Another Should I Daily a 996 Thread, Which one and why.

Here we go, maybe something a bit more in depth. Some background. My first car in 2003 was an 86 BMW 325e, BRONZIT. I grew to love the E30, DTM racing, and everything E30. Next an 88 325ix (Watching Colin Mcrae on Speedvision WRC rally ALL DAY.), I did everything I knew of back then. First set of ground control coilovers for an IX car, Heated Recaro Speed/ SRD, Modern stereo, megasquirt, ect. After spending a lot of time and money, I learned that RWD is better (True Story) and sold it. And so on, an E34 530it (White on Blue, Mmm), 87 325is, 99 318ti Msport (Which I daily'd for 10 years and loved it, So practical, Chase down M3's on track, Went everywhere, good MPG, Slow, didn't get into too much trouble on the street..) . All these are gone and now I have an on going E30 Street / Track project I'll never sell, 2700 LBS 270WHP since 2018. I needed something to tow and hustle car parts around so I picked up a 2006 Savana 3500 W/ Duramax, Also a daily for 5+ years. When the janky MLS went on the E30 (Already a little burned out on cars) I picked up a quite nice low milage 987 Cobalt Cayman instead of continuing the E30 Build. This was my introduction to Flat Six's Porsche world. I have a hard time saying no to 3000lbs cars with 300HP, really a sweet spot. I found a lot of old school BMW folk have made this conversion. A year later the van loss 2nd gear (4L85E), now im burned out with cars and working (Working on cars) (Not to mention me and a friend did a full year of AER endurance racing by mostly ourselves, which was ALOT.) I back burnered the van and picked up a 2019 Prius Prime. Perfect car for not caring. Oddly after a year I started to feel that I was becoming what I drove and want back to downsize and go back to the basics of a fun daily, Some aftermarket mods, yet respectful, go everywhere. Back to the Cayman S. I love still simple cars, Naturally aspirated, Reasonable weight, this car seemed to check those box's. So after months of searching (PPI at Kelly Moss, Cleanest bores out of 3 PPI's..) I purchased one 6 hours north, while never test driving any other 987. On the way back in this 36,000 mile mint 987 I realised how much I hated the shifter, suspension, and poor throttle responce (Heal toe) right out of the box. A bit sadden, but down the rabbit hole I go... Full Cayman R Suspension & Refresh, GT3 Control arms, R toe links, 997 SSK W/ Function first kit and shift ends, caliper stud, stainless lines, 3rd radiator, Water pump, Lower Tstat, Hartech Sump, Spin on filter, Carnewal Muffler, Mase Tune, Function first trans mounts and engine inserts, Fluids, Red tails, Crystalline Tint, Paint correction, 3/4 of the car in PPF, new headliner, all the boxes checked... And now it feels proper, And now it feels like it should have been out of the box.. 2 years later, It is ready for anything. With an itch to get the E30 proper again I realized it silly to have 2 summer cars. Why not sell the Cayman S and Prius Prime and move into a 996. But I've dreamed about BMW's all my life, so for 30K could get a nice E46M3! An M240 egh, 3800 LBS, Turbo... Euro 123D Msport, Pfff. F80's drive like crap (OMG 500HP BRO). E90 Touring?, egh. Love the N52... M2 Comp F87... The best thing BMW has done in a while, but not to excited, it's good?! but Overweight, and BLACK Interior). This would leave me with a simpler and hopefully more enjoyable list of cars. Id actually love to have just 1 car again, and not worry about towing, and a bunch of cars and parts.. 996: Daily, Fast road, Weekend backroad adventures, Track (Softer Sprung Ohlins) Van: Work / Tow vehicle E30: Fast Road, Weekend backroad adventures, Track, Time Trial, Tinker, Forever chase and status (Heavily Sprung 2WNR MCS) The finically correct option would be to recoup my money out of the 987 and put snow tires on it. It'll be a hard sell, hoping to find the right buy to enjoy the car as is and ready to go. The 911 Rear seats, although not the best, I fell slightly more responsible having a 4 seater for those just incase moments. Vote 996 For Daily: 1.) Working on a bunch of "Future Classics" and high mileage daily's at the shop I find a lot of new parts are terrible, OEM AND GENUINE BMW. New radiators leaking after a year vs the original 20 year part.. BMW and Porsche seem to have a lot of similar part suppliers. Of course I want to take this 20+ year old car and replace Everything coolant related and start all over to what I did to the 987 Cayman. How have people's experience been with the current realm of OEM & Porsche new parts? Supply chain, NLA, Back Ordered, Replacement parts going to lowest bidder, ECT 2.) Quirks I can live with: Coolant OVH W/ 3rd Radiator Redo suspension (Ohlins, GT3 Ca... ) $20 a quart Driven oil Deep sump pan - I Just drive to hard getting away on back roads, If I got to track, I want to not think about it. Eventual replacement of Cam guides No glovebox Adding heated Seats Upgrading stereo Shifter, Engine & Trans mounts Spare set of wheels and snow tires (Yes I Will) I feel like the GT3 center console delete could be an option, as nowadays I find those bins just get filled with stuff I should have tossed or don't need to carry around. Even with less storage (Sans Glovebox) Less is more? CCV, IMS, RMS, Clutch combo, blah blah. Cup hold threads are the worst - DRIVE. Worrying About Cracked heads - Inspect and Make sure the water pump has impellers? Where do you usually find rust on these cars? Faded carpet Scope bores, None to minimal scoring. exhaust What are some quirks you all have had make changes to enjoy the car? 3.) What are some items that made or want to make you want to sell your 996? I have refocused and downscaled work where some other priorities (Maintaining a 20 year old 911) can now be an option. I enjoy the work so as long as the car clears a proper PPI, I feel like a fun daily could be enjoyable again. I'm leaning towards a 996.1 (Prefer the classic styling), a 99 probably.. OR Quit worrying about M96 problems and go 991.1

You seem to have a good grasp on the shortcomings of the 996. I think you�ve covered most of it. Parts availability for this car is great right now. Porsche is still making parts for these cars and aftermarket OEMs are also making parts too. The enthusiast aftermarket is really healthy, too. At this point in time, there is no fear of being unable to restore a car due to shortage of parts. They are, however, a bit more expensive� but if you�ve been working on a 987 Cayman then I�m sure you have an idea how much it�ll cost. Regarding quirks: I�ve changed my AOS system to the UAOS, and upgraded my sump pan to the UIDS. I�ve also upgraded my oil pump hex drive key with LN Engineering�s, and I changed my thermostat to LN�s low-temperature version. I replaced my fuel-injectors as preventative maintenance to help keep bore-scoring away. My headlights suck so I�m going to be upgrading them with RetrofitLab�s LED package. This car is 20+ years old now and pretty much all issues have been identified and have a solution. Coupling that with the abundance of parts makes this a good car if you know how to work on it. Like you mentioned earlier, 300hp in a 3000lb car hits the sweet spot. But a modern econobox isn�t far behind; it�s a little bit disheartening to find that I can barely eke out a new Toyota Camry. Therefore, my main complaint (now that I�ve improved the reliability of my car) is that I want more power, but I don�t really need it. Power isn�t easy to achieve on this engine. From the factory, it�s already tuned near maximum output. Trying to achieve 400+hp will require $10k+, but you can offset some of that by selling your M96 engine. Why don�t you just drive your Cayman S as a daily instead? Unless you absolutely want a RR car, you could save yourself a lot of hassle by driving what you have.

Just making sure things that taste great now don't go sour in the stomach later. I've kinda kept up on the UAOS & UIDS. I Planned on going with another hartech sump and monitor smoke in on the track, which would be rare. But if so the motorsport AOS or UAOS.. I went with the 71C thinking 60C was too low.. (LN is the 60C?) And focused on cooling capacity for stability. The Retrofit Labs are for 996.2 projectors? Most the projector bowls by now are shot, same on BMWS. I figured I'd have to make my own solution for 996.1 Halogen to Hid / led projector conversion. I've already brewed some ideas. More power, More trouble. I know both 3.4 Cayman & 996.1 spec out about the same power, but I see caymans dyno more.. Motivation for headers and Milltek mufflers, eventually 200 cel cats Moving to a 911 is for the convince of rear seats for a daily. And with a higher milage car with more rock chips I feel less guilty tossing Recaro speeds, ect & aftermarket parts. Seeing snow, less strategic parking... ect..

Quotes source post: 19867096

I have run both the Motorsports AOS and UAOS track on the track. Go with the UAOS track for a number of reasons. 1. The Motorsports AOS can run full oil levels and process it, but it can not run oil levels over full which is what you need to address oil pressure and starvation issues. Whereas the UAOS Track can run 2 quarts over full as well as handle the extra oil supplied by the deep sump and directs it back to the sump. 2. The UAOS Track eliminates water cooling thru the AOS which eliminates the risk of intermix. Big advantage. 3. The UAOS Track puts the diaphram right in the engine bay in an easy location to change if it fails, whereas the motosports AOS is in an expensive location to change. 4. The diaphram in the UAOS Is 2x the thickness of the Motorsports AOS. Hey don't get me wrong, the Motorsports AOS was the only viable solution we had for an AOS for years. I ran it on my 996.2 for 15 years on the track. But it's a high school level solution in relation to the PHD level UAOS Track in its design and all the things it solves for. Its the swiss army knife of M96 solutions. hence why i have run it over the last 2 years on the track since it came to the market, allowing me to run 12.5 quarts of oil in my m96 with +2qts coming from a 2qt deep sump and another +2 qts coming from being able to run an addition 2qts over full from the UAOS Track ability to overfill. A hell of a lot better than what I was running before with the Motorsports AOS and 2 qt deep sump which was only 10.5 of oil in total. Remember, the M96 likes lots and lots of high quality oil to control oil pressures and starvation. Fwiw, I will be moving to the UIDS next.

Quotes source post: 19867096

Do you think you�ll actually need the rear seats? In my ownership period of 5 years, I�ve only had two occasions where the rear seats came in handy to cart additional people around. Otherwise, my seats stay folded down. Retrofitlabs also sells conversions for 996.1s https://retrofitlab.com/collections/...z1vGg-MnHiZaxK And LN Engineering�s thermostats are 71C (160F) https://lnengineering.com/160f-low-t...e-install.html I also daily drive my 996, but I stay away from the canyons. As such, I�ve been able to get by with only my two side radiators while using a low temp thermostat. But an additional cooling mod that I�m very happy with, and highly recommend, is the �high-speed fan hack�: you basically set up a manual toggle switch to activate the relay for the high-speed radiator fans. It keeps my coolant temps low while waiting at stoplights in the summer. Since the water pump doesn�t flow exceptionally well at idle, I occasionally free-rev the engine to 3000 rpms while the high-speed fans are churning away to encourage the distribution of cooled water/antifreeze throughout the engine. Bystanders would think I�m being an asshead for doing this, but the temperature drops dramatically fast, and my engine health matters more than their opinion of me. While you may feel guilty about treating your Cayman less-than-perfect, do consider that the next owner may not be inclined to do the same. I think the previous owner of my car would cry if he saw what I�ve done (and will do).

Consider a Turbo. Sedate when you want it, but very quick when needed and fairly robust without many of the foibles found in the Carrera. If you plan to track it, consider the GT3. Prices have not gone crazy like later models (at least not yet) and you won't need a laundry list of mods to make it reliable on the track or even the street. Resale will likely be better for both the Turbo or GT3 if you tend to flip rides. Both cars should have the coolant lines pinned or welded, but that's the only Achilles Heel those engines really have. I've got 160K plus miles on mine.

Well well well, look what the cat dragged in� lol 996 is great but you�ve got a sorted Cayman, just drive that.

I've been daily driving a 3.9L 987.1 Cayman for the last few years that I really enjoyed. It was stiff enough to be a blast for track duty but not enough to annoy me on the streets. Then I got a call from someone that was told they needed to rebuild the engine on their 1 owner, 70k mile 996.2 and after unsuccessfully trying to convince him to rebuild it instead of buying a 992, I bought it as a roller. Having no idea what I was going to do with it, I let it sit in the shop for a month before I even opened the door on it. But when I did, I knew it was my next daily. It had an unhealthy lifter tick, so I added a quart of oil, which fixed it, and only the cacophony of healthy ticks remained. I checked codes and saw that it was a low lift actuator that was causing it to go into limp mode. And then proceeded to put 1500 miles on it over the next few months without doing anything else. Swapping the low lift solenoids is obviously super simple and we probably have 50 good used ones in a bin from core engines. But every time the CEL pops, I take it as a reminder that these cars are meant to be driven and floor it, causing the CEL to go away instead of progressing to limp mode. So here are my first impressions (I�ll copy over to my build thread as well to keep it updated.) The 996.2 is easier to get in and out of than the cayman and more comfortable to drive overall. The 3.6L feels noticeably stronger than the 3.4L. Beyond just the larger displacement, the bigger valves and the improved variable cam phasing does a better job of filling in the mid range power band. It does loose just a little bit of the nimbleness of the 996.1, which I don�t mind for DD, but I still consider my �00 SP996 my ultimate track car. It had already been upgraded to the new Porsche Classic touchscreen radio with Car Play which I really like. The stock suspension is very mushy and pushes on corner entry, which has almost gotten me in trouble a few times. The stock .1 has always felt like it wanted a hair more power to me, which I consider part of its quirky charm. But we did quite a bit of development work on them last year and are beginning to offer options from 330hp-400hp for those that want a little more. One other consideration, a properly setup Cayman is still going to feel more like your bimmers when pushed hard. Whereas a well setup 996 wants to be heavily trailbraked and will rotate and give you a hole shot out of the corner like nothing else I�ve ever driven.

I think you need to do some "drive homework". Turro a 911 as close to the year that you are considering, and use it for a week or two. See what you think. You already have a cayman, and if you line up a 911 and a cayman side by side, you'll see that their dimensions are very very very similar. If you don't really have a need for back seats, you may find that the Cayman has more useable space in the back than the 911. .... and some caymans have roof mounts .... so there's that option. In an Ideal world, I'd say buy the right tool for the job. Buy one of each. I recently bought a 996, mainly b/c I wanted a driving experience (RR) that you can't get anywhere else. I wanted a car that was usable and would give me sporty fun, but confidence when the weather turned bad. I've owned a chevy SS in the past for similar reason .... RWD, 6MT, V8 sedan with mag ride. great car for me and family of 5. Similarly, I love that the 911 is so multipurpose. I love that it had some rally heritage. I love that it's so mechanical, but has just enough creature comfort. Because it's old, It's not so precious that I don't feel l can't drive it. I'm not precious with it, but I do take care of it. I park it outside and if I got in an accident, I won't be too heartbroken. I use it for the carpool lane at school. I do plan to get a roof rack/roof box b/c I coach my kids in sports and they have gear. I'm not to far from VIR, so that's also on my list. Cars are for road trips and making memories.... I plan to make some. I also wanted something that felt like an heirloom, something to pass to the kids, and grand kids. I got tired of all the disposable, but good, car experiences (like the chevy volt I once owned). I really appreciate that Porsche is one of the few manufacturers that supports all of it's old stuff to the extent that they do (check out Porsche Classic online). I have 127k miles on mine, and plan to do the IMS solution solution soon so that I can get over 500k miles on it. Like some of the other Rennlisters said, the great thing is that we now have solutions for most of the problems that were engineered into these cars. Worse case, you could swap in a turbo motor, a 4.0 motor, or even one of the motors from the other makes if you wanted a different flavor of power and reliability... these things are versatile. To answer your questions. 1. Between Rock Auto, Pelican Parts and LN Engineering, I think you're covered. Supply is just a good/bad as anything else these days, but (see my comment above) at least I know that Porsche is in it for the long haul. Yes, there's the "Porsche tax" on many things.... but you knew that already. 2. I plan to do many of the mods you list.... thank God for Rennlist and YouTube. The only quirk has been my original radio with a mind of it's own. Easy fixes for that. 3. I'm still in the honey moon phase with my car, so nothing makes me want to sell it yet. .... If I have an uh-oh moment b/c of IMS/RMS.... I plan to stash the car until I can save enough $ to fix it.... a thought I've never had about any other car that I've owned. Hope this helps!

I'll write one point, and maybe it is a question. Mine is a C4S which I drove daily for about 5-6 years and it was great, just fine for commuting, groceries, home depot, etc. But the C4S has a slightly tighter suspension like the Turbo, and I believe that makes it a little rougher at times. These days I mostly drive my Audi (comfortable), and then a couple weeks ago drove the C4S on a long and varied trip. In comparison it seemed quite bouncy and I could feel a lot more of the road and almost could feel it in my butt after the drive. Never drove Turbo, or another C4S, or GT3, etc. so in a way this is a question for the more experienced folks here. Would a non-C4S 996 be softer and more suitable and comfortable ride as a DD?