.
Eibach springs are very, very fair in terms of price, only $325. I made the mistake of not asking upfront. I would consider $600 for a spring install to be fair. Perhaps you can get a quote from Darin. Others feel free to chime in on this regarding install price. I do really recommend this mod for a non-S. Your car with those wheels, lowered with spacers would look incredible.
I installed Eibachs in my garage for the cost of a $30 spring compressor. While the car was on jack stands with the wheels off, I detailed the wheels, suspension, and wheel wells. Then I took it in for a $100 alignment.
If you are thinking about springs; do not pay anyone $600 or more to swap them unless the shop has super-models serving 50 yr-old scotch in the waiting room.
An independent shop should charge no more than $300 to swap out four springs. Mine would do it for $225, but he's $75 / hour.
@darkhorse - you just moved that project to the top of the list! Great info. I had somebody quote $800 just for labor the other day. How long did it take and what instructions did you follow?
@m1a1mg - welcome! Let us know how we can help. After you get the cab you need a coupe for yourself ;-)
@gajgmusic - send pics! your one owner 4S sounds epic.
For someone comfortable with swapping suspensions, of course DIY is a no brainer. Personally, I didn't try even though I consider myself a decent DIYer because I stood by the installer on my previous spring install, eibachs on an SLK55. It didn't seem exactly easy. A decent amount of steps not to mention all 4 wheels off, car suspended, etc. That being said I did pay $350 only for my SLK55 spring install. Sleek Motoring but he is no longer in business so I had to go somewhere else. Good luck
04-28-2017, 10:50 PM
