New Porsche Owner Says Hi

Hi from me, Stuart. I've recently acquired a 2003 996 Carrera 2 in Meridian Silver and joined PCGB. For the main part I am loving this, my first Porsche but feel one or two things are spoiling the experience. Mostly this is the rather intrusive noise level at anything above 50 mph. Is this common? I also find the car tends to tramline a little on white lines/paint. The car is on 18" wheels with the correct N rated P Zeros and around 5mm of tread. As this is not a car with a lot of options fitted, I miss the toys of my previous car, especially the bluetooth phone connection, which was brilliant. I am considering fitting the Parrot Mki9200, does anybody have experience of these? Overall, I think I got a good car after shopping around for a while. Let's see how it goes. Thanks

Hi Stuart, Well done great choice! you may want to get the 4 wheel alignment done, when I first got mine, a C2 it felt very odd compaired to my Boxster, but after the adjustments were made it was totally different. They are not the quietest car, the sun roofs rattle a bit and are a little noisy, you may want to check the door seals, also tyres can make a huge difference. Continetals seem very good on mine. Best advice, turn the radio off, drop the windows, there is only one noise you will want to hear, that fantastic flat 6

Stuart!! When you have your membership number, you should contact the club office and ask them to change your forum status to PCGB member, which will give you access to several sections of the forum, including the FAQ and Technical Articles sections here. Alternatively, post a reply to this thread: http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=235860 What kind of noise are you getting? Wind noise, road/tyre noise, exhaust noise? As for tramlining, the first thing to do is get a full wheel alignment check, as Gary says. I found P-Zero Rossos did tramline quite a bit more than others. They were OK when new, but once a bit worn it got a bit worse. Bear in mind that 996's do tend to be affected by ruts in the road, as the rear track is wider than the front, and the rear tyres run higher on the ruts. Especially noticeable in the slow lane of motorways, caused by heavy vehicles. It depends what audio system you have, as to whether a Parrot could be fitted. If it is the basic un-amplified setup you will have no problems, but if it has the M490 or M680 (Bose) audio system, you will have problems integrating it into the fibre-optic system.

Thanks for the welcome chaps. I nearly didn't buy a Porsche when first I read the postings of the keyboard warriors on Pistonheads. Seems they all have opinions about cars they've never even driven. Mine doesn't drop oil but it does sometimes smoke a bit on start up. Car has mostly been serviced by Porsche Centre Wilmslow but last one was done by Tony Gratorex (?). Is he well known? I think the noise is mostly engine thrum and road noise but it can be difficult holding a conversation at speed. Gear changes into 3rd and 4th can be a bit of a lottery but had it checked out by Porsche Chester and they said it seemed fine. Did someone mention the slow lane of motorways? Don't know what they are! I think I do have the basic sound system although there is what appears to be an amplifier under the bonnet (boot?). Parrot might be a post-Christmas addition (after I've paid the tax bill). Need to spend a bit of time sorting stuff out. Thanks again.

Easy way to solve that, just become a middle lane hogger like me[ ]

How do you guys enter and exit the motorway without going in the slow lane? [ ]

I have a parrot mki 9200 and it's brilliant having all the music at your fingertips. I wish the voice recognition was abit better though it drives me mad sometimes when I say "home" and it dials mrg Volvo" Otherwise very pleased.

When you accelerate down the slip road in a Turbo, as you reach the motorway I find it begins to take off...thus bypassing the slow and middle lanes, landing in the outside lane!!!! [ ] Being a previous 996T owner, I guess you also experienced this Richard?...

Hello and welcome. Great colour, had my Boxster in that colour and loved it. [ ]

Hi Stuart, Welcome to the club, I've used just about all of the N rated tyre brands on Boxster S & Cayman S most will say that Michelins are best but last year I had a set of Bridgestones fitted and found them not just better suited but also left a few hundred £ in the bank, which is better than it going elsewhere. Had the P Zeros on the Boxster S when I got it and found them to be the worst of the N rated, then came Continentals on the Cayman S thought they were good until I changed to Michelins which I thought fantastic until I changed to Bridgestone, think I'll be staying with them for some time. I did have Michelins on the Boxster S and my son used them on his all round Michelins are excellent in use but the Bridgestones are just as good. Note that on here everybody likes the general noise and plenty seek to increase the exhaust volume with sports mods. It can become addictive![ ] Have fun![ ] PS, slow lane is generally regarded as what you may call a transitional lane quickly passed over.

And another welcome - I've had a C4S for just over a month and found exactly the ame thing as you: - tramlining from the wide tyres - loud road noise at speeds over say 50mph and most important all the negative comments written elsewhere on other forums about the 996. Almost made me question my purchase and go looking for a 993 - until that is I get in the 996 and drive it. It's a wonderful drive although I will take the advice here and get the alignment checked and maybe later switch to Continental tyres which I understand may be quieter.

+1 for alignment and also for Continental being quieter. Michelin are the better tyre in my view though. ;-) As Buddy mentions many of us seek ways to increase the noise in our cars as they are pretty soundproof compared to older models. [8D]

Definitely get the full geometry set up done. Michelins certainly wear less than the Conti's so even though more expensive are better all around, still assessing the Bridgestones but they don't seem to be wearing too fast as yet. Grip and feel is very good. I did find Pirelli tramlined more on my Boxster S. Get more than three Porsche drivers together mention N ratings and the discussion can last ages.

It quite handy as my tires are all down to less than 3 mil so will need changing next month.[ ]

I have PCM1 and the non-Bose amplified system in my '00 C2 Cab. The chap who fitted my MK9100 spoke to the people at www.connects2.co.uk . I needed an extra lead, however the whole thing intigrates really well. Means you get music through all the speakers. Worth the extra for the lead.

PCM1 doesn't have the fibre optic bus, so it tends to be much easier to integrate aftermarket systems. The OP has PCM2, which makes it more tricky.

In regards to bad press on forums about the 996 model. I had a friend who owned a 99 996 had it over three years and just drove it never went on the Internet and never knew anything about any problem with the model just the plus points, I didn't damper her spirits by mentioning any bad press on various Forums etc, that i read and would spend hours thinking about, she is now on her 4th Porsche and doesn't no any diffrent, apart from the usual maintance costs and the pure pleasure in owning a 911. Enjoy it as it was meant to be. Phil

I've just realised its nearly 2 weeks since I've driven it! I've decided to go out this afternoon. I have been known to travel 40 miles to get a take away when the nearest and best Indian restaurant is 2 miles away. Well, you've got to, haven't you.

On the subject of telephone handsfree kits, does anybody know whether my car is likely to have the Porsche fitted microphone in position behind the dash? I know the car doesn't have factory telephone but is it possible that the microphone and its wiring is fitted as standard? Don't fancy taking the dash out on the off-chance. Definitely going to fit Parrot Mki9200 in the New Year so I'm gathering up all the bits and pieces and information I need to do the job before I get stuck in. Its a daily driver so can't afford to have it in limbo. Thanks

These Mic's are amazing but require a Bias voltage. I mean they would hear someone fart in the next car!.

I have the cheapest hands free kit of any car - the wife. Always answers the phone promptly and very good clarity. When she is not in the car I use my son who, although not too clear (teenagers!) he does translate quite well. Alternatively, when I am on my own, I have a rather neat elastic band which goes around the cranum and cradles the mobile phone to my ear just right.

Wow, you are incredibly lucky your wife is cheaper than a hands free kit! I mean there's purchasing (after the price of trying out a few different models!) then servicing, maintenance, fuelling........ ;-)

Yes, you're right, there is a downside and running 2 Porsches is a lot cheaper. However, the 911 doesn't cook my meals or do the washing! Then there is ...

That's all well and good but can you really "drive" your car with your hands free kit present?

Stuart Welcome from a new member, I've just fitted a Parrot MKi9200 too and it is brilliant, mine is a 2002 model with CDR22 with bose system and bose amp, I had to take it to specialist audio place and they had to build a connector to ensure it worked right through the speakers but it is amazing I have the screen mounted to the right inside the cubby hole/spare din in front of the gear stick and the control mounted in front of the window remote, the cabling for my iphone (and Blackberry etc) runs stright in the the transmission tunnel cubby box. The system is superb, it cost me £330, £180 for the unit and the rest for cabling junction box etc and fitting Really pleased Cheers Tom

Hello again Tom Mine has CDR23 but I don't know what system or Amp it has. Not sure how to find out. Anybody any clues? I understand that Parrot do an adaptor cable for our model and it costs around £46 in addition to the price of the MKi9200. Halfords quoted fitting for around £280 including all the bits but I'm not sure about letting the local Halfords crew loose on my baby. Regards

There is a big difference between MY2002 and MY2003. MY2002 Bose was a system which amplified the speaker outputs from the radio or PCM, making it relatively easy to fit the Parrot, which breaks into the speaker cables. MY2003 saw the introduction of the MOST fibre optic bus, which is an optical loop connecting the head unit, amplifier, CD changer, and instrument cluster. This is much more difficult to tap in to, and needs a system designed for MOST, such as Dension, mObridge, Nav-TV (Tooki) or ViseeO. These are much more expensive though.

Welcome